Peace in Our Time Watch

Sun, Nov 25, 2007 at 9:39:37 am PST

The ridiculous Annapolis “peace in our time” conference continues careening toward disaster, as Syria announces they’ll attend—because they see Israel as weak enough to make concessions on the Golan Heights for the first time in many years: Syria to join U.S.-led Middle East conference.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Syria said on Sunday it would attend a U.S.-led conference aimed at launching talks to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, giving another boost to U.S. efforts to enlist wide Arab support a new peace drive. ...

Ending weeks of uncertainty, the official Syrian news agency said Syria “has accepted the American invitation and will send an official delegation headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad.”

A spokeswoman for Olmert welcomed the announcement, calling the decision to send a high-ranking member of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government a positive move.

The spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, said the Israeli-Palestinian track would remain the main focus of the conference, although Syria’s participation “could open additional avenues to peace in the Middle East.”

Syria, Israel’s neighbor to the north and a long-time foe, had insisted the meeting also deal with the future of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights captured in the 1967 Middle East war.