Line In The Sand

Debka - rumored, btw, to have very close ties to Israeli security - has an interesting article on Syria, saying, in a nutshell, that if Syria doesn't stop supporting terrorism in Iraq, then the US has already approved the invasion of Syria necessary to make the point:

Assad and General Habib are both aware, according to our sources, of the near carte blanche handed down to General Casey to pursue military action against Syria as and when indicated by US military requirements in Iraq.

In this regard, DEBKAfile’s military sources note four important points:

1. It will not take place before President Bush is sworn in for his second term on January 20 or Iraq’s general election ten days later.

2. The Americans will not start out with a large-scale, orderly military offensive, but rather short in-and-out forays; small US and Iraqi special forces units will cross the border and raid bases housing Iraqi guerrillas or buses carrying them to the border. If these brief raids are ineffective, the Americans will upscale the action.

Dunno if this is true or not, but I would bet about 2:1 that it is. In any event, we'll know the score if ... presuming Syria pushes the envelope in order to see if it's a bluff ... the "in-and-out forays" begin (presuming they're not part of a bluff, too!)