October 16, 2007 (LPAC)--Israeli commentator Amir Oren, in today's Ha'aretz writes that only with the inclusion of Syria in the November peace conference would there be any hope of success, especially given the weakness of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is under three police investigations.

"Especially productive can be the inclusion of Syria in the conference. President Bashar Assad's announcement that he will not come to the conference if there is no discussion on the Golan Heights caused Jerusalem to sigh in relief, instead of sounding positive with a call to restore at Annapolis negotiations with Syria." Pointing to the fact that there is support in the Israeli military, Oren went on to write, "Real leadership aspiring to achieve peace would have jumped at the opportunity and would have used the support of the chief of staff and his advisors - the military intelligence chief and other senior defense officers."

Oren writes that even following the September 6th Israeli air strike somewhere in Syria, negotiations can easily be resumed. He concludes by writing that given the weakness of both Olmert and Abu Mazen, "To save Annapolis, Condoleezza Rice needs Assad."