Obama Eyes Syria as Path to Mideast Peace

President Obama may renew stalled talks between Israel and Syria, both to revive hopes of Mideast peace and isolate Iran, but the approach is laden with pitfalls, Seymour M. Hersh writes in the New Yorker. Some observers doubt Israel will ever move 20,000 settlers out of the Golan Heights—land that Syria demands to have back—and others warn Obama against negotiating with an ally of Iran that arms both Hamas and Hezbollah.

The prospect of driving a wedge between Syria and Iran may prove too enticing for Obama to resist, but Syria's vice president warned of being too hopeful. “Do you think a man only goes to bed with a woman he deeply loves?” he said. “That’s my answer to your question about Iran.” Still, this could be Obama's "best chance for engagement in the Middle East peace process," Hersh writes.

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