Does Israel Want The Syrian Regime Stirred, Shaken--Or Dumped

Looks like dumped.

Israel Ambassador Michael Oren writes that Israel Prefers the End Of the Assad Regime To Its Continuance

For the second time, a recent Journal article ("Syrian Violence Tests U.S.," page one, June 3) asserts that Israel has expressed fears of instability in Syria if leader Bashar al-Assad is overthrown. I emphatically denied this the first time ("U.S. Seeks to Raise Heat on Syria," page one, April 25) and categorically deny it again. Israel has expressed no such concerns.
Allied with Iran, Mr. Assad has helped supply 55,000 rockets to Hezbollah and 10,000 to Hamas, very likely established a clandestine nuclear arms program and profoundly destabilized the region. The violence he has unleashed on his own people demonstrating for freedoms confirms Israel's fears that the devil we know in Syria is worse than the devil we don't.

It does appear that no amount of denial will convince the media that Israel does not want to see Assad stay in power.

According to U.S. Seeks to Raise Heat on Syria:

Israel fears an even more radical government coming to power in Damascus, while Arab leaders worry it could foment more revolutions in the region. U.S. officials say Washington's cautious approach toward Damascus has been fueled, in part, by these concerns

In Syrian Violence Tests U.S., the article goes further, claiming that Obama's weak response to Syria is in part because of Israel:

Senior U.S. officials say Washington's tempered response to the Syrian crackdown has been driven by fears that Mr. Assad's overthrow could unleash even wider sectarian violence. American allies in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Israel have expressed similar fears. There's also a belief among some in the U.S. government that Mr. Assad will weather the current storm no matter what the U.S. does.

It's unlikely that anything Israel says--or how many times it says it--is going to keep the media from playing this meme like a broken record: which after all, what we have come to expect from the media.

Technorati Tag: Syria and Israel.