Golan Heights Park?

Apparently, that's not out of the question. Here's Gershom Gorenberg:

"The “non-paper ” - or unsigned framework agreement reached by Liel and unofficial Syrian negotiator Ibrahim (Abe) Suleiman is important reading, because it gives a sense of how an Israel-Syria deal is likely to look. One creative feature: in order to keep the Golan demilitarized and to prevent competition over Jordan River water, the Golan would be turned into a giant park after Israeli withdrawal - with free access for Israelis."

That is pretty creative. Few people have ventured into the Syria-Israel negotiations, unless they just want to make a snarky comment about how Bush/McCain wouldn't talk while Israel will (yes, I'm guilty of that). And for good reason, we really don't know what these talks will produce. Gershom goes where no man dares to go. But he's a Jew living in Jerusalem, so he can get away with it, unlike me. But I'm with Gershom on this. I'm somewhat skeptical, but I do genuinely believe that Syria can negotiate honestly and keep to whatever deal comes out. Peace is not a zero-sum game. It is a positive-sum game. War is a negative-sum game. You can take your pick, but I'll always fall on the side of peace. It's worth a chance.

So what should we think of Bashar Assad? I wasn't a fan of his father, and my natural reaction was to dislike Bashar as well. My opinion changed when I was in Pummukale, Turkey. I had just gotten off a really angry phone call with my bank and was relaxing with drinks and tobacco in the courtyard of my hotel. And then they came. A tour bus dropped off about 60 Syrian tourists. They were mostly Muslims, but there were quite a few Christians and Druze as well. And they created quite the spectacle with their singing and dancing. I talked to about ten of them. About half hated Assad and the rest loved him. But they all agreed that Assad was the only person who could be the leader of Syria. Even those that hated him had respect for him and believed he was doing a good job. All them believed very strongly in religious pluralism and believed that Assad supported that goal. Even the Wahabbi scholar I talked to for a few hours. Assad really does have the support of his people and they will go along with any agreement he reaches with Israel. I feel very confident about that.

Israel, of course, is a democracy with very lively debate. I have no doubt that there will be strong opposition to whatever Olmert is willing to agree to. But any seasoned politician in Israel is used to that. Olmert needs to hold strong against that opposition and do what he believes is right for Israel. I'm not really a fan of Olmert, but my heart goes out to him on this issue. I wish him the best of luck.