Lauren Gerraputa

I. Citation
Assad: Syria is preparing for war
Jpost.com
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1208356973872&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
4/17/08

II. Summary
Syria is now planning on the opportunity of having a war with Israel. But according to Syrian President Bashar Assad these chances are low under current circumstances. He also states that whilst war was not an option and "if Israel declares war on Lebanon and Syria or if America declares war on Iran," Damascus will be prepared. They want to keep American in mind because they remember what happened with the last Lebanon war. Plus they know that someone in the American government is interested in this war and they have to be careful. However Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has stated that Israel and Syria have been sending messages about a peace treaty. Olmert has not given away any contents of these messages.

III. Reaction
This article relates to the theme State Building, Expansion and conflict because these countries are now struggling to stay at peace. There is the option of war and that shows conflict between these two regions.
There has been tension between these two countries for years. Syria and Israel have been attacking each other. There have also been reports of Syria having dangerous weapons where Israel became nervous.
The Jpost staff wrote this article. They are most likely Jewish. They are also an outside source.
There doesn’t seem to be any bias talk in the article, probably because it was a staff that wrote the article, not just one person.
A point of view that’s missing in this article is a government official from Israel. I think that hearing Israel’s point of view and if they feel like war would be necessary is important.
I personally think that problems can be resolved without war. I hope that in this case the Prime Minster is correct and they are talking about a peace treaty. I also don’t see why America has to be involved. Then again, we always wind up in other countries affairs anyway.