I'm John Batchel with my colleagues, Hussain Okh, former ambassador from Pakistan to the United

States now at the Hudson Institute, and Bill Rajo, Senior Fellow Foundation for the Defense

of Democracy.

Mr. Ambassador, in conversations with colleagues last week, I learned that though the IDF is much engaged with

Hezbollah and Hamas and the trouble on the West Bank,

every conversation eventually gets to worrying about Syria.

What we know about Syria now is the Turkish military is in some fashion cooperating with Al-Shaara leading the,

what is said to be the Syrian reawakening with Al-Shaara, a former Al-Qaeda operative,

now the president of the country, with a council that is made up of his allies and others from

the jihadist movement. We also know that Ankara is providing or promises to provide weapons to

Alshara and that Ankara is interested in taking over air bases in central Syria.

The worry in Jerusalem, I'm told, is that the area will grow more unstable, not stabilize around Al-Shaarra.

How do you measure these developments with a NATO power involved in supporting Al-Shaara at

Damascus?

Well, it's just something that should have been avoided.

Ashara had Turkish support, even when he marched into Damascus.

Everybody knew that.

And now he has got acceptance from Saudi Arabia, from other Gulf countries.

And there is a willingness on the part of most Arabs to try and give him a chance.

So either the United States works out something with him and Israel does, or he consolidates

power.

And once he has consolidated power,

...