Since Syria's been pathetically mewing in the aftermath of Operation Orchard, Olmert has kindly offered to help Assad safe face by recovering the Golan. This might be because Olmert is a total idiot, but it's probably at least somewhat State Department induced. Which does nothing to decrease its aggressive stupidity:

Israel is interested in Syrian involvement in the Annapolis peace conference, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a press conference on Tuesday following a meeting with President Shimon Peres. He added that the conference was scheduled to take place during the last week of November... Olmert said Syrian participation in the conference "would be fitting." He also expressed hope that, should talks with the Palestinians be successful, it would pave the way for a similar process with Syria.

Just because Syria is licking its wounds because it got its ass kicked recently is no reason to rush to give them land. We don't want to be overly suspicious, but it appears that there's a strong correlation between their pathetic thuggish yapping and the confidence that they have in their anti-aircraft system. And since they're rebuilding that, maybe this is a good opportunity not to give them some land:

Baidatz also mentioned Syrian developments. "There is still tension with Syria, but there has been a decline in its level in recent weeks. Syria continues to strengthen its firepower. It is equipping its forces with Russian anti-aircraft weaponry and is preparing to receive Russian air defense systems." He added that Syria was continuing its cooperation with Hizbullah and that weapons from Iran were still being deployed across Lebanon, including the area south of the Litani River.

Assad's been quieter since Israel humiliated him and his supposedly unjammable Russian SAMs and took away the nukes that he was planning to "surprise Israel with"? The hell you say. Just because Assad is a throwback to the old style of Arab nationalists - bellicose threats followed by whining when Israel takes them seriously and preempts - is not a reason to repeat the idiocy with which Israel has historically approached negotiations with Arab nationalists.

References:
* State Department Gets Bright Idea: Let's Screw Israel Even More By Bundling Syria Into The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process [MR]
* PM: Syria should take part in Annapolis [JPost]
* Top IDF Intel officer: Iran could have nuclear weapons by 2009 [JPost]
* Spectacular IDF Actions Aimed At Restoring Israel's Deterrent [MR]
* Assad Was Planning To Use Nukes Against Israel (Plus: The Totally Awesome IAF Commando Operation That Slowed Him Down) [MR]

Previously:
* This Summer's War With Syria - Syria Openly Brags About Preparing For War
* Syria Modernizing Its Airforce With Russian Help - War With Israel On The Horizon
* Syria's Been Building Their Nuclear Reactor Since 2003 And The State Department Still Tried To Stop Israel From Taking It Out (Plus: Awesome IDF Bombing Raid Just Got Filled With Even More Awesome)