The beauty of this is that State spent last December pressuring Israel to cool it with Syrian peace talks, lest a deal leave Lebanon out in the cold:

Senior U.S. State Department officials sent concerned messages to their Israeli counterparts in recent months regarding the negative effects an Israel-Syria peace deal could have on Lebanese sovereignty. "Don't sell Lebanon to the Syrians," American officials reportedly wrote. The diplomatic messages asked Israel to remain committed to Lebanese sovereignty at all costs, stating "Israel must not sacrifice Lebanon for the sake of peace with Syria." A senior Foreign Ministry official said the U.S. even asked Israel for "guarantees" on the matter.... Michael Herzog... was the last Israeli official to [suggest] that "in the framework of a peace deal, Israel has to recognize Syria's unique position in Lebanon."

Change!

According to TIME, suspicions have arisen of a "deal being concocted in which the Syrian leadership is spared prosecution in exchange for progress on peace with Israel, loosening its close ties to Iran and an end to meddling in Lebanon." The magazine also argues that the U.S. was the driving force behind the establishment of the tribunal, "which saw it as a useful tool to pressure Damascus into better behavior in Iraq, to cease meddling in Lebanese affairs and to drop its backing for militant anti-Israel groups such as Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah."

In the meantime Syria is building: a missile base on the side of the nuclear reactor that Israel destroyed, nuclear facilities that they're dispersing throughout the country, and a chemical weapons plant in the northeast. So at least all the leaders that are spared prosecution will have ways to stay busy.

But hey, at least there's absolutely no chance of successfully peeling them away from Iran.

References:
* Sources: Hariri murder tribunal could derail Israel-Syria talks [Ha'aretz]
* U.S. tells Israel: Don't forsake Lebanon for peace with Syria [Ha'aretz]
* 'Syria built missile facility on nuclear site bombed by IAF' [Ha'aretz]
* 'Iran, Syria continuing nuke projects' [JPost]
* Syria Following Iranian Model, Building Multiple Redundant Nuclear Facilities [MR]
* 'Syria building chemical weapons plant' [JPost]
* Sarkozy: Let's Engage Syria! Barry Rubin: Let's Not! [MR]

Previously:
* Obama's Rush To Engage Syria Uninhibited By IAEA Confirmation Of Syrian Nuke Program
* Israeli Nobel Winner Peres: Syria Can't Be Trusted In Peace Deal
* Mass Graves Created By Syria Found in Lebanon, Israeli Arabs Don't Care