Enrique Iglesias invades Syria

Folks are getting a little jumpy in the Levant as the one-year anniversary of Israel’s war with Hezbollah approaches. There’s some speculation on the Lebanese blogs today as to whether Syria has, in fact, re-invaded Lebanon:

The daily Al Mustaqbal, citing sources who confirmed the cross-border penetration, did not say when the procedure in the Fahs Hill overlooking Deir al-Ashaer in the Rashaya province took place.

The sources said Syrian troops, backed by bulldozers, were fortifying positions “in more than one area” along the Lebanese border, erecting earth mounds and digging “hundreds” of trenches and individual bunkers.

It seems strange that major wire services would not immediately rush to confirm this story, so I’m inclined to treat it with a skeptical eye. That so many people find it plausible does, however, indicate just how tense the region is right now.

JOERG KOCH/AFP/Getty Images

Meanwhile, in the Golan Heights, Israel is conducting war exercises that have the Syrians spooked. It’s hard to know what to make of all this. The Syrian and Israeli governments have been sending each other careful diplomatic signals in recent weeks in order to ascertain whether the other side is ready to engage in some kind of peace process. Each country, however, remains deeply distrustful of the other. So while it would appear that Syria and Israel are simultaneously on the verge of both war and peace, it’s more likely that nothing is going to happen to change the wary status quo.

The real story, in my mind, is that they love Enrique Iglesias in Damascus. Perhaps the Israelis should make him their envoy so he can straighten this mess out.