Perhaps a red line as in crossing the Rubicon.
Yeah, yeah, Caesarization. 
Yes, Inspector Renault. Gambling is going on in here.
Does Israel regard a Sunni fundamentalism as more desirable than a Shia fundamentalism? If so, why? From here it seems as the Sunni fanatics accuse the Shia of being aligned with Israel, and the Shia make the same claim about the Sunni.
Shia fundamentalists want to slaughter Jews. Sunni fundamentalists want to massacre Jews. Which do you think Israel prefers?
Israelis don’t tend think much in terms of abstracts or ideologies like Americans do. To us, “Sunni” and “Shiite” are like gang colors; they have no real meaning in and of themselves. Instead, Israelis tend to focus on concrete groups and actors - Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, Iran, etc.
Currently, the Shiite groups (Iran, Hezbollah, the Assad regime) are seen as posing more of a threat than the Sunni groups, but that can change.
:dubious:
What the heck is an artificial nation/state?
So, then, in the cold grim light of realpolitik, the notion that Israel favors a continuing and unresolved struggle amongst its enemies to be a favorable situation has some merit, yes? (Assuming for the sake of oversimplification that “Israel” is shorthand for the people making the decisions at this point in time.)
Mind you, I couldn’t honestly blame them for having such an attitude. But as we of the sane community search desperately for a solution that involves a somewhat lesser bloodbath, it can’t be said to be helpful. I am well aware that there are sensible and humane people in Israel, and that they may one day ascend to power and authority, if He shall cease to avert His eyes…
Tired of making posts that if everyone read them, would save the world, then being told I’m not really logged in, then being told again that I’m not really logged in after logging in again. Screw this.
Sure he does. He’s the one in a white tuxedo serving drinks and clipping the ends off cigars.
Maybe we already know that the rebel’s cause is hopeless, and are merely sending weapons that will be ineffectual in reversing that course just so we can look like we did something against a brutal dictator, while we secretly hope the brutal dictator stays in power since he’s the lesser of two evils.
Run that by again?
Well, no. Some of our wingnuts aside, most people here would prefer peace; if nothing else, it’s better for business. That said, though, if the’re going to be fighting, we’d rather they fight each other than us.
Is it pretty much a widely held belief in Israel that no matter which side “wins”, that Syria will still be hostile to Israel? Is there a preference among Israelis for one side over another? Maybe preferring the Devil you know (Assad) to the Devil you don’t?
There’s some of that. Israelis are very concerned by reports of Al Qaeda in the Golan Heights; say what you want about Assad, but he kept that border quiet for nearly 40 years. However, we’re also getting the impression more and more lately that the Hezbollah tail (and by implication, Iran) is wagging the Syrian dog, and Hezbollah is considered a much bigger threat than Al-Qaeda. Add that to the general chaos and to the fact that we can never be sure who’s in control of Syria’s strategic weapons, and we have a very precarious situation. There’s certainly a bit of nostalgia for the way things were before the troubles started.
Huh? 
There is no indication that Israel wants continuous violence and instability in a nation it happens to share a border with - if that is what you are saying.
The problems in Syria are causing some of the problems in Turkey. If we could stabilize Syria, it would help stabilize Turkey. This is actually a good reason for intervention.
How so? I know the Turks are concerned about events in Syria.
Thanks. That’s pretty much what I would have guessed that while although Assad is a bastard and Syria is in deep with Hezbollah and Iran, at least he knew better than to fuck around and start shit in the Golan Heights.
Its a nation put together without any consent of the people therein. Turkey was created by Kemal Ataturk. It is a collection of tribes, who really don’t get along..remember Yugoslavia? It was a 70 year old mistake-which came flying apart when dictator Tito died. The same will happen to Turkey
This might apply to Syria, Iraq or Libya, but it’s completely off-base as far as Turkey (or Egypt, Iran and Israel) is concerned. And even if Turkey, as it stands today, was invented by Ataturk, then what of it? What matters is what it is now.