Shsssh, no talking please

I seem to be aspiring to be a mirror site for TPM today, but Josh Marshall also points us to this article in Haaretz:

The United States demanded that Israel desist from even exploratory contacts with Syria, of the sort that would test whether Damascus is serious in its declared intentions to hold peace talks with Israel.

In meetings with Israeli officials recently, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was forceful in expressing Washington's view on the matter.

The American argument is that even "exploratory talks" would be considered a prize in Damascus, whose policy and actions continue to undermine Lebanon's sovereignty and the functioning of its government, while it also continues to stir unrest in Iraq, to the detriment of the U.S. presence there.

While I have little doubt that this is the idiotic position our government is taking (the very act of allowing them to talk to us or our friends is considered a reward), I very much doubt that this position was resisted strongly by the Israeli government. It's been their position for years that even talking to the Palestinians is rewarding them. In fact, I think we learned that policy from the Israelis.