"By The Way"

"That includes Syria and Iran", says President Obama.

Well, how could it ever have not?

Iran has three reserved parliamentary seats for Christians and one for a Jew. Syria has Christian majority provinces, and Christian festivals as public holidays. For that matter, Lebanon uses French (and increasingly English) as much as Arabic, and requires that the President be a Maronite.

All in all, these three countries are at least as much part of "the West" as Israel is, and arguably rather more so.

In dealing with any one of them, the only bottom line beyond our own national security is the security of the other two. And in dealing with any two of them, the only bottom line beyond our own national security is the security of the other one.