ABSTRACT
The basic thrust of Syria's policy has been to develop a coherent strategy that could serve to contain what it believes to be Israel's hegemonic designs in the area and to retrieve Syrian and Arab lands lost in the 1967 war. Syrian strategy can thus be seen to combine some rational cost-benefit calculus as to the instrumentality of force with a broader, more ideological grounding. The scrupulousness with which Syria adheres to the cease-fire agreements on the Golan Heights is another example of Syrian caution and circumspection when dealing with Israel. As yet Syrian politico-strategic doctrine is still based on the call for strategic parity with Israel. In the absence of the optimal means toward a strategic parity with Israel, the Syrians may be forced to accept the less desirable conditions attached to going it alone. The Lebanese arena plays a vital role in Syria's attempt at achieving strategic parity with Israel.
