Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Thursday that Syrian President Bashar Assad is more ripe than ever for a peace deal with Israel. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Israel is strong enough to take down the Assad regime in case of war with Syria, yet added that even if Israel strikes Syria a severe blow, Syria would still have a significant ability to inflict damage, as a result of the weapons it has and its capacity to use Hizbullah. 12/19/08
