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Panetta on Mideast Swing to Assure on Syria, Iran
(Wall Street Journal) Adam Entous - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta opened a five-day trip to the Middle East by seeking to reassure anxious allies that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will fall, that Damascus' chemical weapons will remain secure and that sanctions against Iran will tighten further. The main focus of Panetta's trip will be to try to bring the U.S. and Israel into closer alignment on Syria and Iran, officials said. Panetta said he would assure Israeli leaders that the Americans "respect their sovereignty and their ability to make decisions with regard to their own security." He also said the U.S. has "a very close partnership" with Israel on Iran and other regional threats.