Richard Sale: "Killing of al-Qaida Smuggler in Syria was Joint Syrian, U.S. Effort.?."

My old friend Richard Sale writes in the METimes, here (glad to see that he's doing well)

"....But Syria's alleged anger was calculated to conceal Syrian complicity in the operation. Although the attack is still officially "classified," serving and former U.S. intelligence officials told the Middle East Times that Syria gave U.S. forces permission to fly into its airspace and even provided extensive targeting intelligence on Abu Ghadiya. "Syrian intelligence couldn't have been more cooperative," said a former senior CIA official......

Then, in early October, U.S. intelligence learned that Abu Ghadiya was planning another cross-border attack, and back-channel discussions with Syrian officials began.....

Washington has long run a back channel to Damascus through Syria's air force intelligence, the Idarat al-Murkabarat al-Jawiyya, U.S. sources said....

But the cross-border raid of last month and similar U.S. Special Forces raids into Pakistan could provide a model for Syrian forces anxious to cross into Lebanon and raid al-Qaida groups, especially Fatah al-Islam, around the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli."