US attack in Syria: will the US conduct more operations like this in the immediate future?

Spiegel/International, here

"...The attack struck a country that was working its way back into the international fold. There is little doubt that insurgents continue to slip over the Syrian border to wage jihad in Iraq. US General David Petraeus, though, insists the stream of terrorists is diminishing and that a maximum of 20 terrorists are currently crossing the border into Iraq each month. And Damascus has been cooperative elsewhere as well. Syria will be sending envoys to Baghdad and Beirut, and it is holding talks with the Israelis.

From a military perspective, the operation was a success, says Bruce Riedel, a CIA veteran and author of the forthcoming book "The Search for Al Qaeda." The US has eliminated Abu Ghadiyah, who Riedel believes to be perhaps the most important person responsible for smuggling fighters across the border into Iraq. Riedel hints that more such attacks may be on the way, particularly, he says, since the Bush administration won't be around to deal with the aftermath of any such operations..."