"Zionist prospects for Syria aren’t any better at the moment. Tel Aviv’s to intimidate the White House into invading Syria have not worked. Plan A has failed miserably according to the Israeli embassy people attending the Engel-Ros Litinen’s informal conflab. Neither did the “how about we just arm the opposition” plan that originated last year with David H. Petraeus and was supported by Hillary Clinton while being pushed by AIPAC. The goal was to create allies in Syria that the US and Israel could control if Mr. Assad was removed from power. Moreover, the White House believes that there are no good options for Obama. It has vetoed 4 recent Israeli proposals including arming the rebels and is said to believe that Syria is already dangerously awash with “unreliable arms.”
Except they have been arming them all along.
The recent shriveling of Israeli prospects for a dramatic Pentagon intervention in Syria reflect White House war weariness. And also Israel’s predilection to bomb targets itself in Syria, as it did recently to assassinate a senior Iranian officer in the Quds force of the Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Hassan Shateri. Contrary to the false story that Israel attacked a missiles convoy, some unassembled equipment was damaged but that was not the primary target according to Fred Hof, a former U.S. State Department official. Gen. Shateri was."
That will not be mentioned in my mouthpiece media articles.
--MORE--"
Of course, in my newspaper we all know who started it and who is retaliating.
Syrian shelling, airstrikes antagonize Turkey, Israel
Syria pulled Israel closer to military entanglements in its civil war Monday, provoking Israeli tank commanders in the disputed Golan Heights into blasting mobile Syrian artillery units across their own armistice line. There has been speculation that Assad, feeling increasingly threatened, may deliberately seek to widen and further complicate the conflict. Military officials and analysts in Israel said they viewed the Syrian shelling as unintentional spillover from the civil war and that Israel has no desire to get involved in the Syria conflict. But the Israelis have expressed increasing concern that the Assad government may be trying to push them into a fight that could galvanize Arab hostility toward Israel."
Syria pulled Israel closer to military entanglements in its civil war Monday, provoking Israeli tank commanders in the disputed Golan Heights into blasting mobile Syrian artillery units across their own armistice line. There has been speculation that Assad, feeling increasingly threatened, may deliberately seek to widen and further complicate the conflict. Military officials and analysts in Israel said they viewed the Syrian shelling as unintentional spillover from the civil war and that Israel has no desire to get involved in the Syria conflict. But the Israelis have expressed increasing concern that the Assad government may be trying to push them into a fight that could galvanize Arab hostility toward Israel."
Yeah, right, push Israel into a fight.
"Israeli paper says Netanyahu discussed peace with Syria through mediator" by Daniel Estrin | Associated Press, October 13, 2012
JERUSALEM — An Israeli newspaper reported Friday that Israel’s prime minister secretly talked peace with Syria through an American mediator, offering far-reaching land concessions, but negotiations ended because of the Syrian civil war.
The prime minister’s office said the initiative came from the United States and denied Israel had accepted it, implying the matter was leaked to improve President Obama’s image in the run-up to the presidential election....
The negotiations were conducted in deep secrecy, the report said. Only a small number of top Israeli officials were involved, and meetings took place outside the prime minister’s office to keep the talks classified. Netanyahu and Barak even kept the talks secret from top officials in the Shin Bet and Mossad intelligence agencies, the paper said. The prime minister’s office said in a statement Friday that Israel never accepted the US initiative and it is no longer relevant.
‘‘This is one initiative of many that have been offered to Israel in recent years,’’ the statement read. ‘‘The initiative is old and irrelevant, and its current publication stems from political considerations.’’
Just one more reason I never take peace talk seriously in my war media mouthpiece.
--more--"
The negotiations were conducted in deep secrecy, the report said. Only a small number of top Israeli officials were involved, and meetings took place outside the prime minister’s office to keep the talks classified. Netanyahu and Barak even kept the talks secret from top officials in the Shin Bet and Mossad intelligence agencies, the paper said. The prime minister’s office said in a statement Friday that Israel never accepted the US initiative and it is no longer relevant.
‘‘This is one initiative of many that have been offered to Israel in recent years,’’ the statement read. ‘‘The initiative is old and irrelevant, and its current publication stems from political considerations.’’
Just one more reason I never take peace talk seriously in my war media mouthpiece.
--more--"
So what reason would Israel have to invade?
"Syrian rebels take villages near Golan Heights" by Tia Goldenberg | Associated Press, November 15, 2012
JERUSALEM — Syrian rebels control almost all of the villages near the frontier with the Israel-held Golan Heights, the Israeli defense minister said Wednesday, bringing the conflict dangerously close to the Jewish state and raising the possibility of an armed clash with the region’s strongest power.
Yeah, except those rebels are backed by the West.
During a tour of the Golan Heights, Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave a scathing assessment of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces and said Israel will remain ‘‘vigilant and alert.’’
‘‘Almost all of the villages, from the foot of this ridge to the very top, are already in the hands of the Syrian rebels,’’ said Barak, who was accompanied by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ‘‘The Syrian army is displaying ever-diminishing efficiency.’’
***************************
On Wednesday, an Associated Press journalist said an Israeli helicopter was patrolling the border area....
Took him along for the ride, did they?
While it is widely believed that Assad does not want to pick a fight with Israel, there are fears the embattled Syrian leader may try to draw Israel into the fighting in a bout of desperation. Israeli officials believe it is only a matter of time before Syrian rebels topple the longtime leader.
Setting the stage for intervention.
Israeli political scientist Dore Gold, an informal adviser to Netanyahu, said it is difficult to assess whether Israel is better off with rebels in control along the border. ‘‘It’s no secret that among the Syrian rebels are forces that identify with Al Qaeda, and are a cause of concern,’’ he said.
This is so rank when everyone knows it's Al-CIA-Duh. Mossad cell in Palestine, 'eh? No doubt they have several cells in Syria.
A buffer zone lines the Israeli border with Syria. Beyond the border on the Syrian side is a 46-mile stretch where no military forces other than UN forces are permitted.
Israeli military officials said Barak’s assessment depicted a situation that is not entirely new, and that rebels have held those villages for several weeks. It was not clear how many villages the rebels hold along the Golan Heights, which is about 40 miles from the Syrian capital of Damascus.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to discuss the sensitive information, said the situation is dynamic and could change easily, with the villages returning to Assad’s hands.
Israeli specialists said nothing prevents Assad’s forces from entering the villages and retaking them, even ones in the UN zone.
‘‘Just like any other place, it is a battleground between the army and the rebels,’’ said Itamar Rabinovich, the former chief Israeli negotiator with Syria.
He said Israel would probably remain on the sidelines of the fighting because Israeli officials believe Assad will eventually fall and that any support for rebels would backfire.
But privately, ‘‘Israel is rooting for the right kind of insurgents,’’ he said, ones who follow a moderate line and have no links to Islamist extremist groups.
Moshe Maoz, professor emeritus at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, said the exchange of fire this week was ‘‘based on a mistake,’’ and that if such incidents continued, they would be infrequent.
‘‘The Syrian army doesn’t have any interest in provoking Israel,’’ he said. ‘‘Syria has enough problems.’’
Meaning what we have here was/is ANOTHER FALSE FLAG PROVOCATION!
The violence in Syria, which has killed more than 36,000 people since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, threatens to inflame an already combustible region. The fighting already has already spilled into Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey....
--more--"
And the "buffer zone" -- a nice way of saying Israel stole land for "security" concerns -- isn't good enough?
Yeah, except those rebels are backed by the West.
During a tour of the Golan Heights, Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave a scathing assessment of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces and said Israel will remain ‘‘vigilant and alert.’’
‘‘Almost all of the villages, from the foot of this ridge to the very top, are already in the hands of the Syrian rebels,’’ said Barak, who was accompanied by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ‘‘The Syrian army is displaying ever-diminishing efficiency.’’
***************************
On Wednesday, an Associated Press journalist said an Israeli helicopter was patrolling the border area....
Took him along for the ride, did they?
While it is widely believed that Assad does not want to pick a fight with Israel, there are fears the embattled Syrian leader may try to draw Israel into the fighting in a bout of desperation. Israeli officials believe it is only a matter of time before Syrian rebels topple the longtime leader.
Setting the stage for intervention.
Israeli political scientist Dore Gold, an informal adviser to Netanyahu, said it is difficult to assess whether Israel is better off with rebels in control along the border. ‘‘It’s no secret that among the Syrian rebels are forces that identify with Al Qaeda, and are a cause of concern,’’ he said.
This is so rank when everyone knows it's Al-CIA-Duh. Mossad cell in Palestine, 'eh? No doubt they have several cells in Syria.
A buffer zone lines the Israeli border with Syria. Beyond the border on the Syrian side is a 46-mile stretch where no military forces other than UN forces are permitted.
Israeli military officials said Barak’s assessment depicted a situation that is not entirely new, and that rebels have held those villages for several weeks. It was not clear how many villages the rebels hold along the Golan Heights, which is about 40 miles from the Syrian capital of Damascus.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to discuss the sensitive information, said the situation is dynamic and could change easily, with the villages returning to Assad’s hands.
Israeli specialists said nothing prevents Assad’s forces from entering the villages and retaking them, even ones in the UN zone.
‘‘Just like any other place, it is a battleground between the army and the rebels,’’ said Itamar Rabinovich, the former chief Israeli negotiator with Syria.
He said Israel would probably remain on the sidelines of the fighting because Israeli officials believe Assad will eventually fall and that any support for rebels would backfire.
But privately, ‘‘Israel is rooting for the right kind of insurgents,’’ he said, ones who follow a moderate line and have no links to Islamist extremist groups.
Moshe Maoz, professor emeritus at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, said the exchange of fire this week was ‘‘based on a mistake,’’ and that if such incidents continued, they would be infrequent.
‘‘The Syrian army doesn’t have any interest in provoking Israel,’’ he said. ‘‘Syria has enough problems.’’
Meaning what we have here was/is ANOTHER FALSE FLAG PROVOCATION!
The violence in Syria, which has killed more than 36,000 people since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, threatens to inflame an already combustible region. The fighting already has already spilled into Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey....
--more--"
And the "buffer zone" -- a nice way of saying Israel stole land for "security" concerns -- isn't good enough?
"Israel building fence along Syria border" by Isabel Kershner | New York Times, January 07, 2013
JERUSALEM — Israel said Sunday it was constructing a border fence along the length of its armistice line with Syria in the Golan Heights and was coordinating its intelligence with the United States in light of the deteriorating security situation in Syria.
Another cui bono.
Another cui bono.
In remarks at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Syrian army had moved away from the frontier and that jihadist forces had moved in.
‘‘Therefore, we will defend this border against both infiltration and terrorism,’’ Netanyahu said, adding, ‘‘I also submit to the Cabinet the fact that the Syrian regime is very unstable, that the question of chemical weapons here worries us.’’
Telegraphing a false flag. I guess it's good the Russians are guarding the things.
He said that Israel was coordinating with the United States and others to prepare for any outcome.
Netanyahu’s announcement came as he sought to reinforce his security credentials as a strong leader ahead of national elections on Jan. 22 and as he appealed to his traditional supporters to vote for the conservative Likud-Beiteinu ticket he is leading and not be lulled by polls showing he is favored to prevail....
He won but was weakened, or so I was told.
He won but was weakened, or so I was told.
Political polls in recent weeks have consistently shown that Likud-Beiteinu is bleeding votes to the Jewish Home, a far-right party led by Naftalie Bennett, a dynamic newcomer to national politics who is a former Netanyahu aide, settler leader, and technology entrepreneur.
He came in fourth.
He came in fourth.
Netanyahu also warned of possible efforts by centrist and leftist parties to create a united bloc aimed at thwarting his chances of forming the next coalition government.
Last week, in a preelection move intended to highlight one of his government’s achievements, the prime minister toured the new security fence that runs almost the entire length of Israel’s border with Egypt.
Netanyahu noted that the barrier had sharply stemmed the flow of African migrants into Israel and had provided more protection against militant groups operating in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.
If I didn't know better I'd swear Israel is racist.
Related: Israel's Solution to Illegal Immigration
Israel blocks migrants’ entry
"When guards stopped her, she would surrender her work and wait in detention, sometimes minutes, sometimes hours. Once, she was strip-searched."
If I didn't know better I'd swear Israel is racist.
Related: Israel's Solution to Illegal Immigration
Israel blocks migrants’ entry
"When guards stopped her, she would surrender her work and wait in detention, sometimes minutes, sometimes hours. Once, she was strip-searched."
Such is life at the Israeli border fence.
Netanyahu has pledged to erect a similar barrier along the Syrian frontier, with changes to suit the topography.
Netanyahu has pledged to erect a similar barrier along the Syrian frontier, with changes to suit the topography.
A section of a rickety border fence near the Golan Druse village of Majdal Shams has already been fortified with a steel barrier after protesters, most of them Palestinians, breached the frontier in 2011, drawing deadly fire from Israeli soldiers.
See: Israel's Dharasana Moment
See: Israel's Dharasana Moment
Israel seized a large portion of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau that overlooks northern Israel, from Syria in the 1967 war and later annexed it in a move that has not been internationally recognized.
The cease-fire line was established in the aftermath of the 1973 conflict, and though Israel and Syria are still technically at war, it has remained mostly quiet for decades.
Israel has largely stayed out of the fighting in Syria but in recent months a number of stray Syrian mortar shells crashed into the Israeli-controlled territory as Syrian government forces battled rebels across the line, prompting Israel to fire warning shots into Syria and in one instance aim tank fire at a Syrian artillery position.
Apprehension has been mounting, with Israeli experts warning that Syria is fast becoming a haven for Islamic extremists.
Israel says that thousands of Islamic militants have entered Syria to fight against forces loyal to the Syrian president, Bashar Assad. Israeli leaders have expressed particular concern that chemical weapons and advanced weaponry like ground-to-air missiles amassed by the Assad government could fall into the hands of radical groups.
Already have. They are taking out the sides of apartment buildings and university dorms.
Already have. They are taking out the sides of apartment buildings and university dorms.
--more--"
They could no longer wait:
"Israeli strike in Syria raises fear of wider war; Jets reportedly targetweapons sent to Hezbollah" by Isabel Kershner and Michael R. Gordon | New York Times, January 31, 2013
JERUSALEM — Israeli warplanes carried out a strike deep inside Syrian territory on Wednesday, US officials reported, saying they believed the target was a convoy carrying sophisticated antiaircraft weaponry on the outskirts of Damascus that was intended for the Hezbollah Shi’ite militia in Lebanon.
The predawn strike was the first time in more than five years that Israel’s air force had attacked a target in Syria. While there was no expectation that the beleaguered Assad government had an interest in retaliating, the strike raised concerns that the Syrian civil war had continued to spread beyond its borders.
The US officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Israel had notified the United States about the attack, which the Syrian government condemned as an act of ‘‘arrogance and aggression.’’ Israel’s move demonstrated Tel Aviv’s determination to ensure that Hezbollah — its arch foe in the north — is unable to take advantage of the chaos in Syria to bolster its arsenal significantly.
In a statement, the Syrian military denied that a convoy had been struck. It said the attack had hit a scientific research facility in the Damascus suburbs that was used to improve Syria’s defenses and called the attack a flagrant breach of Syrian sovereignty and airspace.
It was.
Israeli officials would not confirm the airstrike. But the attack came after days of intense security consultations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the possible movement of chemical and other weapons around Syria, and warnings that Israel would take action to thwart any possible transfers to Hezbollah.
Crap, but it also came a days after Iran said an attack on Syria is an attack on Iran. Now who wants to widen the war?
Thousands of Israelis have crowded gas-mask distribution centers over the last two days. On Sunday, Israel deployed its Iron Dome missile defense system in the north, near Haifa, which was heavily bombed during the 2006 war with Lebanon.
War is coming, folks.
Syria and Israel are technically in a state of war but have long maintained an uneasy peace along their decades-old armistice line. Israel has watched warily and tried to stay out of Syria’s civil war, fearful of provoking a wider confrontation with Iran and Hezbollah. In November, however, after several mortars fell on Israel’s side of the border, its tanks struck a Syrian artillery unit.
Yeah, right, it's always reluctant Israel, blah, blah, blah.
Several analysts said that despite the increased tensions, the likelihood of retaliation for the airstrike was relatively low.
‘‘It is necessary and correct to prepare for deterioration — that scenario exists,’’ Danny Yatom, a former chief of the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, told Ynet, a news website. ‘‘But in my assessment, there will not be a reaction, because neither Hezbollah nor the Syrians have an interest in retaliating.’’
And thus ANY ACTION or EVENT will be seen for the FALSE FLAG PROVOCATION it will be!
In the United States, the State Department and Defense Department would not comment on reports of the strike.
The episode illustrated how the escalating violence in Syria, which has already killed more than 60,000 people, is drawing in neighboring states and threatening to destabilize the region further.
Iran has firmly allied itself with Syrian leader Bashir Assad, sending personnel from its Revolutionary Guards Quds Force to Syria and ferrying military equipment to Syria through Iraqi airspace.
Hezbollah, which plays a decisive role in Lebanese politics and has supported Assad throughout the uprising, has long relied on Syria as a source of weapons and a conduit for weapons from Iran. Some analysts think Hezbollah may be trying to stock up on weapons in case Assad falls and is replaced by a leadership that is hostile to the Shi’ite militia.
Related: Syrian War Leaking Into Lebanon
Trying to get a two-fer!
One US official said the trucks targeted Wednesday were believed to have been carrying sophisticated SA-17 anti-aircraft weapons. Hezbollah’s possession of such weapons would be a serious worry for the Israeli government, said Matthew Levitt, a former intelligence official who is at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Unreal. That's like the third or fourth time in the handful of posts on Syria I've seen my newspaper turn to such "experts."
‘‘Israel is able to fly reconnaissance flights over Lebanon with impunity right now,’’ Levitt said. ‘‘This could cut into its ability to conduct aerial intelligence. The passing along of weapons to Hezbollah by the regime is a real concern.’’
Yeah, it's a VIOLATION of U.N. RESOLUTIONS, but it's Israel so no one says anything.
--more--"
And despite the analysis that Syria won't strike back I get this headline:
"Syria vows to avenge airstrike" by Bassem Mroue | Associated Press, February 01, 2013
BEIRUT — Syria threatened Thursday to retaliate for an Israeli airstrike, and its ally Iran said the Jewish state will regret the attack.
Syria sent a letter to the UN secretary general stressing the country’s ‘‘right to defend itself, its territory, and sovereignty’’ and holding Israel and its supporters accountable.
‘‘Israel and those who protect it at the Security Council are fully responsible for the repercussions of this aggression,’’ the letter from Syria’s Foreign Ministry said.
US officials said Israel launched a rare airstrike inside Syria on Wednesday targeting a convoy carrying antiaircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militant group allied with Syria and Iran.
In Israel, a lawmaker close to hard-line Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stopped short of confirming involvement in the strike. But he hinted that Israel could carry out similar missions in the future.
The attack has inflamed regional tensions already running high over Syria’s 22-month-old civil war.
Israeli leaders in the days leading up to the airstrike had publicly expressed concern that Syrian President Bashar Assad may be losing his grip on the country and its arsenal of conventional and nonconventional weapons.
The Syrian military denied there was any such weapons convoy. It said low-flying Israeli jets crossed into the country over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and bombed a scientific research center. The facility is in the area of Jamraya, northwest of Damascus. and about 10 miles from the Lebanese border.
A US official said the airstrike targeted trucks containing sophisticated Russian-made SA-17 antiaircraft missiles. The trucks were next to the military research facility identified by the Syrians, and the strike hit both the trucks and the facility, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the operation.
If the SA-17s were to have reached Hezbollah, they would have greatly inhibited the Israeli air force’s ability to operate in Lebanon, where Israel has flown frequent sorties in recent years.
Major General Abdul-Aziz Jassem al-Shallal, who in December became one of the most senior Syrian army officers to defect, told the Associated Press by telephone from Turkey that the targeted site is a ‘‘major and well-known’’ center to develop weapons called the Scientific Research Center.
Shallal, who until his defection was commander of the military police, said no chemical or nonconventional weapons are at the site. He added that foreign experts, including Russians and Iranians, are usually present at such centers.
And thus the assassination attempt on the Iranian general is alluded to but obscured.
Btw, is that such a smart idea, bombing a center where Russians and Iranians are present? Israel really does want to get the WWIII ball rolling, doesn't it?
Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul-Karim Ali threatened retribution for the Israeli airstrike, saying Damascus ‘‘has the option and the capacity to surprise in retaliation.’’
He told Hezbollah’s al-Ahd news website that it was up to the relevant authorities to prepare the retaliation and choose the time and place.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry summoned Major General Iqbal Singh Singha, the head of mission and force commander for United Nations Disengagement Observer Force on the Golan Heights, also called UNDOF, to complain about the Israeli violation.
It never does any good. Just shows you how under Jewish thumb that organization is.
The force was established in 1974 following the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces in the area and has remained there since to maintain the cease-fire. Israel captured the Golan, a strategic plateau, from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.
But now Israel needs a fence.
At UN headquarters in New York, deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said, ‘‘UNDOF did not observe any planes flying over the area of separation, and therefore was not able to confirm the incident.’’ UNDOF also reported bad weather conditions, he said.
(Blog editor is incredulous at the sanctioning of Israeli aggression with those lame-ass excuses)
Hezbollah condemned the attack as ‘‘barbaric aggression’’ and said it ‘‘expresses full solidarity with Syria’s command, army and people.’’
The group did not mention any weapons convoy in the statement but said the strike aimed to prevent Arab and Muslim forces from developing their military capabilities.
In Iran, the country’s top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, said ‘‘the Zionist regime will regret its aggression against Syria,’’ Iran state television said.
The semiofficial Fars news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying the raid will have significant implications for Israel.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi condemned the airstrike on state television, calling it a clear violation of Syrian sovereignty. Iran is Syria’s strongest ally in the Middle East, and has provided Assad’s government with military and political backing for years.
Russia, Syria’s most important international ally, said this appeared to be an unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation. Moscow said it was taking urgent measures to clarify the situation in all its details.
‘‘If this information is confirmed, we have a case of unprovoked attacks on targets in the territory of a sovereign state, which grossly violates the UN Charter and is unacceptable,’’ Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. ‘‘Whatever the motives, this is not justified.’’
I wrote a check in my newspaper, meaning I agree.
--more--"
So the Security Council is going to swing into action, right?
"Israeli strike in Syria damaged weapons lab; Complex under US sanctions" by David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt | New York Times, February 04, 2013
WASHINGTON — The Israeli attack last week on a Syrian convoy of antiaircraft weapons appears to have also hit the country’s main research center for work on biological and chemical weapons, according to US officials who are sorting through intelligence reports....
They think we iz so stoopid we's gonna believe this s***.
Related: Syria Used Weapons of Mass Destruction
Uh-huh.
Ehud Barak, the departing Israeli defense minister, said he could not ‘‘add anything to what you have read in the newspapers about what happened in Syria,’’ a moment later he referred to the events as ‘‘another proof that when we say something we mean it.’’
Why would he have to add to the press reports? It's already getting out their side of the story.
“We say that we don’t think it should be allowed to bring advanced weapon systems into Lebanon, to Hezbollah, from Syria when Assad falls,’’ Barak told fellow defense ministers and other officials, referring to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
During nearly two years of civil war in Syria, Israeli leaders have repeatedly expressed concerns the sophisticated weapons could fall into the hands of Hezbollah.
The ease with which Israeli planes reached the Syrian capital appeared to send a message — both to Syria and, indirectly, to Iran.
Israel has said that if it saw chemical weapons on the move, it would act to stop them. By hitting the research center, part of a military complex that is supposed to be protected by Russian-made antiaircraft defenses, Israel made it clear it was willing to risk direct intervention to keep weapons and missiles out of Hezbollah’s hands.
I also take it as a given they saw the Russian guards moving with them -- if they were moved at all.
This is SO IRAQ 2003 it is SICKENING!
Israel has done so before, in September 2007, when it destroyed a Syrian nuclear reactor that was under construction with North Korean help. The facility hit last week was also believed to be a center for study on nuclear issues, officials say.
See: Israel Planted Soil Samples Against Syria
The strike also appeared to be a signal to the Iranians that Israel would be willing to conduct a similar attack on above-ground nuclear facilities if it seemed that Iran was near achieving nuclear weapons capability.
Yeah, I got that point already. No need to repeat it (or is there?).
But Iran would be a far harder target — much farther away from Israel, much better defended, and with facilities much more difficult to damage.
Yeah, if they want to bite off that chew it will mean the end of Israel -- and "antisemitic" bloggers like me will have had nothing to do with it.
The nuclear enrichment center that worries Israel and Western governments the most is nearly 300 feet under a mountain outside Qom, largely invulnerable to the weapons that Israel seemed to have used in last week’s raid.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about Iran rather than Syria on Sunday as he reiterated his call for a broad ‘‘national unity government’’ to ‘‘unite the public at a decisive time in our history.’’
I was just going to type when the hell did this article turn into a war-promoting piece of cheerleading against Iran?
‘‘The supreme mission that a national unity government will face is stopping Iran from arming itself with nuclear weapons,’’ Netanyahu said at the start of Israel’s weekly Cabinet meeting, according to a release from his office. ‘‘This is all the more complicated because Iran has equipped itself with new centrifuges that shorten the enrichment time. We cannot countenance this process.’’
He was referring to an Iranian announcement last week that it was about to install a new generation of uranium enrichment equipment. But if Netanyahu’s long-term objective is Iran, his immediate problem is Syria. And the research center thought to have been damaged has been on the radar of the United States and Israel for decades.
According to information compiled by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, which analyzes the facilities of countries seeking unconventional weapons, the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center, which is portrayed by Syria as an independent study organization, has operated closely with the Syrian military for 40 years. It has also been reported to work with Syria’s Atomic Energy Commission.
In 2005, the center was placed on a Treasury Department list that prohibited Americans from doing business with the organization; two years later, the Treasury froze any assets of the organization and its subsidiaries.
It said the research organization and its subsidiaries ‘‘develop nonconventional weapons and the missiles to deliver them.’’
In a separate development Sunday, a former Syrian Parliament member and three members of his family were killed in a rebel-held area near the northern city of Aleppo, the state news agency SANA reported.
--more--"
As for Syrian retaliation:
"Syria opposition coalition backs leader’s peace proposal; Offer by Khatib could let Assad escape a trial" by Hania Mourtada | New York Times, February 05, 2013
BEIRUT — In a separate development Monday, Syria’s defense minister signaled that his country will not hit back at Israel over an airstrike inside Syria, saying the Israeli raid was actually in retaliation for his regime’s offensive against rebels he called tools of the Jewish state.
The remarks by General Fahd Jassem al-Freij suggest that the regime’s military options might be severely constrained after 22 months of fighting an uprising that has depleted its weapons and stretched troops thin.
Wait, who is winning again?
Israel has all but confirmed it was behind Wednesday’s airstrike near Damascus....
--more--"
They could no longer wait:
"Israeli strike in Syria raises fear of wider war; Jets reportedly targetweapons sent to Hezbollah" by Isabel Kershner and Michael R. Gordon | New York Times, January 31, 2013
JERUSALEM — Israeli warplanes carried out a strike deep inside Syrian territory on Wednesday, US officials reported, saying they believed the target was a convoy carrying sophisticated antiaircraft weaponry on the outskirts of Damascus that was intended for the Hezbollah Shi’ite militia in Lebanon.
The predawn strike was the first time in more than five years that Israel’s air force had attacked a target in Syria. While there was no expectation that the beleaguered Assad government had an interest in retaliating, the strike raised concerns that the Syrian civil war had continued to spread beyond its borders.
The US officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Israel had notified the United States about the attack, which the Syrian government condemned as an act of ‘‘arrogance and aggression.’’ Israel’s move demonstrated Tel Aviv’s determination to ensure that Hezbollah — its arch foe in the north — is unable to take advantage of the chaos in Syria to bolster its arsenal significantly.
In a statement, the Syrian military denied that a convoy had been struck. It said the attack had hit a scientific research facility in the Damascus suburbs that was used to improve Syria’s defenses and called the attack a flagrant breach of Syrian sovereignty and airspace.
It was.
Israeli officials would not confirm the airstrike. But the attack came after days of intense security consultations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the possible movement of chemical and other weapons around Syria, and warnings that Israel would take action to thwart any possible transfers to Hezbollah.
Crap, but it also came a days after Iran said an attack on Syria is an attack on Iran. Now who wants to widen the war?
Thousands of Israelis have crowded gas-mask distribution centers over the last two days. On Sunday, Israel deployed its Iron Dome missile defense system in the north, near Haifa, which was heavily bombed during the 2006 war with Lebanon.
War is coming, folks.
Syria and Israel are technically in a state of war but have long maintained an uneasy peace along their decades-old armistice line. Israel has watched warily and tried to stay out of Syria’s civil war, fearful of provoking a wider confrontation with Iran and Hezbollah. In November, however, after several mortars fell on Israel’s side of the border, its tanks struck a Syrian artillery unit.
Yeah, right, it's always reluctant Israel, blah, blah, blah.
Several analysts said that despite the increased tensions, the likelihood of retaliation for the airstrike was relatively low.
‘‘It is necessary and correct to prepare for deterioration — that scenario exists,’’ Danny Yatom, a former chief of the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, told Ynet, a news website. ‘‘But in my assessment, there will not be a reaction, because neither Hezbollah nor the Syrians have an interest in retaliating.’’
And thus ANY ACTION or EVENT will be seen for the FALSE FLAG PROVOCATION it will be!
In the United States, the State Department and Defense Department would not comment on reports of the strike.
The episode illustrated how the escalating violence in Syria, which has already killed more than 60,000 people, is drawing in neighboring states and threatening to destabilize the region further.
Iran has firmly allied itself with Syrian leader Bashir Assad, sending personnel from its Revolutionary Guards Quds Force to Syria and ferrying military equipment to Syria through Iraqi airspace.
Hezbollah, which plays a decisive role in Lebanese politics and has supported Assad throughout the uprising, has long relied on Syria as a source of weapons and a conduit for weapons from Iran. Some analysts think Hezbollah may be trying to stock up on weapons in case Assad falls and is replaced by a leadership that is hostile to the Shi’ite militia.
Related: Syrian War Leaking Into Lebanon
Trying to get a two-fer!
One US official said the trucks targeted Wednesday were believed to have been carrying sophisticated SA-17 anti-aircraft weapons. Hezbollah’s possession of such weapons would be a serious worry for the Israeli government, said Matthew Levitt, a former intelligence official who is at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Unreal. That's like the third or fourth time in the handful of posts on Syria I've seen my newspaper turn to such "experts."
‘‘Israel is able to fly reconnaissance flights over Lebanon with impunity right now,’’ Levitt said. ‘‘This could cut into its ability to conduct aerial intelligence. The passing along of weapons to Hezbollah by the regime is a real concern.’’
Yeah, it's a VIOLATION of U.N. RESOLUTIONS, but it's Israel so no one says anything.
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And despite the analysis that Syria won't strike back I get this headline:
"Syria vows to avenge airstrike" by Bassem Mroue | Associated Press, February 01, 2013
BEIRUT — Syria threatened Thursday to retaliate for an Israeli airstrike, and its ally Iran said the Jewish state will regret the attack.
Syria sent a letter to the UN secretary general stressing the country’s ‘‘right to defend itself, its territory, and sovereignty’’ and holding Israel and its supporters accountable.
‘‘Israel and those who protect it at the Security Council are fully responsible for the repercussions of this aggression,’’ the letter from Syria’s Foreign Ministry said.
US officials said Israel launched a rare airstrike inside Syria on Wednesday targeting a convoy carrying antiaircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militant group allied with Syria and Iran.
In Israel, a lawmaker close to hard-line Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stopped short of confirming involvement in the strike. But he hinted that Israel could carry out similar missions in the future.
The attack has inflamed regional tensions already running high over Syria’s 22-month-old civil war.
Israeli leaders in the days leading up to the airstrike had publicly expressed concern that Syrian President Bashar Assad may be losing his grip on the country and its arsenal of conventional and nonconventional weapons.
The Syrian military denied there was any such weapons convoy. It said low-flying Israeli jets crossed into the country over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and bombed a scientific research center. The facility is in the area of Jamraya, northwest of Damascus. and about 10 miles from the Lebanese border.
A US official said the airstrike targeted trucks containing sophisticated Russian-made SA-17 antiaircraft missiles. The trucks were next to the military research facility identified by the Syrians, and the strike hit both the trucks and the facility, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the operation.
If the SA-17s were to have reached Hezbollah, they would have greatly inhibited the Israeli air force’s ability to operate in Lebanon, where Israel has flown frequent sorties in recent years.
Major General Abdul-Aziz Jassem al-Shallal, who in December became one of the most senior Syrian army officers to defect, told the Associated Press by telephone from Turkey that the targeted site is a ‘‘major and well-known’’ center to develop weapons called the Scientific Research Center.
Shallal, who until his defection was commander of the military police, said no chemical or nonconventional weapons are at the site. He added that foreign experts, including Russians and Iranians, are usually present at such centers.
And thus the assassination attempt on the Iranian general is alluded to but obscured.
Btw, is that such a smart idea, bombing a center where Russians and Iranians are present? Israel really does want to get the WWIII ball rolling, doesn't it?
Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul-Karim Ali threatened retribution for the Israeli airstrike, saying Damascus ‘‘has the option and the capacity to surprise in retaliation.’’
He told Hezbollah’s al-Ahd news website that it was up to the relevant authorities to prepare the retaliation and choose the time and place.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry summoned Major General Iqbal Singh Singha, the head of mission and force commander for United Nations Disengagement Observer Force on the Golan Heights, also called UNDOF, to complain about the Israeli violation.
It never does any good. Just shows you how under Jewish thumb that organization is.
The force was established in 1974 following the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces in the area and has remained there since to maintain the cease-fire. Israel captured the Golan, a strategic plateau, from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.
But now Israel needs a fence.
At UN headquarters in New York, deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said, ‘‘UNDOF did not observe any planes flying over the area of separation, and therefore was not able to confirm the incident.’’ UNDOF also reported bad weather conditions, he said.
(Blog editor is incredulous at the sanctioning of Israeli aggression with those lame-ass excuses)
Hezbollah condemned the attack as ‘‘barbaric aggression’’ and said it ‘‘expresses full solidarity with Syria’s command, army and people.’’
The group did not mention any weapons convoy in the statement but said the strike aimed to prevent Arab and Muslim forces from developing their military capabilities.
In Iran, the country’s top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, said ‘‘the Zionist regime will regret its aggression against Syria,’’ Iran state television said.
The semiofficial Fars news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying the raid will have significant implications for Israel.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi condemned the airstrike on state television, calling it a clear violation of Syrian sovereignty. Iran is Syria’s strongest ally in the Middle East, and has provided Assad’s government with military and political backing for years.
Russia, Syria’s most important international ally, said this appeared to be an unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation. Moscow said it was taking urgent measures to clarify the situation in all its details.
‘‘If this information is confirmed, we have a case of unprovoked attacks on targets in the territory of a sovereign state, which grossly violates the UN Charter and is unacceptable,’’ Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. ‘‘Whatever the motives, this is not justified.’’
I wrote a check in my newspaper, meaning I agree.
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So the Security Council is going to swing into action, right?
"Israeli strike in Syria damaged weapons lab; Complex under US sanctions" by David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt | New York Times, February 04, 2013
WASHINGTON — The Israeli attack last week on a Syrian convoy of antiaircraft weapons appears to have also hit the country’s main research center for work on biological and chemical weapons, according to US officials who are sorting through intelligence reports....
They think we iz so stoopid we's gonna believe this s***.
Related: Syria Used Weapons of Mass Destruction
Uh-huh.
Ehud Barak, the departing Israeli defense minister, said he could not ‘‘add anything to what you have read in the newspapers about what happened in Syria,’’ a moment later he referred to the events as ‘‘another proof that when we say something we mean it.’’
Why would he have to add to the press reports? It's already getting out their side of the story.
“We say that we don’t think it should be allowed to bring advanced weapon systems into Lebanon, to Hezbollah, from Syria when Assad falls,’’ Barak told fellow defense ministers and other officials, referring to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
During nearly two years of civil war in Syria, Israeli leaders have repeatedly expressed concerns the sophisticated weapons could fall into the hands of Hezbollah.
The ease with which Israeli planes reached the Syrian capital appeared to send a message — both to Syria and, indirectly, to Iran.
Israel has said that if it saw chemical weapons on the move, it would act to stop them. By hitting the research center, part of a military complex that is supposed to be protected by Russian-made antiaircraft defenses, Israel made it clear it was willing to risk direct intervention to keep weapons and missiles out of Hezbollah’s hands.
I also take it as a given they saw the Russian guards moving with them -- if they were moved at all.
This is SO IRAQ 2003 it is SICKENING!
Israel has done so before, in September 2007, when it destroyed a Syrian nuclear reactor that was under construction with North Korean help. The facility hit last week was also believed to be a center for study on nuclear issues, officials say.
See: Israel Planted Soil Samples Against Syria
The strike also appeared to be a signal to the Iranians that Israel would be willing to conduct a similar attack on above-ground nuclear facilities if it seemed that Iran was near achieving nuclear weapons capability.
Yeah, I got that point already. No need to repeat it (or is there?).
But Iran would be a far harder target — much farther away from Israel, much better defended, and with facilities much more difficult to damage.
Yeah, if they want to bite off that chew it will mean the end of Israel -- and "antisemitic" bloggers like me will have had nothing to do with it.
The nuclear enrichment center that worries Israel and Western governments the most is nearly 300 feet under a mountain outside Qom, largely invulnerable to the weapons that Israel seemed to have used in last week’s raid.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about Iran rather than Syria on Sunday as he reiterated his call for a broad ‘‘national unity government’’ to ‘‘unite the public at a decisive time in our history.’’
I was just going to type when the hell did this article turn into a war-promoting piece of cheerleading against Iran?
‘‘The supreme mission that a national unity government will face is stopping Iran from arming itself with nuclear weapons,’’ Netanyahu said at the start of Israel’s weekly Cabinet meeting, according to a release from his office. ‘‘This is all the more complicated because Iran has equipped itself with new centrifuges that shorten the enrichment time. We cannot countenance this process.’’
He was referring to an Iranian announcement last week that it was about to install a new generation of uranium enrichment equipment. But if Netanyahu’s long-term objective is Iran, his immediate problem is Syria. And the research center thought to have been damaged has been on the radar of the United States and Israel for decades.
According to information compiled by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, which analyzes the facilities of countries seeking unconventional weapons, the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center, which is portrayed by Syria as an independent study organization, has operated closely with the Syrian military for 40 years. It has also been reported to work with Syria’s Atomic Energy Commission.
In 2005, the center was placed on a Treasury Department list that prohibited Americans from doing business with the organization; two years later, the Treasury froze any assets of the organization and its subsidiaries.
It said the research organization and its subsidiaries ‘‘develop nonconventional weapons and the missiles to deliver them.’’
In a separate development Sunday, a former Syrian Parliament member and three members of his family were killed in a rebel-held area near the northern city of Aleppo, the state news agency SANA reported.
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As for Syrian retaliation:
"Syria opposition coalition backs leader’s peace proposal; Offer by Khatib could let Assad escape a trial" by Hania Mourtada | New York Times, February 05, 2013
BEIRUT — In a separate development Monday, Syria’s defense minister signaled that his country will not hit back at Israel over an airstrike inside Syria, saying the Israeli raid was actually in retaliation for his regime’s offensive against rebels he called tools of the Jewish state.
The remarks by General Fahd Jassem al-Freij suggest that the regime’s military options might be severely constrained after 22 months of fighting an uprising that has depleted its weapons and stretched troops thin.
Wait, who is winning again?
Israel has all but confirmed it was behind Wednesday’s airstrike near Damascus....
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