Is Syria ramping up for war with Israel?
Gateway Pundit looks at an analysis of a build up of Syrian weapon systems and the threat they pose to Israel. It is an interesting piece and worth reviewing in full.
I have a somewhat different take on what Syria is up to and with whom.
You need to start with the fact that the Hezballah war last year was a strategic defeat for Iran and Syria who viewed Hezballah and their rockets aimed at Israel as a deterrent to an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. While the Hezzies were able to launch thousands of rockets they did not manage to hit much of value in Israel and when they did it was usually an accident.
This had to be a matter of great concern to both Syria and Iran. Both have also invested heavily in new Soviet anti aircraft systems and it is likely that Iran paid for the ones in Syria to add strategic depth to their defenses. When Israel sent its planes in to test their defenses Thursday with some sonic booms before leaving, the Syrians took the bait and exposed their reaction to such flights as well as their new defenses.
The route used by the Israeli planes was interesting, because they came in over the Mediterranean Sea going directly into Syrian air space. If this was a route they chose to take them to Iran it would hug the Syrian-Turkey border before going over the Kurdish section of Iraq. This is one of many potential routes and it was possible that it would have been less defended because of the perception that Turkey was not a threat to Syria and Iran. Israel now knows it is defended and can plan accordingly.
I have a somewhat different take on what Syria is up to and with whom.
You need to start with the fact that the Hezballah war last year was a strategic defeat for Iran and Syria who viewed Hezballah and their rockets aimed at Israel as a deterrent to an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. While the Hezzies were able to launch thousands of rockets they did not manage to hit much of value in Israel and when they did it was usually an accident.
This had to be a matter of great concern to both Syria and Iran. Both have also invested heavily in new Soviet anti aircraft systems and it is likely that Iran paid for the ones in Syria to add strategic depth to their defenses. When Israel sent its planes in to test their defenses Thursday with some sonic booms before leaving, the Syrians took the bait and exposed their reaction to such flights as well as their new defenses.
The route used by the Israeli planes was interesting, because they came in over the Mediterranean Sea going directly into Syrian air space. If this was a route they chose to take them to Iran it would hug the Syrian-Turkey border before going over the Kurdish section of Iraq. This is one of many potential routes and it was possible that it would have been less defended because of the perception that Turkey was not a threat to Syria and Iran. Israel now knows it is defended and can plan accordingly.
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