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New ME 'Cold War' As Syria Strengthens Military Alliance With Russia?
Syria raised the prospect yesterday of having Russian missiles on its soil, sparking fears of a new Cold War in the Middle East. President Assad said as he arrived in Moscow to clinch a series of military agreements: "We are ready to co-operate with Russia in any project that can strengthen its security."The Syrian leader told Russian newspapers: "I think Russia really has to think of the response it will make when it finds itself closed in a circle." Mr Assad said that he would be discussing the deployment of Russian missiles on his territory. The Syrians are also interested in buying Russian weapons. In return Moscow is expected to propose a revival of its Cold War era naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus, which would give the Russian Navy its first foothold in the Mediterranean for two decades. A Russian resort on the Med? With a swanky O Club? I don't think so. Damascus and Moscow were close allies during the Cold War but the Kremlin's influence in the region waned after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yesterday's rapprochement raised the possibility that Moscow intends to re-create a global anti-Western alliance with former Soviet bloc allies. So, Russia re-aligning itself with a terrorist-sponsoring state? Bow howdy, never seen that before ... Syria and Israel recently confirmed they had been holding indirect talks to reach a peace deal after decades of hostility. Part of Syria's motivation was to break the international isolation it has suffered for its strategic alliance with Tehran. A closer alliance with a resurgent Russia could afford Mr Assad a way out of any binding commitment. Some Israeli analysts even fear that it could encourage Syria to try to take back the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in 1967, by force. The Georgia conflict sparked a mocking speech with Cold War rhetoric by Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, over the performance of Israeli-trained Georgian troops. One of the Israeli military advisers there was reserve Brigadier-General Gal Hirsch, who commanded a division in Israel's inconclusive war with Hezbollah in 2006, and who resigned his commission afterwards. "Gal Hirsch, who was defeated in Lebanon, went to Georgia and they too lost because of him," the Shia leader taunted. "Relying on Israeli experts and weapons, Georgia learnt why the Israeli generals failed. "What happened in Georgia is a message to all those the Americans are seeking to entangle in dangerous adventures." Posted by: Sherry 2008-08-21 |
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