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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Israel's silence on Syria speaks volumes. |
| 2007-09-18 |
| by Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal . . . it's more than a little telling that the Israeli newspaper Haaretz chose, in the wake of an Israeli Air Force raid on Syria on Sept. 6 dubbed "Operation Orchard," to give front-page billing to an op-ed by John Bolton that appeared in this newspaper Aug. 31. While the article dealt mainly with the six-party talks with North Korea, Mr. Bolton also noted that "both Iran and Syria have long cooperated with North Korea on ballistic missile programs, and the prospect of cooperation on nuclear matters is not far-fetched." He went on to wonder whether Pyongyang was using its Middle Eastern allies as safe havens for its nuclear goods while it went through a U.N. inspections process. How plausible is this scenario? The usual suspects in the nonproliferation crowd reject it as some kind of trumped-up neocon plot. Yet based on conversations with Israeli and U.S. sources, along with evidence both positive and negative (that is, what people aren't saying), it seems the likeliest suggested so far. That isn't to say, however, that plenty of gaps and question marks about the operation don't remain. What's beyond question is that something big went down on Sept. 6. Israeli sources had been telling me for months that their air force was intensively war-gaming attack scenarios against Syria; I assumed this was in anticipation of a second round of fighting with Hezbollah. On the morning of the raid, Israeli combat brigades in the northern Golan Heights went on high alert, reinforced by elite Maglan commando units. Most telling has been Israel's blanket censorship of the story--unprecedented in the experience of even the most veteran Israeli reporters--which has also been extended to its ordinarily hypertalkative politicians. In a country of open secrets, this is, for once, a closed one. . . . Go read the rest of it. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #3 WAFF.com [earlier/older article]> IRGC Cdr > Iran seeks DEFENSIVE AND BALLISTIC MISSLE SUPERIORITY agz Israel, besides also will engage any USA invasion in asymmetric warfare. Comments show Iran desires REGIONAL SUPERIORITY, and in and by itself casts doubt on Moud's = Iran's claims that its nucprog is only for energy. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-09-18 21:41 |
| #2 But if Israel is contemplating an attack on Tehran's nuclear installations--and it is--it makes no sense to advertise the "Turkish corridor" as its likely avenue of attack. Unless it is a diversion. Or a double-bluff. What makes no sense is assuming Iranians cannot look at a map and figure out how many ways to fly from Israel to Qom. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-09-18 10:42 |
| #1 It is more and more like "Team America" every day. |
| Posted by: newc 2007-09-18 07:35 |