| Because Russia isn't 'alienated' from Israel now, they're just selling weapons to Israel's chief enemy... |
Experts agree that Israeli sabotage or open force to disrupt delivery by Russia is extremely unlikely -
| ...the experts are wrong, of course... |
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
's announcement on Thursday that the first missiles had arrived.
That leaves Israel lobbying Moscow to slow down the shipment in hopes it would be overtaken and scrapped if Assad fell to a more than two-year-old rebellion, and in parallel preparing counter-measures to neutralise the S-300 on the ground in Syria.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror as warning European diplomats that Israel would "prevent the S-300 missiles from becoming operational". That may be achieved by ensuring Assad does not get the full system, experts say, or by disabling it militarily if he does.
| That doesn't sound as if the Israelis are all that worried about being alienated from the Russians... |
He said Israel's "red line" on the S-300 was "between Syria and others". This was a hint Israel might hold off on bombing the batteries as long they did not appear set on shooting down planes within Israeli airspace, of being transferred to Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas or to Iran both staunch allies of Assad and enemies of Israel, or of being looted by Salafist tough guys.