[Hot Air] If Syria shoots down a Russian jet, shouldn’t Russia be angry with ... Syria? One might think so, but the Russian defense ministry has other ideas. After Syrian anti-aircraft fire took down a Russian surveillance plane with 15 on board, Moscow threatened Israel with retaliation, accusing them of masking their attacks on Iranian installations as they targeted weapons transfers to Hezbollah:Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the ministry spokesman, told reporters that 15 people were killed late Monday after Syrian air defenses — activated in response to Israeli strikes — hit a Russian surveillance plane as it scrambled to leave the area.How serious is this? BBC defense reporter Jonathan Marcus thinks “Russia’s anger is real,” but their blamecasting is mainly for show:
“By using the Russian plane as a cover, the Israeli air pilots made it vulnerable to Syrian air defense fire,” Konashenkov said. “As a result, the Ilyushin-20, its reflective surface being far greater than that of an F-16, was downed by a missile launched with the S-200 system.”
He added that Israel gave Russia only a minute’s warning before launching the attack.
“Russia reserves the right to take appropriate measures against hostile actions by Israel,” Konashenkov said.
The irony here is the only reason the Israeli jet didn't take out the S-200 launch site is because the site was more than likely manned by Russian technicians.