Syria points missiles at Israel

Is a war with Israel the distraction that Bashar al-Assad needs to stay in power? It seems that he's looking for one. Assad has now pointed missile batteries at Israel and his information minister says that Israeli attacks on the outskirts of Damascus "open the door to all possibilities."

The minister's comments at a press conference came after an emergency cabinet meeting organized to respond to what a Western source said was a new strike on Iranian missiles bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Although Zoabi did not hint at a concrete course of action, he said it was Damascus's duty to protect the state from any "domestic or foreign attack through all available means."

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Earlier on Sunday, Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Mekdad told CNN that Israel's air strikes in the country were interpreted as an Israeli "declaration of war" on the Assad regime.

In an interview with CNN, Faisal said that Syria would respond in a manner of its own time and choosing.

Syria's state television said the strikes were a response to recent military gains by Assad's forces against rebels.

"The new Israeli attack is an attempt to raise the morale of the terrorist groups which have been reeling from strikes by our noble army," it said.

That last remark sounds like Ehud Barak's 'we will know how to respond' - a total and complete bluff from a party that knows it cannot or will not do anything.

Hmmm.