Israel Matzav

And again: Israelis unhappy Obama confirmed Syria strike

In 2007, Israel allegedly destroyed the Syrian nuclear reactor at al-Kibar. For months, bits and pieces leaked but no one in the Israeli government or in the US government ever confirmed them. To this day, Israel has never officially acknowledged destroying the reactor. That has given the Syrians space not to retaliate and inflame the entire region.

In 2009 and 2010, Israel and the NSA collaborated on Stuxnet, which attacked Iran's nuclear facilities. While the NSA's role may have just been disclosed by Edward Snowden last week, the fact that Israel and the United States developed Stuxnet together has long been known. The Obama administration confirmed it.

Earlier today, I reported that the Obama administration has done it again, confirming Israel's strike on Russian-supplied Yakhont missiles in Latakia last week. And Israel is pretty ticked off about it.

"Israel can attack many targets in Syria, but according to foreign reports it chooses quality targets, such as the Fateh-110 missile, as well as the SA-17 and Yakhont missiles, which can fall into the hands of extremist elements," former National Security Council chief Giora Eiland explained on Sunday.

... 

Eiland said the "range of the attacks is very measured, in a way that is not perceived as an intervention in the civil war." He said the attacks in Syria "are clean in that they do not leave fingerprints and are conducted in a way that does not allow the Syrians to photograph the plane or ship which attacked, and in a way that does not push (President Bashar) Assad into a corner."  

However, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Eiland warned that "there can always be one Israeli attack too many, and then Assad will respond and we will have to ask ourselves difficult questions. The American leaks (regarding alleged Israeli operations in Syria) are problematic and concerning, although Israeli officials also do such things on occasion."

The former National Security Council head estimates that Assad may decide to retaliate "in a limited manner" at any moment. "In Syria there are hundreds of rockets and missiles that are pointed at Israel and are controlled by the regime. Some of them can reach the Golan Heights, while others are capable of hitting central Israel," he said.

"Assad can order his forces to launch two surface-to-surface missiles with conventional warheads at northern Israel, and even if such an attack causes zero damage, it will pose a problem because Israel will have to ask itself how it wants to respond."  

The most transparent administration evah has finally found a place to be transparent. What could go wrong?

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Bashar al-Assad, Giora Eiland, Syria, Syrian army, Yakhont land to sea missile

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:13 PM