(Globe and Mail-Canada) Patrick Martin - Israel's reported air strike on a convoy in Syria believed to be carrying Russian-made surface-to-air missiles to Hizbullah was aimed to take out sophisticated weaponry and to warn the Damascus regime that it mustn't try such a thing again, said Mark Heller, principal research associate at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. The message to Syria was clear, Heller said, "We're watching. Don't try sending anything to Hizbullah." While some suggest Syria might be shipping these weapons to Hizbullah for safekeeping, more likely the order to move them would have come from either Russia or Iran, said Heller. In fact, the message of the attack "may have been intended for Tehran," he said. The message: "We [Israelis] have heard your threats about using Hizbullah against us, and we're not impressed."
2013-01-31 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive