Syrian army told to be on alert for Israeli action

AP/The Jerusalem Post ^ | 16 October 2003 | ASSOCIATED PRESS

[anotherview]

Oct. 16, 2003
Syrian army told to be on alert for Israeli action
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
DAMASCUS, Syria

Bashar Assad
Photo: AP

Syria's military chief urged his forces to be ready to respond to any possible Israeli attack, but it still appeared unlikely Syria planned any armed response to an Israeli air strike on its territory earlier this month.

There was no immediate response from Israel.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, quoted by the state news agency, on Thursday told delegates at the summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in Malaysia that Israel will not intimidate Syrians and accused it of seeking to fuel "the war against Islam".

Israel "should know that no matter how big their military might grows they will not succeed in achieving their goals or in planting fears in us," Assad said.

"As we talk about the war being waged today against Islam we have to keep in mind that there are various powers in this world that have worked systematically on fuelling up this war, in the lead of these powers is Israel, the state of terrorism."

The remarks made by Gen. Hassan Turkmany came in a speech reported by the official news agency SANA marking the 57th anniversary of the founding of Syria's air force.

On Oct. 5, Israeli fighter planes struck what Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government said was an Islamic Jihad base near Damascus after a suicide bomber in Haifa killed 21 people.

Turkmany was speaking a day after the U.S. House of Representatives approved new and tougher sanctions on Syria, arguing that the Arab country occupies its neighbor Lebanon and harbors terrorists intent on killing Americans in Iraq and perpetuating violence in Israel.

Syrian officials in Damascus did not immediately comment on the U.S. lawmakers' vote, but had earlier said the measures were proposed to placate Israel.

Turkmany, according to SANA, did not directly refer to the U.S. vote, but said Syria was under pressure to bow to the will of the United States and Israel.

"These pressures will be to no avail and will not move Syria from its principal position," the general was quoted as saying.

Turkmany was quoted as urging his fighters "to continue working night and day and to remain at the highest levels of readiness, caution and alertness to repulse any possible aggression by the Sharon government."

Turkmany's words did not appear to be marching orders. Militarily weak Syria has not responded with force to the Oct. 5 Israeli airstrike, the first deep inside Syria in about three decades. Instead, Damascus went to the U.N. Security Council to seek condemnation of Israel. Action on the measure was suspended because of the threat of an American veto.

Syria and Israel fought three major border wars, in 1948, 1967 and 1973 and Israel continues to occupy the Golan Heights it captured in 1967.

Wednesday night, about 100 Syrians burned a U.S. and an Israeli flag outside a Damascus restaurant where a party was being held for a visiting American pianist, said an organizer of the protest, Sousan Zakzak.

The group carried a banner denouncing the U.S. congressional move. No violence was reported.

[anotherview]

I'm sure the IDF is just terrified now...

Yes, I'm in a sarcastic mood today.

[Snake65]

Have they passed out extra pairs of white underwear yet? They make great surrender flags.

(I'm also in a sarcastic mood, thanks to lingering grouchiness over the Cubs)

[Riley]

"As we talk about the war being waged today against Islam we have to keep in mind that there are various powers in this world that have worked systematically on fuelling up this war, in the lead of these powers is Israel, the state of terrorism."

They're upset about all of the Jewish extremists that blow up innocent Syrians on busses in Damascus, right?

What an asshat.

[LiberationIT]

I was struggling for a comment; but you nailed it before I could come up with something. Thanks.

[ASA Vet]

"These pressures will be to no avail and will not move Syria
from its principal position," the general was quoted as saying

Don't worry General, your nation is firmly in the #1 position on our "next" list.

[Mr. Lucky]

This creates quite a dichotomy for the Syrian Army: is it better to be on alert and die tired or to stand down and die relaxed?

[Beck_isright]

So Syria is trying to get the IDF to laugh themselves to death and declare victory????

[TheDon]

"As we talk about the war being waged today against Islam we have to keep in mind that there are various powers in this world that have worked systematically on fuelling up this war, in the lead of these powers is Israel, the state of terrorism."

And here I thought the "various powers" were the Palis, Saudis, Iranians, Syrians, the former dictator of Iraq, and the Taliban that "have worked systematically on fuelling up this war".

[bert]

After you shut the barn door, be alert.

[RussianConservative]

Israel "should know that no matter how big their military might grows they will not succeed in achieving their goals or in planting fears in us," Assad said.

And beside we have monopoly of sand for butt wiping and cleaning only pair of underwear.

[Bon mots]

Instructions for Syrian Army
If you see Israeli aircraft, do the following:
Assume a defensive position.
Turn off lights if attack is by night.
Stay away from windows.
Cover your head.
Crouch down close to the ground.
Place your head between your legs while covering your head.
Then kiss your a$$ goodbye.

[Bon mots]

Instructions for Syrian Fighter Pilots:
EJECT!!!

[mewzilla]

Separated at birth?

[CWOJackson]

I wonder if they teach military history in the Syrian Army?

[RightWhale]

They should adopt a color alert system like ours. Different colors, of course. A couple shades of ice blue, and pale white, and ghostly white.

[anotherview]

I am really offended by your equivocation. Comparing Bashar al-Assad to a weasel is a terrible insult... to weasels.

FWIW, I have pet ferrets, who are, of course, domesticated weasels. They are loyal, they are housebroken, they come when called, and they are intelligent and learn. Can you say any of those things about Assad?

[anotherview]

Oh yes. They teach how Syria defeated Israel in each war. They make special mention of 1951 when Israel did take 300 metres of land on the eastern bank of the Kineret (Sea of Galillee) from Israel by force. Never mind that Israel was shelling Damascus in 1973 during the Yom Kippur War.

BTW, when Ehud Barak offered up all of Golan for peace the Syrians insisted on those 300 metres as well. They called the internationally recognized border a "colonial imposition". If they couldn't have access to Israel's main source of fresh water the deal was off. Syria, of course, sees Israel as one big "colonial imposition" to be stamped out.

[Mr. Lucky]

Have some decency man. What did a weasel ever do to you to deserve being compared with vermin?