Posted on 01/17/2010 6:32:35 AM PST by Fennie
An American source says that Syria allowed Hezbollah operatives to train within its territory in the use of advanced SA2 anti-aircraft missile batteries, the Kuwaiti daily Al Rai reported Sunday.
In an interview, the senior U.S. official warned that if Syria supplies Hezbollah with this type of missile, Israel will bomb Damascus and a war will likely ensue.
According to the official, Israel has warned Syria not to allow the transfer of the SA2 missiles into the hands of Hezbollah, and views the transfer of such missiles as the crossing of a red line.
(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...
Urgent
Sun rising
ME in turmoil , news at 11
So why is the (lowly and largely ineffectual against Israeli planes) SA2 crossing the line when Silkworms are not, or SA7s etc all of which Hezbollah has in plentiful supply? Not to mention advanced short range missles which are nearly capeable of hitting Tel Aviv?
ping
What i don’t get is why the Israelis are drawing this red line. As others have mentioned, there are certainly other weapons in Hezbollah’s aresenal more capable of inflicting damage in Israel.
SA-2 anti-aircraft missiles are 1960s technology. It was designed to bring down non-manoeuvrable high altitude bombers. I seriously doubt they pose any threat to IAF F-16s or F-15s
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
..................
Duh. From Obama's genius' who arm the palestinians.
It's TIMING all about.
Blow the hell out of them.
What happened to the UN peacekeepers? They have been recording the movement of missiles for quite a while into Lebanon.
Now Israel is noting this advanced missile system and drawing a red line. They have no choice.
Advanced SA2's??? SA2s are ancient. Like 50 years old. The article mentioned remote control sites. I wonder if they meant SA-12 systems.
jhpiott, perhaps freeper 17thMissRegt has a point --- many reporters know less than nothing about weapons, so perhaps the journalist misidentified it.
Hopefully, there will be better reportage about this development soon to be found online.
Most likely SA-22s? Syria signed a deal to import SA-22s from Russia, financed by Iran..... some are supposed to be transferred to Iran, and I’ll bet that Israel knows the Iranians are pushing to have SA-22s in Lebanon.....
I would be inclined to believe it was misidentified if the Syrians had in their inventory the SA-12 system (a/k/a S-300), which I do not believe they do.
I could be wrong (if someone could link to a story about Syrians possessing the SA-12 system) and if I am, then I could see how Israel would be super pissed if Syria was training/equipping Hezbollah with the SA-12 system
Syria will lose - big time.
after doing a little homework, I’m inclined to believe they could be referring to the SA-22s as Enchante mentioned, which Syria does have in its inventory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantsir-S1
There are also reports Syria could possess the SA-20 (which is another variant of the S-300 system)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-300_(missile)#Operators_and_other_versions
I gotta believe Israel is not getting worked up over Syria’s equipping/training Hezbollah with the SA-2s, my bet would be either the SA-20s or SA-22s, which could pose a modest threat to the IAF in the event of operations over Lebanon
-Sounds like there could be more to this story. Reportedly, the IDF has mobilized to N. Israel for military exercises. Could be cover for a strike on Hezbollah . . .
3:15pm An Israeli army patrol crossed into the Lebanese side of the border village of Ghajar and made a 300-meter penetration of the area.
1:10pm NNA: Israeli warplanes flew low over south Lebanon, drawing fire from Lebanese army guns.
The modern SA-2 is not your fathers SA-2. Digital upgrades are available from multiple sources for most older Soviet SAMs.
Timing? More like a media diversion... Ignore what Egypt is doing with their steel and water Gaza border wall, ignore that Egypt is not caving to Iran and Syria - perhaps?
I agree. Those critters are likely to make Israel a bit apprehensive. But not the SA-2. Not even the digitally upgraded versions.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.