U.S. said to warn Syria on transfer of air defense system to Hizbullah

Geostrategy Direct ^ | 1/25/2010 | Geostrategy Direct

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Syria is training Hizbullah to operate a Soviet-origin air defense system according to regional news reports. The Kuwaiti daily Al Rai reported that Syria provided Hizbullah with SA-2 surface-to-air missile systems for operations against Israel.

On Jan. 17, the Kuwaiti newspaper, quoting a senior U.S. official, said Israel has warned Syria not to grant the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah access to the SA-2.

"War will erupt in the forseeable future between Lebanon and Israel unless Syria agrees to additional red lines," the U.S. official told Al Rai, a newspaper believed used by Israel and the United States to relay messages to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The SA-2 was said to mark the longest-range air defense system sought by Hizbullah. The Soviet-based towed battery was meant to intercept aircraft at a distance of 35 kilometers, which means that Hizbullah could monitor Israeli aircraft in most of the northern part of the Jewish state.

"If Syria hands over these missiles, then undoubtedly, war will break out," the unidentified U.S. official was quoted as saying.

Israel's priority, the official said, was to prevent Syria from transferring SA-2 batteries to Hizbullah. The official warned that Israel could attack Damascus should President Bashar Assad send the air defense system to neighboring Lebanon.

Israel has not reported Hizbullah training on the SA-2, a system more than 50 years old. But Israeli military sources said Hizbullah has been searching for a solution to Israeli air superiority in the 2006 war in Lebanon.

[Dan(9698)]

Syria should understand that Damascus will be bombed if Hezbolla attacks Israel.

[caww]

“The official warned that Israel could attack Damascus”

Israel is no fool and knows exactly the entire “climate” of the mid-east. She continues to arm her nothern border to protect it from Syria/Lebanon reaction once she strikes Iran.

(Our war with Iraq was always about protecting Iraq from a Syrian/Iranian take over there. They are two peas in a pod.
The war really was Syria/Iran(Russia) against the USA fought on Iraq’s soil...we won.)

Now with US troops in Yemen/Pakistan/Aphganistan, to hold them back, should they decide to assist Iran when Israel strikes,.. and Israel covering her Nothern Borders from Syria/Lebannon....., looks like She has just about all the bases covered ...it won’t be long before the stage will be set....it won’t be long before Irans nukes are done...

The difficulty will be if Iran and the other Mid east nations retaliate. It’s really shaping up over there.

[Constantine XI Palaeologus]

The only way this makes any sense is if these SA-2 are the ones that were modified to be SSMs as mentioned in a previous thread. SA-2s are way more of a liability than an asset for Hezbollah in the SAM role.