This is a scary piece of information.
ISRAEL, SYRIA COULD BE HEADING FOR WAR
By Steve Rodan
JERUSALEM [MENL]
For the first time in a decade, Israel has raised the prospect of a
regional war with the Arab world.
Israeli diplomatic and military sources said
the most likely
prospect is a Hizbullah attack on the northern
Israeli border.
Israel would then react by retaliating against
Syrian military
installations in Lebanon. This, in turn, would
result in Iraqi and
Iranian intervention.
Already, Syria has moved troops from the
Beirut area to the
Bekaa valley near the Syrian border. The area
is regarded as the
most likely Israeli invasion route to Syria.
"If the deterioration in the north continues,
it will be inevitable
that Syrian and Lebanese power centers will be
struck," Israeli
National Security Adviser Maj. Gen. Uzi Dayan
said.
Such a prospect could take place imminently or
be delayed for
months, the sources said. They said this was
the strongest
threat of a regional war in more than a decade
and comes amid a
political vacuum in both Jerusalem and
Washington as well as
concern in Israel over an erosion of U.S.
support.
The sources said Israel and the United States
have relayed
messages to Syria to stop Hizbullah attacks
along the border.
Syria has up to 30,000 troops in Lebanon and
controls the
Hizbullah.
Syria, however, has so far rejected the
warnings. Instead,
President Bashar Assad has formed new links
with Iraq that
include military cooperation. The sources said
the cooperation
could include Iraqi intervention in case of
Israeli attacks on Syria.
A senior Israeli military source said Iraq is
ready to launch missile
attacks on the Jewish state to either help
Syria or the
Palestinians. These missiles, they said, could
be tipped with
nonconventional warheads.
"The Iraqis would love to participate in
either conflict," the senior
source said. "Hafez Assad [Syria's late
president] was not
interested in cooperating with Iraq. Bashar is
interested and
wants to cooperate."
An Israeli war with Syria, Lebanon and Iraq
could drag such U.S.
Arab allies as Egypt and Jordan, the source
said.
For its part, both Lebanon and Syria -- both
of which have also
formed links to Palestinian Islamic groups
such as Hamas and
Islamic Jihad -- have rejected the Israeli and
U.S. warnings.
Lebanese Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said
the Israeli threats
are connected to the election campaign.
At the same time, Lebanese security sources
said Syria appears
to have abandoned any intention to redeploy
its troops from
Lebanon amid the current tension with Israel.
They denied reports
that Syria was moving troops from central
Lebanon to the Bekaa
valley.
--
**COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107,
any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use
without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and
educational
purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ]
ISRAEL, SYRIA COULD BE HEADING FOR WAR
By Steve Rodan
JERUSALEM [MENL]
For the first time in a decade, Israel has raised the prospect of a
regional war with the Arab world.
Israeli diplomatic and military sources said
the most likely
prospect is a Hizbullah attack on the northern
Israeli border.
Israel would then react by retaliating against
Syrian military
installations in Lebanon. This, in turn, would
result in Iraqi and
Iranian intervention.
Already, Syria has moved troops from the
Beirut area to the
Bekaa valley near the Syrian border. The area
is regarded as the
most likely Israeli invasion route to Syria.
"If the deterioration in the north continues,
it will be inevitable
that Syrian and Lebanese power centers will be
struck," Israeli
National Security Adviser Maj. Gen. Uzi Dayan
said.
Such a prospect could take place imminently or
be delayed for
months, the sources said. They said this was
the strongest
threat of a regional war in more than a decade
and comes amid a
political vacuum in both Jerusalem and
Washington as well as
concern in Israel over an erosion of U.S.
support.
The sources said Israel and the United States
have relayed
messages to Syria to stop Hizbullah attacks
along the border.
Syria has up to 30,000 troops in Lebanon and
controls the
Hizbullah.
Syria, however, has so far rejected the
warnings. Instead,
President Bashar Assad has formed new links
with Iraq that
include military cooperation. The sources said
the cooperation
could include Iraqi intervention in case of
Israeli attacks on Syria.
A senior Israeli military source said Iraq is
ready to launch missile
attacks on the Jewish state to either help
Syria or the
Palestinians. These missiles, they said, could
be tipped with
nonconventional warheads.
"The Iraqis would love to participate in
either conflict," the senior
source said. "Hafez Assad [Syria's late
president] was not
interested in cooperating with Iraq. Bashar is
interested and
wants to cooperate."
An Israeli war with Syria, Lebanon and Iraq
could drag such U.S.
Arab allies as Egypt and Jordan, the source
said.
For its part, both Lebanon and Syria -- both
of which have also
formed links to Palestinian Islamic groups
such as Hamas and
Islamic Jihad -- have rejected the Israeli and
U.S. warnings.
Lebanese Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said
the Israeli threats
are connected to the election campaign.
At the same time, Lebanese security sources
said Syria appears
to have abandoned any intention to redeploy
its troops from
Lebanon amid the current tension with Israel.
They denied reports
that Syria was moving troops from central
Lebanon to the Bekaa
valley.
--
**COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107,
any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use
without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and
educational
purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ]