Syria says it fired on Israeli aircraft http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070906/ap_on_re_mi_ea/syria_israel DAMASCUS, Syria - Syrian air defenses opened fire on Israeli aircraft that violated Syrian airspace, a Syrian military spokesman said Thursday. The spokesman, quoted by the official Syrian Arab News Agency, did not say how the Syrian military fired on the aircraft or where the incident happened, other than saying it occurred at midnight Wednesday. "We warn the Israeli enemy government against this flagrant aggressive act, and retain the right to respond in an appropriate way," the Syrian spokesman said. It was not clear if Syria was accusing the Israelis of using warplanes or some type of other aircraft such as drones.
More detail below... Syria says Israel bombs territory as Israel silent http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070906/ts_nm/syria_israel_dc DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syria accused Israel of infiltrating its airspace and bombing its territory on Thursday and warned it could respond. The Israeli military said it would make no comment on the report, which spoke of no casualties or damage being caused. After months in which talk of reviving long-stalled peace negotiations has mingled with speculation on both sides that the other was preparing a surprise attack, Syrian officials hit out. "This shows that Israel cannot give up aggression and treachery," Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal told al-Jazeera television. Another Syrian official said: "They dropped bombs on an empty area while our air defenses were firing heavily at them." The Israeli military spokesman's office said in a statement: "It is not our custom to respond to these kinds of reports." The office has typically commented on such reports. But a security source said the government had imposed a news blackout on the issue. A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also said there would be no comment beyond the military statement. A Israeli military source told Reuters the air force has conducted a major exercise this week. Israeli aircraft often train over Turkey, a Muslim nation friendly to the Jewish state. An Israeli analyst familiar with defense matters said he believed Israel had been probing Syria's air defenses recently. The Syrian official news agency SANA said Israeli aircraft "infiltrated Syrian airspace through the northern border coming from the direction of the Mediterranean and headed towards northeastern territory, breaking the sound barrier." "The Syrian Arab Republic warns the government of the Israeli enemy and reserves the right to respond according to what it sees fit," SANA added. Local residents said they heard the sound of five planes or more above Tal al-Abiad area on Syria's border with Turkey, around 160 km (100 miles) north of the Syrian city of Rakka. NO HOSTILE INTENTIONS Tensions between the two neighbors have been high in recent months, with some Israeli intelligence officials suggesting President Bashar al-Assad's administration might be ready to try to take by force parts of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured in the war of 1967. Syrian officials have said Syria is seeking peaceful means to liberate the territory, although some have also indicated that force remained an option if diplomacy failed. Olmert, who launched his forces against Syrian-allied Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon a year ago, has been at pains to stress that he has no hostile intentions toward Damascus. Some Israeli military officials have expressed alarm at what they say are reinforcements of Syrian positions and arms purchases. But Olmert has spoken out against alarmist comments. He has also said he would like to reopen peace negotiations that have been stalled for seven years. Syrian officials, too, have said they would like peace. But there has been little sign of any concrete steps towards rapprochement. Syria last said it fired at Israeli warplanes in June 2006, when Israeli aircraft buzzed a Syrian presidential palace. Israeli officials said at the time the flyover was a message to cease support for Hamas after the Palestinian militant group abducted an Israeli soldier. Israel has long warned Syria to stop supporting militant Palestinian groups and the Lebanese movement Hezbollah. Israeli jets bombed an empty Palestinian militant training camp in Syria in October 2003.
SANA also reported that Israel was responsible for flying planes into the WTC and that all Jews were evacuated before the attacks, so I hope you understand if I take what they say with a grain of salt.
I like what Clinton said on CNN yesterday. US needs to concentrate on the good muslim population, making good with them while fighting the bad ones in the extreme regions. Let the good ones influence the bad ones. The bad ones are not going to go away by force only. Why cant Clinton be president again?
I am not vouching for them or anyone else, it's your prerogative. The only reason I think there might be some legitimacy to their claims is because the Israelis have been 'hush hush' about the whole thing thus far. I think something happened, that's why the Israelis aren't commenting on it.
Interesting. I trust Bolton's speculations about as much as I trust SANA, but it does provide a reasonable motive for why Israel would attack Syria in the manner that they have been accused, and the Washington Post, sited further down, I do trust within reason. [rquoter] IAF reportedly hit NKorean nuke facility By DAVID HOROVITZ Amid reports in the American media that the alleged Israeli raid into Syria 10 days ago targeted a North Korean-Syrian nuclear facility, John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the UN, told The Jerusalem Post over the weekend that "simple logic" suggested North Korea and Iran could have outsourced nuclear development "to a country that is not under suspicion" - namely Syria. Tellingly, he added: "Why would North Korea protest an Israeli strike on Syria?" Bolton suggested that Syria, which he said has long sought a range of weapons of mass destruction, might have agreed to provide "facilities for uranium enrichment" on its territory for two allied countries which are being closely watched for nuclear development. Bolton spoke as American newspapers reported that the alleged IAF raid, over which Israel has maintained official silence, was aimed at a facility in northern Syria close to the Turkish border, and that the strike may have been linked to the recent arrival of a shipment from North Korea, labeled as cement, but believed by Israel to contain nuclear equipment. According to The Washington Post, Israel had been keeping a watchful eye on the facility, which is officially characterized by the Syrians as an agricultural research center. The offending shipment arrived at the Syrian port of Tartus on September 3, three days before the reported IAF raid. The IAF strike took place "under such strict operational security that the pilots flying air cover for the attack aircraft did not know details of the mission," The Washington Post said Saturday, quoting a top US expert who it said had interviewed Israeli participants. "The pilots who conducted the attack were briefed only after they were in the air," the paper quoted him as saying. The Syrian ambassador to the US, Imad Moustapha, warned at the weekend that Israel would "pay a price" for the raid. Interviewed in Newsweek, Moustapha dismissed as "ridiculous and untrue" the notion of Syrian-North Korean nuclear cooperation. "There are no nuclear North Korean-Syrian facilities whatsoever in Syria," Moustapha said. On Friday, Andrew Semmel, acting deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear nonproliferation policy, told the Associated Press in Rome that North Koreans were in Syria and that Damascus may have had contacts with "secret suppliers" to obtain nuclear equipment. "There are indicators that they do have something going on there," he said. Asked why Syria would take the risk of hosting part of a North Korean nuclear program, Bolton spoke of "Iranian compensation" and noted that "Syria is very aggressive in pursuing WMD capability." He said such a partnership would indeed be risky for Syria, but such risks might be considered worthwhile "when you're as aligned as seriously as Syria is with Iran." "It's a diversion game - to carry on even when you are supposed to have halted, as in the case of North Korea. And I'd be surprised if Syria would do anything with North Korea without Iranian acquiescence," said Bolton. Bolton noted that North Korea had cooperated in the past with both Syria and Iran, on ballistic missile development. For instance, he said, in the late 1990s, after an international outcry, he said, North Korea halted test launches of such missiles, but Iran continued testing and shared the results. Bolton said he was also struck by the "hesitant way" in which Damascus had complained to the United Nations Security Council. "They have not pushed as hard as I know they know how to do in New York for condemnation. They have still not explained the nature of the attack. If it had been an attack on a Syrian military facility or civilians, they would have no problem explaining." Bolton said it was still possible that Israel had been targeting an Iranian arms shipment being transported through Syria to Hizbullah, as some initial reports suggested. But he noted that Hizbullah had already heavily rearmed, and thought it unlikely that Israel would therefore resort to the "serious proposition" of an air strike in Syria to stop another such shipment. Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Ja'afari, meanwhile, said Saturday that nothing in Syria was bombed by the IAF, and nothing was damaged. Reports of such an attack were "ridiculous and not true," Army Radio reported Ja'afari as saying. Ja'afari added that "Syria does not have North Korean nuclear facilities." On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that the US had been gathering evidence, mainly from Israel, over the past six months that North Korea has been cooperating with Syria on a nuclear facility. This evidence - codenamed "Orchard" - was said to include "dramatic satellite imagery that led some US officials to believe that the facility could be used to produce material for nuclear weapons." In talks in Beijing in March 2003, The Washington Post further reported, "a North Korean official pulled aside his American counterpart and threatened to 'transfer' nuclear material to other countries. President Bush has said that passing North Korean nuclear technology to other parties would cross the line." In his comments on Friday, the State Department's Semmel said: "We do know that there are a number of foreign technicians that have been in Syria. We do know that there may have been contact between Syria and some secret suppliers for nuclear equipment. Whether anything transpired remains to be seen. "So good foreign policy, good national security policy, would suggest that we pay very close attention to that," Semmel went on. "We're watching very closely. Obviously, the Israelis were watching very closely." Asked if the suppliers could have been North Koreans, Semmel said: "There are North Korean people there. There's no question about that. Just as there are a lot of North Koreans in Iraq and Iran." Asked if the so-called Khan network, which supplied nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea, could have been involved, he said he "wouldn't exclude" it. [/rquoter] source older article which has an interesting Syrian reversal. Once we begin to talk about nuclear facilities as the target, sudently there was no bombing: [rquoter] However, on Saturday Syria denied these reports, and claimed that nothing in Syria was bombed by the IAF, and nothing was damaged. Reports of such an attack are "ridiculous and not true," Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Ja'afari said. Ja'afari added that "Syria does not have North Korean nuclear facilities." [/rquoter]
Amazing how this has got no attention...and how quick people are to dismiss such acts.... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7024287.stm Israel admits air strike on Syria It is still not known why Israel carried out the strike or what was hit Israel has confirmed that it carried out a strike on a Syrian military installation last month. Syria accused Israel at the time but Israeli officials refused to comment, and the Israeli military censor imposed a strict blackout on information. The censor's office has now allowed some details to be released. On Monday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told the BBC that a Syrian military construction site was hit in the Israeli air strike on 6 September. Israeli Army radio reported that Israeli planes attacked a military target "deep inside Syria", quoting the military censor. No further details were given. Mystery remains It is still not known why Israel carried out the strike or what exactly was hit. Some US officials have linked the raid to suspicions of secret nuclear co-operation between Damascus and North Korea. Damascus and North Korea have denied any nuclear ties. Other reports suggested that the raid may have targeted Iranian arms bound for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. In the early hours of 6 September a number of Israeli jets appeared to enter Syrian airspace from the Mediterranean Sea. Later, unidentified drop tanks, which may have contained fuel from the planes, were found on Turkish soil near the Syrian border, indicating a possible exit route. Witnesses said the Israeli jets had been engaged by Syrian air defences in Tall al-Abyad, north of Raqqa and near the border with Turkey. Syria and Israel are formally at war. Israeli has occupied the Golan Heights since 1967. Peace talks between them collapsed in 2000.
I knew about it. If Syria, for its own reasons, decides to publicly ignore it, then where's the beef? D&D. Impeach Bush's Dog.
Well, most likely they are pretty vocal about it in Al-Jazeera. We won't know about it because of media has bias. For example, Pakistan also squashed demonstrations recently but no one condemn them like they condemn Burma.
Perhaps you weren't paying attention. It's been pretty well reported. D&D. Impeach Barbara Bush and Her Goofus Son.
Syria tied to ignore this act? More like nobody cared....acts like these only create more problems… http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/11/israel.syria/index.html?iref=newssearch CNN) -- Syria accused Israel of a "flagrant violation" of its obligations when it carried out an airstrike inside the country last week, according to a copy of a letter released Tuesday. Israeli soldiers deployed in the Golan Heights look toward Syria on September 7. Syria called the incursion a "breach of airspace of the Syrian Arab Republic" and said "it is not the first time Israel has violated" Syrian airspace, the letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon read. It also accused the international community of ignoring Israeli actions.
It was well reported but it wasn't condemned by the pundits who now condemn Burma. As a result, it dies down really quick. Just like what will happen to this Israel-Syria story.
They are at war. Tensions between Syria, Lebanon (official government), Hezbollah, and Israel have been high for a long time. It's not that anyone ignores it, it's just par for the course.
Yeah, they're officially still at war, and will continue to be so as long as the Golan Heights are occupied. This is not much different from the Israeli occupation of the Sinai as far as the Syrians are concerned. The only difference is the Israelis had a healthy respect/fear of the Egyptians after the '73 war and Sadat's peace overtures were ceased upon to take Egypt out of the equation in the larger Arab-Israeli conflict. These days, the Israelis are wary of the Syrians but they feel like they can handle them without too much trouble. The only 'leverage' Syria has these days is pretty much Iran: the Israelis are desperate to 'cut off' the Iranian influence on its immediate neighbors (Syrians, Lebanese, Palestinians even) that they have been actively trying to work with their allies to bring Syria back in from the cold, but they're taking a stick-and-carrots approach to it, which is the smart thing to do. But the Israelis are not dumb, they're not missing the big picture here, which is that the only 'real threat' to them is Iran, and Syria is a nuisance but nothing they can't handle. Of course, for their part, the Syrians are aware of that as well, and they're trying to use it as a way to get what they want.
Israel beat Egypt like a rented mule in 1973, as in '67 so I'm not sure how that would have engendered a healthy 'respect' or fear. It seems to me that it has to do more with the disposition of the Egyptians in pursuing a peace agreement as opposed to the total disintrest for anything more than a cease fire from the Syrians.
