DISPATCHES FROM MOON OF ALABAMA, BY “B”
Prepared by "b" (founding editor of MoA)
When Trump killed the nuclear deal with Iran he gave Israel the chance to start a wider war with Syria. An earlier Israeli simulation of the situation had concluded:
The crisis created by the administration regarding the flaws of the nuclear agreement could be exploited to promote issues more urgent for Israel (mainly Iran’s missile program and presence in Syria).
The Israeli government claims that Iranian support for Syria is a threat to its country. That is a bogus claim. The Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahoo uses the "Iran threat" as boogeyman to divert attention from other issues like the various corruption cases against himself. [In that aspect this abject scoundrel operates somewhat like Trump, another shameless sociopath—made for each other.—Eds]
Over the last years Israel attacked Syrian army positions more than 100 times, often in support of al-Qaeda aligned "Syrian rebels". Syria did not respond as it was busy fighting against the Takfiri invasion within the country. In April Israel upped the ante when it attacked the T4 base in the middle of Syria from where Russian and Iranian forces support Syria's fight against ISIS. Iranian soldiers were killed in the attack. The Syrian air defense shot down at least one of the attacking Israeli F-16 jets. This shooting down of the Israeli jets was thought to have established a new balance, but Israel continued to provoke.
On Tuesday, just as Trump announced his breaking of the nuclear deal, Israel launched another strike on what it claimed were Iranian missiles in Syria targeted at Israel. The strike hit a Syrian army depot. Fifteen soldiers, some of them allegedly Iranians, were killed. Even the Israeli media had trouble to find an excuse for the illegal 'preemptive' attack:
Even if Iran had no intention of launching missiles at Israel on Tuesday, the alleged Israeli strike came along and conveyed the following message to the Iranians: You raised the likelihood of an attack on Israel, so we’re raising the threat level, despite the tensions.
It is not Iran's job to respond to Israeli strikes on Syria. The Syrian government wanted to retaliate immediately to Tuesday's strike but was held back by Russian concerns. Russia saw these provocations as an Israeli trap. Yesterday Netanyahoo visited Moscow. The Russian president warned him to stop the provocations. Netanyahoo did not listen.
Last night Israel again attacked Syrian military positions in al-Quneitra in south-west Syria. This time the Syrian missile forces responded with a barrage of more than 20 missiles against Israeli positions in the occupied Golan heights. Israel escalated further with 70 strikes against Syrian positions. Pictures and video from Damascus show that the Syrian air defense intercepted many of them.
Damascus night sky, fireworks courtesy of the Israeli cowards, always hiding behind their media shield and the Big Bully's threat of stepping in with all guns blazing.
Israel now claims that it eliminated the "Iranian threat" in Syria:
Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that Israel's forces struck "nearly all the Iranian infrastructure in Syria" and said that no objects were hit on the territories of Israel.
The claim of success is a signal that it does not want to go any further:
"I hope we've finished this episode and everyone understood," Lieberman added, stressing that Israel doesn't want an escalation, but "won't let anyone attack us or build an infrastructure to attack us in the future."
The propagandist praise of an Israeli success reminds one of previous similar claims.
On the second day of the 2006 war on Lebanon Israel loudly boasted that it had destroyed "all long-range Hizbullah missiles" in a 34 minutes long air campaign. But more than 100 missiles per day continued to hit Israel, including targets in Tel Aviv far away from the Lebanese border. Thirty-one days later Israel sued for peace. Its invasion of Lebanon had been defeated. Its "successful" strike against Hizbullah's long range missiles had hit mostly empty positions.
The Israeli targeting in Syria is not much better than its targeting in Lebanon twelve years ago.
Syria will now continue to respond to Israeli attacks. This time it limited its strikes to military positions in the occupied Golan heights. The next strikes will go further. This time Israel sent its population in the occupied Golan heights into bunkers. The next time half of Israel may have to go underground. How long could Israel sustain that?
Iran will also retaliate for attacks on its forces in Syria. But it does not need to do so from Syria. There are also other ways and means than sending missiles.
That Syria, after much suffering, now retaliated for the Israeli strikes draws a new line in the sand. If Israel wants a wider war it will get one. The destruction in the involved countries in the Middle East, including Israel, might thrown them back 100 years. Syria, Lebanon, and Iran could live with that. A 100 years ago Israel did not exist.
Posted by b on May 10, 2018 at 07:41 AM | Permalink
What I want to know is, where are all those defensive missiles that Russia has provided to Syria and why are they not being used? An attack on Iranian positions in Syria is an attack on Syria itself as the Iranians are helping the Assad government to rid the country of head choppers. Lets hope that the Jews drop a bomb on Russian assets and the Russians respond in a way that makes Israel think twice before it attacks Syria again .
Posted by: john wilson | May 10, 2018 7:50:48 AM | 2
The North Vietnamese utilized a "grab the enemy by the belt" tactic and avoided the US air power. The axis of resistance is doing the same in the ME. With every violation they gradually shipped more and more anti aircraft weapons, missiles and advisors and edged them close to the Israeli border making Syria now almost impregnable. The strategic initiative has now passed for Israel as the axis of resistance has now neutralised Israel's air power and will retaliate for every incursion.
Posted by: Madmen | May 10, 2018 7:54:48 AM | 3
The Israeli claim that the mythical "Iron Dome" took out the four long-range missiles that didn't fall short reads to me, as Syria was firing missiles at the Golan Heights, but we will pretend the four Iron Dome countermissiles that got to the Golan Heights airspace intercepted missiles aimed at Israel. And all the rest were too, we'll just say they fell short, by a remarkable coincidence of Arab incompetence and divine favor for Israel. The Syrian claim to have taken out many Israeli missiles doesn't rule out damage from the debris from looking very much like the damage from a missile.
As to the larger goals? The states that can't muster popular support for the sacrifices of a war always like to imagine air power can substitute. They hope in this case, missiles will unhinge Syrian pressure on the takfiris in Idleb and the Turks in Afrin. Since the Syrian government by policy is defined as Arab incompetence and lacking in popular support, any military targets must be either Iranian or possible Russian.
Posted by: steven t johnson | May 10, 2018 7:57:38 AM | 4
Just a few points of possible interest, I certainly claim no originality.
(1) Israel—like the Americans—are extremely casualty averse. They are accustomed to fighting their wars, committing their ghastly imperial crimes, with almost total impunity. The gigantic machine of global propaganda they control, the "free media", gives them a huge advantage in all tactical and strategic possibilities (allowing for brutal retaliation if the victim should have the audacity to respond in kind), but not the 100% immunity they seek, as genuine cowards. The tables at last, after rivers of blood spent by the victims, are turning.
(2) b asserts: "It is not Iran's job to respond to Israeli strikes on Syria. The Syrian government wanted to retaliate immediately to Tuesday's strike but was held back by Russian concerns." I find this statement a bit curious and actually meaningless. The interests of Syria, Iran and Russia are now deeply interwoven, a reason why they fight together and behave as partners in a military and strategic alliance (this naturally includes the brave independent but Iran-friendly Hezbollah). These parties are in a de facto alliance whose strategic domain, properly understood, is the entire Middle East, not just Syria. The hegemon and its rabid spawn, Israel, must be neutralised in the region for peace to be established, and that includes of course the neutralisation of the Saudi threat, another rabid entity that would not exist or would be helpless (they are militarily pathetic) without the coddling and support of the Americans and the NATO powers, and the plentiful money to pay expensive foreign mercs. In the final analysis, all these horrible wars, many by proxy, issue from America's hegemonist drive, the Neocon vision for the American millennium. Without America's unconditional support, the Israelis would not have the balls to fire one bullet across the border with Syria or any other country.
(3) In sum, the immediate and middle term strategic interests of Syria and Iran are coterminous and congruent. It's sophistry to try to separate them. As far as the anglo-zionist empire's depredations go and goals for the region go, Washington's plans for the region impact Syria and Iran equally, both presenting them with unacceptable prospects, lack of sovereignty and possible destruction. Further, Israel is justifying its disabling blows on Syria by the presence of Iranian assets, a legitimate presence in Syria under international law. Because of that, Iran is as obligated to respond to Israeli incursions and sundry aggressions on its close partner as is Syria itself. Unity of these forces is indeed essential to conquer the lethal threat represented by the anglozionist criminals.
As usual Russia was called by Israel before the airstrikes, and no criticism against Israel by Russia either.
https://sputniknews.com/news/201805101064317170-russia-israel-iran-restraint/
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Unfortunately the facts do not matter. If Syria launches attacks on Israel proper, regardless of context, the "international community" and media will support whatever Israel decide to do in response.
Pessimistic yes but I think Syria/Iran need to be realistic here.
Posted by: Bob | May 10, 2018 7:47:03 AM | 1