The Assyrian Democratic Organization
Syria – bostonherald — Israel has just given the world a good example of the virtues of speaking softly and carrying a big stick. This past week Israel launched airstrikes over northern Syria and said absolutely nothing. At last, Syria has to pay real penalties for its aid to terrorists.
There were not even any leaks out of the leakiest government in the Western world. What is known comes from other capitals, notably Washington. The airstrike near the border with Turkey hit a shipment of weapons supplied by Iran and destined for the Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, according to a U.S. military official. (It wasn’t known whether this official was relying on information from the Israelis or on U.S. intelligence such as satellite photos.) An earlier report said Israel attacked nuclear material sent to Syria by North Korea.
Another report said the attack was on sophisticated new missiles. Hezbollah said Israel was testing an air route for a later attack on Iran. Any of those would be good reasons for action. Arab countries were mostly silent. Syria complained to the United Nations about a violation of its airspace, which took some brass since arming private groups in Lebanon like Hezbollah was forbidden by the Security Council resolution that ended Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah last year.
Syria did not admit that a real target had been bombed, claiming only that Israeli planes dropped fuel tanks and munitions to enhance their getaway after Syrian anti-aircraft defenses opened up. There were indications that Syria was grateful for Israel’s silence. North Korea denounced the attack, which raises the possibility that North Korea was indeed the ultimate source of the arms. What counts is the conclusion that Syria draws.
It should conclude that it is safer to stop supplying arms to Hezbollah and to Hamas, the terror group that controls Gaza on Israel’s southern border, as it has for years. Further, it should conclude that the smart course is to return to the negotiations with Israel that were broken off in 2000. Other countries trying to destabilize their neighbors would do well to take note.
