Many believe the “Prophetic War” of Psalm Chapter 83 is beginning to take place in the Middle East
Israel’s air strike in Syria may be a taste of things to come, say security experts. If Israel is considering an air strike on Iranian nuclear facilities it must ensure Hezbollah, an Islamist group in Lebanon and a proxy for Iran, does not get its hands on weapons that could cause the Jewish state problems — like anti-aircraft missiles. “I would anticipate that this isn’t going to be the first Israeli air strike designed to degrade Hezbollah’s military capabilities over the next year,” said Gary Gambill, associate fellow at the Middle East Forum. “If Israel is considering a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, then Hezbollah’s capacity to retaliate is going to be an important factor.” U.S. officials said Israel targeted a convoy just inside Syria Wednesday believed to be carrying anti-aircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah. The Syrian military, however, claimed Israeli jets crossed into their country over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and attacked a scientific research centre near Damascus. Ali Abdul-Karim Ali, the Syrian ambassador to Lebanon, said Damascus “has the option and the capacity to surprise in retaliation.” Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called the attack a clear violation of Syrian sovereignty. Russia, Syria’s most important international ally, said the raid appeared to be an unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation. The attack has inflamed regional tensions already running high over Syria’s 22-month-old civil war. “It’s a sign that the Syrian civil war is getting worse because it’s drawing in countries,” said John Mundy, a retired Canadian diplomat who was the country’s last ambassador to Iran. SOURCE
Tensions over the Israeli airstrike on Syrian territory appeared to increase on Thursday as Syria delivered a letter to the United Nations declaring its right to self-defense and Israel’s action was condemned not only by longstanding enemies, includingIran and Hezbollah, but also by Russia. Israeli officials remained silent about their airstrike in Syrian territory on Wednesday, a tactic that experts said was part of a longstanding strategy to give targeted countries face-saving opportunities to avoid worsening a conflict. But Syria’s own confirmation of the attack may have undercut that effort. “From the moment they chose to say Israel did something, it means someone has to do something after that,” said Giora Eiland, a former national security adviser in Israel and a longtime military leader. But other analysts said that Syria’s overtaxed military was unlikely to retaliate and risk an Israeli onslaught that could tip the balance in its fight against the 22-month Syrian uprising. They also said Syria’s ally Hezbollah was loath to provoke conflict with Israel as it sought to maintain domestic calm in neighboring Lebanon. MORE
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton issued a parting warning Thursday about Syria’s civil war, accusing Iran of playing an increasingly prominent role in directing the violence, which she said heightened the danger of a larger regional conflict that draws in Israel or other neighbors. “I’ve done what was possible to do,” Clinton told reporters on the eve of her last day as secretary of state. But she painted a harrowing picture of a war that could still get worse. “The worst kind of predictions about what could happen internally and spilling over the borders of Syria are certainly within the realm of the possible now,” she said. The conflict “is distressing on all fronts,” Clinton told a roundtable of journalists Thursday, a day before John Kerry is sworn in as her successor. She pointed the finger primarily at Iran, accusing it of dispatching more personnel and better military materiel to President Bashar Assad’s regime to help him defeat rebel forces. Its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, is also playing a bigger role in the conflict. “The Iranians are all in for Assad, and there is very little room for any kind of dialogue with them,” Clinton said. She spoke after Syria threatened Thursday to retaliate for an Israeli airstrike, and its ally Iran warned ominously that the Jewish state would regret the attack. In a letter to the UN secretary-general, Assad’s regime stressed its “right to defend itself, its territory and sovereignty” and holding Israel and its supporters accountable. And Ali Abdul-Karim Ali, Assad’s ambassador in Lebanon, said his government maintained “the option and the capacity to surprise in retaliation.” Clinton declined to talk specifically about Israel’s strike, which US officials described as targeting trucks containing sophisticated Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles. The trucks were next to a military research facility, and the strike hit both the trucks and the facility, US officials said. MORE
An Israeli air attack staged in Syria this week may be a sign of things to come. Israeli military officials appear to have concluded that the risks of attacking Syria are worth taking when compared to the dangers of allowing sophisticated weapons to reach Hezbollah guerrillas in neighboring Lebanon. With Syrian President Bashar Assad’s grip on power weakening, Israeli officials fear he could soon lose control over his substantial arsenal of chemical and advanced weapons, which could slip into the hands of Hezbollah or other hostile groups. These concerns, combined with Hezbollah’s own domestic problems, mean further military action could be likely. Tzachi Hanegbi, an incoming lawmaker in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party and a former chairman of parliament’s influential foreign affairs and defense committee, signaled Thursday that Israel could be compelled to act on its own. While Israel’s preference is for Western powers to gain control over Syria’s arms stockpile, he said there are no signs of that happening. “Israel finds itself, like it has many times in the past, facing a dilemma that only it knows how to respond to. And it could well be that we will reach a stage where we will have to make decisions,” Hanegbi told Israel’s Army Radio Thursday. Hanegbi, like other Israeli officials, would not confirm Israeli involvement in the airstrike. In this week’s incident, Israeli warplanes conducted a rare airstrike inside Syria, according to U.S. officials who said the target was a convoy carrying anti-aircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militant group allied with Syria and Iran. MORE
Iran has stepped up its military and financial aid to the Syrian government, departing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned. Mrs Clinton, who steps down on Friday, said there were also signs that Russia continues to supply Syria with money and “equipment”. A spilling-over of the conflict into neighbouring countries was “within the realm of the possible now”, she said. Her comments came amid contradictory claims of an Israeli strike in Syria. The Syrian army said Israeli war planes had bombed a military research centre north-west of Damascus, but the US and others said lorries carrying weapons bound for Lebanon were hit. Israel has maintained silence about the incident, but Syria has made a formal complaint to UN, saying it reserves the right to defend itself. Meanwhile, Russia and Iran have strongly denounced the attack. In her final press interview as US Secretary of State, Mrs Clinton said one of Iran’s “highest priorities” was keeping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power. ”We believe they have acted on that by sending in more personnel, not only to help Assad, but to support and advise military security forces,” she told reporters. Mrs Clinton added that Iran had increased the quality of its arms sent to Syria because “Assad is using up his weaponry”. She expressed similar concerns with regards to Russia’s involvement in the conflict. ”We have reason to believe that the Russians continue to supply financial and military assistance in the form of equipment,” she said. Mrs Clinton declined to comment on the alleged Israeli strike but voiced fears that the conflict could worsen or spread.
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