News Round Up on Israeli Strike (13 Sept. 2007)
Posted by Joshua on Thursday, September 13th, 2007
Al-Hayat explains the French Foreign Minister Kochner will NOT visit Damascus. (Sorry for the original mistake! Too much haste.)
باريس: زيارة كوشنير دمشق شروطها غير متوافرة
"Accusation of Nuclear Development are a new "bida'" or innovation." Completely untrue that Syria is cooperating with North Korea in a nuclear agreement, says Syrian Minister of information. "This is a "cover" for Israel.
وزير الإعلام السوري لـ«الشرق الأوسط»: لا تستعجلونا واتهامات المواد النووية بدعة جديدة
مسؤول أميركي: عمليات استطلاع جوي إسرائيلي لمواقع سورية مشتبهة
مسؤول أميركي: عمليات استطلاع جوي إسرائيلي لمواقع سورية مشتبهة
لندن: فاطمة العيساوي
وصف وزير الاعلام السوري محسن بلال اتهام مسؤولين اميركيين باستخدام أراضي سورية لتخزين معدات نووية كورية شمالية في إطار تعاون نووي بين البلدين بأنه «بدعة جديدة ومحاولة للتغطية على المأزق الاسرائيلي» بعد الغارة التي لا تزال تل أبيب تلتزم الصمت حولها رغم تأكيد «البنتاغون» وقوعها. وفي تصريحات عبر الهاتف من دمشق، اكتفى وزير الإعلام السوري، محسن بلال، ردا على استفسار «الشرق الأوسط» حول تكتم دمشق على موقع وأهداف الغارة الإسرائيلية بالقول «الأمور تأتي في أوانها المناسب… لِمَ تستعجلوننا؟»
Jonathan Marcus, BBC, “Israel’s Syria ‘raid’ remains a mystery” MSK writes, "Everyone else should learn from Jonathan Marcus how to report on something without relying on rumors or spin-doctors."
Note how this “intelligence” was stovepiped.
Official Syrian Source: Our answer will be painful and Israel will pay dearly
Turkish intelligence assisted IDF in attack on Syria – report
Kuwaiti newspaper says Turkish intelligence provided Israel with information on targets Air Force allegedly attacked last week without Turkish government’s authorization
An Opposition Leader Sees a Way Out for Lebanon By MICHAEL SLACKMAN, NY Times
Lebanon’s speaker of Parliament on Wednesday pressed for agreement on his plan to restart negotiations between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the American-backed government.
Amal Saad-Ghorayeb kindly supplied the following Notes:
Syrian FM's visit to Jeddah cancelled: Al Mustaqbal, Naharnet and other Lebanese dailies:
Saudi Arabia announced Tuesday that a scheduled visit by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem to the kingdom for apparent rapprochement talks has been cancelled.
A Saudi official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said "the scheduled visit has been cancelled." He did not disclose further details.
The visit would have been the first by a Syrian official to Saudi Arabia since a public row between the two countries in mid-August.
Observers believe that using the word "cancelled" reflects extent of the deterioration in Saudi-Syrian relations.
An Arab diplomat familiar with Saudi thinking told Naharnet: "The Saudi official could have said the visit has been postponed, or even indefinitely postponed."
But by saying it has been cancelled the Saudi official "slammed the door in the face of Syrian rapprochement efforts. It is a way of expressing the kingdom's dismay," the diplomat said.
On its part, SANA said there was no scheduled Syrian visit to Saudi Arabia in the first place.
Syrian source denies US report on Israel targeting Hizbullah arms shipment
Manar TV: A Syrian source refuted the US report that Israeli warplanes targeted a weapon shipment intended for Hizbullah on Syrian territory last Thursday.
The source told Al-Manar that this is untrue, unfounded, ridiculous, and aims to mislead and draw attention away from the goals of this dangerous aggressive act. The Syrian source added that the details of the Israeli violation and the fact that the air defences forced the airplanes to drop their fuel tanks and ammunition confirms that these reports are not true.
Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations warned Wednesday Israel has yet to hear Damascus’ answer to the “act of hostility” committed by the Israeli Air Force last week.
"Our response has not yet come,” Bashar al-Jaafari told the BBC’s Arabic-language service.
He accused Israel of “seeking military escalation,” but stressed that Damascus was “exerting efforts so that we don’t fall into this trap.”
Syria's envoy the United Nations said Wednesday that Damascus was reserving the right to respond to the alleged air strike at the time and manner of its choosing.
"The Syrian response has not yet come," said Bashar al-Jaafari, in an interview with BBC Arabic.
Jaafari denied news reports that Israel had landed troops on the ground inside Syria.
A partial call-up of reserves is reported in Syria by Western sources in Lebanon
DEBKAfile: Those sources say Syria has mobilized armoured, missile, air crews and air defence units – partly in readiness for repeats of alleged Israeli incursions of Syrian airspace and partly in response to the partial call-up in Israel which began last Thursday, 6 September. The Syrian armed forces are on full alert.
DEBKAfile's sources report that the silent war of nerves, started after the first Syrian allegation that Israeli bombers had violated its airspace on Thursday, continues.
Jerusalem and Damascus are straining to hold back from an open clash, but voices are rising in the Syrian army urging President Bashar Assad to retaliate militarily to the purported Israeli infringement and come out of his passivity in the face of Israeli incursions. Assaf Shawqat, Syrian military intelligence chief and the president's brother-in-law, is the most insistent. According to Western sources, he has begun mobilizing his loyalists in the military officers' corps.
Israeli ministers and spokesmen are under strict orders not to utter a word about the episode.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert opened the weekly cabinet session in Jerusalem Sunday, 9 September, with the remark: "It is not always possible to show one's cards." Journalists were kept away from the ministers.
DEBKAfile's sources doubt whether this silent poker game can be sustained either by Jerusalem or Damascus in the present state of suspense. Since the "no comments" stratagem serve Israel's interests most, Syria is likely to make the first move; its call-up of reserves may be a straw in the wind.
The usual CIA analysts are “unaware” about it. From Israel to Bolton/Abrahms to Cheney/Hadley to the WaPo. We have seen that before.
How would one identify anything nuclear but a reactor encasing on an aerial picture? Impossible – and Syria is certainly not building a reactor (10-15 years, 1-2 billion).
This is “The Building of a Nuclear Syria Meme” written by Moon of Alabama – from RPS/Ghadry through Bolton/Abrams to Cheney/Hadley.
“Justification” for an Israeli attack on Syria.