Sunday, September 16, 2007

A message for Iran


Iran Policy -Helene Cooper

An Israeli airstrike in Syria last week kicked up speculation in the Iranian press that Israel, in alliance with the United States, was really trying to send a message to Iran that it could strike Iranian nuclear facilities if it chose to.

“If I were the Iranians, what I’d be freaked out about is that the other Arab states didn’t protest” the airstrike, said George Perkovich, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “The Arab world nonreaction is a signal to Iran, that Arabs aren’t happy with Iran’s power and influence...
[New York Times]


Sources Confirm Israeli Airstrike on Syria

The strike may have targeted Hizbullah weapons coming into Syria or transiting through the country from Iran, according to sources in the region and in the U.S.

Sources said the military operation may have also involved Israeli ground forces who directed the airstrike... The Israeli government is very happy with the success of the operation, the sources said.

Sources in the U.S. government and military confirmed that the airstrike did happen, and that they are happy to have Israel carry the message to both Syria and Iran that they can get in and out and strike when necessary.
(CNN)

Israel Eyes Possible Nuclear Installations in Syria -Mark Mazzetti & Helene Cooper

One administration official said Israel carried out reconnaissance flights over Syria, taking pictures of possible nuclear installations that Israeli officials believed might have been supplied with material from North Korea. The official said Israeli officials believed that North Korea might be unloading nuclear material on Syria.
(New York Times)

The Airstrike in Syria Is a Secret that Cannot Be Kept
-Amos Harel & Avi Issacharoff

The Syrians are not talking about the "strategic" target that was bombed in their territory - according to the Lebanese press.

(Ha'aretz)

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