Israel worrying about fate of Syria's conventional arsenal

Reuters ^ | Tue Jan 29, 2013 12:39pm EST | Dan Williams

[ExxonPatrolUs]

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Syria's advanced conventional weapons would represent as much of a threat to Israel as its chemical arms should they fall into the hands of Syrian rebel forces or Hezbollah guerrillas, Israeli sources said on Tuesday.

Such concerns suggest that Israel, which has signaled heightened readiness over the last week to react militarily if it thinks Damascus is losing control of its chemical arsenal, could also intervene over Syria's Russian-supplied missiles.

"It's clear that unconventional weaponry is a very grave matter. But when you look at the overall, relevant arsenal, Syria has new, advanced (conventional) weapons of a kind you don't find elsewhere in the Middle East," a source briefed on Israeli defense planning told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

A former Israeli national security adviser, Uzi Arad, said in a radio interview on Monday that Syria - where President Bashar al-Assad is battling a 22-month-old armed uprising - had 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents.

Israeli officials have also voiced concern about Syria's advanced Russian-supplied weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles.

Israel fears that should such weapons fall into the hands of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon, this could dent the Jewish state's superiority in any future confrontation.

During a 2006 war with Hezbollah, Israel had complete air dominance during countless bombing runs over southern Lebanon, though it was surprised when one of its ships off the Lebanese coast was hit by a cruise missile, killing four servicemen.

[UCANSEE2]

Now... think back to what the CIA and Ambassador Stevens were doing just prior to his death.

[UCANSEE2]

Oops. I meant Ambassador Stephens.

[BenLurkin]