Posted on 06/28/2006 10:22:16 AM PDT by Lunatic Fringe
JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli officials say warplanes flew over the home of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Only a hint?
Those guys have b***s. Period.
Just plane dang.
and yeah.. the syria af is probably smart.
They might be trying to avoid a precedence with regards to kidnapping their soldiers.
Take one of our guys and we go totally ape$hit. I like it.
From haaretz.com
20:02 IAF warplanes fly over palace of Syrian President Assad (Haaretz)
19:53 Peretz approves incursion into north Gaza Strip; IDF might act within hours (Haaretz)
19:22 Fatah-linked Al-Aqsa Martyrs` Brigades declare they abducted an Israeli man (AP)
19:13 Haifa court sentences mother to 18 years for killing her son 4 years ago (Itim)
19:10 IDF calls on northern Gaza residents to leave their homes (Channel 10)
18:46 Two Qassam rockets fired at Israel; no casualties reported (Haaretz)
18:38 IDF artillery is shelling open areas in the northern Gaza Strip (Haaretz)
18:08 Bill allowing women to freely decide to have abortions rejected (Haaretz)
18:08 Palestinians report gunmen have kidnapped a third Israeli (Channel 2)
18:00 Part of ceiling collapses in Netanya mall; five people lightly hurt (Israel Radio)
17:28 Hamas-led government calls for prisoner exchange to secure IDF soldier`s release (AP)
Ping.
Too bad they didn't drop any cargo...
Yeah, the "why" is not hard to understand, it's just that this isn't something you just do for the fun of it.
And ya gotta wonder what's happening inside the Syrian Air Defense right now. Wonder if Assad is on the phone right now with some of his Generals wondering what the ^%&#%^@#&$#^#!&%@ just happened? ;-)
The officials said four warplanes flew over a residence belonging to Assad in the Mediterranean port city of Latakia in northwestern Syria. Israeli television reports said Assad was home at the time.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the press.
Sh*t. Can you imagine how rattling it was for Assad to have four low flying jets gun their engines right over his house?
It's like, "we know where you sleep and we can take your butt out any time we like."
...and a video of the house where al-Zarquawi last resided. :)
Probably feeling awfully exposed up there on that hill. Not that he'll actually be staying there for quite a while now.
Mohammad Nazzal, a member of Hamas's exiled leadership (L), talks with the group's movement's supreme leader Khaled Meshaal at a news conference in Damascus January 28, 2006. Nazzal said on June 27, 2006 that exiled Hamas leaders are taking seriously Israeli threats to kill them although they were not involved in a Palestinian operation that captured an Israeli soldier. (Khaled Al-Hariri/Reuters)
I'm shocked Syria didn't at least fire SAMs.
And then there is this:
syria, iran: Defense agreement signed
Defense ministers from close allies Iran and Syria have signed an agreement in Teheran for military cooperation against what they called the “common threats” presented by Israel and the United States.
In a joint press conference, Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar and visiting Syrian counterpart Hassan Turkmani said their talks had been aimed at consolidating their defense efforts and strengthening support for one another.
“Our cooperation is based on a strategic pact and unity against common threats. We can have a common front against Israel’s threats”, Turkmani told reporters after two intensive rounds of talks with Najjar.
“Our cooperation with the Iranians against Israeli threats is nothing secret and we regularly consult about this with our friends”.
Before the press conference, Iran’s Defense Ministry said the two sides “stressed strengthening mutual ties and the necessity to preserve peace and stability in the region”.
The Defense Ministry statement also said they discussed “ridding the region of weapons of mass destruction,” in an apparent reference to the widely held belief that Israel possesses nuclear warheads.
Asked about US threats against Damascus and Teheran, both top brass brushed off the importance of such threats. “This is nothing new; we will resist these threats,” the Syrian minister said.
But Turkmani dismissed the possibility of hosting an Iranian military base on Syrian soil. “The language of a [foreign] military base in our country is alien to us. I want to say that it is not on the agenda”.
The Iranian defense minister said: “US threats are a kind of psychological operation. It is not new. With unity among the region’s nations, these threats will not prevail”.
Although the two refused to give specifics about the agreement for military cooperation, Najjar said Iran “considers Syria’s security its own security, and we consider our defense capabilities to be those of Syria”.
Najjar also ruled out reports that Iran could pose a threat to the region. “Iran is ready to sign a non aggression pact with regional countries.
“Our military warfare equipment is based on deterrent policies and strategy. Enemies should know about our capabilities and should not even think about an assault against us”, he said in response to a question about the optimization process going on for the medium range Shahab-3 missile.
Iran’s Shahab-3 missiles have a range of 2,000 kilometers, capable of hitting arch-enemy Israel and US bases across the Middle East.
Najjar added that the Syrian side had purchased some Iranian military equipment, but did not elaborate on the purchased items and did not say whether the purchases were made as part of the recent agreement.
During his trip, Turkmani has also met with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s military chiefs and visited military factories in Isfahan and Teheran.
IAF planes flew over Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's palace in the city of Latakia in northwestern Syria early Wednesday morning, officials revealed on Wednesday evening.
The IDF said the flyover, carried out by four planes flying in a low-altitude pattern, was a part of an overall IDF operation aimed at pressuring the Syrian leadership to expel Hamas Politburo chief Khaled Mashaal from Damascus.
According to Israel, Mashaal has been calling the shots out of the Syrian capital and orchestrated the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
Earlier, Justice Minister Haim Ramon said that Mashaal, was a target for assassination due to his ordering of the kidnapping of Shalit.
"He is definitely in our sights ... he is a target," Ramon told Army Radio. "Khaled Mashaal, as some who is overseeing, actually commanding the terror acts, is definitely a target."
Interior Minister and former Shin Bet head Avi Dichter said that the only reason Mashaal is not in an Israeli jail is that Israel, as an enlightened nation, has placed certain restrictions upon itself.
Mashaal is allegedly responsible for the attack Sunday in which two soldiers were killed and a third kidnapped, Ramon said. Israel launched a ground offensive into the southern Gaza Strip early Wednesday in an effort to force the kidnappers to free the soldier.
Israel tried to kill Mashaal in a botched assassination attempt in Jordan in 1997. Two Mossad agents injected Mashaal with poison, but were caught. As Mashaal lay dying in a Jordanian hospital, King Hussein of Jordan forced Israel to provide the antidote in return for the release of the Mossad agents.
Binyamin Netanyahu, who was prime minister at the time, was also forced to release Hamas's spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin form Israeli prison. Yassin was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza in March 2004.
Ramon, who said Mashaal was the equivalent to Osama Bin Laden, called on the international community to force Syrian President Bashar Assad to expel Mashaal from Damascus, where he has operated freely for years.
After the assassination attempt, Jordan's relationship with Hamas deteriorated and Mashaal was expelled to Qatar, where he lived before moving to Damascus
I would bet Israel has evidence that Syrian Intelligence have been sneaking in the cookie jar again.
Remember, Israel is under new leadership and Omert doesn't have the "toughness cred" that Sharon had. This is his first "crisis" and he needs, politically speaking, to prove his metal.
Plus, military people don't like leaving one of their own behind, and considering the attack and kidnapping occured on Israeli soil, it may have been one push to far for the IDF. They may have, behind closed doors, pushed for a tough response.
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