[Southack]

"Sounds like Israel would be perfectly justified hitting staging areas within Syria for these transports. Why are we and Israel so timid about hitting Syria for its support of terrorists both in Lebanon and Iraq???"

Different cultures; different perspectives.

Syria is a merchant nation. It makes its money from caravans that pass through it (often smuggling). It has no oil.

Arabs would view attacking Syria over the issue of caravans destined for Hezbollah in the same way that a Western mind would view bombing New York City if a U.S. bank facilitated a wire transfer of money to Al Qaeda.

Different cultures. Different perspectives.

So no one is going to go to war over wire transfers or merchant caravans.

[MikeA]

I don't know how you can glibly dismiss this as a "merchant caravan." The Syrian regime is facilitating the arming and funding of a major terrorist operation against Israel and the United States. Hezbollah maintains its headquarters in Damascus and they along with the Iranians have grown Hezbollah into a major fighting force with modern weapondry and ample funding. The Syrians have also allowed their country to be used as a staging ground and a major transit point for jihadi terrorists entering Iraq. This is just smuggling bootleg CDs or cheap designer knock offs my friend. This is a major operation of terrorism support against two of Syria's neighbors. The Syrian regime would not allow armed groups to operate from its territory if it did not want them there, especially armed groups that could cause the Syrian regime to be drawn into a war.

Your analogy about New York banking transactions was at best tortured. The more apt analogy would be if the US allowed armed terrorist gangs to operate from its territory, providing supply and logistics to them to attack both Canada and Mexico. I don't think either nation would sit still for that. Nor should Israel tolerate it or the US whose soldiers are dying because it's been allowed to go on.

[tet68]

I don't think your anology is quite on, if a bank in Egypt
was handling large money transfers to facilitate American
interests in the middle east, the Islamofacists would have
no problem at all bombing the crap out of it.

It's time the facilitators were given a hard lesson, we will
wipe out your proxies and destroy your means to supply them.
Want to keep on? Let's dance!
Only the West's resolve will give the Islamics pause, reticence is viewed as weakness and provides proof of the
validity of their mindset.

[Ben Mugged]

Since the 1970s Syria has pursued what is now one of the most advanced Arab state chemical weapons (CW) capabilities. It has a stockpile of the nerve agent sarin that can be delivered by aircraft or ballistic missiles, and has engaged in the research and development of more toxic and persistent nerve agents such as VX.

Why would a "merchant nation" pursue WMDs along with Iran and North Korea? Their economy is based on:

Natural resources: petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower. Exports: $6.344 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat. Imports: $5.973 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper. Major trading partners: Italy, France, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, China, Russia, U.S., South Korea, Italy (2004)

If you believe these farmers and miners are trading missiles and WMDs with terrorists for profit, you are gravely, and dangerously, mistaken.