Ashkenazi: Winner of conflict forced upon Israel must be clear

In comments made a day after reports circulated claiming several IAF planes had entered Syrian airspace, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. -Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said that the winner and loser of a future war would have to be made apparent.

"In any future conflict forced upon the state of Israel, there will be a need to ensure that it is known who lost and who won."

Ashkenazi made his comments during a meeting held with high-ranking reserve officers on Friday and made no connection between his statement and the latest fears surrounding a war with Syria.

Earlier Friday, in the first reaction from an Israeli official to Wednesday night's alleged IAF foray over Syria, Science, Culture and Sports Minister Ghaleb Majadle said that IAF planes enter Syrian airspace on a daily basis, adding that he did not believe the latest alleged incident would spark off a war.

Majadle told the Nazareth-based A-Sinara newspaper that while he had no specific information about the latest alleged operation, it was likely that "the planes either entered Syrian airspace to take photographs or in error."

Meanwhile, Arab countries continued denouncing the yet-unconfirmed IAF flight over Syria as unprovoked. The Arab League announced that the alleged over flight of IAF planes in Syrian airspace was intolerable, Army Radio reported.

Arab League chief Amr Moussa said that "the unbearable move" revealed negative Israeli intentions for the upcoming Middle East peace conference.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that Israel's so-called aerial violations overnight Wednesday added to the regional tension.

Earlier Friday, Syria accused Israel of jeopardizing the chances of success in the upcoming US-sponsored Middle East meeting.

Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Ja'afari told Al-Jazeera that the alleged IAF operation came only a few hours after Arab League foreign ministers in Cairo had published a message of support for the meeting and had called for Syria to be invited.

Also, a Syrian government newspaper warned that the country "possesses the means to respond ... so that it will deter Israel against proceeding with such unpredictable adventures."

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem after the alleged over flight to offer support and condemn Israel's actions, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported Friday.

In Washington, the US State Department had no specific comment on the incident, citing the lack of details about what happened.

"I'd leave it up to the parties to describe what happened. We'll leave it to them to try and sort this out," deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters Thursday.

"In any future conflict forced upon the state of Israel, there will be a need to ensure that it is known who lost and who won."

We and the Israelis will know who won. But the Arabs.... even after the Israelis kicked the Egyptians out of Sinai in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and crossed the Suez into Egypt, Sadat and company still proclaimed it as a victory. And the Ay-rabs know that the UN will intervene to save their sorry asses before the Israelis can finish the job.

IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. -Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said that the winner and loser of a future war would have to be made apparent.

Here's my solution:

Mongol General: ... Conan, what is best in life?

Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!

But the Arabs.... even after the Israelis kicked the Egyptians out of Sinai in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and crossed the Suez into Egypt, Sadat and company still proclaimed it as a victory. And the Ay-rabs know that the UN will intervene to save their sorry asses before the Israelis can finish the job.

There was as similar problem with Germany after WW1 - their populations never saw devastation or occupation. As a result, future demogogues (particularly, Hitler) were able to claim that the nation was "stabbed in the back." The nation didn't understand how terrible war was, and they were easily led into another war with the promise of restoring "national honor."

The Arab nations that wish to start up with Israel YET AGAIN, must be dealt with in the harshest possible manner - a manner calculated to leave no doubt in anyone's mind that the government of their country (or their thuggish, thieving leadership, in the case of the Pallies) was incredibly incompetent and a bunch of liars. Further, they will then know the horror of war and not be so easily led into it in the future.

Israel did something similar to Syria toward the end of the '73 war. Dams, railroads, electric plants, etc., etc. were bombed all over Syria after the major fighting was done, as a lesson to the Syrian leadership in what happens when you F with the Israelis. Evidently, after 34 years and a generational change, this lesson has been forgotten - or it was never learned well enough in the first place. If another war comes, the lesson must be taught again:

The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

Isaiah 17:1

(Who says that G-d must make Damascus a ruinous heap?)

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