U.S. believes Israel has conducted an airstrike into Syria

[SlyPokerDog]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/03/world/meast/israel-airstrike-syria/index.html?sr=reddit

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Israel confirms airstrike inside Syria

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/05/201354434558135.html

 

[Further]

If all is as it seems, then good for Israel. However, I have no way of actually knowing if all really is as it seems.

 

[ABM]

It's on..

http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-warplanes-strike-syria-escalation-073408782.html

BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli warplanes struck areas in and around the Syrian capital Sunday, setting off a series of explosions as they targeted a shipment of highly accurate, Iranian-made guided missiles believed to be bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, officials and activists said.

The attack, the second in three days and the third this year, signaled a sharp escalation of Israel's involvement in Syria's bloody civil war. Syrian state media reported that Israeli missiles struck a military and scientific research center near Damascus and caused casualties.

Syria's Foreign Ministry condemned the attacks, saying the "flagrant Israeli aggression aims to give direct military support to terrorist groups" fighting the government. Syria refers to rebels trying to topple President Bashar Assad's regime as "terrorists."

The ministry, in letters sent to the United Nations and the U.N. Security Council, also said the Israeli strikes killed and wounded several people and "caused widespread destruction."

The Syrian government was holding an emergency Cabinet meeting Sunday afternoon to discuss the attacks, according to state TV.

While the government tried to use the airstrikes to taint the rebels by linking them to Israel, Syria's arch rival, the attacks still pose a dilemma for an Assad regime already battling a relentless rebellion at home. If it fails to respond, it looks weak and opens the door to such airstrikes becoming a common occurrence. But any military retaliation against Israel would risk dragging the Jewish state and its powerful army into a broader conflict.

The tempo of the new strikes added a dangerous dynamic to the conflict, fueling concerns that events could spin out of control and spark a regional crisis.

Israel's military on Sunday deployed two batteries of its Iron Dome rocket defense system to the north of the country. It described the move as part of "ongoing situational assessments."............

 

[maxiep]

Israel has been abandoned by the US. They're now going to act in their best interests, because their survival is at stake. It gives them a tremendous freedom, but also makes them very dangerous.

 

[jlprk]

I may have this wrong, but I think the first Israeli attack this week was against several buildings and planes at the capital's airport, and can barely be justified as attacking one plane containing a Hezbollah shipment.

The second attack two days later bombed up Syria's Pentagon, its military headquarters, and cannot be justified other than to say that Israel has now joined the war in Syria. This means that Iran need not operate under any cover and can send all the troops and arms it wants. Now that it's a war between Syria and Israel, all Muslim governments will be pressured by their citizens to send assistance to Syria.