Are the Syrians Insane?

[onedomino]

We are going to be forced to take these guys out. Is the Syrian Government so afraid of its radical population element that it will not even act for self preservation? Does the Syrian regime wants to go down the tubes with the Iranian mullahs as the Tehran regime defies most of the world’s democracies? Behind closed doors, what have the Russians told their long-time totalitarian client state? Why should we not stand off in the Mediterranean and continuously shoot cruise missiles at high value economic, governmental, and military targets until the lunatics running the Syrian terror show cease and desist?

Arms Still Smuggled into Lebanon from Syria: UN

http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=N30441588

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Lebanon regularly reports arms being smuggling into the country from Syria but the authorities are treading softly due to their fragile political situation, a senior U.N. envoy said on Monday.

Government officials have informed the United Nations of smuggling as recently as "the last few weeks," although they are providing no information on the quantities or types of arms being secreted across the border, said Terje Roed-Larsen, the top U.N. diplomat on Lebanese ties with Syria.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, quoting Roed-Larsen, said the officials were not being precise about the smuggling for fear of retaliation from Syria.

"The absence of complete cooperation by the government of Syria remains very troubling in that respect and I think it's very courageous for any of the democratic politicians in Lebanon to go about their business under that kind of threat," Bolton told reporters.

Asked about Bolton's comments, Roed-Larsen said he had no specific information about threats of retaliation.

But he noted there had been 14 assassinations or attempted assassinations in Lebanon since the February 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

"Generally speaking, the situation in Lebanon is worrisome," Roed-Larsen said. "The political rhetoric shows that there are very high tensions, and I think we have to look at the situation in Lebanon with all caution."

Syria acknowledges there might be smuggling but insists the border is porous and very difficult to control, he said. Do they want some help? A UAV or two? Or do they want cruise missiles to land? Choose!

Security Council resolutions in 2005 and 2006 imposed an arms embargo on Lebanon and called on it to disarm all militias on its soil, including Hezbollah, an armed group as well as a part of the Lebanese government.

Israel regularly accuses Syria of continuing to smuggle arms to Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, in violation of the Aug. 14 cease-fire ending the 34-day Israeli-Hezbollah war.

Israel has insisted on conducting surveillance flights over southern Lebanon, which also violate the cease-fire, saying it needs to do so to monitor the smuggling.

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz told a parliamentary committee two weeks ago, "if it turns into a steady occurrence, we will deal with the smuggling ourselves."

Roed-Larsen praised Lebanon's efforts to end the smuggling by deploying soldiers along the border with Syria and in southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah guerrillas are active.

"I think the government of Lebanon is doing its very best to stop the transport of weapons across the border," he said. "If this is sufficient, only time can show."

 

[CSM]

IMO, we should be careful of criticizing other countries who cannot control their borders when we can't control our own! How long will it be before some serious arms smuggling transits our own borders?

 

[90K]

IMO, we should be careful of criticizing other countries who cannot control their borders when we can't control our own! How long will it be before some serious arms smuggling transits our own borders?

Yeah calling the kettle black....Not to worry Israel will learn'em soon enough.

 

[onedomino]

IMO, we should be careful of criticizing other countries who cannot control their borders when we can't control our own! How long will it be before some serious arms smuggling transits our own borders?

I do not know for a fact, but I believe that the Syrian Government is complicit (and in fact are the same thing) with the gun smugglers. Never once have I read about a Syrian Goverment interdiction attempt with the gun smugglers. Even if it is a cannot-control-their-own-borders thing, why no media bytes of at least an attempt? Nah, the Syrian Government and the gun smugglers are the same thing. Also never heard of a Syrian Government interdiction attempt against foreign fighters entering Iraq from their western border. Those guys in Damascus need at least some warning shots. They know where Hezbollah's Syrian offices and camps are located. Even if it is true that they cannot control their own borders, they could at least pressure Hezbollah's leadership directly. Come to think of it, I'll stay with my original position. The Syrians are in desperate need of a Tomahawk visit, or 30.

 

[Annie]

The Israelis definately know about this.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/ap/world/4299084

Oct. 31, 2006, 4:34AM

Israel jets stage mock raids over Beirut
By ZEINA KARAM Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Israeli fighter jets staged mock raids over Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut and two southern towns on Tuesday in the heaviest show of air power over Lebanon since an August cease-fire ended the war between Israel and the guerrillas.
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The warplanes dived low over Beirut's southern suburbs at least six times before roaring back into the sky, Lebanese security officials said.

In south Lebanon, officials and witnesses reported Israeli planes staging mock raids over the towns of Nabatiyeh and Tyre.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give press statements, said eight Israeli jets had crossed the border and dispersed over southern and central Lebanon. Concerned residents took to rooftops and balconies to watch the mock raids over south Beirut.

The Lebanese army issued a statement saying its gunners fired anti-aircraft artillery at the planes in south Lebanon.

The army statement said four Israeli planes flew over southern Lebanon and four overflew the rest of the country, including Beirut.

Lebanon's official National News Agency reported that the Israeli planes released material to draw away heat-seeking missiles over southern Beirut.

The Israeli military refused to confirm that its planes had flown over Beirut or other areas, saying it does not release details of military operations.

Tuesday's show was the heaviest aerial incursion of Lebanon since the end of Israel's 34-day offensive against the Hezbollah militant group. Lebanon, with United Nations support, has frequently protested Israeli flights over its territory.

The war, which ended in a U.N.-brokered cease-fire on Aug. 14, killed more than 1,000 people _ mostly Lebanese civilians.

The mock raids came only hours after U.N. envoy Terje Roed-Larsen told the Security Council that the Lebanese government had reported that arms were being smuggled into Lebanon from Syria.

The operation also came a few hours before Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah was scheduled to appear on a Lebanese television channel.

Nasrallah has been in hiding since the Israeli offensive began in July, appearing in public only once, on Sept. 22, to give a speech at a Hezbollah "victory rally." Israeli officials have threatened to assassinate him.

South Beirut was heavily bombed during the Israeli offensive, with entire city blocks being reduced to rubble as Israeli aircraft tried to hit Hezbollah officials and destroy their offices.

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz told a parliamentary committee earlier this month that French troops in the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon had warned Israel that their jets may not remain immune if they continue to violate Lebanese airspace.

Israeli warplanes have flown over Lebanon for decades, gathering intelligence and making their presence known with sonic booms over Beirut.

Flights at Beirut's international airport, which lies south of the city, were not affected Tuesday.

 

[CSM]

I do not know for a fact, but I believe that the Syrian Government is complicit (and in fact are the same thing) with the gun smugglers. Never once have a read about a Syrian Goverment interdiction attempt with the gun smugglers. Even if it is a cannot-control-their-own=borders thing, why no media bytes of at least an attempt? Nah, the Syrian Government and the gun smugglers are the same thing. Also never heard of a Syrian Government interdiction attempt against foreign fighters entering Iraq from their western border. Those guys in Damascus need at least some warning shots. They know where Hezbollah's Syrian offices and camps are located. Even if it is true that they cannot control their own borders, they could at least pressure Hezbollah's leadership directly. Come to think of it, I'll stay with my original position. The Syrians are in desperate need of a Tomahawk visit, or 30.

Sorry, I guess my sarcasm was far too obtuse. I am in agreement that Syria needs a severe warning, backed by an appropriate demonstration that their logistic support is not going unnoticed....Tomahawks are indeed good for that sort of thing.

 

[theHawk]

Tomahawks won't do shit. Nuke'em and be done with it.

 

[onedomino]

Tomahawks won't do shit. Nuke'em and be done with it.

You know what's almost as scary as nuclear weapons? People like you.

 

[90K]

You know what's almost as scary as nuclear weapons? People like you.

I guess wishful thinking doesn't apply. It would have been nice that when our military was doing it's initial clean up of Iraq we could have done a few fly by's over the syrian capital for a show of force and as a reminder of there role in policing it's own people. Israel will go into syria again soon and this time they will use ear plugs so they can't hear the rest of the world. It is a shame that peaceful means couldn't have ever happened.

 

[onedomino]

US issues Lebanon 'Plot' Warning

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6107224.stm

The United States has said there is "mounting evidence" that Syria, Iran and Hezbollah are planning to topple the Lebanese government.

The White House said Syria hoped to stop the formation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the killing of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri.

Spokesman Tony Snow said any attempt to destabilise the Lebanese government would violate UN resolutions.

Syria's ambassador to the US rejected the allegations as "ridiculous".

A UN team has been investigating who was behind Mr Hariri's death in 2005.

Hezbollah Demand

The BBC News website's world affairs correspondent Paul Reynolds says the White House statement appears to result from the tense situation in Lebanon, where Hezbollah is demanding one third of cabinet seats, thereby giving it a veto over decisions.

Such a veto would enable it to block approval of the international tribunal to try suspects in Mr Hariri's assassination, our correspondent says.

The Hezbollah leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, has threatened street demonstrations in support of his demand.

We are... increasingly concerned by mounting evidence that the Syrian and Iranian governments, Hezbollah, and their Lebanese allies are preparing plans to topple Lebanon's democratically-elected government

The US is concerned that this instability could result in the fall of the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

The statement also casts doubt on any willingness by the Bush administration to consider Syria and Iran as potential partners over the future of Iraq, an idea that the Baker commission on Iraq is expected to suggest, our correspondent adds.

Former US Secretary of State James Baker is heading a bipartisan Iraq Study Group, considering future strategy in Iraq for US policy makers.

Hariri Tribunal

The White House said it was "increasingly concerned by mounting evidence that the Syrian and Iranian governments, Hezbollah, and their Lebanese allies are preparing plans to topple Lebanon's democratically-elected government.

"There are indications that one goal of the Syrian plan is to prevent the current Lebanese government from approving the statute for an international tribunal that would try those accused of involvement in former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination," the statement continued.

But the Syrian ambassador to the US, Imad Moustapha, told the BBC's Newshour programme that the allegations were "ridiculous, verging on the silly".

"It's a shame that the United States, a world superpower, would belittle itself to such petty politics. Let's be clear about this. Today, in Lebanon, there is a domestic political bickering. This is a purely Lebanese issue.

"We, in Syria, respect the sovereignty of Lebanon, we are not interfering on this, and we call on the United States to follow suit and not to interfere in Lebanese domestic issues," Mr Moustapha said.

In March, the UN Security Council approved the formation of an international tribunal that would try those accused of involvement in the murder of Mr Hariri.

The UN sent a draft plan for the tribunal to Lebanese authorities on 21 October but it has yet to be approved of by Lebanon's cabinet and parliament or by the UN Security Council.

Mr Hariri was killed on 14 February 2005, along with 20 others in a massive blast on Beirut's seafront.

UN investigators said in September they had found new evidence that he was probably killed by a suicide bomber.

The assassination has been widely blamed on Syria, but Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has repeatedly denied that his country had anything to do with the killing.

-

 

[glockmail]

IMO, we should be careful of criticizing other countries who cannot control their borders when we can't control our own! How long will it be before some serious arms smuggling transits our own borders?

Somebody tell me what is so damn difficult of stringing two rows of barbed wire 400 yards apart with signs warning of certain death, towers at one mile increments, electronic sensors every 100 yards, predator flyovers frequent and random, with a simple RUE: shoot everything inside except the guy cutting the grass?