Word: syrians
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Israel, facing an unexpectedly tough slog in Lebanon, wants to avoid war with Syria; the weekend moves came, officials say, because they worry Assad is too unpredictable, and his allies too radical, to ignore. (Even as Peretz announced the new bombing regime on the Lebanese-Syrian border, he insisted that the Israelis had "no intention to open a new front with Syria.") "This is not a fight Olmert is looking for at the moment," says Eyal Zisser, head of the Middle East History Department at Tel Aviv University. The IDF would undoubtedly win, he says. But badly needed resources...
...current conflict began. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) attacks destroyed buildings at the site, as well as what they said was a Hizballah-bound arms shipment, which the Lebanese claimed was part of a relief convoy. And, on Sunday, a landmine was triggered - perhaps accidentally, perhaps deliberately - along the Syrian boundary with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, near Quneitra. No injuries were reported...
...Thursday, Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal told TIME that Syria was determined to send its army into Lebanon if Israeli ground forces, which have not made much progress beyond the southern edge of Lebanon, managed to advance toward the Masnaa area. "We hope in the end we do not need to enter this adventure, He said. "But we do not trust them so close to our borders. If they come that close, we will not stand by with our arms folded...
...Damascus, for its part, is more than happy to avoid a punishing bout with the IDF. Despite tough talk, Syrian officials know their military is no match for the Israeli army - their antiquated weaponry and training can't compete with Israel's. That may be why Assad, in a previously scheduled speech hours after the Masnaa attacks, made no mention of the incidents. He may have insisted the "powers of hegemony" would not force Syria to "stop backing our brothers and the resistance," but his message to his own armed forces was confined to urging them to "pay more extensive...
...Assad] is very smart. Syria is not ready for war," says Syrian journalist Sami Moubayed. "But if the country is attacked, he will have no choice." Given their current limitations, Syria and Israel would certainly make for reluctant combatants - in fact, Syria is still angling to be part of any permanent Lebanese cease-fire solution. But neither of those facts would necessarily be enough to keep them from the battlefield, if there are a few more faceoffs like the one this past weekend. Experts say the odds are still against an armed clash between the two - but they aren...