Pakistan and Afghanistan are the Eastern theater of the War on Terrorism; Iran and Iraq are the central theater; the Western theater is Lebanon, Israel, and the Palestinian territories, where the conflict ended inconclusively last summer thanks to indecisive and incompetent Israeli leadership. As a result, all observers have been watching the various parties prepare for "round two."
The beleaguered semi-liberal government of Lebanon at least has one success to report: it has finally cleared out the last remnants of an al-Qaeda-style terrorist group in a Palestinian "refugee camp" in Northern Lebanon. So now it can turn back to the more pressing matter of preparing for a civil war with the Iranian backed Hezbollah militia in Southern Lebanon.
In the meantime, the conflict may soon become a fight between Israel and Syria. According to the breaking news report linked to below, mysterious reports from last week of a skirmish between Israeli jets and the Syrian air defense system turn out to be an Israeli air strike on Syrian supply lines bringing weapons to Hezbollah.
The Israeli intelligence website DEBKAfile also speculates that this mission was an Israeli test of new anti-aircraft weapons purchased by Syria from Russia—a test meant to probe for weakness (successfully, it seems) in preparation for a military showdown between Israel and Syria.
"Syria Complains to UN about Israeli Airstrike," CNN.com, September 11 Syria accused Israel of a "flagrant violation" of its obligations when it carried out an airstrike inside the country last week, according to a copy of a letter released Tuesday….
Last week, Syria reported that its aircraft fired on Israeli "enemy aircraft" that flew into northern Syria early Thursday. The airstrike may have targeted weapons that were destined for Hezbollah militants, according to sources in the region and in the United States. The Israel Defense Forces had no comment on the report, and have refused to comment further on the new revelations. But the sources told CNN the military operation, which happened Wednesday into Thursday, may have also involved Israeli ground forces who directed the airstrike, which "left a big hole in the desert" in Syria.
The strike may have targeted Hezbollah weapons coming into Syria or transiting through the country from Iran—a pattern that, over the past three or four years, has occurred without any retaliation or other action taken against it—the sources said.
The Israeli government is very happy with the success of the operation, the sources said.
Sources in the US government and military confirmed to CNN's Barbara Starr that the airstrike did happen, and that they are happy to have Israel carry the message to both Syria and Iran that they can get in and out and strike when necessary.
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