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Old February 17th, 2018 #21
frenkel
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Post Nasrallah: Shooting down Israeli jet 'a very big military achievement'

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah praised Friday the shooting down of an Israeli fighter jet last Saturday by Syrian anti-aircraft fire, describing it as "a very big military achievement."

The leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist organization made the comments during a televised address to a Beirut rally commemmorating the death of senior Hezbollah commanders.



Nasrallah emphasized that the decision to shoot down the plane was a purely Syrian decision, taken by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and other high-ranking Syrian officials, without Iranian influence.

The F-16 fighter jet was shot down after Israeli aircraft targeted a series of Iranian and Syrian military targets located in Syria. The strikes came in response to an Iranian drone flown from Syria into Israeli territory earlier in the day. The drone was intercepted by an Israeli Air Force Apache helicopter.

The F-16's two Israeli airmen ejected from the aircraft, parachuting to safety inside Israel.

Netanyahu on Friday expressed Israel's readiness to continue striking Iranian targets in Syria should it prove necessary.

“Iran should not build its military bases there — we’ll act against it,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Bystanders look on at the remnants of an Israeli F-16 fighter jet shot down by Syrian forces, February 2018 (RONEN ZVULUN/ REUTERS)Bystanders look on at the remnants of an Israeli F-16 fighter jet shot down by Syrian forces, February 2018 (RONEN ZVULUN/ REUTERS)

Nasrallah also addressed rising border tensions between Israel and Lebanon amid furious Lebanese reactions to a new border wall being built by Israel and a dispute over maritime borders between the countries.

Israel states that the new border wall is to be constructed entirely on its side of the UN-recognised ceasefire line. Lebanese officials have argued, however, that the wall represents an intrusion into Lebanese territory.

The IDF told The Jerusalem Post last month that work on the border fence was continuing as normal.

Lebanon has also stated its intention to explore for offshore energy near the disputed maritime border. Assistant US Secretary of State David Satterfield has been mediating between the two countries regarding both the border wall and maritime issues.

Nasrallah stated that the US must ensure compliance with Lebanese demands regarding the disputes in order to "hold Hezbollah back from Israel."

"In the oil and gas battle, the only power [the Lebanese] have is the resistance," the Hezbollah leader said regarding the maritime dispute.
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“If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is superior in strength, evade him.”
 
Old February 18th, 2018 #22
littlefieldjohn
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Quote:

"When red lines are crossed in Syria, expect israel to be shaken."


Israel found its defeat when its F-16 was shot down hard to swallow, and it will undoubtedly seek revenge. But during the seven years of the Syrian war all it did was to fight “quick battles between wars”, prolonging the Syrian war. Israel is now discovering that the longer the war lasted, the greater the strength of the Syrian army, Iran and Hezbollah: the “axis of the resistance” represented by these is therefore winning and its opponents are losing.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not learn the lessons, and he also deceived the decision-makers in his country. Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin seven times to convince the Israelis that he was able to impress upon the Russian President the prime importance of Israel’s security. This alone would have given Israel enough authority to do whatever it wanted in Syria.

But Netanyahu didn’t report back to his partners in Israel that Putin had clearly stated: “We do not want to be part of your war with Hezbollah and Iran, but it must not be allowed to harm those who are fighting with the Russian army in Syria. And if you want to target the odd Hezbollah ammunition depot or convoy, that’s your business”.

Moscow does not want Israel to play in its Syrian court, and for many reasons: the Levant opened the door wide for Russia to come into the Middle East and have a robust access to the Mediterranean, shake NATO (through its strong alliance with Turkey), and restore its prestige wounded in Afghanistan by America. And clearly it wishes to dismantle the US’s plans for weakening Russia economically and politically.



The US, imagining it could strike Russia without triggering any reaction, tried originally to hit Moscow’s economy through Ukraine by trying to interrupt the Russian gas supply that feeds Europe- and forms the cornerstone of the Russian economy . And lastly, the US sought to remove Russia definitively from the entire Middle East after striking Libya and trying to change the regime in Syria where the Russian navy was based.

Moscow seems faithful to its friends and protective of its interests, and this is what Syria can provide and benefit from if it remains a strong state. Analysts believed throughout the war years that Russia was abandoning President Bashar al-Assad in return for remaining in Syria. But the world did not understand that Russia – as well as Iran – saw in Assad (and in no other possible president-candidate) the only person could live up to his promises and stand up to America.

However, like America, Israel has been reluctant to accept its defeat in Syria and the failure of its project to overthrow Assad and change the regime. It has attacked the Syrian army on several occasions without substantially altering the strategic balance of power in Syria. But this disturbed Russia, and explains why it gave the green light to the government of Damascus for directing its anti-air missiles towards Israel.

The Israeli Air Force has been hitting deep in the Syrian desert in the past, causing Russia discomfort. Netanyahu thought he was the darling child of President Donald Trump and that Vladimir Putin would understand that. The Israeli Prime Minister did not understand that the only reason the Russian President seems happy to see his counterpart President Trump in power is that the latter understands little about politics. Therefore, Moscow can accurately predict the steps that the military and advisors around Trump will take. And Israel’s violation of Syrian sovereignty would never be protected by Russia.

When Israel insisted on resending its Air Force towards the Syrian desert, falling headlong into the trap, it was surprised to see Syrian air defence ready to hunt it down. Putin reminded Trump’s spoiled child –Prime Minister Netanyahu – that he could not go beyond the red lines, especially since the Russian officers work alongside their allied forces counterparts (Hezbollah, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and their other allies). The Russian President is not expecting, nor expected, to allow any of his soldiers to be killed by Israel’s air force. Will he listen to Israel’s belated excuses, with Netanyahu asking for forgiveness-while Putin loses his prestige in Russia? This is just not going to happen.

Israel played a losing card in insisting on this futile policy in Syria. An Israeli jet was shot down for the first time in 36 years, allowing President Assad and his allies to collect a victory and regain prestige in the Middle Eastern streets. Israel did not understand that it could no longer achieve its goals in Syria, that the variety of options had shrunk, and that the policy of intimidation – which Israel cannot abandon – far from helping, only strengthens its enemies, Assad, Hezbollah and Iran.

When Hezbollah hit the INS Hanit Sa’ar-5 class corvette of the Israeli Navy during the 2006 war, it effectively removed the entire Israeli Navy from the battle, showing Israel both how determined Hezbollah is to fight, and its capacity to innovate, and reveal military surprises. The downing of the Israeli F-16 certainly informed Tel Aviv that Syria has recovered, ready to do what it has not done since 1973: it is certainly ready for war.

America is in the north-east of Syria and can only get out once it is seriously in trouble-wounded. Netanyahu, who has climbed the tree to sit next to Donald Trump on the same Syrian branch, has supported the jihadists-Takfiris of al-Qaeda and repetitively attacked the Syrian army. Today, the two leaders refuse to recognize that they are up the wrong tree: it is not even their tree! So there is a danger that they will only climb down from the tree when they are both hurt. It is very probable they both need a few more hard years to learn their lesson and let go of Syria.

https://ejmagnier.com/2018/02/11/whe...-to-be-shaken/
 
Old February 18th, 2018 #23
Crowe
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I bet those Israeli air pirates thought they were invincible while flying over Syrian airspace.

I haven't seen the supposed "revenge" they plan on getting yet. What are they waiting for? I think they know that "revenge" is just going to resort in more casualties on their part. Probably at a greater cost to them than the damage they'll inflict on their enemies. In which case, they'd just end up looking weak, rather than tough. Further emboldening the enemies that surround them. That's the psychological consequences for getting one of your invincible fighters shot down. It's a small victory for Syria and it's allies, but it has implications on moral for both sides.
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Old February 22nd, 2018 #24
frenkel
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“If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is superior in strength, evade him.”
 
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