WATANI International
25 April 2010
Reports that Syria has supplied or is moving towards the supply of Scud missiles to Hizbollah mark a new and worrying development in the Middle East. Though Damascus denied it, intelligence sources confirm that the rumours are not baseless. And tensions are undoubtedly running high: Jordan##s King Abdullah II was reported to have told lawmakers in Washington this week that he believed a new conflict between Israel and Hizbollah was near. Israeli alarm at a Scud-armed enemy on its northern border is understandable. Though Hizbollah is already believed to possess long-range missiles, Scuds represent a new level of threat to population centres and Israel##s security installations. Some of them could come fitted with chemical warheads.
Syria has recently been courted by the US and has been making encouraging diplomatic noises. But it must also act tough in the eyes of its traditional allies, including Iran. This two-faced strategy is making conflict more likely. However, Israel too is treading a dangerous path if it is publicly exaggerating the threat from Hizbollah. It would open itself to the accusation that it is diverting attention from its settlement expansion in East Jerusalem, and even of paving the way for an assault on Hizbollah and Syria that would limit the potential for retaliation should it decide to attack Iran##s nuclear sites.
Meanwhile, Barack Obama has not found the right tone. His distancing of the US##s interests from Israel##s, in an effort to force a halt to settlement expansion, is riling Jewish interest groups and encouraging Iran and others to ramp up their anti-Israel rhetoric. This is alarming. Washington must focus on diverting Syria from its dangerous course while prodding the Palestinians and Israelis to resume talks as soon as possible.
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The Daily Telegraph, editorial
Syria has recently been courted by the US and has been making encouraging diplomatic noises. But it must also act tough in the eyes of its traditional allies, including Iran. This two-faced strategy is making conflict more likely. However, Israel too is treading a dangerous path if it is publicly exaggerating the threat from Hizbollah. It would open itself to the accusation that it is diverting attention from its settlement expansion in East Jerusalem, and even of paving the way for an assault on Hizbollah and Syria that would limit the potential for retaliation should it decide to attack Iran##s nuclear sites.
Meanwhile, Barack Obama has not found the right tone. His distancing of the US##s interests from Israel##s, in an effort to force a halt to settlement expansion, is riling Jewish interest groups and encouraging Iran and others to ramp up their anti-Israel rhetoric. This is alarming. Washington must focus on diverting Syria from its dangerous course while prodding the Palestinians and Israelis to resume talks as soon as possible.
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The Daily Telegraph, editorial
