.
Barak of IRIS wraps this story in a neat little package here, here and here.
Details are still emerging on this story, i.e. a high-altitude intelligence-gathering plane and nuclear facility “lit up” by an elite commando unit operating deep inside an enemy country, doctored records regarding a North Korean ship docked in Syria and more.
Noone wants to confirm what the targets were. But Iran’s big-mouthed President Ahmadinejad has been strangely silent over the past week or 10 days. And Syria’s Assad, although making war sounds, waits.
Israel’s public reaction is exemplified by this Time-Online quote cited by Barak; Olmert, “We naturally cannot always show the public our cards.”
But why, in the past, after the bombing of the Osirak reactor in Iraq, or after the Entebbe rescue, were the details quickly revealed?
Could it be that a weak, devoid of Jewish religious faith, secular Ehud Olmert, like previous Israeli regimes, hides under the coat-tails of the perceived “super-power savior?”
Barak then offers his take on Israel’s action and the silence on the mission;
One massive caveat is useful to keep in mind, however, in the form of the Olmert government’s massive American ace in the hole. The Olmert government, like previous Leftist regimes, has made a deal with foreign powers to sell Israel’s security interests in exchange for help staying in power. This explains:
-Olmert’s ridiculously implausible raid on the Jericho ‘jail’ on the eve of the election. The official version was that the IDF coincidentally managed to attack the facility just minutes after the American and British ‘jailors’ independently decided to flee. The military success boosted Olmert’s popularity just prior to the vote.
-Clinton’s open campaigning and support in a variety of ways for Ehud Barak.
-Teddy Kollek’s pre-State collaboration with the British in turning over Zionist fighters from the Right, as part of a general Mapai deal with the British enemy.
It seems obvious that Israel’s anti-Jewish leaders miss the boat;
They attribute Israeli prowess to this mission into Syria, as they did to the bombing of the Osirak reactor, as they did to the Entebbe rescue, as did to other hijack rescues, as they did to the Yom Kippur War turn-around, as they did to the Six Day War. They completely negate Shemayim.
And so a secular Israeli leadership, with no pride in who or what they are, must maintain silence lest they offend — the Syrians, the Americans, etc. even as they prepare give up the store. MB
For previous blog posts on the IAF’s mission into Syria, click here.
Analysis: Keeping Quiet in Order to Prevent War, by Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post)
Excerpts;
The foreign media continued on Sunday to reveal exciting new details of the alleged covert Israeli air strike in Syria earlier this month.
Each report added its own piece to the puzzle. One paper claimed eight jets, backed by a high-altitude intelligence-gathering plane, participated in the foray. Another said the target was an underground bunker containing radioactive nuclear materials.
While the picture is still not completely clear, and has certainly not been confirmed by official Israeli or Syrian authorities, the story that is emerging in the foreign press is the stuff of legends.
Fighter jets, coming under air defense missiles, infiltrate an enemy country and bomb a nuclear facility that is being “lit up” for them by an elite commando unit operating behind enemy lines.
If the foreign news reports are true, Israel has a lot to be concerned about – not only is Iran racing towards nuclear power but so is Syria.
Syria is known to have a large stockpile of chemical and biological warheads and, according to the news reports, it has forged a partnership with North Korea to possibly develop a nuclear capability as well. For years now, the Israeli public has heard that one of the consequences of Iran’s success in defying the world and developing nuclear power was that other Middle Eastern countries would follow suit. This is a case example.
Syria’s relationship with North Korea is nothing new. According to foreign reports, Syria possesses some 100 Scud-C missiles that it has bought from North Korea over the last 15 years.
Some Syrian and Hezbollah reports have claimed that the alleged air foray was actually a test run by Israel for the real show – Iran. While the foreign media reports clearly dismiss that possibility – pointing out that the IAF bombed a Syrian target – if the reports are true then the alleged incident does send a clear message to Iran that Israel will not hesitate to use force to stop its enemies from obtaining nuclear power. The precedent Menachem Begin set with the bombing of the Osirak reactor in Iraq in 1981 is still in effect.
Records on North Korean Ship Docked in Syria Were Altered, by Yossi Melman (Haaretz)
North Korea, Syria May Be at Work on Nuclear Facility, by Glenn Kessler (Washington Post)
Was Israeli Raid a Dry Run for Attack on Iran?, by Peter Beaumont (The Observer — UK)