Thursday, January 31, 2013

Was Yesterday's Israeli Strike In Syria A Very-Small-Scale Dress Rehearsal For A Military Strike Against Iran?

The U.S. said the target was a truck convoy carrying weapons bound for Hezbollah (Baz Ratner/REUTERS)

Israel’s Strike On Syria As A Dress Rehearsal For Conflict With Iran -- Washington Post

The Israel-Iran standoff, in which Israel has long signaled its willingness to strike suspected Iranian nuclear sites if they come too close to producing a weapon, got a sort of very-small-scale dress rehearsal on Wednesday. The Israeli air force attacked a target inside Syria, Tehran’s closest ally, which set off the expected condemnations (from Syria, Iran, Russia and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah) and fears of reprisal.

Both Israel and Iran will likely be observing the fallout from the attack closely, trying to determine what it might say about how an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would play out in the region. It’s too early to say what, if anything, they could learn. But the possibility that they might extrapolate lessons about a potential Israel-Iran conflict gives added significance – and added risk – to every action and reaction in the coming hours and days.

Read more ....

My Comment: I would have to say that this was not a dress rehearsal for a military strike against Iran. Launching a military strike against Iran would involve enormous resources .... resources that the Israelis just do not have. But if they were to launch a strike, it would be to drag in the international community on a political level and to use them as a lever to stop Iran's nuclear program. I call this the "Hail Mary's pass" .... if all fails just ratch-up the pressure and let the outside powers come in and sort out the mess. Is this feasible .... I personally think not .... but who knows what they are thinking (or what they are intending to do) in Jerusalem .... and maybe that was one of the points on why yesterday's Israeli action was approved.

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