U.S. Still Wary Of Syria Air Defenses

Analysis: Despite Israeli Strikes, U.S. Still Wary Of Syria Air Defenses -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Israeli missiles breached Syria's vaunted air defense system over the weekend, but that offered little comfort to U.S. military planners weighing the risks of any intervention against President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

With some of the possible U.S. military options in Syria involving a need for air power, the Pentagon remains concerned about Assad's ability to shoot down enemy aircraft with surface-to-air missiles, particularly in a sustained campaign.

President Barack Obama has resisted pressure to deepen involvement in Syria's civil war and has stopped short of even limited steps like arming the anti-government rebels.

If the United States did become more embroiled in Syria - perhaps in reaction to Damascus using chemical weapons - and wanted to wage a large air campaign there it would likely first need to take out Syria's Russian-made air shield.

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Previous Post: The State of Syria's Air Defenses (Update)

My Comment: Apparently the missiles that Israel fired at their Syrian targets were fired from Lebanese air space .... a situation that the U.S. will definitely not be operating under. The fact is that if US forces do intervene, US aircraft will be flying non-stop in Syrian air space ... and under the gun of Syrian air-defenses. The Pentagon's wariness of Syrian air defense is justified, the civil war may have degraded much of their Syrian military but they are still a viable force and battle hardened after almost two years of war .... and much their anti-aircraft capabilities are probably still intact.