Syria prepares for war ?

[Alfred E. Newman]

FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
Syria acquiring Russian rockets at 'furious' pace
Security official: 'It's like a return to the Cold War'

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Posted: February 06, 2008
7:13 pm Eastern

By Aaron Klein
(c) 2008 WorldNetDaily

JERUSALEM - Syria, aided by Russia and Iran, in recent months has been
furiously acquiring rockets and missiles, including projectiles
capable of hitting the entire state of Israel, according to Jordanian
and Israeli security officials speaking to WND.

A Jordanian security official said one of the main reasons Damascus
did not retaliate after Israel carried out its Sept. 6 airstrike
inside Syria allegedly targeting a nascent nuclear facility was
because Syria's rocket infrastructure was not yet complete.

The official said after the Israeli airstrike, Syria picked up the
pace of acquiring rockets and missiles, largely from Russia with
Iranian backing, with the goal of completing its missile and rocket
arsenal by the end of the year. The Jordanian official said Syria is
aiming to possess enough projectiles to fire over 100 rockets into
Israel per hour for a sustained period of time.

"The Syrians have three main goals," explained the Jordanian official.
"To maximize their antitank, antiaircraft and ballistic missile and
rocket capabilities."

According to Israeli and Jordanian officials, Syria recently quietly
struck a deal with Russia that allows Moscow to station submarines and
warboats off Syrian ports. In exchange, Russia is supplying Syria with
weaponry at lower costs, with some of the missiles and rockets being
financed by Iran.

"The Iranians opened an extended credit line with Russia for Syria
with the purpose of arming Syria," said one Jordanian security
official.

"Russia's involvement and strategic positioning is almost like a
return to its Cold War stance," the official said.

Both the Israeli and Jordanian officials told WND large quantities of
Syrian rockets and missiles are being stockpiled at Latakia, Syria's
main port on the Mediterranean Sea, as well as at Syria's Tartus port,
another major port area south of Latakia and north of Damascus.

Syria's new acquisitions include Russia's S-300 surface-to-air missile
defense shield, which is similar to the U.S.-funded, Israeli
engineered Arrow antimissile system currently deployed in Israel. The
S-300 system is being run not by Syria but by Russian naval
technicians who work from Syria's ports, security officials said.

New ballistic missiles and rockets include Alexander rockets and a
massive quantity of various Scud surface-to-surface missiles,
including Scud B and D Scud missiles.

Israeli security officials noted Syria recently test-fired two Scud-D
surface-to-surface missiles, which have a range of about 250 miles,
covering most Israeli territory. The officials said the Syrian missile
test was coordinated with Iran and is believed to have been
successful. It is not known what type of warhead the missiles had.

In addition to longer range Scuds, Syria is in possession of shorter
range missiles such as 220 millimeter and 305 millimeter rockets, some
of which have been passed on to Hezbollah.

Israel has information Syria recently acquired and deployed Chinese-
made C-802 missiles, which were successfully used against the Israeli
navy during Israel's war against the Lebanese Hezbollah militia this
past July and August. The missiles were passed to Syria by Iran,
Israeli security officials told WND.

Russia recently sold to Syria advanced anti-tank missiles similar to
the projectiles that devastated Israeli tanks during the last Lebanon
war, causing the highest number of Israeli troop casualties during the
34 days of military confrontations. Syria and Russia are negotiating
the sale of advanced anti-aircraft missiles.

Seemingly confirming the information, Mossad Chief Meir Dagan told the
Knesset yesterday Syria's military recently has accelerated its
acquisition of arms. He did not list specific new weapons or disclose
information about Russia's involvement.

"The military alliance between Damascus and Teheran has accelerated
the arms race in the region," said Dagan at a meeting of the Knesset's
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Dagan stated Syria's moves do not necessarily indicate the country is
likely to strike at Israel.