Israel gets involved in Syria conflict

Source : Voice of Russia

Israel informed the USA in advance of the preparations for an attack on Syria. A relevant statement was made by “The New York Times” with a reference to U.S. officials. For its part, “The Washington Post”, citing sources in the Syrian opposition, said that a centre for the development of chemical weapons had been bombed. Of interest here is the fact that other sources in the Syrian opposition have claimed credit for the above-mentioned attack, accusing the authorities of disinformation. There is also one more version saying that it was a convoy near the Syrian-Lebanese border, not the research centre, that came under attack. This convoy, allegedly, was supplying the Hezbollah militants in Lebanon with arms.

This was the first but not the last strike on Syria an expert with the Institute of Oriental Studies, Vladimir Sotnikov, says.

"From time to time the Israelis will deliver strikes on the targets or forces involved in the conflict in Syria. It will be Islamist units or troops loyal to Bashar al-Assad. I believe that as the crisis in Syria continues worsening Israel may broaden its participation in such strikes. Israel is afraid that the Islamists fighting in Syria will unite with similar groups in Syria, as well as with the HAMAS and Hezbollah groups. The latter are Israel’s traditional enemies. To find itself in such encirclement is a horrible dream for Israel."

Outside interference in the conflict in Syria is strengthening. Israel hit Syria immediately after 6 Patriot missile air defence systems were deployed in Turkey on its border with Syria. Expert with the Institute of Strategic Assessments and Analysis Sergei Demidenko says.

"There is no doubt that all this may finally lead to a grandiose chaos in the Middle East. Syria is the heart of the Arab world. Thus, the worse the situation in Syria is the worse it is for the region at large. In case of a chaos the situation in Syria will become uncontrollable, and neither international forces nor any means would be of help there. Then this chaos will spread to Lebanon and Central Iraq, and what will emerge will be a gigantic hotbed of instability and an enclave of terrorism the world will have to fight against in the future."

The work is being done in Moscow to check the information about the air raid of the Israeli air forces on Syria. This came in a statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Should this be true, this will be regarded as a gross violation of the UN Charter. In this case this will mean an attack on the targets in a sovereign state that was not triggered. This is inadmissible whatever the motives are, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.

Turkey redirected the European missile defense system in the Kurecik base to Syria

Turkey Redirects European Missile Defense System to Syria,

Source : Turkish Weekly

Turkey redirected the European missile defense system in the Kurecik base near the city of Malatya to Syria to monitor the situation in the country, the Sabah newspaper reported.

This will allow Turkey to control offensive and defensive actions of the Syrian government troops and missile launches. According to the newspaper, Turkey took such a decision with the consent of NATO after shells from Syrian territory killed five Turkish citizens on Oct.3.

Turkey is proceeding to deliver military equipment to the border with Syria after the Turkish parliament made a decision enabling trans-boundary operations against Syria. Ankara states that such measures are taken to prevent further provocations of Syria, and start of an armed conflict is out of the question.

The decision to deploy elements of the European missile defense shield in Turkey was made at the NATO summit in Lisbon in 2010, and Turkey initially supported the initiative.

The agreement on deploying missile defense radar in a military base in Kurecik was signed by U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone and Advisor to Foreign Minister, Firuddin Sinirlioglu in September 2011.

NATO chief calls for much stronger pressure on Syria

Source: Xinhua | English.news.cn

BRUSSELS, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Tuesday urged the international community, especially the United Nations Security Council, to put "much stronger" pressure on the Syrian government to bring about a political solution.

"It is for the United Nations Security Council to send a very strong, united message to the Syrian leadership: stop violence, engage in political process," Rasmussen said following a meeting of NATO defense ministers.

The NATO chief said he deeply regretted that the Security Council failed to reach "a legally-binding resolution that could send such a strong message."

"I do believe that this failure ... has sent a wrong and very unfortunate signal to the Syrian leadership. To facilitate a political solution, the international community should put much stronge pressure," he said.

Though Rasmussen claimed NATO defense ministers only talked about military capabilities, the so called "Smart Defense" initiative, instead of the Syrian crisis, he was still bombarded at the news conference by questions on Syria.

NATO has expressed support for Turkey after mortar bombs fired from Syria killed five Turkish civilians last week, which has triggered reprisal attacks from Turkey.

Rasmussen repeated that the military has all necessary plans in place to defend Turkey if necessary, but urged all parties to show restraints and avoid escalation of the ongoing conflicts between Turkey and neighboring Syria.

"Turkey has a right to defend itself within the international law ... and obviously, Turkey can rely on NATO solidarity."

Syria - Newsfeed Oct. 9. 2012

Misfire: NATO mortar ‘gift’ from Turkey to Syrian rebels

Source: newspaper — RT

The mortar used to attack the Turkish town of Akcakale is a design specific to NATO and was given to Syrian rebels by Ankara, according to Turkey’s Yurt newspaper. The mortar killed one adult and four children from the same family on Wednesday.

An article by the paper’s Editor-in-Chief, Merdan Yanardag, states that the newspaper received information from a reliable source, which claimed that Turkey itself sent the mortars to rebels in the so-called "free army."

“Turkey is a longtime member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and they’re going to act in conjunction with other NATO powers, so it’s unsurprising that this has happened,” editor of the Pan-African news wire, Abayomi Azikiwe, told RT.

NATO has so far shunned any military involvement in the conflict, but Azikiwe says the alliance is deeply involved in every decision that Turkey makes.

“Ankara isn’t taking any military actions or contemplating any type of military strategy without being in full cooperation with NATO forces,” he said.

Turkey retaliated at Syria for a sixth consecutive day on Monday, after a mortar from Syria landed in Turkey’s Hatay province.

And as Turkey fights to defend its border towns, the country’s president says the country’s military will take any action necessary.

"The worst-case scenarios are taking place right now in Syria … Our government is in constant consultation with the Turkish military. Whatever is needed is being done immediately as you see, and it will continue to be done," President Abdullah Gul said in a statement on Monday.

But it’s not only leaders within Turkey that are stating their opinions on the conflict.

Earlier on Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned of the consequences that the conflict could bring to the region.

“The escalation of the conflict along the Syrian-Turkish border and the impact of the crisis on Lebanon are extremely dangerous,” Ban said at the opening of the World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg, France.

The exchange of fire began last Wednesday, when Syrian mortar shells killed a woman and four children from the same family in Akcakale.

Many fear the situation will lead to regional conflict, with political analyst Dan Glazebrook, saying that Ankara aims to drag NATO into a war with Syria.

“On the one hand the [Turks] are trying to give cover to the rebels to continue their fight, as they know that the rebels are getting defeated on the ground so they are bombarding Syria as a way to help the rebels not lose too many of their positions,” Glazebrook told RT. “But I think also they may be hoping that they can somehow nudge, provoke NATO into taking action as well,  into prompting a kind of blitzkrieg that is actually the only thing really that would enable the rebels to win now at this state.”