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Arab/Muslim States

Mass military maneuvers foresee Syrian attack


By Stan Goodenough
April 29, 2007

The Israel Defense Forces, which although one of the world’s top battle-tested armies was bested by the Lebanese Hizb’allah terror group 10 months ago, is undergoing intensive drills in anticipation of a surprise Syrian attack on the Golan Heights.

Last Thursday saw thousands of IDF troops and hundreds of tanks deployed for war games in the Judean wilderness, in what observers called one of the largest training exercises carried out in a number of years.

Security analysts in Israel believe Syrian dictator Bashar el-Assad to be a weak leader who could initiate a surprise grab of the Golan Heights in an effort to earn esteem in the eyes of his people.

Assad is believed to have been wowed by Hizb’allah’s successful use of rocket fire to drive fear into the hearts of millions of Israelis and deal heavy blows to the Israeli economy.

Since last summer, heads of Israel’s various intelligence agencies have reported Syria gearing up for war, though most assessments agree the process is defensive rather than offensive.

Nonetheless, Israel’s war scenarios include the use of elite Syrian troops backed by advanced Russian-made tanks and ballistic surface-to-surface missiles capable of hitting any Israeli center.

While IDF officials interviewed about last week’s mass military maneuvers said any Syrian strike was likely to be conventional, Damascus is known to possess non-conventional weapons, including VX gas warheads for its SCUD missiles.

US Secretary of State Robert Gates recently cautioned Israel that the situation with Syria was increasingly volatile and could explode if not handled carefully.

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