By Stan Goodenough
Jul 26, 2007
Israel's Military Intelligence Wednesday tried to calm jittery citizens with the announcement of its conclusions that Syria has no plans to strike Israel at this time.
The regime in Damascus has its forces alert but in a defensive, rather than offensive, posture, intelligence officers told a ministerial forum during a five-hour meeting in the north of the country.
According to a report in the leftist daily Ha'aretz, the officers "stressed that Syria has not redeployed its missile units, a sign which might have indicated preparations for a military offensive on the part of Damascus."
This report contradicted others that have circulated in recent months including specific reports that Syrian dictator Bashar el-Assad has ordered the redeployment of SCUD missiles capable of striking targets anywhere in Israel.
The region has in fact been awash for weeks with rumors of imminent warfare. Depending on which officials are to be believed, there will either be no war with Syria, or there are six triggers that could ignite a war with Syria, or Syria is resolved to start a war of attrition against the Jewish state a couple of months from now.