In the hopes that DEBKA is actually right for once, I’m passing along this information (via Hot Air):
DEBKAfile’s military experts conclude from the way Damascus described the episode Wednesday, Sept. 6, that the Pantsyr-S1E missiles, purchased from Russia to repel air assailants, failed to down the Israeli jets accused of penetrating northern Syrian airspace from the Mediterranean the night before.
The new Pantsyr missiles therefore leave Syrian and Iranian airspace vulnerable to hostile intrusion.
The Israeli plane or planes were described by a Syrian military spokesman as “forced to leave by Syrian air defense fire after dropping ammunition over deserted areas without causing casualties.†He warned “the Israeli enemy against repeating its aggressive action†and said his government reserved the right to respond in an appropriate manner.
Western intelligence circles stress that information on Russian missile consignments to Syria or Iran is vital to any US calculation of whether to attack Iran over its nuclear program. They assume that the “absolute jamming immunity†which the Russian manufactures promised for the improved Pantsyr missiles was immobilized by superior electronic capabilities exercised by the jets before they were “forced to leave.â€
[…] Understanding that the Pantsyr-S1E had failed in its mission to bring down trespassing aircraft, Moscow hastened Thursday, Sept 6, to officially deny selling these systems to Syria or Iran and called on Israel to respect international law. This was diplomatic-speak for a warning against attacking the Russian-made missiles batteries stations where Russian instructors are working alongside Syrian teams.
I reiterate the usual read-at-your-own-risk warning. DEBKA is not considered very reliable by defense experts—but even a stopped clock is right twice a day. The silence from Olmert about the flyovers is deafening.
Update: DEBKA may be onto something.
Israeli aircraft that reportedly flew over Syrian territory two days ago were sent on a mission to destroy Russian-made missile systems recently acquired by Damascus, the Al-Arabiya news channel reported on Saturday.
The satellite channel attributed its report to an Israeli official who did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.
DEBKA is as reliable as the Weekly World News.
Debka is more reliable than several other sources. For example, Debka warned about a potential “dirty bomb” in the metro NYC area almost a week before police and FBI found radioactive materials in a car trunk after a car accident in Hoboken (the driver ran off and is probably at large).
chsw
So maybe all those reported Russian long-range bomber patrols are just part of a marketing effort. “Russky sistema — as good as theirs!” Da!
Don’t need to destroy them — too obvious. All the US would ask from Israel is to test the radar arrays so we all know how to neutralize the missiles when The Day comes.
As of right now, Syria (and Iran and above all Russia) can’t be sure what Israel found out. Destroying missiles would prove they need to upgrade, now maybe they don’t and won’t.
I gave up on Debka a long time ago. Their wild predictions are an embarrassment.
Based on past performance, Israel will share all the information with the US and the US government will never acknowledge what Israel has contributed.
Based on past performance, Israel will share all the information with the US and the US government will never acknowledge what Israel has contributed.
Not that it would matter in the eyes of Walt & Mearsheimer (I just love those Germanic surnames), but it would make it easier to rebut the charges that Israel is a strategic liability to the US. The administration shouldn’t be so worried what others might think of close US-Israeli military cooperation and intelligence sharing. It only reinforces the canard that Israel is a pariah if we treat her like one.