Syria Calls up Reserves, Fears US-Israeli Military Pincer

[Nottingham]

http://www.debka.com/

Syria Calls up Reserves, Fears US-Israeli Military Pincer

DEBKAfile Special Intelligence Report

October 14, 2003, 12:28 PM (GMT+02:00)


Will not give up swordplay with Washington


Monday, October 13, the New York Times revealed that the first Israeli air raid inside Syria in three decades had altered “a crucial convention of the Arab-Israeli conflict.” The raid took place Sunday October 10 over Ain Sahab, 15 km northeast of Damascus, the day after a savage Palestinian suicide attack in Haifa claimed 20 Israeli lives. The paper quotes western diplomats and Arab analysts as predicting that “the Sharon administration now plans to treat the Syrian regime in Damascus much as it has treated the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat: subjected to military attack, “… cut off and ultimately isolated.”

According to one Damascus source, Syria is meeting this threat by secretly calling up 300,000 reservists to beef up its standing army of roughly the same number. This figure, in the view of DEBKAfile’s military sources, is implausibly high. A large call-up was certainly staged after the Israeli raid. But in Syrian terms, 50,000 men would be the more realistic figure, plus standby orders to tens of thousands more.

In general, the attempt to depict Syria as another of Ariel Sharon’s victims fails to take account of the “victim’s” proactive role in the Iraq war in support of Saddam Hussein. It ranges from the asylum granted Iraqi political and military elite to the smuggling of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction out of the country several weeks before the war in March and after it began. In between, Bashar Assad has deployed thousands of Syrian combatants in Iraq as well as Hizballah, Palestinians and any other Arabs willing to fight American troops in Iraq.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that by now Syrian combatants often outnumber Iraqi guerrillas in such embattled towns as Baghdad, Balad, Falluja, Ramadi, Baquba and the environs of the northern town of Mosul.

more.....

I don't believe all of this but I am concerned at Syria's heightened alert! Obviously its getting Sharon's point :bounce:

[Nottingham]

1. Add that Syria offerd 700M to US for Iraq Assets but Bush 3Bill

Seems like Bush is always concerned with Money! :bounce:

Syria has called up 50,000 reservists! Just in case of US Military Action & Israel!

http://www.debka.com/

[Mikimouse]

2. I am inclined to agree with you

The piece appears to be long on conjecture, but short on evidence. I would be curious as to where Jordan might be aligned should the bullets start flying.

[E_Zapata]

3. What bullcorn:

"It ranges from the asylum granted Iraqi political and military elite to the smuggling of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction out of the country several weeks before the war in March and after it began."

yeah, I remember all the propaganda about Syria at the beginning of the invasion of Iraq, and NONE of it was proven as fact.

Is this how the US/Israel plans to spin not finding WMDs, just coyly insert it into stories that they were smuggled out? Well, if that were the case, why did Bush put in his own WMD finder team in Baghdad?

Now, who is in charge? Bush???

[Nottingham]

4. I kinda wonder if Syria could muster 300,000 troops

it probably could but its extremely vulnerable from submarine attack Air attack and then US is on the other side! I really see the
US and Israel mounting their troops for a Syria invasion!

I know my republican friend is very wary going into anymore nations!
Boy she is in for a surprise :bounce:

[Flying_Pig]

6. If the U.S. and Israel invade Syria, the Syrians will have no..

problem raising an army of a million or more. There are Two Billion Muslims in the world, and I am sure that many would volunteer to fight. At some point, they aren't going to take anymore of this aggressive imperialism and pre-emptive action. When that limit is reached, the ME will be in flames..., all of it.

[sleipnir]

5. US can't do it, Israel Might, here's a good reason why.

The US is still critically short of special munitions, like the Tomahawk, 2k, 1k "smart" bombs, and AGM-65's, and several others. The US does not possess the ability to launch another war with the success of the last one. An invasion of Syria would be ground invasion with serious "coalition" casualties. Something the US can ill afford with the public opinion swinging away from pro-war, pro-combat, pro-death. As I heard, it will take until at least Feb. to get the US back to the number of specialty weapons before they could conduct another war. Remember, it took nearly a year to get the stock piles back after Gulf War I. Granted, we still have a lot, but those are reserves in case of an emergency, ie, China, N. Korea, Iran or any of the other hot spots. Israel has the ability to launch a campaign, with the US probably playing an "advisiorary" role with E-lint support, and other means, most likely non-combat. That's my take from reading articles and talking to friends "in-the-business" (the military)

[Nottingham]

7. Hey Sleipnir! Thanks that makes total sense! I have some

friends to in the Weapons area and They would agree with you! They are working feverishly to replenish the Bombs that we dropped on Iraq. Thats where lots of money is going! :bounce: The Bomb Business is Booming