“We will not allow the Golan Heights to become a comfortable space for Assad to operate from,” Gantz told a conference at the University of Haifa. “If he escalates (the situation on) the Golan Heights, he will have to bear the consequences.”
Gantz said the situation is extremely combustible, and “a day doesn’t go by” where there could be a “sudden uncontrollable deterioration.” He warned, “Instability will be the only stable thing that will happen here.”
Tag Archives: Consequences
After exchange, Israel warns against Golan attacks, says Syria will ‘bear consequences’ – The Washington Post
Posted by Matt
on May 21, 2013
Comments Off
Report: Syria prepared to fire missiles at Tel Aviv – Israel News, Ynetnews
Posted by Matt
on May 20, 2013
Comments Off
Syria has put its most advanced missiles on standby with orders to hit Tel Aviv if Israel launches another strike on its territory, The Sunday Times reported overnight Sunday.
According to the British newspaper, reconnaissance satellites have been monitoring preparations by the Syrian army to deploy surface-to-surface Tishreen missiles.
An Israeli official told The New York Times that Israel, which has launched three recent attacks on Syria, was considering further strikes and warned President Bashar Assad that his government would face “crippling consequences” if he hit back at Israel.
The Sunday Times said the deployment of the Syrian-made Tishreen missiles, each of which can carry a half-ton payload, marks a significant escalation of tension “in a region in which the United States and Russia appear to be preparing for a Cold War-style stand-off.”
Report: Syria prepared to fire missiles at Tel Aviv – Israel News, Ynetnews
Israeli Official Signals Possibility of More Syria Strikes – NYTimes.com
Posted by Matt
on May 15, 2013
Comments Off
A senior Israeli official signaled on Wednesday that Israel was considering further military strikes on Syria to stop the transfer of advanced weapons to Islamic militants, and he warned the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, that his government would face crippling consequences if it retaliated against Israel.
…
“If Syrian President Assad reacts by attacking Israel, or tries to strike Israel through his terrorist proxies,” the official said, “he will risk forfeiting his regime, for Israel will retaliate.”
Israeli Official Signals Possibility of More Syria Strikes – NYTimes.com
If the Arab Spring was more or less the start of a forest fire, then its spreading to Israel will be a game-changer. Now it will involve two different civilizations each backed by one or more major powers. This is how great-power wars are started.
I suspect that the next Israeli attack will bring on a major response from Syria and its allies.
Ashkenazi: Israel can handle outcomes of Iran strike
Posted by Matt
on April 29, 2013
Comments Off
Former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Sunday that Israel can handle the outcomes of a military strike on Iran. “We’ve worked long and hard to prepare ourselves,” he said at a Jerusalem Post conference in New York.
Former Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin, who also spoke at the conference, echoed Ashkenazi’s statements saying that Israel can mount an attack on its own, without US assistance and can handle the consequences.
Ashkenazi: Israel can handle outcomes of Iran strike – Israel News, Ynetnews
Korean Unification: Do Not Be Surprised If It Comes Soon – Forbes
Posted by Matt
on April 16, 2013
Comments Off
The most significant geopolitical events of the past half century have been unanticipated. Not that we did not expect them, but they were supposed to happen in the distant future, not now. The North Korean regime could collapse in the same unexpected way, leaving shocked politicians, diplomats, and pundits to fend with its consequences.
While it is comforting to believe that predictable rational calculation and self interest determine the course of human events, the timing of the most significant changes in the world order is heavily influenced by chance, personalities, emotions, and miscalculations. We expect the two Koreas to muddle along in a shaky equilibrium that will result in the end of the Hermit Kingdom in the distant future. A collapse of the North Korean regime in the near term would send pundits in vain searches of past writings for hints they saw it coming.
Korean Unification: Do Not Be Surprised If It Comes Soon – Forbes
Egypt, Ethiopia Headed For War Over Water – Al-Monitor
Posted by Matt
on March 25, 2013
Comments Off
In the coming years, Egypt and Ethiopia may be forced to fight a “water war” because Ethiopia’s ambitions contradict Egypt’s historical and legal rights in river waters. Ethiopia can only be deterred by the regional and international balance of powers, which in recent years has favored Ethiopia.
The government of Hisham Qandil (an irrigation expert, not a diplomat, legal expert or strategist) seems unable to manage such a complex issue with legal, political, economic, military and international aspects. His government is unable to solve everyday problems that are less complex, such as security, traffic, and fuel and food supplies. This portends dire consequences for Egypt.
Egypt, Ethiopia Headed For War Over Water – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
China tests Japanese and US patience
Posted by Matt
on March 2, 2013
Comments Off
JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has warned Beijing that Tokyo is losing patience with China’s assertive maritime behavior in the East and South China seas, suggesting China consider the economic and military consequences of its actions. His warning followed similar statements from Washington that its patience with China is wearing thin, in this case over continued Chinese cyberespionage and the likelihood that Beijing is developing and testing cybersabotage and cyberwarfare capabilities. Together, the warnings are meant to signal to China that the thus-far relatively passive response to China’s military actions may be nearing an end.
The Path To War [with Iran]
Posted by Matt
on March 1, 2013
Comments Off
But eventually time will run out. As talks among Iran, the U.S. and other international powers ended inconclusively on Feb. 27, even optimists said Obama’s promise will be put to the test in his second term. The Pentagon has launched the largest buildup of forces in the Gulf since the run-up to the 2003 Iraq war, and Iran has boosted security around its nuclear sites and is reportedly handing out shoulder-launched missiles capable of downing civilian airliners to loosely allied terrorist groups in the region. Senior congressional Republicans say they are expecting to be briefed soon on the options and consequences of a U.S. strike.
In the mythology of the American presidency, a Commander in Chief makes tough decisions once, unreservedly, and then acts. Just as often, though, a President acts to avoid tough decisions and then works behind the scenes to steer events, persuade friends and enemies and avoid no-win choices. As the dangerous, complicated drama involving the U.S., Iran and Israel enters its final chapters, Obama will soon face the hardest decision of his presidency. This is the story of how he got here.
The End of Containment
Beijing’s hawks buoyed by Xi Jinping’s rise
Posted by Matt
on February 15, 2013
Comments Off
If China’s military, or rogue ultra-nationalist officers, are calling the shots in a crisis that potentially involves not just Japan but also its ally, the United States, it could trigger a wider war with consequences that would destabilise the Asia-Pacific region.
…
It seems highly unlikely that the captains of the two different Chinese frigates involved in the separate radar-targeting incidents would have given the orders on their own.
…
The military hawks appear to make up only a small proportion of China’s officer corps. But their influence, magnified by modern communications and social media, may be far more extensive than their numbers suggest.
Their influence may also be shaping views and actions in the Chinese chain of military command.
Fars News Agency :: Deputy Minister: War on Syria Triggers World War III
Posted by Matt
on January 27, 2013
Comments Off
The aftershocks of a potential military intervention in Syria will jolt the region and the world and ignite world war III, a Syrian official cautioned, adding that Israel will come under fire by Syria in case the latter is invaded by any foreign country.
Speaking to FNA on Saturday, Syrian Deputy Information Minister Khalaf al-Meftah dismissed the possibility of a foreign military intervention in Syria, but at the same time said that an attack on the country will have dire consequences both for the region and the world.
Fars News Agency :: Deputy Minister: War on Syria Triggers World War III
