US to media: Israel struck Latakia arsenal last week. Will Putin and Assad make good on threats of reprisal?
US officials early Saturday, July 13 named Israel as responsible for the July 5 air strikes against the big arms depot at a Syrian naval base in the Alawite port city of Latakia. Dispelling conflicting reports, three US officials asserted that Israel had conducted the air strikes for demolishing the advanced Russian-made Yakhont anti-ship missiles stored there.
debkafile’s military sources report that three strategic arsenals were targeted: One consisted of weapons mostly delivered by Russian air freights in the last two months for the Syrian-Hizballah offensive to recapture Aleppo. A second contained the supersonic Yakhont anti-ship missiles (NATO codenamed SS-N-26) plus their radar systems; and the third, the Syrian army’s strategic reserve of missiles and ammunition, stored there for an emergency, such a possible forced Syrian army retreat to the Alawite region – or even Lebanon.
It is important to note that, although Moscow was perfectly aware that the advanced Russian weapons supplied to Syria were put in the hands of the Lebanese Hizballah, the consignments were not only not suspended but expanded. Moscow is therefore directly arming HIzballah with advanced weapons.
During the attack, neither Syrian radar nor that of the Russian warships cruising off the Syria coast registered any aircraft or missiles heading for the Latakia depot.
They were therefore unable to positively identify the source of the explosions.
Israel and the IDF held their silence – hoping that matters would stay that way, unlike their air strike of May 5 which destroyed Iranian arms shipments for Hizballah stored in the Damascus area, when American sources made haste to finger Israel. This time, too, after a few days’ pause, Washington again broke the story.
This step coincided with US President Barack Obama’s early Saturday phone call to Saudi King Abdullah to discuss the Syrian crisis. They may have discussed a potential Russian or Syrian reprisal for the Israeli air strike.
In their rough, acerbic encounter at the Black Sea resort of Sochi on May 14, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned President Vladimir Putin that if Russia sends advanced weaponry to Syria, such as S-300 anti-aircraft missiles or sophisticated radar for upgrading the Yakhont missiles, Israel would destroy them. Putin retorted that if Israel did this, Moscow would hit back.
After Israel’s air strikes over Damascus of May 5, Syrian President Bashar Assad said repeatedly, as did Hizballah and Iranian officials, that another Israeli attack on Syria would elicit an immediate Syrian reprisal.
The theme running through the Syrian and Hizballah warnings was a threat to open a new warfront against Israel from the Golan.
And so, two days after the IDF detected Hizballah movements on the Golan opposite the Israeli border, the army spokesman Monday, July 8, announced the deployment of extra Israeli forces in the divided enclave.
Tuesday, July 9, a car bomb blew up at Hizballah’s office building in the Bir al-Abd quarter of South Beirut. A next-door Shiite mosque and a technical school were also hit. At least 53 people were injured.
Hizballah did not admit that the targeted office building housed the intelligence and communications centers for its combat operations in Syria. When no organization took responsibility for the attack, Beirut and Tehran pointed the finger at Israeli intelligence as the culprit.
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WarSclerotic 
July 13, 2013 at 10:13 AM
I am not sure how much of this is true, but the key sentence is:
During the attack, neither Syrian radar nor that of the Russian warships cruising off the Syria coast registered any aircraft or missiles heading for the Latakia depot.
This also was the case in 2006 with the Syrian nuclear reactor that Israel destroyed. So I guess the Iranians are pissing in their pants.
July 13, 2013 at 10:48 AM
Agreed, Mladen.
My question is simply how do CNN and the unnamed American sources know that, and WHY is this information being leaked?
July 13, 2013 at 11:27 AM
Evidently the Syrians and the Russians failed to detect the origins of the attacking missiles so they had no conclusive proof pointing to the Israelis – until this leak from US officials, which demonstrates the desperation of the Anglo-American oligarchy to ignite a full scale war between Israel and Syria as a last resort to save their crumbling destabilization plan in that country. It remains to be seen if Assad and Putin will risk falling in that trap or focus instead on defeating the remains of the FSA in Northern Syria, thereby gaining the upper hand in the civil war. Details here: http://osnetdaily.com/2013/07/confirmed-israel-struck-syria-arms-depot-last-week/
July 13, 2013 at 11:52 AM
Logic tells us that those who leaked this information want Russia, Syria, Hizbollah and Iran to attack Israel. The U.S. oligarchs behind the puppet Obama want to sacrifice Israel and establish an Islamist rule over a large part of the World.
July 13, 2013 at 12:23 PM
They don’t know, they are g u e s s i n g. And the USA is talking publicly about this because they want to show to all the players that they – the americans – are clean and not involved.
July 13, 2013 at 1:24 PM
its not a leak its deliberate and coordinated,and its source was not cnn,read the post on the article above this,remember israel is not calling the shots
July 13, 2013 at 3:18 PM
I have no idea why this would be leaked, all the more so that it not only humiliates the Syrians but the Russians as well, so it is pretty risky. But we have seen US officials reveal secrets about Stuxnet before and I have given up trying to understand US policy these days. It is not something George F. Kennan would have written about in his memoirs. It seems to me uncharted territory.
By the way, I’ve being trying to find out you skype id, to no avail.
July 13, 2013 at 3:47 PM
Skype id: josephwouk
July 13, 2013 at 4:04 PM
Its aimed solely at russia,israel is not running the show Russia cant attack anyone it is a limp dick,the whole point is to get through to the russians that they are really playing with fire and are not wanted in the med full stop,israel is a very small factor in all this israel relegated itself to the status of a pawn by not acting at the beginning,this is about who controls europe and the middel east NATO does not israel and not russia,israel is standing up to its commitments with its partners that is wny your defence chiefs came to london to receive your orders nothing else,untill you all understand this is much much bigger than israel you will not see it for what it is
July 13, 2013 at 4:14 PM
forgot to add this:
Building Backdoors Into Computer Chips
http://www.psmag.com/politics/building-backdoors-into-computer-chips-23617/
July 13, 2013 at 4:45 PM
To Justice for Israel; I am no sure I understand what you are saying. While it may be true that for the moment “Israel is not running the show”, Israel is the country which is most exposed to the Iranian threat, is the only country whose leadership fully understands the magnitude of the Iranian threat and is the only country that since MAD is inapplicable with Iran will have no choice but to pre-empt and attack the Iranian nuclear sites since the alternative is to be incinerated in a nuclear explosion. So Israel will very much be forced to run the show whether Israeli leaders like it or not. Do read the paper delivered at Columbia U by Matthias Kuntzel before your respond:
Matthias Küntzel – Antisemitism, Messianism and the Cult of Sacrifice:The Iranian Holy War.
http://www.madisdead.blogspot.co.il/2012/09/matthias-kuntzel-antisemitism_8.html
July 13, 2013 at 4:52 PM
mladen the point is iran syria are small fry tics,like i said think much much bigger
July 13, 2013 at 6:04 PM
To Justice for Israel; A nuclear war in which the Twelvers want to destroy 2/3 of the human race is to you “small fry tics”?
July 13, 2013 at 7:07 PM
Mladen, I understand Justice to mean that the US and Europe are the only credible powers right now. His position is that it is those two actors that are orchestrating what we see now in Syria, and that Israel is following orders.
I agree with his power assessment. I disagree that Israel is following orders. It may be coordinating its strikes with NATO, but it is not following orders when it strikes.
July 13, 2013 at 7:31 PM
Joseph
I view the events in Syria as a prelude to future events in Iran, and in that context I do not think that the Europeans are going to play a significant role. I also do not understand how Russia can be disregarded when it still has some 8500 nuclear weapons.
July 13, 2013 at 8:13 PM
its more like 65 the point you keep missing is we have a first strike capability and second and third and fourth the Russian missiles are junk even the new ones there based on a flawed perception,no country will ever use a nuclear weapon other than a small tactical ones anyway,This is really sorting out the roost russia has its marching orders and doesn’t like it next stage is russia gets a bloody nose,goodby navy its upto them no one is intimidated by russia,and this is a very dangerous game for Israel,typical too little too late,I am worried for my friends in israel JW he is now on the front line that’s very sobering
July 13, 2013 at 8:40 PM
Israel has been on the front line since its independence. We have been and will be able to defend ourselves.
I appreciate the concern, Justice. Me and the rest of Israel will have another beer and go back to work tomorrow.
July 14, 2013 at 6:55 AM
To Justice for Israel – Well, I disagree. I spent 6 years in the USSR and know a thing or two about both the Russians and their technology. While it may be true that “no country will ever use a nuclear weapon other than a small tactical ones anyway”, this does not include Iran and almost did not include Cuba and the USSR. According to James Woolse, former director of CIA:
http://madisdead.blogspot.co.il/2012/04/threat-from-iran-james-woolsey.html
For example, we know now from Soviet documents that were released or stolen after the Cold War ended, that Castro pushed very hard during the Cuban missile crisis for essentially there be a nuclear war. Happily he did not care if Cuba would be destroyed. He wanted so much that the United States be destroyed, and he was not even a religious fanatic. He was just a fanatic sociopath. That almost tipped things into a tragic direction, but happily on the other side the Soviet Union was basically a bunch of thugs with a cover story their ideology was very substantially dead.
July 14, 2013 at 1:11 PM
Is this guy stupid you just cant get it into his head russia is an ant were not intimidated by russia anytime we want we can turn russia to dust russia is a joke a paper tiger,first second and third strike russias missiles wont get off the ground Death to russia,your the svr your a joke and were coming for you,Russia is all wind and lScrap equipment your defenseless,Russia is weak and defeated power soon to be completely finished all hot air and bluff,Russia is a not the ussr it is a failed state run by the scum of the earth
July 13, 2013 at 11:17 AM
There where also some reports claiming that the attacks were carried out using sea launched missiles.
I don’t believe debka’s claim regarding the Putin/Bibi talk.
If true that the IDF attacked, this report supports my assessment that Israel will destroy the S300 before it becomes opetational while avoiding Russian casualties.
July 13, 2013 at 11:29 AM
I think in reality Assad is scared sh**less about actually having to follow through on a threat to attack Israel.
July 13, 2013 at 12:52 PM
Assad is not going to attack Israel. It is Israel who has to decide how much longer it will continue to play this dangerous game of seeking, finding and destroying these game changing weapons that are being delivered.