Assad May be Bluffing on Missiles, Says Expert
Amb (ret.) Yossi Ben-Aharon explains why Russia wants to supply S-300s to Syria and what it means for Israel in this exclusive interview.
By Ben Bresky & INR Staff -- Arutz Sheva 7
First Publish: 5/30/2013, 7:04 PM
Syrian border
Flash90
Retired ambassador Yossi Ben-Aharon is a consultant on Middle Eastern affairs, who served as Deputy Director-General of the Foreign Ministry and Director-General of the Prime Minster's Office under Yitzhak Shamir. He gave an exclusive live interview to Josh Hasten host of Arutz Sheva's Reality Bytes podcast about the latest developments in Syria.
For the full interview in mp3 format click here.
Interview with Yossi Ben-Aharon
"Anything that President Bashar al-Assad says should be checked for
veracity," Ben-Aharon stated. "He is in dire straits. He is probably
trying to set up some type of protective wall in case Israel sees a need
to attack a shipment of armaments from Syria to the Hizbullah. He could
be deliberately misleading," Ben-Aharon commented. He added, "we do not
have information that the S-300 missiles have indeed arrived in Syria."
In spite of Israeli and American calls to halt the weapons sale, Russia's foreign minister stated on Wednesday that his government would carry out the delivery in the near future. Ben-Aharon called this a power play on Russia's part. Because of the "Arab Spring" revolutions that occurred in many Middle Eastern countries, the Russians "are left only with Syria and they are trying to hold on to the maximum extent of their power," he stated. He noted that Russia has part of its naval fleet in the Mediteranean sea near Syria, and "Assad is the only Arab leader who has opened the gates for some kind of Russian influence."
In regard to the possibility that the S-300 missiles could be used against Israel, Ben-Aharon reiterated the unofficial response of Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon: "We have cautioned the Russians not to supply the piece of armament. But if however it does happen to materialize on Syrian territory, we will know how to deal with it. We have the capacity. If there is a real threat to us, we will have to make a move even if we are taking a risk."
In a previous interview on Arutz Sheva / Israel National Radio which took place following Israel's alleged raid on a Syrian weapons compound, Ben-Aharon spoke of his own personal experiences in talking with Syrian officials. For the May 5th interview with Yossi Ben-Aharon click here.
Syria Preemptive Strike Interview
"We are dealing with a very tough customer," he said. "They are headstrong and very proud. They looked down on other Arab countries. That was their attitude before the civil war started."
"The Iranians offered support to the pro-Shiite minority, and the Saudi Arabians and Qatar weighed in to support the majority Sunnis in Syria. If that isn't enough, you have other factors that poke their fingers in, such as Hizbullah from Lebanon. Assad has supported Hizbullah. When they saw the Assad regime beginning to fracture, they sent their own fighters to help in Damascus. Over and above all of this, western countries have tried to support the revolutionaries that are fighting to bring down the brutal Assad regime, and Russia is trying to maintain its influence. Let's remember that the Russian Soviets were sending weapons to Syria back in the 1970s."
For the full interview, including his comments on United States Secretary of State John Kerry latest announcement, download Reality Bytes with Josh Hasten by clicking here.
Josh Hasten hosts the Reality Bytes call-in talk show live every Thursday from 10:00 AM - 12:00 noon Israel time on Arutz Sheva - Israel national Radio's live internet stream. For free podcast archives click here.
Labels: Armaments, Conflict, Defence, Hezbollah, Israel, Revolution, Russia, Syria
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