It would appear that the irrefutable evidence provided in Washington by Defense Minister Ehud Barak regarding Syrian’s transfer of Scud missiles to Hizbullah indeed persuaded senior officials in the Barak administration, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issuing a warning to Syria, expressing concerns that such a move may expedite a regional conflict. Earlier in the week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates also issued a warning, apparently now convinced that statements recently by President Shimon Peres in Israel regarding the delivery of Scuds was indeed accurate, despite widespread statements of denial from senior Arab officials in Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.

While it appears the Department of State and Pentagon have finally come around, the senior officials seem a bit more hesitant to accept Israel’s intelligence reports vis-à-vis Iran’s nuclear program, preferring to proceed calmly, denying the immediacy of the situation as Israel has been warning.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)