Hezbollah’s Newest Missiles
According to Israeli intelligence, Hezbollah has added the advanced shoulder-fired SA-18 missile to its arsenal of anti-aircraft weapons.
The Lebanese daily Al Akhbar said Hezbollah intends to take measures to stop Israeli overflights. On July 31, the pro-Hezbollah newspaper quoted a militia source as saying that Hezbollah was “close to adopting practical measures that will force Israel to cease the overflights.”
The SA-18s, with a range of 5.2 kilometers, were provided to Hezbollah by Iran and Syria, officials said. They said Iran also plans to equip Hezbollah with longer-range air defense systems designed in China and Russia.
“There is a reinforcement on the other side, and it’s not by chance that we are training intensively on the Golan Heights and on a major scale,” Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said. “There has been a very significant reinforcement of Hezbollah in recent years, and we are examining the possibility that the balance of power has shifted with the introduction of sophisticated weapons from Syria.”
On Aug. 12, Israel’s military, in a move closely monitored by neighboring Syria, held a major exercise on the Golan Heights. Officials said the exercise envisioned a Hezbollah and Syria attack on northern Israel.
One option for Hezbollah was to procure mobile SAM systems, such as the Pantsyr-S1E from Russia. Officials said Hezbollah could deploy the Pantsyr from Iranian or Syrian stocks in Shi’ite areas of Beirut and the Bekaa Valley, where the militia was believed to keep heavy weapons and long-range rockets.
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Obviously this is bad news for Israel. It’s one thing for the Syrians to have older SAM systems like the Pantsyr-S1E (which proved totally ineffective against the Israeli air force) for trying protect their developing nuclear site - which failed and was destroyed by the IAF. But it’s quite another for Hezbollah to have these on Israel’s border - particularly the strategic Golan Heights.
The miserable effort that Israel put forth during the recent war in Lebanon is haunting them daily now.
Israel must strike all three of their immediate enemies soon. They must strike hard, fast and with finality towards Hezbollah and Syria with or without the United States participation.
Why does the US have three carrier strike forces, attack subs, et al, in the Gulf, Red Sea and Mediterranean if not to crack down on Iran and Russia? I’m disappointed by Washington’s mixed messages of diplomacy and tough talk while Russia and China arm Iran and Syria. Syria will soon be hosting Russia’s sub-fleet in Tartus.
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JamieT
7 Sep 08 at 8:34 pm