haaretzI guess we’ll have to wait and see if this Fox News report is like “cocking a gun”
Judging by historic precedent, the report Fox News aired Wednesday on the new Iranian military base in Syria is like cocking a gun: it’s the warning before the blast.
The same happened in December. A few weeks after the BBC reported based on “Western intelligence” sources, on a base for pro-Iranian Shiite in Syria, the base was bombed from the air. Foreign media attributed the attack to Israel, though Israel as usual declined to comment. The last week has brought more reports about Iran’s establishment in Syria – the deployment of Shiite militias, the presence of military experts, soldiers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as plans to build bases and weapons factories. First The New York Times published a detailed map showing the Iranian reinforcement, now Fox News reports that the new base near Damascus includes big hangars, that could house missiles capable of hitting anywhere in Israel. Fox News, like the BBC before it, broadcast satellite images of the suspect site. The conservative news network quoted the same opaque Western sources. One may assume that definition is a relatively flexible one, and that it’s perfectly accurate if one reads that as sources located somewhere west of Iran.
In other words, in light of the Fox News report, it's fair to assume that the countdown has started for another aerial clash in the Syrian skies. Even with the parties stating that they do not want war, it will take extraordinary navigational skills to prevent matters from spiraling out of control.
Maybe connected? Or not?There was a report from Janes that had disappeared shortly after appearingI’d saved it before it went awol and posted it here: Tillerson's Sweet Nothings to TurkeyThe gist of it was that Israel’s previous strikes had been less successful then Israel had stated.
“Satellite imagery showing one of two S-200 (SA-5) long-range air defence systems in southwest Syria was not neutralised on 10 February raises questions about the effectiveness of Israeli airstrikes on that day.”
Would Israel be planning to go back into Syria and finish up what they had failed on their first try? We’re the missiles that took the Israeli jet down from the location Israel failed to strike that night. Is Israel planning for more?Syria Shoots Down Israeli JetAnd is this why Janes took the report down so very quickly? Was the report a bit more then just a news report? Of course, I don’t know. But do wonder?32 Die in Russian Plane Crash at Syrian Base There were 26 passengers and 6 crew, the ministry said in a statement carried by RIA Novosti agency. It did not specify whether all of them were in the military. “The reason for the crash according to preliminary information could have been a technical fault,” the ministry said, adding that the plane had not come under fire according to a report from the ground. The transporter was around 500 metres (yards) from the runway, the statement said. A commission will investigate the causes of the crash.Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/03/32-die-russian-plane-crash-syria-ba…
"There were 26 passengers and 6 crew, the ministry said in a statement carried by RIA Novosti agency. It did not specify whether all of them were in the military. “The reason for the crash according to preliminary information could have been a technical fault,” the ministry said, adding that the plane had not come under fire according to a report from the ground. The transporter was around 500 metres (yards) from the runway, the statement said. A commission will investigate the causes of the crash."