"Israel Prepares As War Clouds Gather"

Exactly what we prophecy watchers have been saying for a while now. Finally it's reaching the MSM, not just the press in the Middle East:

Israel Prepares As War Clouds Gather

In recent weeks, the drums of war have been beating louder. A week ago, there were reports in the Israeli media that a rocket was fired from Lebanon towards Israel. It didn’t land  – but the tension is being ratcheted up. 

Israel has attacked targets inside Syria, both last month and in February. It will not admit to the action, but officials have lined up to argue that Israel has the right to prevent sophisticated weaponry reaching Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon.

It is a calculated risk. Hezbollah – whose leader Hasan Nasrallah warns of a “strategic response” to the Israeli attacks – is known to have many short- range rockets, but longer-range, more advanced, missiles would threaten Israel’s biggest city, Tel Aviv, further south and would bring the nearby Ben Gurion airport into play.

In the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and, after occupying the area for 14 years, formally annexed in 1981, preparations are going ahead. The Independent passed numerous flatbed trucks which are used to transport armoured personnel carriers and tanks. At one point, we  saw at least 50 APCs lined up in a car park.

Speaking of the Golan Heights....

Assad Supporters Form 'Resistance Units' To Fight On Golan

Syrian President Bashar Assad’s loyalists from across the Arab world have reportedly formed “popular resistance” groups to fight Israel in the Golan Heights, the Sunday Times reported Sunday.

An unnamed source told the British paper that volunteers from Syria, the West Bank and other Arab countries have joined the new units, which are indirectly supported by the Syrian government and aim to “combat Israeli aggression.”

“Syria will change from a country that supports the resistance to a country of resistance,” Syrian legislator Khaled Abboud told the British publication.

In an interview to Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV last week, Assad said his government had received “many Arab delegations wanting to know how young people might be enrolled to come and fight Israel.”

“There is clear popular pressure to open a new front of resistance in the Golan,” Assad said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the cabinet on Sunday that Israel would defend itself if necessary against aggressors in neighboring states.

Muslim Brotherhood Cleric Calls For Sunni Jihad In Syria

Iraq Warns Israel

Baghdad has cautioned Israel against flying over Iraqi airspace en route to an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Monday’s statements marked the first time the Iraqi government has publicly declared it would not allow such an action.

“We have… warned Israel that if they violate Iraqi airspace, they will have to bear the consequences,” Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani told AFP. He added that Iraq would not disclose what the reaction might be to such an overflight, so that Israel will not able to “take that into account.”

Iraq lies across the most direct flight path from Israel to Iran, so an attack against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities could necessitate violating Iraq’s airspace. The US, however, can launch an attack from its naval vessels stationed in the Persian Gulf and therefore avoid entanglement with a third country, as highlighted in a position paper published last week by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Iranian General Warns Of Bio-Warfare

Viruses can be turned into easily concealed weapons with high epidemic powers that could contaminate food, water and animals, Iran has warned.

Gen. Gholamreza Jalali, head of Iran’s Passive Defense Organization, in a recent event discussing defensive and offensive measures for cyber-attacks and viruses, talked about the strategic importance of using viruses as weapons to contaminate an environment, according to AsrIran, a media outlet of the Islamic Republic.

“Biological viruses are extremely clever and have the capability to distinguish their environment. These viruses can only be recognized in labs,” he said, stressing that these agents are easily hidden in the environment and can cause widespread epidemics.

Jalali said that viruses, parasites, botanical poisons and animal poisons are elements that can be used in biological warfare.

“The environmental threats include humans, domesticated animals, poultry, environment, natural resources, food industry and drinking water,” he said, identifying seven ways a biological agent could strike.

WND reported exclusively in December and January that, according to a source in the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence unit with knowledge of Iran’s microbial research and development, Iranian scientists, with Russian and North Korean help, currently possess eight extremely dangerous microbial agents that, if unleashed, could kill millions of people.

The eight agents are anthrax, encephalitis (the blueprint of this virus, Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis, was provided by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in an agreement two years ago with the Islamic regime), yellow rain (developed with the help of North Korea), SARS, Ebola, cholera, smallpox and plague.

Iran, with North Korea’s help, has genetically altered the smallpox virus, which make current vaccinations useless against the new strain. And research at two facilities that act as drug companies but are fronts for the deadly research shows insects can be used as the vector to carry plague, infamous as the “Black Death,” according to WND’s sources.

Also see:

Will Electronic Tattoos Replace Internet Passwords And All Other Forms Of Identification?

Would you wear an electronic tattoo if you couldn’t log on to the Internet without one?  That may sound crazy to many of you, but the technology for such a system already exists.  RFID tattoos have existedfor quite some time, and they are already being used on animals.  But now an entirely new generation of electronic tattoos are being developed that can monitor your vital signs, interact with your mobile phone and even communicate directly with your mind. 

 These new electronic tattoos are thinner than a human hair, and they are going to fundamentally transform the way that we think about human identification.  Right now, the Internet is being absolutely plagued by hackers and identity theft has become a multi-billion dollar enterprise.  It is becoming increasingly difficult to determine if someone is actually who they say that they are.  And as even more of our commerce gets conducted through the Internet, identity security is going to be absolutely critical.  Without a doubt, there will continue to be a push for more secure forms of identification than we have today.  

But there is also a very dark side to this kind of technology.  

What if someday a tyrannical government decides to make a permanent electronic tattoo for identification purposes mandatory for all citizens?  What if you are not able to buy, sell, get a job, have a bank account or log on to the Internet without “proper identification”?  What if the price for receiving your tattoo is to swear absolute allegiance to that tyrannical government?  The truth is that technology is always a double-edged sword.  It always brings with it the promise of progress, but it also always has a dark side that could potentially be abused.

The latest generation of electronic tattoos is quite remarkable.  They are called “Biostamps”, and they were originally developed for medical purposes.  However, as a recent Daily Mail article detailed, Motorola believes that these Biostamps could potentially replace passwords and make the Internet a much more secure place…

MC10 originally designed the tattoos, called Biostamps, to help medical teams measure the health of their patients either remotely, or without the need for large expensive machinery.

Motorola claims that the circuits, which also contain antennae and built-in sensors, could be adapted to work with mobile phones and tablets.

The mobile devices could then be used to confirm the owner’s identity and log them in to accounts automatically.

This would prevent thieves and other people from being able to access a phone, or individual apps on the device, if it is stolen or lost.

Could technology that helps us identify one another on the Internet someday be used to brand us all like cattle and force all of humanity into a dark system of control and enslavement?

Don’t think that such a dystopian society can never exist in our modern world.  Freedoms and liberties are being taken away from people all over the globe right now even though things are still relatively stable.

So what is going to happen when the world goes crazy someday and the planet is absolutely ravaged by economic collapse, pandemics, crime, rioting, natural disasters and war?

That is something to think about.

Massive Economic Problems Erupting All Over The Planet

This is no time to be complacent.  Massive economic problems are erupting all over the globe, but most people seem to believe that everything is going to be just fine.  In fact, a whole bunch of recent polls and surveys show that the American people are starting to feel much better about how the U.S. economy is performing.  Unfortunately, the false prosperity that we are currently enjoying is not going to last much longer.  Just look at what is happening in Europe.  The eurozone is now in the midst of the longest recession that it has ever experienced.  Just look at what is happening over in Asia.  Economic growth in India is the lowest that it has been in a decade and the Japanese financial system is beginning to spin wildly out of control.  One of the only places on the entire planet where serious economic problems have not already erupted is in the United States, and that is only because we have "kicked the can down the road" by recklessly printing money and by borrowing money at an unprecedented rate.  Unfortunately, the "sugar high" produced by those foolish measures is starting to wear off.  We are going to experience a massive amount of economic pain along with the rest of the world - it is just a matter of time.

But for the moment, there are a lot of skeptics out there.

For the moment, there are a lot of people that are declaring that the problems of the past have been fixed and that we are heading for incredibly bright economic times ahead.

Unfortunately, those people appear to be purposely ignoring the economic horror that is breaking out all over the globe.

Sunday In The News: Syrian War Expanding Into Lebanon, Israeli Jets Fly Over Region

Syrian Rebels, Hezbollah In Deadly Fight In Lebanon

Several fighters were killed in an overnight clash between Hezbollah fighters and Syrian rebel forces in Lebanon's eastern border region with Syria, Lebanese security sources said on Sunday.

One source said 15 rebels were killed in the fighting east of the Bekaa Valley town of Baalbek, but the exact toll would not be clear until bodies could be retrieved from the remote and rugged border area. One Hezbollah fighter also died, he said.

Syria's two-year-old conflict has increasingly sucked in its smaller neighbor, with deadly fighting shaking the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli and rockets hitting the Bekaa Valley and southern Beirut.

Guerrillas from Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah, which supports the Iranian-backed President Bashar Assad, are fighting alongside his army to drive rebels from the Syrian border town of Qusair, while Lebanese Sunni Muslim fighters have joined the anti-Assad revolt.

Rebels have said they will carry out attacks inside Lebanon in response to Hezbollah's support for Assad's assault on Qusair, a strategic town for rebel weapons supplies and fighters coming into Syria from Lebanon.

Israeli Jets Fly Over Lebanon

Israeli fighter jets on Sunday flew at a low altitude over Lebanon, circling Beirut and the eastern Bekaa Valley, and passing over the town of Baalbek near the Syrian border, Lebanese security officials and the country’s Naharnet news site reported.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman asked Adnan Mansour, the country’s foreign minister, to file a complaint with the UN regarding Israel’s flyovers, the report said.

The flights Sunday were carried out only weeks after Israeli jets reportedly targeted weapons convoys in two airstrikes near Damascus, preventing Iranian-made missiles from reaching the hands of Hezbollah, a Shiite terror group based in southern Lebanon.

Israeli Arrow II Ready For Syrian Missiles. U.S. Patriots For Jordan. Moscow Backs Hizballah

“Syrian batteries are in a high state of operability, ready to fire at short notice,” said Israel Air Force Colonel Zvika Haimovich in special briefings to international media Friday. He disclosed that Israel tracks every missile fired in the Syrian civil war, since southward launches would give Israel mere seconds to determine it was not the true target. “All it would take is a few degrees’ change in the flight path to endanger us.”

In Washington, Pentagon sources reported that the United States was sending Patriot missile defense systems and F-16 fighter jets to Jordan for the annual joint Eager Lion exercise between the two armies. The sources did not say whether the Patriots and fighter jets would withdraw after the two-month exercise.

Moscow, for its part, continues to sow confusion about the delivery of its S-300 anti-air missile batteries to Syria, but has shown its hand on another issue, by blocking a UN Security Council motion that would have condemned Hizballah. 

Hizballah forces fighting with the Syrian army captured most of its urban area.
Our military sources report heavy fighting is raging in the northern sector of al Qusayr since the rebels brought in reinforcements for their last stand late last week.

A Hizballah siege force has cut off food and water supplies for the 10,000 civilians and 2,500 opposition fighters trapped in that corner of the town. At least 1.200 wounded people are without access to medical attention.

Moscow claimed it blocked a Security Council motion on al Qusayr because there was no UN condemnation when the Syrian rebels captured the town in 2012.

For Israel, the Russian UN action is of great concern because it amounts to the extension of Moscow’s patronage not just to the Assad regime but also to Hizballah which spearheaded the al Qusayr offensive.  This is consistent with the pledges of support Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov gave Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah during their secret conversation in Beirut on April 27.
When questioned on this score, Russian diplomats were evasive - in the same way as they are ambiguous about the S-300 missiles. However Moscow’s Security Council action leaves no room for doubt that Hizballah’s military intervention in the Syrian war has won a powerful champion in Moscow.

'Syrian Government Aided By Iranian, Russian Tech'

Already buoyed by a large infusion of Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, in recent months the Syrian government has also been enjoying a tactical edge in the form of advanced surveillance and defense technology courtesy of Iran and Russia, the Washington Post reported Sunday.

The equipment includes surveillance drones provided by Iran, anti-mortar systems, special intelligence-gathering equipment, and communications jamming devices, Middle Eastern intelligence officials told the paper.

“We’re seeing a turning point in the past couple of months,” an official was quoted as saying. “It has a lot to do with the quality and type of weapons and other systems coming from Iran and Russia.”

Another source was quoted to the effect that the Syrian army had recently displayed new tactics that were likely acquired through training from foreign advisers. 

A Jordanian general who monitors the fighting in Syria, sometimes from across the border several kilometers away, described seeing “many things we haven’t seen before,” including armored vehicles, night-vision devices, thermal imaging instruments and vehicles with jamming equipment.

Saudis, Gulf States 'Unnerved by U.S. Pivot Away From Middle East'

In a bid to calm regional concern that the United States is withdrawing from a troubled Middle East, the Obama administration is working to strengthen ties with several Persian Gulf states, according to experts.

Many of America’s staunchest regional allies believe the Obama administration is seeking to focus less on the Middle East and its troubles and more on other regions with greater geopolitical clout, like East Asia. Several Middle Eastern countries have read American behavior — the so-called strategic “pivot” to Asia, cuts in the defense budget, and the unwillingness to intervene in Syria — as signs of growing American reluctance to shoulder the burden of regional security.

The tensions in the region are on the rise. Saudi Arabia recently announced it has captured at least 28 members of an alleged Iranian spy ring in two waves of arrests in March and May, and Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal warned last week that the Iranian nuclear program was a “danger” to the “security of the whole region.”

While tensions with Iran are on the rise, America’s allies are questioning the Obama administration’s desire to stay the course in the region.

And despite repeated requests from allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia, the Obama administration has declined to order military action to curtail Iran’s nuclear program, instead opting for continued diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis. 

Middle Eastern allies have also noted the administration’s much-discussed strategic “pivot” away from what many administration officials view as the distractions of the Middle East to the more geopolitically weighty issues related to the growing influence of China.

If the US fails to prevent Iran’s attainment of a nuclear weapons capability, “the Saudis would have to reassess” their security dependence on the US.

The Saudis might opt to use the threat of launching their own nuclear weapons program – a scenario that could lead to a domino effect of nuclear proliferation in an unstable region – to obtain stronger US security guarantees.

Iran's Arak reactor Looms Into Israeli, Western View

Iran aims to start a reactor next year which the West fears could arm an atomic bomb;Israel, which has bombed such construction sites around the Middle East before, may try to stop the plant being completed.

The timetable for the planned start-up of the Arak heavy-water research plant is closely watched: Israeli and Western experts say any attacker would probably prefer to act before it becomes operational - to avoid generating radioactive fallout.

The Islamic Republic says it will make isotopes for medical and agricultural use. But analysts say this type of facility can also produce plutonium for weapons if the spent fuel is reprocessed - something Iransays it has no intention of doing.

Time may be pressing for adversaries who want to act.

"Whoever considers attacking an active reactor is willing to invite another Chernobyl," former Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said, referring to the 1986 Soviet reactor accident which sent radioactive dust across much of Europe.

"And there is no one who wants to do that."

A State Of Palestine No Solution

With the Obama Administration intent on a two-state solution to the Israel/Palestinian problem there are a few things we think ought to be considered.

Currently, sparks are flying between Israel and Syria over those Russian S-300 missiles about to arrive in Syria.
You are kidding yourself if you believe, for one moment, that Israel will allow those Russian missiles to be successfully deployed before Israel takes them out.

Israel has no choice.  With those missiles, Assad can shoot down Israeli aircraft while the planes are still in Israeli air space.  From Israel’s standpoint—that cannot be allowed.

If you think things are bad in the Middle East today, wait until there is a “state” of Palestine!
The creation of a Palestinian state will do nothing to bring stability to the region.  In fact, there will be more war, more instability, and more suffering.

A Palestinian state would effectively open up a front that starts ten miles from Tel Aviv and reaches 1,000 miles deep across the Arabian Peninsula to Teheran. That, alone, will be cause for Israel to go on their highest military alert and stay there 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In other words… all the time. 

The buffer zone Israel counts on to give her time to activate her reserves and get them mobilized will no longer exist.  That short period of time,  so vital for the defense of Israel, will be gone.  Therefore, Israel will have no choice but to adopt what, for all practical purposes, will be a “state of war” as a normal, everyday, lifestyle.

And it won’t just be Israel in the gun sights of the Arabs who call themselves Palestinians.  Little Jordan will be toast!

If you are among those who have bought into the school of thought, which says Israel would be the first target of a Palestinian State military, then may we respectfully suggest that you “think again!”
No.  The military minds have another thought on that.  They think Jordan will be Target One.

Why?

Think about it for a moment.  Eighty percent of Jordan’s population is made-up of those Arab refugees who call themselves Palestinians.  They HATE the Hashemite Kingdom. In fact, they tried to overthrow the little kingdom over 40 years ago—in 1970.

Think about this, also:  Jordan is the only remaining moderate, western-oriented Arab state in the Middle East.  The Palestinian State cannot allow the continued existence of Jordan as it is today.  Nope.  Jordan has to be brought to heel.

Once Jordan has been taken back, effectively, to the 11h or 12th century, then the State of Palestine’s military will be enlarged by the wholesale enlistment/conscription of those Palestinians already in Jordan—THEN they can turn their attention—and their guns—on Israel.

What we can expect is a blood bath in the Middle East.  These so-called Palestinians are the people who personify HATE and teach it to their children less their vigor for killing Jews grows dim.  Even their children’s textbooks teach hate!

Why is no one—outside the world’s banking community—asking about Palestine’s preparations for taking its place among the nations of the world?  It’s a legitimatequestion and one, I think, for which the answer is chilling.

Creating a State of Palestine is, itself, a terrorist plot against the world.  The UN will be creating a second rogue state in the Middle East.  It would better be named “West Iran” than Palestine. The state of Palestine will be run from Tehran, owned and operated by the mad mullahs of Iran.
A Palestinian state will only ensure the continuation of war, terrorism, and bloodshed.  The one thing we can be sure it will NOT bring to the Middle East is… peace.

When one stands back and considers, as objectively as possible, the problems caused by recognizing a Palestinian state one can instantly see that the stage is being set for a massive regional war in the Middle East with Israel, Iran, Syria, the US, Russia, and China ALL involved.

For my Christian brethren this may sound uncomfortably familiar.  Things happen in that part of the world when the “ancient markers” are moved—or removed.  (Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set. Proverbs 22:28)
Establishing a State of Palestine would not necessarily be the beginning.  It could, in fact, mark the end.

Paving The Road For The Antichrist: "Progressivism" = Creeping Tyranny

Let us be completely honest. Today's progressivism is nothing more than tyranny. A couple of days worth of headlines makes this point abundantly clear. 

One has to find the painful paradox here. Many so-called "progressives" (previously "liberals") seem to have no idea that their ideas and plans are leading directly into the Tribulation as they unwittingly pave the way for the antichrist's arrival. 

For the non-Christians in this bunch - they will get their liberal utopia. They will finally get their one-world progressive leader. The world will have been purged from those "mean" Christians, who, up until the "gathering up", will have served to thwart this creeping progressivism - their leader will have arrived and finally they can have their perfect world order. 

For a brief period anyway. Then, after a brief period of relative calm, things will "hit the fan" as they say. Hopefully, as God's hand is revealed during the Tribulation, they can find their way to Christ. 

For now, on this side of the gathering up, we can see this movement as it rapidly approaches the Tribulation:

The headlines below are just from a couple of day's worth of scanning the news. There are too many articles to quote from - just take a look at the headlines. If you want more, open the articles.

As much as we should be dismayed at the loss of freedom and the approach of complete tyranny - as welcomed and fostered by the progressive movement - but it screams to us that the Savior is on His way:

[Footnote: When I started this blog, I was committed to keeping politics out of the daily updates. However, the time has come (unfortunately) that politics are now completely intertwined with prophetic developments and simply cannot be ignored any longer]

5 Year Old Interrogated Until He Wet His Pants And Suspended For 10 Days: He Brought A Cap Gun To School

The Lois Lerner State

Who's Tracking Your Children?

Neuroscientist: Religious Fundamentalism May Be A 'Mental Illness'

Boy Scouts Embrace Dull Conformity

Lawbreakers In A Lawless Society

The Watchers And The Watched: America's 'Electronic Concentration Camp'

Viewing Cultural Collapse At Cannes

IRA Hit With Lawsuit On Behalf Of 25 Tea Party Groups

Land Of Confusion

Eight Year Old Suspended For Gun-Shaped Pop Tart

Americans Deserve The IRS

Armed Federal Agents Raid Republican Doner Gibson Guitar

Breaking: IRS Scandal Widens: Conservative Activists And Businesses Targeted Too

IRS Targets Conservative Groups

Justice Department Says Use Of 'Husband And Wife' Is Considered As Hate Speech

Washington's Corruption, Abuse Of Power

'End The Fed' Pamphleteers Near Liberty Bell Handcuffed And Cited

Privacy Of World Citizens Wiped Out By USA

Former IRS Head Visited White House A Staggering 157 Times

Wealth Of Most Americans Down 55%



Liberal Activist Admits To Bugging Mitch McConnell's Office



Dem Operative Who Illegally Recorder McConnell: 'I'd Do It Again'



Feds Suggest Anti-Muslim Speech Can Be Punished

In The News: Iranian Missile Launchers Can Overwhelm Israeli Defense

Report: New Iranian Missile Launchers Could Overwhelm Israeli Defenses

Iran could have enough launchers to send a salvo of medium range ballistic missiles that would overwhelm Israeli ballistic missile defense systems, according to a Wednesday report from IHS Jane’s.

A May, 26 broadcast on Iranian television showcased a collection of transporter erector launchers (TELs) capable of launching the Iranian Shahab-3 guided ballistic missiles.

“Iranian television footage showed at least 26 TELs lined up in two rows for the event, which marked their purported delivery to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, which operates the country’s ballistic missiles,” according to the report.

The Shahab-3 is based on a North Korean design and is capable striking Israel from Iranian territory.

“The delivery of such a large number of missile launchers demonstrates the Islamic Republic of Iran’s self-sufficiency in designing and building the strategic system and shows the Iranian Armed Forces’ massive firepower and their ability to give a crushing response to the enemy,” Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said in a report carried by Iranian state news.

The more missiles Iran can launch at once, “the greater its chances of overwhelming defensive systems, such as Israel’s Arrow, which only have a limited number of interceptors ready to launch at incoming targets,” according to the Jane’s report

Brazen Iranian Campaign Stirs Echoes Of Ahmadinejad

Iranians have seen it before: A youngish presidential candidate firing up crowds with fist-waving rants against the West, then displaying his Islamist bona fides with courtesy calls to hard-line clerics.

Saeed Jalili, familiar to outsiders because of his prominence as a nuclear negotiator, has tried to distance himself from outgoing president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has fallen out with the clerical leadership that controls Iran. But he is employing the same strategy that worked for Ahmadinejad eight years ago — and in the murky world of Iranian politics, where there are no credible polls and elections are a highly controlled affair, it has made him, for many, the presumed front-runner.

“No compromise! No submission!” shouted supporters at rallies this week that had men in front and women segregated in the back.

Iran has no credible voter polling to handicap the candidates, but there is a sense of momentum behind Jalili. He is clearly popular with the ruling clerics who hand-pick the ballot list and faced widespread accusations of vote rigging four years ago to keep Ahmadinejad in power.

Iran Election Unlikely To Alter Nuke Policy

Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday he is not optimistic that Iran’s upcoming election will produce any change in the country’s nuclear ambitions, which the US and others believe are aimed at developing atomic weapons. He also reiterated the long-standing US position that it would be “unacceptable” for Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.

Kerry’s comments came as the Obama administration again ramped up sanctions against Iran to try to force it to prove that its nuclear intentions are peaceful by cutting off much-needed outside state revenue. The sanctions target Iran’s petrochemicals industry, the largest source of funding for Iran’s nuclear program after oil.

Moscow's Smoke Screen Obscures Assad's Next Syrian War

On minute, Russian spokesmen declare that Moscow is only filling standing contracts with Syria for the sale of weapons, i.e. – S-300 anti-air missiles; the next, that delivery will take place only in the second quarter of 2014 (ahead of Syria’s presidential election). Then, after those spokesmen previously declared that Russia would only fill outstanding arms contracts, Serge Korotkov, head of the MiG company came out with the news Friday, May 31, that a Syrian delegation was in Moscow to discuss “a new contract” for the sale of “more than 10” MiG-29 M/M2 fighters.

Russian fighter-bomber is designed to operate in complex electronic jamming environments. It is therefore just what the Syrian army lacks for overcoming the Israeli Air Force’s ability to disable Syria’s Russian-made electronic warfare systems.

Moscow is therefore offering to provide Bashar Assad and his air force with a key resource for delivering on the statement he made in a TV interview Thursday, May 30: “We have informed all foreign parties that we will retaliate against any future Israeli attack.”

Our military and Russian sources say that the conflicting Russian statements on weapons sales to Damascus have two motives:

1.  To lay down a smoke screen for concealing the true nature and volume of the military equipment Moscow is shipping to Assad and his army by airlift. Its transports land and unload their freight at various Syrian airfields, including Aleppo and Latakia. Without the Russian and Iranian air corridors, the Syrian army would soon run out of the ammunition, spare parts and fuel, needed day to day for keeping up its war on the rebels.

2. To spread a fog fraught with Russian menace for scaring Israel, the United States, Britain, France and Turkey off any thought of military intervention in the Syrian conflict. 

President Vladimir Putin and his advisers feel they can safely turn up the heat in the belief that President Barack Obama will have no choice in the final reckoning but to accept the Russian-Iranian proposals for ending the Syrian war, starting with leaving Assad in power. Otherwise, Moscow is indicating that the war will escalate, fueled by the swelling input of Russian arms, and the United States will sink further in Middle East estimation.

Implicit in the Russian stance is that the Syrian war which has already spread to Lebanon thanks to Hizballah’s participation in the fighting will next spill over into Israel. Moscow is playing the S-300 missiles and MiG-29 M/M2 warplanes as pieces in its game against Israel too on the Syrian chessboard.