Satellite image showing damage caused at alleged Syria strike by Israeli warplanes. Photo: Screenshot Channel 2
This Means War? -- Charlie Gillis, Macleans
The muted response to Israel’s strike on Syria is just one more sign of a troubling new Middle East reality
The mission went off with surprising ease. In separate sorties over the weekend, Israeli warplanes slipped unopposed into Syrian airspace, wiping out missile sites and destroying a major military research centre near Damascus. In past years, it might have been enough to trigger a full-blown crisis—Syria answering with a tit-for-tat strike; Israel pressing the U.S. and other allies for support; the entire Midle East watching helplessly as the cycle escalated. And there was certainly no lack of fuel for outrage: on Monday, Syria’s Arab-language news agency circulated pictures showing the smoking expanses where the bombs had landed, killing as many as 42 people.
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Update: Why doesn't Syria retaliate against Israel? -- Omar Kosh, Middle East Monitor
My Comment: In the past .... an Israeli strike of this magnitude against Syria would have resulted in a war and an international crisis that would put the entire Middle East on edge. Today .... the situation on the ground is different and the players are now repositioning themselves for the eventual fall of the Assad regime.