A Syrian minister warned Israel in an interview published Sunday that a major ground incursion into Lebanon would draw his country into the Middle East conflict. "If Israel makes a land entry into Lebanon, they can get to within 20 kilometres (12 miles) of Damascus," Information Minister Moshen Bilal told the Spanish newspaper ABC.
"What will we do? Stand by with our arms folded? Absolutely not. Without any doubt Syria will intervene in the conflict." Bilal said Syria wanted above all a ceasefire "as soon as possible" combined with a prisoner exchange and indicated he was working to that end with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, whom he met in recent days in Madrid.
But he added: "I repeat, if Israel makes a land invasion of Lebanon and gets near us, Syria will not stand by with arms folded. It will enter the conflict." Israel has said it wants to push Hezbollah militias 20 kilometres north of its border.
Bilal criticised the United States saying that it was "unjustifiable" that "the superpower is not working for a rapid ceasefire." He rejected claims by Washington that Damascus has armed Hezbollah, saying that it offered "moral support" but adding that "we do not finance any resistance." -AFP
Going after Syria (and then Iran) is accordance with the 'A Clean Break'/war for Israel agenda which esteemed intelligence author/writer James Bamford discusses on pages 261-269/321 of his 'A Pretext for War' book
