Syria: An Exaggerated Threat

Well, they're an exaggerated threat in their own mind.

I think that after the concern expressed about their most recent "veiled" threats against Israel, they started to get the message that the US is not going to brook that kind of language.

They threatened to hit settlements in the Golan Heights if Israel were to go after any other targets in Syria again. So how would that be different?

Well, Israel went after a training camp for Palestinian militants. Where might those trainees be heading when they finish their lessons? If you guessed Israel, you'd probably be right.

So what about the settlements in the Golan? Syria still believes the Golan to be their territory, but what do the settlers do when they're done settling? They go home. They don't go out and blow themselves up in the middle of Palestinian markets. They don't fire rockets off into Syria. Basically they're good, if unwanted, neighbors.

If Syria were truly committed, as they occasionally claim to be, to peace then they would be accepting of Israel's action. They may complain about a lack of warning. They may have made noises about a violation of national sovereignty. But their response is not one of a peace loving nation. It is the response of a belligerent trying to threaten fro a position of weakness.

Syria claims the quote was taken out of context. I don't believe them. I believe that they are trying to take it out of the context of the relationship between Israel and Syria. Without that context, nothing between these two nations makes sense.

Syria's threat was not exaggerated. If anything, it was understated. To say otherwise is disingenuous.