US Green Lit Israeli Attacks on Syria, Approves Future Strikes

Panetta: US 'Fully Backs' Israeli Attacks

More and more confirmations are coming across the media that the White House not only green lit Israel’s Wednesday attacks on Syria, but that they have offered a blanket approval for future strikes.

The Wednesday attacks targeted several different sites in Syria, and the Syrian government has shown footage of the aftermath of an attack on a military research facility, one which experts claim was regularly visited by Russian military personnel.

The reports on the “weapons convoy” heading to Syria have also been revised, with the latest reports saying the Syrian vehicles with weapons on board were actually parked at a military base in Zabadani, not actually on the road heading to Lebanon.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has become the first administration official to go on record about the attacks, saying that the US “fully backed” Israel in attacking Syria, adding that the US was concerned about possible transfers of anti-aircraft weapons because they might be used against “civilian aircraft.” It is worth noting that the US-backed rebels in Syria have openly talked about attacking civilian planes, but the regime has shown no interest in doing so.

Reports also suggest that in addition to Israeli attacks on Syria, the US is interested in launching attacks of its own, and that it is planning to attack targets around the northern city of Aleppo if the rebels get too close to chemical weapons depots.

Which might not suit Turkey too well. The NATO nation may be cheerfully backing the rebels in Syria’s civil war, but blasted Israel for attacking them, and went on to condemn Syria for not retaliating, with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu mocking Assad for failing to “even throw a pebble when Israeli jets were flying over his palace.”

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.