Israel Threatens Military Intervention in Syria

Netanyahu Warns al-Qaeda Could Get Chemical Weapons

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has once again threatened military intervention in Syria’s ongoing Civil War, saying that they might need such involvement to prevent arms from falling into the hands of terrorists.

Netanyahu cited the concerns that al-Qaeda linked groups in the Syrian rebellion could seize the Syrian government’s chemical weapons and anti-aircraft missiles if the Assad government collapses.

The concerns of al-Qaeda benefiting from the regime change seem fairly well-founded, since the NATO military intervention in Libya led to materially the same thing, with arms from the Gadhafi government still fueling wars across Africa, as well as the ongoing Syrian war.

Yet Israel’s military would be a horribly destabilizing influence in Syria, with both Assad forces and rebels accusing Israel of secretly backing the other, and protracted hostilities between the two nations meaning any time Israel moves against one of the factions they experience increased popularity domestically.

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.