Israel calm amidst Syrian war jabber

Mike L.

The snippets below were written by Herb Keinon and Yaakov Lappin and published in the Jerusalem Post:

The IDF deployed an Iron Dome battery in the greater Tel Aviv area overnight Thursday amid preparations for a potential US strike on Syria.

Jerusalem has assessed that their is a low probability that Syria would strike Israel in retaliation to Western military intervention, according to officials. Nevertheless, the deployment of the Iron Dome battery in the Gush Dan region was the latest in a number of preparations that the IDF has taken in recent days.

My distinct impression is that Israel is wary, but calm.

As of Wednesday evening, a few hundred reservists had been ordered to report for IAF duty – including Iron Dome operators – as well as for Military Intelligence and Home Front Command roles.

“We can expand the call-up if necessary. But this is not a widespread call-up,” the army source emphasized.

The IDF’s overall state of readiness is at normal, he said.

We don't really know what's coming, but my guess is that not much is.  Obama is not a fighter outside of the realm of politics, so I would not expect him to open a serious conflict with Assad.  He may very well take a few shots at the regime in order to be seen as "doing something," but I don't expect much.

I could very well be wrong, of course, and France (of all countries) is sounding bellicose, but my suspicion is that this war within Syria, however murderous and devastating it might be for the Syrians, will not elicit a major response from the western powers.

We shall see.