Here are some good reads I would have posted if I could.
- Via ninme, an interesting take on the mysterious Israeli raid on Syria. Why not the usual angry demonstrations and call for UN sanctions?
Why would the Syrian government be so tight-lipped about an act of war perpetrated on their soil? The first half of the answer lies in this story that appeared in the Israeli media last month (8/13): Syria's Antiaircraft System Most Advanced In World. Syria has gone on a profligate buying spree, spending vast sums on Russian systems, 'considered the cutting edge in aircraft interception technology.' Syria now 'possesses the most crowded antiaircraft system in the world,' with 'more than 200 antiaircraft batteries of different types,' some of which are so new that they have been installed in Syria 'before being introduced into Russian operation service.' While you're digesting that, take a look at the map of Syria: Notice how far away Dayr az-Zawr is from Israel. An F15/16 attack there is not a tiptoe across the border, but a deep, deep penetration of Syrian airspace. And guess what happened with the Russian super-hyper-sophisticated cutting edge antiaircraft missile batteries when that penetration took place on September 6th. Nothing.
El blanko. Silence. The systems didn't even light up, gave no indication whatever of any detection of enemy aircraft invading Syrian airspace, zip, zero, nada. The Israelis (with a little techie assistance from us) blinded the Russkie antiaircraft systems so completely the Syrians didn't even know they were blinded. Now you see why the Syrians have been scared speechless. They thought they were protected - at enormous expense - only to discover they are defenseless. As in ;-). Thus the Great Iranian Freak-Out - for this means Iran is just as ;-)ly defenseless as Syria.
I'd certainly like for that to be true! - From WaTi this morning: Mark Steyn on Self-Congratulastan, where we all apparently now live.
- Andrew Ferguson dares to say about Ayn Rand what I've secretly thought my whole adult life. (Just don't get her appeal.)
- Sarkozy's thinking about rejoining NATO.
- The plight of Christians in Iraq.
- And... so cute.
