Eager and opportunistic, the Israelis have conducted air strikes against a military research center in Syria. Initial reports of a truck convoy headed towards Lebanon with Hezbollah weapons were widened to include the Damascus research facility. Now, the Syrian army and Hezbollah are both denying earlier reports that the overnight air strike had targeted a weapons convoy from Syria to the armed group in Lebanon.
Still, with the fragmented and generally disagreeable rebel opposition gaining traction against al Assad's forces, it would make sense to relocate a weapons stash in a safer space. That being said, besides taking cover behind their right to deter the disbursement of Bashar al Assad's chemical weapons to extremist the Israelis are remaining tight lipped so far.
The Russians however were quick to respond, condemning Israel's flagrant disregard for Syrian sovereignty, while reminding the tiny isolated nation that their actions are in violation of international law. "If this information is confirmed, then we are dealing with unprovoked attacks on targets on the territory of a sovereign country, which blatantly violates the UN charter and is unacceptable, no matter the motives to justify it,"
Taking on the role of referee in the hottest region in the world, Moscow is singularly keeping the rules of war clear of fog. When a regime is close to collapsing and its leader branded a rogue despot, vultures of every strip will descend to devour the carcass.
Although Bashar al Assad will have few sympathizers after being responsible for the deaths of 60,000 of his own people, some order and adherence to the UN charter must prevail. Otherwise, stronger nation states will skirt international law for any short term gains without a second thought.
Hence, we're very interested in getting a response from the Obama administrations over these troubling events, considering America's heavy reliance on drones and its willingness to conduct similar operations without proper coordination and notification.
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