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Jerusalem-Syria has called up reserve forces and is conducting large-scale military maneuvers in preparation for an anticipated Israeli attack against Syria and the Lebanese-based terrorist organization Hizballah, a London-based Arabic newspaper reported on Wednesday. A member of the Syrian parliament's National Security Committee, Ahmad Munir Muhammad, later denied the report, calling it "totally false."But according to one Israeli analyst, the report may be a "test balloon" to see how Israel will react. Syria has been preparing itself for an all-out war against Israel for some time, Reserve Lt.-Col. Moshe Marzuk told Cybercast News Service. Marzuk is a researcher with the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism.The Arabic newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi on Wednesday quoted senior Syrian sources as saying that Syria was closely monitoring Israeli troop movements along Israel's northern border, following statements by Israeli military officials. While touring Israel's northern border on Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak noted that Hizballah was continuing its arms build-up with Iran's help. But even though Hizballah is getting stronger, Israel is getting stronger, too, he said. "Israel is the strongest country in the region and I wouldn't recommend that anyone on the other side of the border provoke us," Barak said on Tuesday.The Arab paper also reported that Hizballah is postponing its revenge attack for the killing of Hizballah arch-terrorist Imad Mughniyeh so as not to give Israel a reason to retaliate. (Israel says it had nothing to do with Mughniyeh's assassination in Damascus.)For the last two years, Syria has used same tactic of offering peace talks, then threatening war with Israel, as a means to regain control of the Golan Heights, Marzuk said. Syria probably does not have the Arab world's support to go to war right now, as evidenced by the Arab League summit in Damascus last weekend, Marzuk said. Arab nations are upset with Syria for its close ties with Iran (a non-Arab nation) and for its meddling in Lebanon's political affairs. (The Syrian-backed Hizballah is blocking presidential elections in Lebanon.)Syrian President Bashir Assad may be trying to regain the support of the Arab world by claiming that Israel is planning to attack Syria, Marzuk said. Although neither Israel nor Syria seem eager for war at this point,wars in the Middle East can start from misunderstandings between countries, he added.Hizballah postponing revenge?Israeli security services have been on high alert for weeks, especially after the mid-February assassination of Hizballah arch-terrorist Imad Mughniyeh in a Damascus car bombing.The end of the 40-day mourning period recently passed without an attack, but according to Al-Quds al-Arabi, Hizballah is postponing its revenge attack to avoid Israeli retaliation.Hizballah has blamed Israel for Mughniyeh's assassination. Syria reportedly will announce the results of its murder investigation on Sunday, and reports say Israel's secret service and some Arab operatives may be blamed. Mughniyeh's widow earlier charged that "Syrian traitors" were implicated in her husband's death and that is why Syria refused offers of help from Hizballah and Iran in conducting its investigation. According to Marzuk, Hizballah has two reasons for not carrying out an attack right now: Hizballah probably lacks evidence that Israel is really behind Mughniyeh's killing and it is not prepared for Israeli retaliation at this point, he said. Any Israeli strike could lead to an all-out war, and neither Hizballah nor the Lebanese people, who are still rebuilding their homes in southern Lebanon, are ready for that, he said.A senior military intelligence officer was quoted in the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday as saying that Hizballah could carry out an attack against Israel under the guise of another terror organization to conceal its involvement. The officer also said that United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon, which patrol the southern part of the country, are unable or unwilling to stop Hizballah from attacking Israel, if it chooses to do so.Israeli officials have said that although the border area looks quiet, Hizballah is busy rebuilding its military strength. Israel says that Hizballah has at least as many missiles as it did before the Israeli-Hizballah war in the summer of 2006. Hizballah launched some 4,000 rockets at Israel during that month-long war, paralyzing the northern part of the country. http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=/ForeignBureaus/archive/200804/FOR20080402b.htmlAs in the days of Noah....
