Israel Foolishly Denies Responsibility for Downing Russian Aircraft
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)
When caught red-handed with indisputable evidence, cutting losses is advisable, not increasing them by coverup and denial.
Israel’s strategy is foolhardy. Russia knows the following IDF statement is false, saying:
“The full, precise and factual details are known to the professionals who are dealing (with the IL-20’s downing) in the Russian military, and they clearly show that the deconfliction mechanism was operated on time, as it was over the last two-and-half years,” adding:
“The Israel Air Force did not hide behind any aircraft and the Israeli planes were in Israeli airspace when the Syrian (missiles) hit the Russian plane.”
Minute-by-minute Russian radar tracking indisputably proved Israel’s above explanation and what it presented in Moscow are bald-faced lies.
Claiming otherwise heightened bilateral tensions. Responsibly admitting fault would have eased them. Israel compounded its culpability by failing to own up to what dissembling in light of cold hard reality won’t change.
Netanyahu remains defiant, the IDF saying it’ll “continue to operate against Iran and Hezbollah in Syria…hop(ing) its coordination efforts with Russia” will remain unchanged, adding:
“The coordination between the Israel Defense Forces and the Russian army has proved itself on a number of occasions over the years. The continuation of the coordination is a shared interest in light of the various regional challenges.”
Separately, Israeli war minister Avigdor Lieberman said “(n)othing has changed and nothing will change. This is our policy,” indicating Israeli aggression in Syria will continue.
The interests of both countries in Syria and the region are diametrically opposed to each other. Russia respects the sovereign independence of all countries. It supports world peace and stability.
Like Washington and NATO, Israeli aims are polar opposite. The IDF claiming “use of advanced weapons by irresponsible entities significantly endangers the area and can severely harm forces operating in the region” is code language for wanting Syria rendered defenseless, softened for easy regime change, not likely with Russia involved.
Israeli terror-bombing of Syrian sites is flagrantly illegal and unjustifiable - falsely claiming they’re against an Iranian threat that doesn’t exist.
The Islamic Republic threatens no one, not Israel or any other countries.
Once Russian and Syrian air defenses are hardened, Israeli and US-led aggression may be challenged more than earlier throughout years of endless war.
A Final Comment
On Monday by phone, Putin told Assad that he intends to harden Syria’s air defenses by supplying its military with sophisticated S-300 ground-to-air missile systems within two weeks.
They’ll significantly improve the capability of government forces to counter aggressive air attacks.
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