Is Assad threatening Israel? -- reflect anxiety more than a reality?

[RandallB]

Is Assad threatening Israel?
Ron Ben-Yishai analyzes recent reports on movement of Syria’s chemical and biological weapons
Published: 07.14.12, 12:01 / ynetnews.com http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...255191,00.html

Had the reports that Syria’s regime is taking chemical weapons out of storehouses reflected reality, they should have raised concerns around here. Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Army Chief Benny Gantz have already declared that Israel is closely monitoring Syria’s chemical and biological arsenals for fear that President Bashar Assad will order their transfer to Hezbollah in a desperate move before he falls – or worse, use these arms himself against Israel in a suicidal gesture.

However, for the time being it appears that Syria’s regime is not significantly changing the location and deployment of its chemical and biological weapons. At most, they are being moved to safer bases and storage areas, far away from regions controlled by the rebels or sites of battles.

The Syrian regime and its security forces lost control over wide swaths of land in northwestern Syria, in the country’s southeast, and in the Damascus area. The regime is particularly concerned about the infiltration of al-Qaeda cells and the growing rate of attacks carried out by the group near the capital, where the Syrian army’s most sensitive and important bases, as well as non-conventional weapons, are located.

The Syrian regime apparently fears that the chemical weapons will fall into the hands of al-Qaeda men, who as noted infiltrated the capital’s vicinity and are carrying out attacks on a daily basis. The reports by The Wall Street Journal, based on American intelligence sources, reflect anxiety more than a reality that has already taken shape.

However, these reports should not be disparaged. The Americans, Turks and Jordanians are also very concerned by the quantities of chemical and biological weapons held by the Syrian regime and fear that these arms may end up in the hands of radical Islamist elements.

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[Raphael]

Agree with the opinion. The number and rank of defectors from the Syrian army would, of itself, call for updated security measures: new codes, strengthening secure locations, etc.

It's becoming more impossible for Assad to identify a "trusted inner circle". I'll bet if you fired off a cherry bomb in a high-level conference, everybody (including Assad) would dive under the table.