17/04/2010 Syria intended to move long-range Scud missiles to Hezbollah, U.S. officials said Friday, adding, however, that there were doubts about whether the Scuds were delivered in full and whether they were moved to Lebanon.
The alleged deal to transfer the Scud missiles to Hezbollah has fueled cross-border tensions with the Zionist entity and could cast doubt on U.S. President Barack Obama's diplomatic outreach to Syria.
"We think the intent is there," a senior U.S. official said of Syria transferring the missiles to Hezbollah.
But the senior official and two others briefed on the case said it was unclear whether the missiles, which could hit deep inside the Zionist entity, were actually handed over in full to the resistance group. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. "We believe a transfer of some kind occurred but it is unclear if the rockets themselves have changed hands," the senior official said.
A partial transfer could involve weapons parts, documents or funding, other officials said.
Another official said doubts were growing that Syria had delivered the Scuds in full and allowed them to transit to Lebanese territory: "We don't believe it happened."
Also Friday, the London-based pan Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat quoted Hezbollah's deputy secretary general Sheikh Naim Qassem as saying that the allegations of an arms deal with Syria were meant to cover Israel's tense ties with the United States as well as to divert international attention from Israel's nuclear program.
While the reports of a long-range missile deal with Syria were false, the Hezbollah deputy chief added, that did not mean that the resistance organization was not continually arming itself in preparation of a possible war with Israel.
Earlier on Friday Minister Hussein Haj Hassan said that whether or not they have acquired scud missiles is none of Israel's business.
Minister Haj Hassan says the group was always arming and preparing itself but he refused to confirm or deny Israeli allegations that the group has acquired Scud missiles.
Israel's president Shimon Peres earlier this week directly accused Damascus of providing the scud missiles, a charge Syria denied.
The U.S. State Department responded to the allegations on Wednesday by saying that if they were true, "it would put Lebanon at a significant risk."
Haj Hassan, meanwhile, told Al-Manar TV on Friday that since Israel possessed all kinds of weapons, it's only natural for Lebanon to have the means to defend itself against an Israeli attack.
Israeli officials say the introduction of Scuds could alter the strategic balance with Hezbollah. Hezbollah pelted Israel with nearly 4,000 unguided Katyusha rockets during the war in 2006, causing widespread damage and dozens of casualties north of the occupied territories. Scud missiles have several times the range and explosive firepower of Katyusha rockets and would pose a much more serious threat.
Recent events have awoken a concern in Washington that Israel may launch a pre-emptive strike following the reports of an arms transfer, and the administration summoned Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha for a meeting with the State Department, which relayed through him a message to Damascus not to deliver the missiles to their destination.
The ambassador in response conveyed, on behalf of Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, Syria's sweeping denial of the reports and accused Israel of trying to divert attention from questions about Israel's nuclear program. Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear arms, though it does not confirm nor deny this.
In addition, at a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East, the Syrian envoy to the UN adamantly denied the reports.
Following the reports, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued a warning to the Syrians, and Israeli President Shimon Peres expressed his concerns to French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, and said, "Syria is playing a double game. On the one hand, it is talking peace, and on the other hand, it is transferring precision Scud missiles to Hezbollah in order to threaten Israel."
According to Lebanon's official response, "This is an internal Lebanese matter". But US senators raised the issue during a session to confirm Robert Ford, who was appointed by the Obama administration as the US's first ambassador to Syria in five years.
During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee session, senators proposed postponing Ford's appointment. Ford himself argued that such matters demonstrate the importance of having an American ambassador in Damascus. Ultimately, the committee confirmed his appointment, which now awaits the approval of the Senate plenum.
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