Grumble.

This is coolbert:

The Syrian Civil War. Foreign interventionist versus foreign interventionist now predominant. With an expanding theater of operations.

From the latest edition of the DEBKAfile news letter an item as copied in entirety:

"Iran wants Russian air defense [AD] shield extended to Lebanon over Hizballah's precise [precision guided] missiles"

26 January.

"A senior Iranian lawmaker on Thursday, Jan. 24 accused the Russians of 'some sot of coordination with the Zionist regime' to explain why the S-300 air batteries in Syria failing [have failed] to down Israeli jets. Last week, Moscow announced that the Syrian crews for operating the advanced S-300 air defense missiles would be trained by March and the batteries would then become operational, albeit under Russian military command and control from the Khmeimim air base near Latakia and, even more importantly, [linked] to the Russian National Air Defense Command in Moscow. This dependence is also intended to deter the Israeli Air Force from destroying the S-300 batteries, which would be bad for the Russian air and arms industries' export business."

"In Syrian hands, these missiles will also bring IAF flights of Lebanon, the Golan and Galilee within range, protecting Hizballah and presenting Israel with a quandary between destroying them at the risk of another row with Moscow or somehow work around them."

Israeli warplanes in a stand-off mission mode able to fire precision-guided Delilah missiles at Iranian Revolutionary Guard targets.without needing to intrude into Syrian airspace. Rules of Engagement [RoE] agreed [?] by the Russian and Israeli preclude the Russian Grumble AD systems from engaging Israeli warplanes outside of Syrian airspace. AT THIS MOMENT.

The Iranian insisting the Russian AD "envelope" be extended to beyond Syrian airspace. A widening of hostilities as a consequence, the ramifications not predictable but potentially very severe.

Confrontation of an armed nature between the Russian and Israeli hardly desirable. Two atomic equipped military forces facing off mano-a-mano not what is needed!! I of course am assuming the Israeli is already nuclear ready which is probably the case. Consider also that the Israeli air strikes on Iranian targets must be causing a lot of damage. Otherwise the Iranian would not be complaining as they are.

Hold on to your hats people!

coolbert.