Syria's capabilities are the same as Iran's, as are those of the recently established satanic terror state of hizbanon. Meanwhile, Iran has been using its tentacles to distribute high-payload solid-fuel rockets to its proxy terror states, and those are tough to intercept and can cause enourmous damage and loss of life. Hopefully, the current Israeli leaders have more backbone than the three "experts" with which ynet chose to consult. If the islamic death cult armies launch such missiles at Israel then damascus, beirut and tehran should all be flattened immediately, end of story.

to the experts and calm down its war hungry fools.

"Syria's main strength and its greatest threat is the battery of long-range missiles held by its army," Maoz says. However Maoz agrees Israel would also sustain significant damage. "In case of a conflict, both sides will suffer. Syria may sustain more damage, but its missiles can reach any city in Israel, and our anti-missile systems will not stop them all," he says. Like Bligh, Maoz says he does not see a war in the near future. "Each side knows a war would bring mutual damage," he says. "This situation is probable only if Israel attacks Syria, or in case of a military conflict between Iran and Israel, which deteriorates to a war involving Syria. Another scenario is a case in which Israel attacks Lebanon, in which Syria will carry out its threats and become involved .HOW DO WE KNOW THAT SYRIA DOES NOT HAVE CEMICAL OR BIOLOGICAL WARHEADS ON ITS MISSILES???. IT IS MEANINGLESS TO SHOT MISSILES AGAINST ISRAEL WITH ONLY CONVENTIONAL EXPLOSIVES IT WILL ONLY TERRORISE THE CIVIL POPULATION AND WHAT WOULD A ISRAELI RESPONSE BEE, IF THEIR MISSILES HAD UNCONVENTIONAL WARHEADS I AM SURE SYRIA WOULD NOT LAST LONG IF THAT WHERE THE CASE. Arn...

of course its MAD but we will come out on top for so many teason the expert like to ignore

kassem should know that he and naim are being targeted. It is a fact that no people on earth engage in wild blood curdling rhetoric. For example, israel using less than 5% of its arsenal beat the hell out of hamas. Likewise, idf with one arm tied behind its back with pacifist olmert as PM still laid waste to lebanon while hez hid in caves launching missiles which did some damage. Hez turns this around, likewise hanieya, likewise jewish sabjouran ahamadinejad and say that they won, at total variance with the truth. Well, israel now has leiberman and yaalon in the wings.No more olmert or barak as PM. No more pacifist livni leads. You guys better start running and hiding, because if you provoke the next war, there is no more olmert and livni and you will be harmed. Moreover, your people in iran and even in syria will throw out the leaders and hang them including mahmoud and assad.

Large surface-surface missiles like Syria's SCUDs or Iran's Shahabs should be formally re-designated as weapons of mass destruction. Israel should announce this unilaterally if the world community doesn't. They either carry nuclear of chemical warheads, or if carrying "only" 1000 lbs or more of conventional explosives are intended exclusively for mass murder of civilians in cities, since they are too inaccurate to hit military or industrial targets (can't hit within two soccer fields distance). Israel should make clear that attacking its civilians with large missiles will be considered an WMD attack, that Israel will respond to any MWD attack with any member of the WMD class it chooses: missile, chemical, biological or nuclear. Syria may not be able to"finish off" Israel, but Israel can definitely finish off Syria, permanently destroying it as a viable nation - no reason to endure their genocidal threats forever, and it has nothing to do with the Golan, Assad stated only last week that getting the Golan was not "enough" for Syria to agree to full, permanent peace with Israel. Syria's idea of "peace" is assassinating the neighbors elected PM, as we see in Lebanon. Syria has to know that attacking Israel with missiles will put an end to Syria for good, not just rebuilding at EU and Russian expense.

Israel will punish Syria in a fight, and syria will go to UN Crying!! It ends this way always

will crush into pieces

The Lebanon war was an example of negligence by Olmert. Still the IAF/IDF caussed a lot of damage to Hez' teven though they faught with hands tied. Hez were hiding in their bunkers and stii dare not show their faces out in the open. Things are different now,with Netanyahu,but partcularely having a broad shouldered Lieberman at the helm as FM. Your analysis is correct,for Israel can dispatch syria,hez,and iran in one big SWOOP. Amen to that

JUST A SHORT ONE FOR YOU: HOW DO WE KNOW SYRIA DOES NOT HAVE CHEMICAL,OR BIOLOGICAL WARHEADS ON ITS MISSILES?? OKAY, HOW DO YOU KNOW ISRAEL DOES NOT HAVE ONES TOO?? The whole thing is hypothetical. Of course if Israe lgoes to war, it will sustain injuries.WAR IS WAR. You fight to defend yourself against yiour aggressor. AND WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF ISRAEL'S MISSILES HAD NO UNCONVENTIONAL WARHEADS? EXCUSE US PLEASE...WHAT DO ANY OF US REALLY KNOW WHETHER ISRAEL IS DEFICIENT IN ITS ARMAMENTS YOU SUPPOSE? THER FORE, I TOO AM SURE SYRIA WOULD NOT LAST LONG

I felt impelled to write and commend #6. Both his analysis, as well as his conclusions are not only insightful - they're brilliant. One can only hope SOMEBODY in the Israeli Govt. is reading Ynet...

apart from arab anger that israel won the 48 war and exists, a question to ask is why iranians, syrians and even palestinians(no such nation ever existed) put up with their horrible primitive leaders like assad, kameinei, and arafat and haniyeh. When arabs study at american universities, they are almost all progressive, good students, ambitious. Some say when they return home, its kafiyeh and admire pictures of assad in the street and to shut up, otherwise the mukbarat.Why do arabs take this crap, even now. This is apart from israel. Why not leaders like fayad in general. Why lipservice to the crazies? Is it the religion that does it? I believe so. It reinforces a military mafia adherence and cult like brainwashing. The majority of moslems fear the minority rabbble rousers. And when arabs rule the world as a caliphate, what happens then? Chrisitans and jews will be dzimmis and the arabs will lead the moslem world. So what happens then? is life better because you have the christians and jews as slaves? Arabs are smarter than that. Unite your groups and throw out all these rotten garbage leaders and install some modern people who respect the population, not kameini who thinks he is god, not assad who does nothing for syrians, and not hanieya and zohar who care only about moslem brotherhood and nothing for gazans.

Typical liberal: muslim aggressors threaten Israel, and no one hears it. Israel finally responds with "we'll defend ourselves" and the useful idiots jump on that and say "see! Israel is a war monger!"

Where were your heroes in the summer of 2006 and when Israel bombed their nuclear reactor? They have no anti-missile system or air force. Assad knows that he is done if he starts anything with Israel.

Experts get more stupid as the days pass. Syria backs Hezbollah and if Israel is attacked our government have said that they will hold both Lebanon and Syria responsible. Syria arms Hez.. Lebanon has them in their government and is controlled by them. Daaaah !

I cant understand anyone who wud even think of wreaking havoc in Israel because if they did many worldcultural places would be destroyed creating a world cultural catastrophy ... I am also thinking of the destruction of Jerusalem east & west.... how cud anyone just think of it?...... there is no logic in this other than to do the usual scare tactics.

Syria can finish off Israel in no time.

YOU ERR !!!. The whole thing is hypothetical. NO IT IS VERY PRACTICAL, BECAUSE, IF SYRIA HAS THE UNCONVENTIONAL WARHEADS, AND WILL USE THEM - -TO FINNISH ISRAEL OF- AS IS EXPRESSED, AND THEY CAN DO THAT WITH UNCONVENTIONAL WARHEADS AS ABOVE, THEN ISRAEL CAN NOT WAIT FOR SYRIA TO STRIKE FIRST, BUT MUST DO IT HERSELF. SYRIA HERE ARE THEMSELVES RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE WORDS, EVEN IF THEY DO NOT HAVE UNCONVENTIONAL WARHEADS, OR HAVE THEM, BUT WILL NOT USE THEM. ISRAEL MUST ACT ACCORDING TO SECURITY MEASURES, AND NOT GIVE IN TO ODDS/HYPOTHESIS, AS YOU SUGESTS. The whole thing is hypothetical. THE ONLY HYPOTHESIS HERE, IS YOUR SELFDECEPTION, Arn.

Whats the point of these short and shallow articles?

"The Syrians will not dare clash with Israel" i agree 100%

well done

Great analysis there spaniard. Hizbollah couldn't even send one terrorist into Israel once the shooting war started. And Syria didn't even throw a rock across the border after the IAF flattened their nuclear site. Brilliant.

Dr.Brnd your analysis is verry good on all points. What is needed urgently now is for our leaders to adhere to the methods that can be applied by you in this instance. Alas,they do not see it your way, although we have the wherewithal to achieve it. As for Assad's comments: They are all bound by their usual rhetoric as they are wont. The crux of the matter according to Assad was supposed to be the return of the Golan. Anyone with a modicum of thoughtfulness knows it goes much deeper than that. The ambitions by all Israel's adversaries are promulgated daily in every news sites. Arabs always tend to speak form both sides of their mouth(top put it mildly) It is not the Golan,not the occupation,not the building freeze, simply put:The annihilation of Israel. Sorry,went on a tangent,but nevertheless truth in essense. Before I leave I am bound to congratulate your wisdom. Why couldn't our Govt have such as yourself to give them an inkling of how things should be dealt with. Heaven knows we are blessed with many brilliant minds and most probably have advised the Govt in similar vein.

That Dr.L Brnd is allways a good prognosticator and as you sy brillinat and insightful . I too tried to congratulate him in my own way. While I commended his post,Iwent on a tangent somewhat.But I think he'll overlook it I am sure.. If I may correct you:You were not impelled,but compelled to praise him(no offence but) I have often tought whether any of our leaders read the talkbacks.Be it here ,at Haaretz,or the rest of our Jewish/Israeli nesw outlets. If only ha?

The Arrow, PAC 2 Patriot, the Barak air defenses. Assad has old Scuds not modern missiles like the shihab. I imagine depending on how many missile Assad fired 1-2 might get through but the vast majority would be stopped and the Syrian air defenses are not match for the IAF or Israels short range Jericho 1 missiles. It would be a 1 sided war and the main casualties would most likely come from Hizbollah who are the terrorist wing of the Syrian militaryl

The biggest mistake that the military establishment could make if Assad had the courage to start a conventional war rather than rely on terrorists operating out of Lebanon would be for Israel to be provoked into sending troops into Lebanon. Lebanon is Hizbollahs home turf and they are not the problem. You teach Assad a lesson and you tell him the conditions of any ceasefire is he stops the terror. Israel stays out of Lebanon and fights how it fights best good old fashioned armored and arial warfare. Something that can leave the IDF with a quick and easy victory with minimum casualties. Sending troops into Lebanon is playing by Assads rules, split the IDF cause maximum casualties in Lebanon where the IDF cannot fight to maximum effect because the enemy knows the terrain better than the IDF and they are a well armed gurrila force.

IRAIAN WAY ONLY BY THREAT AND THEY GIVE OTHER COUNTRIES TO DO THEIR DIRTY WORK.IF REALLY THEY ARE SO STRONG TO CONTROL THE ARAB COUNTRIES AND APPOINTING OTHER TO DISTROY ISRAEL, THEY I WILL ASK WHY THEY ARE NOT DOING THEMSELEVES. THEY ARE CHICKENS

I realize there are delusions dreams there are realitys Israel learned in 2006 it is a delusion Arabs can not wage war against Israel Hizbulah a self defense group organization fought Israel caused 150 Israeli casualties could Hizbulah Syria thus in 2010 cost Israel ten 10 times the casualties to Arabs Islam Muslum the oldest law is they do not need nuclear weapons not to fight Israel not against Russia not against America and so it would not be fair for Israel to use nuclear weapons against Arabs if their own belief prohibits it against Israel and so do not try to make Iran any Arab state break its own most oldest holy law thus why a conventionial war is aceptable like 2006 like Gaza thus Iraq Afghanistan to Arabs are proof they no not use make need nuclear weapons 2006 2009 Gaza proved this Syria would want to prove this in 2010 and so the only reason why war is possible in the middle east still RIGHT ??? Thank You... M. S.