Israel Tests Missile Defense System Amid Syria Worries

Israel’s greatest fear during the Syria crisis is that the Syrians could retaliate against them in the event of a strike by the United States and European nations. The most likely method of attack? Missiles. So what’s Israel’s response? Testing their missile defenses.

On Tuesday, Israel and the US successfully joint-tested a new “test missile”—which is meant to simulate the ones that could be fired at Israel by enemies. The Israeli Arrow missile defense system detected and tracked the test missile. “All the elements of the system performed according to their operational configuration,” the Israeli statement said.

The test came as the US is discussing a strike on Syria in response to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons on their own people. The Syrian civil war has put the entire region at risk, and that has only escalated amidst threats by Syria to attack Israel if they are hit by the US.

Should Israel be attacked, that would doubtless lead to a strong Israeli response. Similarly, should the US suffer any losses in a short strike on Syria, that could pull them into a longer fight with the Syrians. In other words, now is a great time to test missile defense.

(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, September 3, 2013)

 

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