Mere Rhetoric: Syria In Full Pouting Mode About How Israel Humiliatingly Took Away Their Nuclear Toys

Awww. Their fragile little genocidal feelings got hurt. They were so tough earlier this summer when they were bragging about their active preparations for war. But an accident with chemical weapons, a dozen or so dead engineers, and a blown up nuke facility - and now they're just pathetic and sad:

An Israeli raid on Syria has all but finished off chances for resuming peace talks between the two foes, Syrian officials said on Monday. In the first clear reaction to the reported September 6 Israeli air strike, officials told Reuters Syria was wary of retaliating against Israel given the military superiority of the Jewish state and because of lack of Arab support. Another reason was Damascus's changing relationship with Russia, an ally during the Communist era. The officials were dismissive about any new peace talks, which collapsed in 2000 over the scope of an Israeli pullout from the Golan Heights, a 1,750 square km (676 square mile) plateau which the Jewish state captured from Syria in 1967. "After this raid, you can forget about peace. It is no secret that our forces have been on alert for some time, but Syria will not be the first to start a war," said one of the Syrian officials, who asked not to be named.

They weren't wary of being "the first to start a war" earlier this summer. Back then, their supposedly unjammable Russian SAMs were going to protect them from IAF retaliation while they launched hundreds of chemical and biological weapons every hour at densely packed Israeli cities. They went so far as to make it known that Syrian intelligence was actively clamoring for a war.

And now they won't even show their faces so that Rice can pressure Israel into giving them the Golan. Tragic. But all of you Democratic Jews should check out the reason that Syrian officials are waiting until next year to sit down with Israel. And then be ashamed of yourselves.

References:
* This Summer's War With Syria - Syria Says They're "Actively Preparing For War With Israel" [MR]
* Report: July explosion in Syria was chemical weapon being developed with Iranian engineers [Boston Globe]
* Syrian official: After IAF raid, Israel can forget about peace [Ha'aretz]
* MR Takes A Swing At The "What The Hell Happened Over Syria" Pitch - Supersonic Missles Or Electronic Jamming Of Russia's "Unjammable" Anti-Aircraft SAMs [MR]
* This Summer's War With Syria - Syria Aims Chemical And Biological Weapons At Israeli Cities, Complains That Israel Might Attack It To Prevent It From Launching Chemical And Biological Weapons [MR]
* This Summer's War With Syria - Head Of Syrian Intelligence Pushing Assad Toward War [MR]

Previously:
* Spectacular IDF Actions Aimed At Restoring Israel's Deterrent
* Assad Was Planning To Use Nukes Against Israel (Plus: The Totally Awesome IAF Commando Operation That Slowed Him Down)
* Reminder: Syrian Nuclearization Is A Result Of Global Appeasement Of Iran

Cross-posted to:
* Israpundit