Israel Says It Can 'Manage' Chaos in Syria
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon predicts fighting in Syria will go on for a long time, but suggests that may not be a problem for Israel.
Israel is relatively blasé about the expanding civil war in Syria and sees some benefit in the fact that some of its fiercest adversaries are killing each other and not focusing on Israel, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon said Friday.
The long-time Israeli strategist and former military intelligence chief, speaking a day after the Barack Obama administration revealed that it would be sending weapons directly to the Syrian opposition, said the worst outcome in Syria would be a “chaotic situation, but we can manage it.”
The government of President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Iran and Hezbollah, is battling an opposition that includes Sunni jihadists who also reject Israel’s right to exist. Asked by Al-Monitor if Israel saw the situation in the same way former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger regarded the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war — commenting famously that “It was a pity that they both couldn’t lose” — Ya'alon gave a Kissingerian shrug. “Might be,” he said, smiling.
Israel’s main concern since the uprising began in Syria more than two years ago is that sophisticated weapons might be transferred to Hezbollah or other groups it regards as enemies, said Patrick Clawson, research director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where Ya'alon spoke on Friday. “Israel doesn’t care” what happens in Syria, Clawson said. “They only care about strategic weapons falling into the hands of adversaries.”
