LOC21:26
18:26 GMT
WASHINGTON, Sept 6 (KUNA) -- The United States said on Thursday that it
followed media reports about the incident along the Syrian-Israeli border but
still declining to provide any comment.
"We have seen reports in Syrian and Israeli media, and we have nothing
further to add", said a source in the State Department who spoke to Kuwait
News Agency (KUNA) on condition of anonymity.
Syria declared earlier today that its defense forces were fired on by
Israeli warplanes violating Syrian airspace and dropping ammunitions in Syrian
territory, but it is still not clear what the motive behind this incident.
Tensions between the two countries are mounting as they are failing to embark
on a peace track in spite of exchanged messages in the past period.
In a study released last month by the Center for Strategic and
International Studies, the senior scholar Anthony Cordesman said that both
Syria and Israel are preparing for a potential confrontation since the last
summer war between Israel and Hezbollah.
"Both sides adjusted their military postures in Golan. In the latter part
of 2006, Syrian forces along the Syrian-Israel border were reinforced with
commando brigades and artillery units. Correspondingly, the Israeli Defense
Forces (IDF) reinforced its presence along the border to the highest level in
10 years by doubling the number of troops", added Cordesman in the report
titled "Israel and Syria: the military balance and the prospects of War".
"Such a war would not be a zero sum game. It would rather be one in which
both sides would lose relative to peace almost regardless of the outcome of
the fighting and which side suffered most in the process", concluded Cordesman
noting that a possible war would not be beneficial for both sides. (end)
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