Ex-Spymaster: Assad’s Fall Would End Syrian Help to Hizbullah
Israel's recently retired spy chief, Meir Dagan, has said that the Jewish state would be better off if Syrian President Bashar Assad was toppled because “this will stop help to Hizbullah,” Israeli media reported Sunday.
Dagan also told a weekend conference that Assad’s fall would strengthen the Sunni camp in Syria and in the Arab world in general. “These things will be good for Israel strategically.”
He believed that Assad will fight to the end. "He has no alternative. It's victory or death.”
The former spymaster also said that a military strike against Iran's nuclear program would be "stupid." His remarks challenge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's position that Tehran won't curb its nuclear ambitions unless it thinks it is threatened with military action.
Dagan also cautioned that a strike would be liable to trigger war with Iran and possibly Syria.
This is the first time Dagan has publicly expressed his blunt opposition to a military strike against Iran, though he has expressed reservations privately, media have reported.
Dagan spoke days before Netanyahu is due to meet with U.S. officials in Washington. It is not clear how his remarks will affect the prime minister's international campaign against the Iranian nuclear program.(Naharnet-AP)
Source: Associated Press
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