Sunday, 12 May 2013


Russia staffs Mediterranean fleet. Turkey weighs payback for Syrian bombings
Russian nuclear submarine
Russian nuclear submarine
DEBKAfile Special Report May 12, 2013, 7:19 PM (IDT)
Russian Navy Admiral Viktor Chirkov said Sunday, May 12, that a permanent staff of 20 officers is in place to run Russian fleet operations in the Mediterranean Sea. It will comprise five to six warships and possibly nuclear submarines which, say our military sources, are armed with nuclear ballistic missiles. DEBKAfile: Russia’s step aims at safeguarding the Assad regime and securing its Hizballah and Iranian allies. It also signals Moscow’s Middle East comeback after a 21-year absence - to confront Israel and Turkey.
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Moscow & Hizballah Team up
Syrian Chemical warfare – out: Russian-Hizballah deal – in.
Israel Prepares for War in Syria
IDF troops massed along Syrian and Lebanese borders.
Iran’s Basij Goons in Damascus
More Iranian and Hizballah troops pour into Syria.

An earlier meeting between Putin and Netanyahu
An earlier meeting between Putin and Netanyahu
DEBKAfile Special Report
May 11, 2013, 5:24 PM (IDT)

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sets off for the Black Sea town of Sochi early next week to call on President Vladimir Putin.DEBKAfile: He asked to meet the Russian leader urgently in a last-ditch bid to avert the sale to Syria of advanced S-300 anti-air missiles. His chances of success are extremely slim.  Israel is additionally concerned that Russian crews will arrive in Syria to man the batteries and so present the danger of an Israeli-Western military clash with Russia.
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A deal on Syria already fading
DEBKAfile Special Report May 10, 2013, 2:23 PM (IDT)
The Obama administration’s slowcoach policy on Syria has given Iran and Hizballah unfettered access to intervene in the Syrian civil war, magnifying its lethality and prospects of its spilling over into Israel, Turkey and Jordan, saysDEBKAfile. It will further deteriorate when Washington’s expectations of an international conference are not recprocated by Moscow.
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Israeli field hospital on Golan
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report May 8, 2013, 10:13 PM (IDT)
As the Syrian army makes further gains against rebel forces, DEBKAfile reports Hizballah and Israel appear to be in the process of relocating their lines of confrontation from Lebanon to Syria. An Israeli enclave is forming around the IDF medical facilities on the Golan, while Hizballah is taking command of three pockets.
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