[lbo-talk] the raid on Syria

Dwayne Monroe idoru345 at yahoo.com
Mon Sep 17 08:14:36 PDT 2007


Robert Wrubel:

Xymphora has a recent post on the "raid" which argues that the purpose of it was to test the newly acquired Russian Pantsyr S-1E air defense missiles, specifically, to see whether Israel's sophisticated jamming systems worked against them. They did.

Xymphora also notes:

"Of course, missile defense is always bullshit – it never really works, but is just intended to provide civilian reassurance long enough to get the war started, when the usual jingoism can kick in."

.......................

Dennis R. has ably deconstructed this so I won't needlessly blather on about what he already covered.

I did however want to spend a moment or two looking more closely at Debka File, the origin of Xymphora's post.

All of the stories boasting of Isreali jamming success over the Pantsyr appear to come from Debka. A simple Google search using "israeli jamming + russian pantsyr s-1 e" as the criteria, returns several pages, all ultimately linking back to Debka:

Google Search results -

http://tinyurl.com/2bo6qp

Of course, no weapon system is flawless; for nearly every measure there's a countermeasure. It's certainly possible the IAF has found a method to neutralize the Pantsyr. Still, when you consider the source - a well known propaganda outlet and OMG! The sky is falling if Israel doesn't get its way forever! war-mongering rag - it's reasonable to doubt you're receiving crap-free info.

In fact, I'd wager the rah rah tone of the Debka source article (which, among other hyperventilations, praises the "daring and skill" of the IAF pilots as if they were dog fighting in 1967) and celebration of supposed IAF innovations in jamming tech are a calculated bit of propaganda, crafted to convince Tel Aviv's foes and her patron in Washington that Israel still has the joystick and technological right stuff to get the job done.

Re: Xymphora's assertion that "missile defense is always bullshit"...

Anti missile missile defense, such as the U.S.'s optimistically named "missile defense shield" - is almost entirely bullshit. Anti aircraft missiles such as the Pantsyr - are another thing altogether. As you no doubt know, an entire field of missile defense - i.e., defending aircraft from missiles - has developed over the decades to deal with this very effective technology.

.d.



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