presence
09-03-2013, 07:26 AM
http://cf.chucklesnetwork.agj.co/items/6/2/0/2/6/antagonists-shalt-antagonize.jpg
CBS/AP/ September 3, 2013, 7:18 AM
Israel test fires missile amid Syria strike anxiety http://i.i.cbsi.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim2/2013/09/03/171647006_620x350.jpg
An Israeli F-15 I fighter jet takes off during an air show at the Hatzerim base in the Negev desert in this June 27, 2013, file photo. / Getty
[/URL]
Updated at 8:34 a.m. Eastern
MOSCOW Israel's Defense Ministry said Tuesday it had carried out a missile test in the Mediterranean sea, apparently explaining news alerts run about an hour earlier after Russia's radar systems detected two "ballistic objects" fired from the central Mediterranean toward the eastern part of the sea.
The Defense Ministry said that it, together with the U.S. Defense Department, had carried out a "successful test" in the Mediterranean and on an air force base in central Israel.
The test over sea, reportedly involving a missile launched from an Israeli warplane flying over the Mediterranean, came just days after [URL="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57600939/mccain-to-meet-with-obama-ahead-of-potential-syria-vote/"]President Obama made it clear (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57601046/israel-test-fires-missile-amid-syria-strike-anxiety/#postComments) he wants to carry out air strikes on Syria (http://www.cbsnews.com/2718-202_162-2258/syria-crisis/) as punishment for the alleged use of chemical weapons by the government of President Bashar Assad.
A U.S. official in the region told CBS News that no missiles had been launched from American ships or aircraft on Tuesday.
Israel said the test was of an upgraded version of the "sparrow" interceptor missile. "At 9:15 the sparrow missile successfully launched and performed its planned trajectory, in according with the test plan," said the Israeli Ministry of Defense in a written statement. "All the elements of the system performed according to their operational configuration."
Russian state-run news agencies RIA Novosti and ITAR-Tass earlier on Tuesday quoted a Defense Ministry employee as saying the nation's early warning radar station in southern Russia detected the launches at 0616 GMT (2:16 a.m. EDT). They said Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed President Vladimir Putin about the launches.
(http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-202_162-10018016-1.html)Russia is a close ally of the Syrian regime and has dismissed the Obama administration's insistence (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57600962/syria-strike-partners-around-the-world-few-and-far-between-for-obama/) that it was Assad's government behind a deadly chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs on Aug. 21, calling Washington's evidence "absolutely unconvincing."
As the White House makes its case (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57601013/a-skeptical-congress-begins-grilling-obamas-team-on-syria/) to U.S. lawmakers for a military intervention, Russia said it would send a delegation (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57600994/putin-plans-russian-delegation-to-sway-congress-on-syria-strike/) to Washington to try and convince members of Congress that such action would be ill-advised.
Moscow has warned the White House not to go through with unilateral military action in Syria, saying it will only inflame the volatile situation and help Islamic militants fighting against Assad.
The United States which has five war ships in the Mediterranean, and President Obama has asked Congress for its approval of punitive strikes against targets in Syria.
CBS/AP/ September 3, 2013, 7:18 AM
Israel test fires missile amid Syria strike anxiety http://i.i.cbsi.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim2/2013/09/03/171647006_620x350.jpg
An Israeli F-15 I fighter jet takes off during an air show at the Hatzerim base in the Negev desert in this June 27, 2013, file photo. / Getty
[/URL]
Updated at 8:34 a.m. Eastern
MOSCOW Israel's Defense Ministry said Tuesday it had carried out a missile test in the Mediterranean sea, apparently explaining news alerts run about an hour earlier after Russia's radar systems detected two "ballistic objects" fired from the central Mediterranean toward the eastern part of the sea.
The Defense Ministry said that it, together with the U.S. Defense Department, had carried out a "successful test" in the Mediterranean and on an air force base in central Israel.
The test over sea, reportedly involving a missile launched from an Israeli warplane flying over the Mediterranean, came just days after [URL="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57600939/mccain-to-meet-with-obama-ahead-of-potential-syria-vote/"]President Obama made it clear (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57601046/israel-test-fires-missile-amid-syria-strike-anxiety/#postComments) he wants to carry out air strikes on Syria (http://www.cbsnews.com/2718-202_162-2258/syria-crisis/) as punishment for the alleged use of chemical weapons by the government of President Bashar Assad.
A U.S. official in the region told CBS News that no missiles had been launched from American ships or aircraft on Tuesday.
Israel said the test was of an upgraded version of the "sparrow" interceptor missile. "At 9:15 the sparrow missile successfully launched and performed its planned trajectory, in according with the test plan," said the Israeli Ministry of Defense in a written statement. "All the elements of the system performed according to their operational configuration."
Russian state-run news agencies RIA Novosti and ITAR-Tass earlier on Tuesday quoted a Defense Ministry employee as saying the nation's early warning radar station in southern Russia detected the launches at 0616 GMT (2:16 a.m. EDT). They said Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed President Vladimir Putin about the launches.
(http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-202_162-10018016-1.html)Russia is a close ally of the Syrian regime and has dismissed the Obama administration's insistence (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57600962/syria-strike-partners-around-the-world-few-and-far-between-for-obama/) that it was Assad's government behind a deadly chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs on Aug. 21, calling Washington's evidence "absolutely unconvincing."
As the White House makes its case (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57601013/a-skeptical-congress-begins-grilling-obamas-team-on-syria/) to U.S. lawmakers for a military intervention, Russia said it would send a delegation (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57600994/putin-plans-russian-delegation-to-sway-congress-on-syria-strike/) to Washington to try and convince members of Congress that such action would be ill-advised.
Moscow has warned the White House not to go through with unilateral military action in Syria, saying it will only inflame the volatile situation and help Islamic militants fighting against Assad.
The United States which has five war ships in the Mediterranean, and President Obama has asked Congress for its approval of punitive strikes against targets in Syria.