U.S., Israel says Syria Arming Hezbollah with Missiles

Tuesday, United States and Israeli defense officials accused Syria of arming Hezbollah with missiles in Lebanon.  “We are at a point now where Hezbollah has far more rockets and missiles than most governments in the world,” Secretary of Defense Gates said, noting that Washington was following the matter closely.

U.S. and Israeli defense ministers accused Syria on Tuesday of arming Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas with increasingly powerful missiles, but Israel said it did not intend to provoke a conflict over the buildup.

The comments by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Israel’s Ehud Barak stopped short of identifying what type of missiles were being supplied to Hezbollah, after reports that the group had obtained long-range Scud missiles capable of hitting targets across the Jewish state.

‘Stray South Korean Mine Could Not Have Sunk Warship’

South Korean officials said on Wednesday that a mine could not have sunk one of the country’s warships.  This release increases suspicion that North Korea is responsible for the sinking on March 26^th.

A stray South Korean mine could not have sunk one of the country’s warships, the defense ministry said Wednesday, in comments likely to heighten suspicions that North Korea was to blame.

“Its technically not possible,” said spokesman Won Tae-Jae, dismissing suggestions that a South Korean mine planted in the Yellow Sea in the 1970s might have blown the corvette apart.

Gates Satisfied with Planning to Counter Iran Threat

Secretary of Defense Gates

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday he was satisfied with Pentagon planning to counter the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program.

“I’m very satisfied with the planning process both within this building and in the inter-agency. We spend a lot of time on Iran and we’ll continue to do so,” Gates told reporters at a press conference with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.