WikiLeaks: US Accuses Syria of Arming Hezbollah
The United States accused Syria of arming Hezbollah with advanced ballistic missiles, a new document released by WikiLeaks showed.
The document was released by the site Tuesday, the same day that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange turned himself in to London police and was arrested under a European Arrest Warrant over allegations of sex crimes in Sweden. Assange was denied bail by a British court .
“We are concerned about Syria’s provision of increasingly sophisticated weapons to Hezbollah,” U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton reportedly wrote in a February 2010 secret diplomatic cable.
“We are aware, however, of current Syrian efforts to supply Hezbollah with ballistic missiles. I must stress that this activity is of deep concern to my government, and we strongly caution you against such a serious escalation.”
The United States believed that the transferred missiles included Scud-D missiles, which are capable of reaching Tel Aviv.
“I must stress that … we strongly caution [Syria] against such a serious escalation,” Clinton wrote.
Clinton explained that “the Syrian leadership views military support to Hezbollah as integral to Syria’s security and as a bargaining chip in its negotiations with Israel over the return of the Golan Heights, as well as a possible stick to bring the Israelis back to the table.”
Clinton called on Arab and Western nations to discuss the weapons transfers with Syria in order to bring them to a halt.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
