“What is Behind the Syria Scud Scare?” By Joshua Landis on Foreign Policy

Excellent analysis on what is behind the Syrian Scud scare and why it becomes an issue at this time by Joshua Landis.  An excerpt is below or you can read the full article HERE

Reports in U.S. and Israeli papers on Wednesday, alleging that Syria delivered Scud missiles to Hezbollah, has set off a firestorm about the limits of engagement and the danger posed by Syria and nonstate actors in the region. Yet the ensuing debate has ignored the broader context of which this episode is but a symptom: namely, that the continued lack of resolution to the decades-long conflict between Syria and Israel has been allowed to fester.

This new development could not have been better timed to throw a monkey wrench into Washington’s engagement process with Syria and President Barack Obama’s efforts to reanimate the stalled peace process in the region. Robert S. Ford, the first ambassador named to Damascus in five years, is in the midst of his confirmation process. A key committee in the Senate has recommended his confirmation, but the ultimate vote among the full Senate has yet to take place. There are many who would like to stop it, not the least because Obama seems ready to push forward efforts to resolve the long-festering Arab -Israeli conflict. On Tuesday, he declared that solving the dispute was a “vital national security interest of the United States” because it is “costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure.”