Syria has at least 100 long-range ballistic
nerve-gas missiles aimed at central Israel, Jane's
Foreign Affairs reported this week.
A senior Israeli defense source told Foreign Affairs that the missiles are equipped with VX, the most lethal nerve gas, and that the Syrians have now achieved their aim of balancing Israel's nuclear advantage.
Meanwhile, a senior U.S. official told Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Syria today is incapable of stopping the activities of terror organizations operating in south Lebanon or the flow of money and military supplies from Iran to the area, Israel Radio reported Thursday morning.
The same source said that the U.S. has detected that Syrian President Bashar Assad is experiencing difficulty in controlling the advisors of his late father, former president Hafez Assad.
While these advisors had little influence when the elder Assad was alive, today they are setting Syrian government policy, the report said. The senior aides wield great influence today, and they are exploiting the younger Assad's inexperience in order to maintain a tough line which is preventing any possibility of stopping the flow of weapons and money to terrorists in south Lebanon, as well as their operations.
The source also said that Bashar Assad is unable to deliver on his promises to U.S. Secretary ofState Colin Powell that would get Syria removed from the U.S. list of states supporting terror.