Syria Accused of Supplying Hezbollah With Scuds

Syria has been supplying Hezbollah militants in Lebanon with long-range Scud missiles capable of hitting Israeli cities and nuclear installations, US and Israeli officials say. The accusations threaten to upend the Obama administration's efforts to reach out to Syria, and if true, stand to upset the military balance of power in the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Republicans are now trying to block the appointment of a US ambassador to Damascus—the first since 2005—but the White House plans to proceed with its engagement policy. The missile issue shows the US needs somebody in Damascus "just to ensure that reality gets its day in court now and then," a senior administration official said. The Scuds are thought to have a range of some 435 miles, a distance that dwarfs the 20- to 60-mile range of the rockets Hezbollah used in its month-long war with Israel in 2006.
(More Syria stories.)