Reply #50: We used up much of our high-tech munitions in Iraq [View All]

[NickB79]

I recall reading of shortages of smart bombs and cruise missiles after the first month of the war in Iraq. I have no idea how long it would take to replenish those stocks, but I doubt we've already restocked sufficiently to pre-invasion levels.

"Syria's ballistic missiles (ss-21, ss-23) are offensive weapons.
which would be useless in defense."

If Syria was being invaded by US forces and knew their odds of surviving were so low, I don't doubt there would be quite a few high-ranking Syrian officials willing to launch their ballistic missiles (complete with the biological and chemical weapons we know they have) against Israel in a final jesture of resistance against the West. There is widely believed by most nations that Syria possesses chemical and biological weapons sufficient in size to wipe out hundreds of thousands of Israelis. The Israelis would then retaliate with nuclear warheads against Syria, and the entire Middle East would go up in flames as every Fundamentalist Muslim within a thousand miles takes up a jihad against Israel and the US. Even if Israel were somehow able to survive as a nation through use of nuclear weaponry, the entire region would be contaminated by radioactive fallout. The survivors, Israelis and Muslims alike, would suffer the health consequences for decades to come.