Photograph of a Fateh-110 (Conqueror) single-stage, solid-propellant, surface-to-surface Iranian missile capable of covering a range of 300 kilometers. On August 2012, Iran successfully test-fired the fourth generation of Fateh-110 missiles. Credit: The New York Times.com

On the 3rd and 5th of May, 2013, Israel is reported to have hit shipments of Fateh-110 in Syria that were allegedly destined for Hezbollah.  Israel said it would not tolerate “game-changing weapons” falling into the hands of terrorists in Lebanon.  Israel’s Mossad is fully aware that the Syrians have started to restructure and modernize their ballistic missile forces.  They aren’t taking any chances, knowing that Syria has received more lethal and dangerous missiles from Iran and North Korea.

On Sunday, May 5, 2013, Israeli warplanes struck areas in and around Damascus, setting off a series of explosions as they targeted a shipment of highly accurate, Iranian-made guided missiles believed to be on their way to Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group.

The attack is the second in three days.  The specific target was Fateh-110 missiles, which have precision guidance systems with better aim than anything Hezbollah is known to have in its arsenal.  The Fateh-110 or Conqueror, is a short-range ballistic missile developed by Iran and first put into service in 2002.  Iran unveiled an upgraded version in 2012 that improved the weapon’s accuracy and increased its range to 300 kilometers (185 miles).

An Israeli official said the air strikes are aimed at advanced “game-changing” weapons, but not chemical arms.  The target was a shipment of advanced, long-range ground-to ground missiles.   This solid-fuel missile could strike with pin-point precision, making it the most accurate weapon of its kind in Iran’s arsenal.  In the hands of Hezbollah, Fatah or Hamas  militants, it means highly consequential destruction to Israel’s urban centers.  Hezbollah is estimated to have 60,000 missiles in Lebanon, more than enough to deter Israeli attacks, and to strike back.  It is estimated that Hezbollah has 5,000 full-time fighters and as many as 15,000 in reserve.

Israel and Hezbollah fought an inconclusive 34-day war in 2006 that left 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis dead.  Israeli officials believe that Hezbollah’s arsenal has markedly improved since 2006, and now boasts tens of thousands of rockets and missiles capable of striking almost anywhere inside Israel.  Israel is determined to prevent the transfer of chemical weapons or other game-changing weaponry by the Syrian or North Korean regime to terrorists, specially to Hezbollah in Lebanon, specifically the Beqaa valley and the Gaza strip.

The Beqaa valley is no stranger to war.  The Allies and Vichy French fought here during the Second World War.  Most notoriously, the Israeli Army battled Yasser Arafat’s PLO, and later, the Syrian army in the Beqaa Valley in 1982.  It’s certainly a strategic area next to Israel that requires special attention by Israel’s military intelligence.  All military movements within this geographic area are well monitored by overhead drones and expensive spy satellites.

The air force, which has been responsible for all launches from Israel, says there are six “observational satellites” in orbit, four owned by the state and two privately owned craft. These provide imagery and other data to the military’s Intelligence Corps, which has operational control of the satellites once they’re in orbit.

Only one of the six satellites, the high-resolution TecSar 1, which carries an advanced imaging system called Synthetic Aperture Radar, is able to send images at night and in bad weather. Deep in the ground at a military base in central Israel is the heart of the Israeli spy satellites operations. From this facility they are operated and in special rooms their images are being translated into working data.

Some foreign publications say that Israel has built a “Bank” of targets that are being monitored 24/7. These are of course Iran’s nuclear sites and the routes which are being used to transfer rockets and other weapon systems into Gaza and Lebanon. A senior Israeli official signaled on Wednesday, that Israel was considering further military strikes on Syria to stop the transfer of advanced weapons to Islamic militants, and he warned the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, that his government would face crippling consequences if it retaliated against Israel.

The Israeli official said: “Israel is determined to continue to prevent the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah. The transfer of such weapons to Hezbollah will destabilize and endanger the entire region.” “If Syrian President Assad reacts by attacking Israel, or tries to strike Israel through his terrorist proxies,” the official said, “he will risk forfeiting his regime, for Israel will retaliate.”

American and Israeli political analysts agree that Israel has little motive to intervene in Syria’s civil war, but is deeply concerned about the transfer of advanced weapons, as well as the danger that Mr. Assad’s stockpiles of chemical weapons could be used against Israel.

It’s not a military secret that Hezbollah has anti-tank rockets (Fadjir-7), mortars and advanced missiles among its arsenal, plus thousands of well-trained fighters, all organized into platoons and companies.  The mullahs have also sworn to annihilate Israel, the eternal home of the Jewish people.  Many military analysts claim that Iran is building nuclear weapons to blow Israel out of the map.  This is against international law.  You can bet your bird that Israel will not wait long before it strikes Iran’s nuclear installations.  The big question is not “if” but “when”.

The Middle East is at this very moment, the most dangerous and explosive spot on the globe—anything can happen.  Nuclear bombs are nothing to play with, and yet this is precisely what is taking place—take a close look at Iran’s and North Korea’s nuclear programs.  Good Day.

Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of an edifice with an eye-catching dome in the old shell of Panama City. This area is called “Las Bóvedas” beside the Pacific Ocean at the entrance of the Panama Canal. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Incidently I’m presently enjoying a book—Brunelleschi’s Dome: The Story of the Great Cathedral in Florence, authored by Ross King—about the construction of a cavernous dome in Florence for the cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore built by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1436.  A replacement for the ancient and dilapidated church of Santa Reparata, the new cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore was intended to be one of the largest in Christendom.

The foundation stone for the new cathedral had been laid in 1296.  The designer and original architect was a master mason named Arnolfo di Cambio, the builder of both the Palazzo Vecchio and the city’s massive new fortifications.  The designer of the large dome was the Capomaestri Neri di Fioravanti who refused to use flying buttresses to support the walls of the cathedral for political reasons.  He hated French and German architects who commonly used these supporting structures.

The decision to adopt Neri di Fioravanti’s design represents a remarkable leap of faith.  No dome approaching this span had been built since Antiquity, and with a mean diameter of 143 feet and 6 inches, it would exceed that of even the Roman Pantheon, which for over a thousand years had been the world’s largest dome by far.  And the cupola of Santa Maria del Fiore would not only be the widest vault ever built: it would also be the highest.

Of course our building pales in comparison with the great cathedral of Florence, but still it is an aesthetic edifice built during the early days of our nation.  It represents the elegance of our colonial Spanish architecture as depicted in the picture above.  Good Day.

Snapshot of Panama City’s modern skyline. The body of water in the foreground is Panama Bay in the Pacific Ocean. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of my wife Aura, laughing with Paola, the youngest of The Twisters. Behind her hand is a childish smile. You can appreciate it better in her twinkling deep black eyes. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The price for a Bonlac yogurt is $0.62.  A taxi fare from Paola’s home to our house at Residencial El Bosque is $5.00.  The cost of quality time invested in your family is priceless!  Good Day.

Snapshot of the skyline of Panama City under bluish skies. On the left, the old section of Panama City; on the right, the modern section of the metropolis. Old and new, side by side under a bluish dome. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot a a hazy skyline of Panama City by the Panama Bay one lazy overcast morning in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of Panama City’s skyline viewed from the Casco Viejo. The building on the left hand of the picture is the old Club Union which will shortly be demolished to build a modern hotel. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The image is self explanatory. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of a group of young children cavorting inside a playground in Panama City, Panama. Their happiness is contagious. Photo by: ©Omar Upegui R.