Barak: 'We hope for peace but are ready to strike the enemy'

By JPOST.COM STAFF
"We are not heading for war, but if war will be forced upon us - we have the ability to strike the enemy anytime, anyplace," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday evening in a ceremony commemorating fallen soldiers of the Paratrooper Brigade. "Even when Syria is trying to create the atmosphere of war, Teheran is threatening, in Lebanon arms are being bought and in the [Palestinian] territories they are looking for a fight - we hope for peace while preparing for the day when we will need to fight," Barak added.