I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED

Not very long ago, the news media were telling us that Syria had a world-class anti-aircraft defense system, e.g.:

U.S. Weighs Syria Response
By ADAM ENTOUS and JULIAN E. BARNES
April 28, 2013, 7:39 p.m. ET
WALL STREET JOURNAL

WASHINGTON—Lawmakers pressed the Obama administration to intervene in Syria's civil war, citing the regime's alleged chemical-weapons use, as the White House weighed its response against a sobering fact: Damascus has developed a world class air-defense system.

That system, built, installed and maintained—largely in secret—by Russia's military complex, presents a formidable deterrent as the White House draws up options for responding to a U.S. intelligence report released last week concluding that Damascus likely used chemical weapons on the battlefield.

Previously undisclosed details about Syria's antiaircraft systems outline the evolution of one of the most advanced and concentrated barriers on the planet, developed to ward off U.S. and Israeli warplanes, say U.S. intelligence and defense officials.

On the other hand, Israel's air force has apparently had no difficulty striking in and near Damascus.