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Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, (photo) the Director of Military Intelligence in the Israeli army, told the Herzliya Policy and Security Conference yesterday that Iran and Hezbollah are establishing a popular army in Syria which would help prop up President Assad’s regime and create a foothold in the country in the event of Assad’s downfall. “They have begun by establishing a popular army trained by Hezbollah and financed by Iran, currently consisting of 50,000 men, with plans to increase to 100,000. If Assad were to be deposed, Iran would lose its’ “sole ally in the region surrounding Israel” and would “lose the ability to transfer weaponry through Syria to Hezbollah.”