What can I say?
I have decided I'll update this blog, for now, with links to articles that I think describe and explain what's happening with Israel and the Middle East. Things are changing so fast, it's sort of hard to make any grand statements.
What appears to be the case, and what I hope is the case, is that Israel will wipe out the Hezbollah threat. If all of the actions in Lebanon end with Hezbollah intact and still on Israel's border, than nothing was accomplished.
Israel can't shatter Hezbollah in days. It will probably take a ground operation. I am concerned that international pressure will try to prevent it. The truth is, the last thing anybody who supports an idenpendent and sovereign Lebanon should want right now is a cease fire, because then Hezbollah will regroup, rearm and be back to business as usual.
Iran is behind a lot of what is happening. With an operable nuclear arsenal, Iran would probably act even more belligerantly than it already acts. This is yet another reminder to those who stick their heads in the sand why Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. Ahmadinejad and the ruling Mullahs are not responsible leaders. They are religious fanatics with dreams of jihad and armagedon.
The following erudite column by Barry Rubin describes how exremists in the Arab world always end up being the ones who call the shots.
Excerpt:
THE ARABS in general are not giving credit to Teheran. After all, the whole point of this being an Arab and (Sunni) Muslim victory is ruined if the new hero is Persian and Shi'ite.
Lebanon is playing both sides at once. Christians, Druse and even Sunni Muslims are angry that Hizbullah has dragged them into the war, destroyed their tourist industry and wrecked the prospects for the country's economy for years to come. In private, Lebanese say they would like Israel to wipe out Hizbullah for them. Publicly, though, most Lebanese politicians are standing beside Hizbullah and will not lift a finger to help.
Nobody should have any illusions about the Lebanese government doing anything even if the whole country is leveled. The country's leaders simultaneously use, fear, and support Hizbullah. To cheer on the extremists protects their careers, and none of them have gotten where they are today by caring very much about the nation's interest.
What appears to be the case, and what I hope is the case, is that Israel will wipe out the Hezbollah threat. If all of the actions in Lebanon end with Hezbollah intact and still on Israel's border, than nothing was accomplished.
Israel can't shatter Hezbollah in days. It will probably take a ground operation. I am concerned that international pressure will try to prevent it. The truth is, the last thing anybody who supports an idenpendent and sovereign Lebanon should want right now is a cease fire, because then Hezbollah will regroup, rearm and be back to business as usual.
Iran is behind a lot of what is happening. With an operable nuclear arsenal, Iran would probably act even more belligerantly than it already acts. This is yet another reminder to those who stick their heads in the sand why Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. Ahmadinejad and the ruling Mullahs are not responsible leaders. They are religious fanatics with dreams of jihad and armagedon.
The following erudite column by Barry Rubin describes how exremists in the Arab world always end up being the ones who call the shots.
Excerpt:
THE ARABS in general are not giving credit to Teheran. After all, the whole point of this being an Arab and (Sunni) Muslim victory is ruined if the new hero is Persian and Shi'ite.
Lebanon is playing both sides at once. Christians, Druse and even Sunni Muslims are angry that Hizbullah has dragged them into the war, destroyed their tourist industry and wrecked the prospects for the country's economy for years to come. In private, Lebanese say they would like Israel to wipe out Hizbullah for them. Publicly, though, most Lebanese politicians are standing beside Hizbullah and will not lift a finger to help.
Nobody should have any illusions about the Lebanese government doing anything even if the whole country is leveled. The country's leaders simultaneously use, fear, and support Hizbullah. To cheer on the extremists protects their careers, and none of them have gotten where they are today by caring very much about the nation's interest.
posted by semite1973 at 5:40 PM
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