[Dean's World] Dave Schuler: The Israeli-Hezbollah Conflict

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Dave Schuler:
The Israeli-Hezbollah Conflict
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1152980562.shtml


   The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah appears to be entering an
   even more dangerous phase. Israel may have [1]presented an ultimatum
   to Syria:

     The London-based Arabic language newspaper Al-Hayat reported
     Saturday that âWashington has information according to which Israel
     gave Damascus 72 hours to stop Hizbullahâs activity along the
     Lebanon-Israel border and bring about the release the two kidnapped
     IDF soldiers or it would launch an offensive with disastrous
     consequences.â

     The report said âa senior Pentagon source warned that should the
     Arab world and international community fail in the efforts to
     convince Syria to pressure Hizbullah into releasing the soldiers
     and halt the current escalation Israel may attack targets in the
     country.â

     Al-Hayat quoted the source as saying that âthe US cannot rule out
     the possibility of an Israeli strike in Syria,â this despite the
     fact that the Bush administration has asked Israel to ârefrain from
     any military activity that may result in civilian casualties.â

     [...]

     According to the source, Hizbullah made the same mistake as Hamas
     when it did not predict the ramifications of its actions and
     ignored the regional and international changes since the fall of
     Saddam Hussein.

     The source said that Israel has indicated that it âwill not end its
     military activity until a new situation is created that will
     prevent Syria and Iran from using terror organizations, such as
     Hamas and Hizbullah, to threaten its security.â

   Is this "our war" as asserted by [2]Bill Kristol in the Weekly
   Standard? That Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been more
   critical of Hezbollah than Israel in the latest exchange lends weight
   to the claim.

   Another sign that the greater conflict is entering a new phase:
   Hezbollah has, apparently, [3]used armed unmanned aerial vehicles
   (UAV's) for the first time.

   I've put my thoughts on the conflict [4]here at The Glittering Eye.

References

   1. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3275886,00.html
   2. http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/433fwbvs.asp
   3. http://theglitteringeye.com/?p=2162
   4. http://theglitteringeye.com/?p=2163