Green Energy
From Youssef Ibrahim, in the New York Sun:
The balance of power and terror that shaped the Middle East landscape until the latest Arab-Israeli war has shifted profoundly in favor of radical forces, to the detriment of Arabs and Jews alike — as well as America.
Israel's handling of its confrontation with Hezbollah and Hamas in Lebanon and Gaza has been hesitant and clumsy. Led by inexperienced Prime Minister Olmert and his incompetent defense minister, Amir Peretz, Israel failed to put enough boots on the ground when it mattered, early in the battle against Hezbollah, stripping the country of its most potent weapon: its aura of invincibility.
Worse yet, Mr. Olmert's ineptitude as a leader has opened a Pandora's box. Jihadis will now flock to attack Israel's newly perceived weaknesses in fighting guerrilla forces in Gaza, the West Bank, and along the border with Lebanon, further upsetting a precarious balance of power in a turbulent Middle East where the forces of radical Islam have now gained the upper hand.
Hezbollah's insanely reckless attacks on Israel, coupled with the terror group's ability to hold its own against a tentative Israeli military campaign for weeks now, have all but shifted conventional thinking on the Middle East, with dire consequences for the whole region.
The war has transformed Hezbollah from a somewhat isolated sectarian Shiite terror group to a pan-Arab emblem of heroism.
There is more damage to assess here:
• Iran and Syria, until recently pariahs in the region and much of the Arab world, loom as serious decision-makers. Some in Congress and within the Bush administration, as well as Sunni Arab governments that privately loathe Syria and Iran, are now courting them as essential partners in making peace or war. This is a sinister development for the two rogue terrorist states.
• Much of Lebanon, a lone friendly democratic state in the Middle East, lies in ruins. Its people are traumatized by the failure of their best friends in the West to come to their rescue. A quarter of the Lebanese population, many of whom were allies of both America and even, discreetly, of Israel, are now refugees.
• Syria, which has taken in the Shiite Lebanese refugees, has dramatically paved the way toward reinstituting its influence in Lebanon after being practically evicted from the country months ago.
The regional impact of this disaster is no less daunting.
In Baghdad, a Shiite-dominated government held in place by American forces boldly hails the developments of the past few weeks as a triumph for an ascendant radical Shiism.
Sunni countries, including Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, privately welcomed the Israeli campaign as a way to deal with their Shiite enemies and the Iranian-Syrian axis of influence. They have since been forced into an embarrassed silence as they watch Israel and its hesitant leadership get bogged down.
When Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the now fugitive leader of Hezbollah, decided to send his troops across Israel's border to kidnap two soldiers and kill others, a worse result could not have been envisioned.
For America, this adds to what has already been a lamentable Middle East policy.The Bush administration has given hope to Arab populations that support liberal values and secularism, only to let them down time after time.
After his 2004 re-election, President Bush promised that America would stand behind the Arab world's pursuit of freedom and democracy, but he has retreated from this policy into nevernever land.
The sight of the American president standing next to Iraq's militant pro-Iranian Shiite prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, inside the White House last week was the depth of depravity in politics.
Nothing symbolizes a bargain with the devil more than those images, which shall live in infamy.
The prime minister of Iraq, the country we liberated from dictatorship, is nothing more than an Iranian Muslim fundamentalist agent. To honor a reactionary fundamentalist in the halls of Congress is to dishonor the great American enterprise to liberate the Arab world from reactionary fundamentalism.
Mr. Bush, have you lost your way?
-
American Thinker: The Marriage of Terrorism and Nuclear Capability By C. Hart When you think of a nuclear Iran, you probably think of atomic bombs or nuclear-tipped missiles. But few people think about the implications of an Iranian nuclear umbrella providing...
- Iranian Hijinks
From Counterterrorismblog Iran activating its proxies By Olivier Guitta Iran is smartly playing its cards, using its main Sunni and Shiite proxy to create havoc in the region and de facto making it stronger. At this point, Iran’s next step is uncertain....
- Stratfor On Hezballah <> Iranian Connections
Red Alert: Hezbollah's Iranian Connection Sub Req excerpted ... Prior to the rise of the Shia in Iraq, Hezbollah -- as a radical Shiite Islamist organization -- was Iran's main asset in the Arab world. In fact, it likely will continue to be used...
- Why The West Must Support Israel
The Telegraph has an interesting article up: Yet after bombarding Lebanon for five days, and causing pain to ordinary civilians unseen since the civil war ended 15 years ago, the international outcry is surprisingly muted. If anything, as the conflict...
- Re-reading The Msm
Plausible translation of MSM-speak by Jason Pappas From Reuters: “The European Union has expressed concern that the confrontation between Hizbollah and Israel could spread to Syria and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi talked with President Bashar...
Green Energy
A Pandora's Box Opened By Ineptitude
From Youssef Ibrahim, in the New York Sun:
The balance of power and terror that shaped the Middle East landscape until the latest Arab-Israeli war has shifted profoundly in favor of radical forces, to the detriment of Arabs and Jews alike — as well as America.
Israel's handling of its confrontation with Hezbollah and Hamas in Lebanon and Gaza has been hesitant and clumsy. Led by inexperienced Prime Minister Olmert and his incompetent defense minister, Amir Peretz, Israel failed to put enough boots on the ground when it mattered, early in the battle against Hezbollah, stripping the country of its most potent weapon: its aura of invincibility.
Worse yet, Mr. Olmert's ineptitude as a leader has opened a Pandora's box. Jihadis will now flock to attack Israel's newly perceived weaknesses in fighting guerrilla forces in Gaza, the West Bank, and along the border with Lebanon, further upsetting a precarious balance of power in a turbulent Middle East where the forces of radical Islam have now gained the upper hand.
Hezbollah's insanely reckless attacks on Israel, coupled with the terror group's ability to hold its own against a tentative Israeli military campaign for weeks now, have all but shifted conventional thinking on the Middle East, with dire consequences for the whole region.
The war has transformed Hezbollah from a somewhat isolated sectarian Shiite terror group to a pan-Arab emblem of heroism.
There is more damage to assess here:
• Iran and Syria, until recently pariahs in the region and much of the Arab world, loom as serious decision-makers. Some in Congress and within the Bush administration, as well as Sunni Arab governments that privately loathe Syria and Iran, are now courting them as essential partners in making peace or war. This is a sinister development for the two rogue terrorist states.
• Much of Lebanon, a lone friendly democratic state in the Middle East, lies in ruins. Its people are traumatized by the failure of their best friends in the West to come to their rescue. A quarter of the Lebanese population, many of whom were allies of both America and even, discreetly, of Israel, are now refugees.
• Syria, which has taken in the Shiite Lebanese refugees, has dramatically paved the way toward reinstituting its influence in Lebanon after being practically evicted from the country months ago.
The regional impact of this disaster is no less daunting.
In Baghdad, a Shiite-dominated government held in place by American forces boldly hails the developments of the past few weeks as a triumph for an ascendant radical Shiism.
Sunni countries, including Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, privately welcomed the Israeli campaign as a way to deal with their Shiite enemies and the Iranian-Syrian axis of influence. They have since been forced into an embarrassed silence as they watch Israel and its hesitant leadership get bogged down.
When Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the now fugitive leader of Hezbollah, decided to send his troops across Israel's border to kidnap two soldiers and kill others, a worse result could not have been envisioned.
For America, this adds to what has already been a lamentable Middle East policy.The Bush administration has given hope to Arab populations that support liberal values and secularism, only to let them down time after time.
After his 2004 re-election, President Bush promised that America would stand behind the Arab world's pursuit of freedom and democracy, but he has retreated from this policy into nevernever land.
The sight of the American president standing next to Iraq's militant pro-Iranian Shiite prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, inside the White House last week was the depth of depravity in politics.
Nothing symbolizes a bargain with the devil more than those images, which shall live in infamy.
The prime minister of Iraq, the country we liberated from dictatorship, is nothing more than an Iranian Muslim fundamentalist agent. To honor a reactionary fundamentalist in the halls of Congress is to dishonor the great American enterprise to liberate the Arab world from reactionary fundamentalism.
Mr. Bush, have you lost your way?
-
American Thinker: The Marriage of Terrorism and Nuclear Capability By C. Hart When you think of a nuclear Iran, you probably think of atomic bombs or nuclear-tipped missiles. But few people think about the implications of an Iranian nuclear umbrella providing...
- Iranian Hijinks
From Counterterrorismblog Iran activating its proxies By Olivier Guitta Iran is smartly playing its cards, using its main Sunni and Shiite proxy to create havoc in the region and de facto making it stronger. At this point, Iran’s next step is uncertain....
- Stratfor On Hezballah <> Iranian Connections
Red Alert: Hezbollah's Iranian Connection Sub Req excerpted ... Prior to the rise of the Shia in Iraq, Hezbollah -- as a radical Shiite Islamist organization -- was Iran's main asset in the Arab world. In fact, it likely will continue to be used...
- Why The West Must Support Israel
The Telegraph has an interesting article up: Yet after bombarding Lebanon for five days, and causing pain to ordinary civilians unseen since the civil war ended 15 years ago, the international outcry is surprisingly muted. If anything, as the conflict...
- Re-reading The Msm
Plausible translation of MSM-speak by Jason Pappas From Reuters: “The European Union has expressed concern that the confrontation between Hizbollah and Israel could spread to Syria and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi talked with President Bashar...