Middle East erupts

[Undertoad]

So far it seems we have successfully avoiding a thread on the topic, so here it is.

FWIW, blogger Michael Totten foresaw this in April, in his two-parter, "Everything Could Explode at any Moment"

Lisa and I met Israeli Defense Forces Spokesman Zvika Golan at a base in the north near the border. He told us to follow him in his jeep as he drove to a lookout point next to an IDF watch tower that opened up over Lebanon.

“You aren’t safe here right now,” he said.

“I know,” I said. “The Lebanese army wouldn’t let me anywhere near the border two weeks ago. What’s going on?”

“Hezbollah is planning an operation,” he said.

“How do you know?” I said.

“We know,” he said and nodded.

I knew he was right. The Lebanese intelligence officer more or less told me the same thing. He didn’t say the threat was from Hezbollah, but he didn’t have to.

“What do you think about all this?” I said.

“We really want the Lebanese army on this border,” he said.

Lebanon and Israel technically have been at war for many decades. But Israel and Lebanon have never actually fought any battles. Israel has been involved in plenty of fighting in Lebanon, but none of it ever involved the Lebanese army or government. Neither side has ever actually fired on the other. Neither side wants to. All Israel’s Lebanon battles were waged against the PLO and Hezbollah.

“Are you in contact with the Lebanese government?” I said.

“We pass messages to the Lebanese army through the UN,” he said.

“How well are they received?” I said.

“Oh, they’re received very well,” he said. “The only problem is the Lebanese army can’t act against Hezbollah.”

[Spexxvet]

A little W sponsored democracy/nation building sure helps a region's stability! [/sarcasm]

[MaggieL]

If you think everything has already exploded, what happens if Iran bought an off-the-shelf nuke from North Korea (think they're hungry enough to sell one?) and sticks it in a Raad like the one they just shot into Haifa from Lebanon?

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

A little W sponsored democracy/nation building sure helps a region's stability! [/sarcasm]

Oh, I keep forgetting: everything is Bush's fault.

[Ibby]

I'm effin' pissed at Israel, that's for sure, but it's not TOTALLY their fault... no single person can really be blamed for all this, unless you go back a LONNNNNG way. Further back than i wanna think right now.

[dar512]

Certainly Israel has a siege mentality. But can you blame them?

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by MaggieL

Oh, I keep forgetting: everything is Bush's fault.

Things haven't quite gone according to his plan, have they?

[Ibby]

Dammit, I'm with Maggs on this one. This is way beyond Bush, he was just a kid when this all started, and it wasnt HIM that set off this particular outburst, it was the kiddnappers.

Hey, anyone wanna make a wager with me? I'll bet all the money I have (all twenty dollars of it) that Israel's gonna be levelled (well, maybe not levelled, but pretty damn beat up) by the end of the year.

[Spexxvet]

I'll take that bet. How about a side bet that Israel threatens Damascus by year end. Tell me W wouldn't be behind that all the way.

W didn't cause this current situation. But he and his neocon pals, wearing their republinders, thought that kicking some ass in Afghanistan and Iraq and setting up "democracies", would influence the region to become more western (?) human-rights-oriented (?) civilized (?). It hasn't. Like the anticipated flowers in the streets of Bagdad with Iraqis welcoming our military as saviors, he had a misconception of how his actions in the region would affect the people who live there. He point to Libya's change of heart (initiated by the Clinton administration) as an indication of his policies' effectiveness. The current mess, and the Palestinian elections have shown that he is clueless.

[skysidhe]

Originally Posted by Ibram

I'll bet all the money I have (all twenty dollars of it) that Israel's gonna be levelled (well, maybe not levelled, but pretty damn beat up) by the end of the year.

somebodys going to be leveled and it aint going to be us....and you know what? I am at the level of not caring. I think most of us Americans are just tired of the whole damn deal. Let's blow everyone away and just live in peace again.


, or not

[Ibby]

Spexxvet, that only shows that bush didn't make this NOT happen. Last time I checked, it wasn't the president's reponsibility to not let any country, ever, anywhere, fight anyone else. Bush didn't stop this from happening like he may or may not have been trying to do, but either way, you can't blame him for that.

Damn I sound stupid defending bush... but it is true.

[Ridgeplate]

I still think we should give the whole area to China. If these people (I use the term loosely) can't get their collective shit together, then the whole region should be run by as a-religious a goverment as we have available to us. China is a natural choice. The Chinese government could give a damn about the so called "Holy Land", they'd just use the wailing wall as a nice place to line up dissidents and feed them hot lead sandwiches. Hezbollah getting you down? Watch them disappear. Mossad keeping you up at nights? Guess who's carcasses we're using to fertilize the desert. Civil rights violations? Yes, have some. You want that with fried rice?

Buncha 'tards...

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by Ibram

Spexxvet, that only shows that bush didn't make this NOT happen. Last time I checked, it wasn't the president's reponsibility to not let any country, ever, anywhere, fight anyone else. Bush didn't stop this from happening like he may or may not have been trying to do, but either way, you can't blame him for that.

Damn I sound stupid defending bush... but it is true.

Exactly. Read my posts. I never said it was W's fault. I sarcastically pointed out that W's plan has NOT stabilized the region, as he has at least insinuated it would. Can you show me where I said it was W's fault?

[wolf]

The Middle East will be unstable no matter what anyone does.

Like red Twizzlers being the superior product, it just is.

How can Armageddon start otherwise?

[Ibby]

You brought him into it; there was no point in that in the first place.