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“Widening Into War?: The Israeli Response in Lebanon and Gaza”

Constant updates at Pajamas Media and Hot Air, where Allah uses wire reports to confirm Debka’s earlier report that “Iran’s national security adviser Ali Larijani flies to Damascus aboad special military plane Wednesday night as war tension builds…. Iranian air force, missile units and navy are also on high alert…. Israel began calling up an armored division, air crews and technicians from the reserves Wednesday night.”

The Iran-Syria defense pact.  The upcoming G-8 Summit.  Iran’s nuclear ambitions.  Hosni Mubarak.  The muted US/EU reaction to Israel’s military response.

It’s like watching a Frederick Forsyth novel unfold in real-time.  Only with heavy casualties and the remote chance of a nuclear winter in July.

96 Replies to ““Widening Into War?: The Israeli Response in Lebanon and Gaza””

  1. Big Bang Hunter says:

    – That is the problem isn’t it. If, for any reason, Isreal thinks its going down, it has no reason to hold back, and man that’s just plain skeery….

  2. Barnabus says:

    “We’re holding them safely, far away.”

    Donkey: Are we there yet?

    Shrek: Far, far away is far, far away.

  3. err says:

    So am I the only one who said “ah screw it” and grabbed another beer?

    TW: Actually, I am half-way to another, damn your good.

  4. George S. "Butch" Patton (Mrs.) says:

    I wonder if it’s dawning, even at this late date, on any of the Islamic “leaders” of the Middle East that their policy of giving the hostage takers and bus bombers their head is completely out of their control now? Can they really see this as a strategy” ‘OK, Hamas takes its hostages, then when Israel goes into Gaza, we kick Hezbollah into action….”

    Or is this perhaps a sign of desperation on the part of Assad and Ahmedinajad, a sort of “use it before they lose it?”

  5. It’s already war, it’s just becoming more official.

  6. harrison says:

    Israel has been the very definition of patience since 1948.

    They cannot be blamed for (finally) deciding that enough is enough. I wish them a speedy and productive victory.

  7. The_Real_JeffS says:

    I don’t know about a nuclear winter, Jeff.  The Iranians have been talking big, but going from having a nuke (if they do) and then delivering it remains a large step, even with technical support from other nations (not naming names, but they all have Communism in common, at one time or another).

    Not to mention that Iran might have a war on two fronts as well.  All those Coalition troops and aircraft in Iraq, y’know.  Iraq might allow such operations to be staged from there.  The same holds for Syria. 

    No, a two front war for Iran/Syria not certain.  I know that.  But it’s a factor the Iranians and Syrians have to consider.  And Israel as well.  And Israel is generally not stupid in this matter.  So that muted response postulated by Austin Bay rings true.

    Have a beer, and put away the long johns.  I suspect that it’ll be ugly, but not nuclear ugly.

  8. KM says:

    I’m reading a book right now where they ALL get killed. Maybe then we’ll have PEACE! And more YOKO!

    Word: Taking. Did someone say Kelo?

  9. CraigC says:

    I wanna see some Arab dust.

  10. ahem says:

    This could go so wrong so fast. It’s our battle, too. Essentially, you have a small nation for whom there is no political solution with its enemies other than its own annihilation. Its other enemies are virulent Islamists. We can try to avoid it, but I doubt we’ll have much success. Circumstances could force us into the shit within a matter of hours.

    When I read Melanie Phillips’ reports about the sheer hatred toward Jews currently coming out of Europe and then consider articles like this recent one in the Jerusalem Post, I foresee an unavoidable world war to decide the very existence of Israel. Maybe this is the beginning. Maybe by the middle of the century, Israel will be just a chapter in a history book.

    Israel is preparing to invade Lebanon tomorrow morning.

  11. Big Bang Hunter says:

    – that has a glow too it……

    TW: “….The faint evening glow, signaling ten years since the Nuclear clash in the first part of this centuary, a bit of the half life gone, marking the original sight of the Damascas capital, now just a dust bowl memory, as we continue the History Channel special “Hesbullah, the reckless years”….

  12. Scott Free says:

    So the Arabs all get nuked and the resulting nuclear winter saves us all from global warming.

    Is there a downside that I’m missing?

  13. Noah D says:

    Global warming is saving us from the next Ice Age.

    Okay, well, no, it probably won’t. Nothing will, most likely.

    Other than that…no, not really.

  14. Big Bang Hunter says:

    – Wouldn’t that be the penultimate irony, if nuclear power was the only thing that could save all of humanity in the end…..

  15. Jeff Goldstein says:

    I picked Revelations on DVD the other day.  Better watch the whole thing tonight.

    Man.  Wish I had me a butler.  Because if I did, I’d say, “Butler?  Go crush me some amphetamines and pour me a tall class of cola.  And bring my slippers and corn chips.”

    Instead, all I have is a drunk-ass armadillo, some paranoid beets, and a Sea Monkey King who thinks I’m his butler.  The pompous, uppity brine shrimp.

  16. The_Real_JeffS says:

    Not only ironic, BBH, but amusing as well.  After all the heads belonging to the anti-nuke neo-Luddites pop like pimples, I mean.

  17. The_Real_JeffS says:

    Drink a bottle of tequila and then whiz into the aquarium, Jeff.  You can serve yourself and King Monkey simultaneously.

  18. Big Bang Hunter says:

    – Hope you’re not growing that brine shrimp to feed the Frisch…..

  19. Juat Passing Through says:

    Iran can’t get forces to Syria in any numbers. We are in between them and both Lebanon and Syria. They could run around through the north of Iraq, but it’s a long way against US air power and pissed off Kurds. (Turkey could go stupid, but that’s unlikely). Iran will duck and cover. They’ll go on alert, but they’ll be skittish about the US forces in Iraq and focusing on them.

    Nope, Iran can’t help Hezbollah in any timely fashion. It took a long time to build them up. It will probably be wiped away for the most part. They can only help Syria if it gets to that point by manuevering in the diplomatic arena to try to keep the killing ground limited to Lebanon. Which is fine for the nonce. Syria is next in the US sights, not Iran, but the timing isn’t right for a few months to a year yet. If the Israelis turn a deaf ear to the usual crowd raising an international hue abd cry against them, and they have a few times in the past, then Iran’s proxy army Hezbollah gets scourged and they’re defanged in western Mesopotamia.

    Worst case scenario is Iran already has a sessile nuke in place in Lebanon. They let it go and decimate an Israeli armored division. In that scenario, I don’t think Israel would nuke Damacus or Tehran. They would emasculate Syria and Iran militarily though. With nukes if the IAF goes it alone, maybe not if the USAF goes in with them. The Lebanese – the real Lebanese – still thank Israel and the US sincerely for ridding them of both Hezbollah the final vestiges of 25 years of Syrian control. The Palistinians throw a lot of rocks.

    Best case scenario is it settles out with Hezbollah reduced to a back country guerilla force cut off from any direct overland logistics, there’s a third front in Syria’s south, (Iraq being the first and the Golan being the second), the US has direct overland access to the Med through Lebanon and Israel’s IDF is sharing mess tents with the US. The Syrians look for a way out of the mess, and it gets very lonely being an Iranian president. The Lebanese – the real Lebanese – thank Israel and the US sincerely for ridding them of both Hezbollah the final vestiges of 25 years of Syrian control. The Palistinians throw a lot of rocks.

  20. Barnabus says:

    Tuppence a day.

  21. Bruce says:

    No one likes us-I don’t know why

    We may not be perfect, but heaven knows we try

    But all around, even our old friends put us down

    Let’s drop the big one and see what happens

    We give them money-but are they grateful?

    No, they’re spiteful and they’re hateful

    They don’t respect us-so let’s surprise them

    We’ll drop the big one and pulverize them

    Asia’s crowded and Europe’s too old

    Africa is far too hot

    And Canada’s too cold

    And South America stole our name

    Let’s drop the big one

    There’ll be no one left to blame us

    We’ll save Australia

    Don’t wanna hurt no kangaroo

    We’ll build an All American amusement park there

    They got surfin’, too

    Boom goes London and boom Paree

    More room for you and more room for me

    And every city the whole world round

    Will just be another American town

    Oh, how peaceful it will be

    We’ll set everybody free

    You’ll wear a Japanese kimono

    And there’ll be Italian shoes for me

    They all hate us anyhow

    So let’s drop the big one now

    Let’s drop the big one now

    —Randy Newman

  22. Russ says:

    I’m trying to fit the current situation into a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang framework, but it’s just not happening.

    One-trick pony?  You bet I am.

  23. Juat Passing Through says:

    Forgot to make the point that the Gaza situation became a sideshow today in the overall scheme of things. The Israelis will smack them around, but it won’t take but a smidgeon of their forces to do so. They’ll rove about, but won’t commit much if anything more on the ground. If the PA (Hamas) gets too fiesty, it’s gunships and attack jets for them, not taking and holding more ground.

  24. Big Muddy says:

    Drink a bottle of tequila and then whiz into the aquarium, Jeff.  You can serve yourself and King Monkey simultaneously.

    This pretty much describes all the swagger the preznit of the USA can muster at this point. And since he doesn’t display any particular affection for his own children, one must suspect he doesn’t give a shit about anyone else’s children. Which means he doesn’t give a shit what happens in the Middle East.

  25. anti-moonbat says:

    I think they should move Israel to Connecticut.  Israel’s basically a colony of the US.  And whose idea was it to give the jewz the most contested piece of real estate on the planet after dubyadubyatoo. Yikes!

    Turing word (preview): felt

    I felt it wuz safe to come back to chat wit y’all.

    Turing word (submit): directly

    I dunno. Ain’t got no clever thing to say. Whatcha gonna do, shoot me?

  26. Just Passing Through says:

    Those were mine, Just Passing Through, not Juat Passing Through.

  27. runninrebel says:

    Uh, Big Muddy, what the hell are rambling on about?

  28. cranky-d says:

    Uh, Big Muddy, what the hell are rambling on about?

    He’s going for the prize in the “biggest leap of illogic” contest.  It’s a tough category, but so far he’s doing well.

  29. Muslihoon says:

    And whose idea was it to give the jewz the most contested piece of real estate on the planet after dubyadubyatoo. Yikes!

    The guy’s name was Yah weh or God or something like that. And it was given a few thousand years before WWII, if I remember correctly. Something about some dude named “Abraham” (and I know his last name wasn’t Lincoln). Moses, David, et cetera.

  30. i think he meant this:

    Blah blah right-wing Rumsfeld warmonger chickenhawk evil Bushies Wolwowitz and his neocon cabal for oiloiloiloiloiloil blah blah ignorant stupid bloodthirsty morons, the real axis of evil on a ranch in Crawford and blah blah blah no WMD he lied, Bushitler lied, people died died died tie-dyed peace peace peace down with the Zionists! peace peace Kyoto! they hate us they hate us they hate us and what can we do and root causes and root causes and blowback and Plame and Plame and Chalabi Plame Wilson blah blah blah unilateral multinational Halliburton Enronism crony capitalism and it’s all about oiloiloiloil blah blah blah, cowboyish disregard for allies, for the wishes of the world community who rise up against us, the terrorist threat is overblown and anyway, it’s all our fault because we gave Saddam his weapons to begin with, photo of Rummy and Hussein, but make no mistake, he no longer has those weapons because inspections worked, containment worked, and blah blah blah Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Sudan handle it, Roy, handle it handle it, Caspian pipeline oiloiloiloil blah blah blah show me the stockpiles, anthrax CIA plant Richard Clarke said so and we believe him because and unless unless unless Abu Ghraib Abu Ghraib Abu Ghraib, square-jawed cocksucking military jarhead torturing fucks, bring home our troops! We care about the troops! We support the troops and don’t you question our patriotism our love for this fucking filthy crass consumerist bullying country of redneck dolts and biblethumping bourgeois suburbanites with their SUVs and where are the CAFE standards fight the real terror, eco-terror, Israel, the US, imperialist colonialist racist homophobic hegemonic and blah blah blah blah blah because dissent is patriotism and fighting against your country is really fighting for your country and our dissent keeps the nation strong and we’re brave and heroic and up is down and black is white and oiloiloiloiloiloiloiloil blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.â„¢

  31. twolaneflash says:

    WWIII was a strange war of brinksmanship, that slipped unnoticed into WWIV, which is heating up in multiple focal points.  America’s military presence in Iraq is a major deterrent, for now, against another attempted gang rape of Israel.  I don’t see Iran, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon combining forces without America jumping in large.  So many of our former enemies have interests in common with America that override territorial interests and political differences. But the wild card is always the crazy like Iran’s leader or Jordan’s or Syria’s, and a little bit of crazy goes a long way.  China will squash North Korea before it allows Kim Jung Il to mess up their backyard, if Japan doesn’t beat them to it.  I’m praying that a little Israeli kick-ass will go a long way, too.

  32. Scott Free says:

    And whose idea was it to give the jewz the most contested piece of real estate on the planet after dubyadubyatoo. Yikes!

    The Jews.  I guess they got tired on relying on the “hospitality” of others.  Watching 6 million of your people get murdered will do that I guess.

  33. cranky-d says:

    I felt it wuz safe to come back to chat wit y’all.

    Oh, lordy.  The gift that keeps on giving.

    I have had enough of college.

  34. twolaneflash says:

    I have a new love:  Maggie Katzen!  The Gift of the Magi.

    I’ll go to bed now and have sweet dreams, knowing that rough men with big guns, like my son, stand guard, and women like Maggie Katzen speak up for them.

    God bless you, Maggie Katzen.  Good night.

  35. Just Passing Through says:

    Ah, Jordan’s ok. They’ll never like Israel, but they can co-exist with them. They aren’t on our list, nor Israel’s.  They nearly lost the western side of their country to the PLO 20 years or so ago like the Lebanese did their south to Hezbollah. Individual Jordanians have and will do the Jihadi Jig, but not the country. They just want to get through the WoT unscathed and are happy enough that their nutcases come home in boxes.

  36. eh,thanks twolane, it’s Jeff’s bit.  my husband is overseas currently so i’m always happy to slap some folks around.  wink

  37. Muslihoon says:

    I’ll go to bed now and have sweet dreams, knowing that rough men with big guns, like my son, stand guard, and women like Maggie Katzen speak up for them.

    And may God bless you, twlaneflash: may He keep you, your family (especially your son) well and safe.

    Just Passing Through is quite correct. The Palestinians are a liability to Jordan: too many refugees, and all they are is troble for the Jordanians. The King of Jordan has always demonstrated great reluctance to engage Israel militarily, much to Egypt and Syria’s chagrin and consternation. No, Jordan is on our side right now. They want a stable region so the refugees can go back into the West Bank where they came from. Benefitting from regional trade, especially with Israel, would also be attractive. Plus the Jordanians know that any support they give to Israel is magnified in the eyes of the Americans, who are notorious worldwide for their support of Israel. (Imagine that: we want to Jews to survive. What audacity on our part!)

  38. Big Bang Hunter says:

    – Is Mudflaps still pointing his Liberal talking farts into the wind. The Libtwits are just not going to stop digging until they have to learn Chinese as a second language.

    – We need to come up with something besides the pussy pins to attract a higher quality of troll around here. All there is too it.

  39. Just Passing Through says:

    The media narrative is trying to shift into making this an attack on Lebanon. I know the Isralis called it an act of war and hold Lebanon responsible, so it’s partly their fault, but it was just the smoke screen required to go after Hezbollah in force. The media should know this. There’ll be damage to the real Lebanon, but not more than needed to get Hezbollah.

    I like it that Israel is telling the UN what it’s going to do and doing it, not telling the UN what it’s going to do and waiting for the reaction.

    I may be off on what I said earlier about Syria not on the plate yet. The Israeli tactics so far look like they could be shaking Hezbollah out of Syria too before this is over.

    Tomorrow will tell.

  40. cynn says:

    hear, hear Harrison!  Let’s just roll over the

    SOBs!

  41. Tman says:

    ………so there aren’t gonna be any dick jokes in this thread huh…(man, miss a few days and this place goes to pot I tellsya.)

    anyways……..How much does this remind everyone of Israel’s last visit to Lebanon?

    Similar?

    Same but Different?

    Or is just that Israel has decided that enough is enough, the Palestinians don’t get any more pieces of the book of matches on this here football field?

  42. Beto Ochoa says:

    “It’s already war, it’s just becoming more official.”

    Christopher Taylor

    Just like Afghanistan and Iraq. And where are the US forces now? And where were they when thug Clinton was president? I think it was Waco.

  43. Cybrludite says:

    Tman,

    Depends on just how far north they push. If they just clear out Hizbollaistan in the south & pull back, not so much. What worries me is that these kidnappings are intended to give a fig-leaf to Iran by provoking Israel into attacking Gaza & south Lebanon so they can claim justification in sending something slouching towards Bethlehem on the business end of a rebranded Taepo-Dong…

    TW: Nature, as in life is nasty, brutish, and short in that state.

  44. Pablo says:

    Let’s drop the big one now

    I CONDEMN YOU, RANDY NEWMAN, AND YOUR DEHUMANIZING, ELIMINATIONIST RHETORIC!

    “Short People” was some funny shit, though.

  45. Matt, Esq. says:

    You can only poke a hornet’s nest with a stick for so long before the hornet’s decide its time to kick your ass.

  46. gail says:

    Maggie Katzen rocks.

  47. Clyde says:

    Israel doesn’t have the manpower or the political will to occupy Gaza and Lebanon again.  So they shouldn’t try that tack.  Instead, just bomb the living daylights out of the infrastructure, as well as everything within ten miles of the border.  Punish the terrorists and those who harbor them, and instill fear in their enemies.

    As Machiavelli said, it’s better to be feared than loved, and like the USA, Israel isn’t going to be loved anywhere else in the world.  Given that fact, it’s best to let your enemies know that messing with you will have deadly, deadly consequences.

    And those enemies include Syria and Iran.  Time to take down Derkaderkastan.

  48. John Blake says:

    testing… previous comments not registered

  49. John Lynch says:

    Unlike the ‘67 war, this one will not be for territory; but I imagine Israel has specific objectives in Lebanon.  In Gaza Israel is less likely to have any particular strategic objective. In Lebanon, it is likely to have something to do with Syria, but I have to say, I don’t see it – yet.

    Hmm. No TW if registered, miss that.

  50. Dan Collins says:

    Not to change the subject.  Well, okay, I lied.

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,203234,00.html

    So, I guess maybe we’ll finally have the MSM turning their attention to getting some real answers as to what Sandy Berger was up to with the super secret stolen then destroyed documents thing.  But I may have to wait as long for that as Jeff does his bottle of blue agave.

    Speaking of trolls, perhaps whoever the left version of Reynolds is can write a book called A Zombie Army of Lefty Trolls.

    More Rove revelations:

    Evil Karl had CIA operatives kidnap the Israeli soldiers to provoke the conflict, to distract attention from Bush’s destruction of the economy and the ever-increasing Federal budget deficit whilst also inflicting damage on Hezbollah.  Amazing.  Plus if you’ll notice there are two backwards flips and three rotations, and he sticks the entry perfectly.

  51. Rob B. says:

    First, I’m with Gail. Maggie Katzen is pretty much “bad ass.”

    Second, concidering that Israel has already shown that they aren’t above using a pre-emptive strike to stop other certain regimes from aquiring nukes and considering that the US sold Israel a load of bunker busters last year, I’m betting that Iran, unless they’re stupid, won’t help in any fashion that isn’t covert.

    I only say that because a few F-15’s later, the UN might not have to worry about Arjam-ma-la-ma-ding-dong’s nuclear ambitions.

  52. John Blake says:

    Israel’s founding in 1948 is pushing sixty years.  We realize that so-called States in the Mideast are artificial constructs of the British Colonial Office, advised by T.E. Lawrence, in the aftermath of WWI.  But surely these ex-Turkish provinces, not to mention tribal reservations such as Saudi Arabia and a slew of micro-sheikdoms along the Persian Gulf, need not have proved as self-destructive since WWII as they all have.  Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and of all places “Palestine” emerged ex nihilo by stroke-of-pen.  Israel shares that provenance, but as a true nation-state its culture, people, unique Western orientation, ought to render it precious in our eyes.

    We do not understand this unreasoning, rabid hatred in Europe, even Russia and China, against the one group in this benighted region that has contributed anything at all to progress over decades approaching near a lifetime.  Muslim Salafists, with their Wahabi paymasters, originated in 1930s Munich as explicit Fascists.  Generations after the Ubermenschen’s come-uppance, France and Germany still cling to a complex delusion of superiority dating back at least to Louis XIV.

    If the idea of a “Chosen People” disturbs you (read “Memoirs of Hadrian”), how about Muslim-ites’ idea of infidels as Damned?  Enter that minefield, anyone not Jewish or Muslim would like to walk away.  But alas, reverberating Mullahdom has entered whole new realms of ghastly, vicious psychotic aggression.  Regardless of one’s, ah, proclivities, there is only one possible side we others can be on.  We hate to lay the burden of our own defense on Israel, but given anti-Semites’ complicity in horrifying atrocities, what other course is there?

    Here’s a thought for spectators of this latest conflict:  Take it personally.  Visualize your garden-variety Muslim terrorists creeping up quiet suburban streets to mutilate and torture you and your own children.  Even yet, some states deny citizens any rights to self-defense… as tensions escalate, one consequence will likely be civilian populations armed to the teeth, unwilling to make fine distinctions.  Muslim, eh?– we know your kind.  Drop dead, so we can safely turn our backs on you.

  53. Alien Grey in a time of X-Files says:

    Michael Totten had shown that Hezbollah was perparing for a fight in South Lebanon. Which means the Isreali and Lebanese knew. Chester mention that Isreal had figure that capturing IDF troops would be their goal. So the question is Has Isreal figured a way to track their personal in Hostile territory ? I hope they just waiting to see were they are taken to be held so they can pound them. But this is just fanatsy of implanted tracking devises that probably dont work in the real world.

  54. This pretty much describes all the swagger the preznit of the USA can muster at this point. And since he doesn’t display any particular affection for his own children, one must suspect he doesn’t give a shit about anyone else’s children. Which means he doesn’t give a shit what happens in the Middle East.

    Oh, good God.

  55. Tai Chi Wawa says:

    Maggie, brava! but one quibble.  “Ilk.” The boilerplate just doesn’t seem complete without “your ilk” in there somewhere—to separate the opposing sides, the wheat from the crap as someone here so eloquently put it.  Of course, it may have been implied in one of the “blahs.”

  56. geezer says:

    We do not understand this unreasoning, rabid hatred in Europe, even Russia and China, against the one group in this benighted region that has contributed anything at all to progress over decades approaching near a lifetime.

    A profound truth, that.  Why do totalitarian governments, and the western liberal intelligentsia that sympathize with them, so hate Israel and Jews, when it is Israel that brought to the Middle East what the Middle East had never had: democracy and religious liberty?

  57. jdm says:

    Charlie(C), I think Verc has found a new faux-lefty persona that doesn’t give himself away on a mouseover.

    I think you guys should’ve waited for the “creamy nougat”. I know I will from now on.

    TW: yes, that’s correct, no one asked> me.

  58. Verc says:

    no, jdm, that is 100% authentic troll there. But of a species us trogodologists like to call E-Dysfunction trolls…a quick post, rub it till it pops, and no reach around.

    Bad troll. Once I steal the keys back to the napalm jar, you’re going to be in trouble.

  59. mojo says:

    The practical side:

    Lebanon:

    The H&H crew were stupid enough to supply a causus belli. Israel will use that to reduce the opposition in anyway they can. I doubt they want to re-occupy south Lebanon, but they sure as hell want to kill as many Hezb gunnies as they can, and wreck the infrastructure so it’s hard to rebuild.

    Syria:

    Syria has been a bad actor for many years, and is hiding lots of Iraqi bad boys – and supplying material support to the crazed jihadis flooding towards Iraq. This makes Unka Sammy very, very unhappy-happy. Daddy spank.

    Find a DEEP hole, Asswad. You’ll need it.

    SB: court

    of public opinion

  60. SarahW says:

    It’s like watching a Frederick Forsyth novel unfold in real-time.  Only with heavy casualties and the remote chance of a nuclear winter in July.

    Hmm. I better stock up on greek style yogurt today, then.

  61. jdm says:

    Aw, Verc, I was jus’ funnin’ ya. From now on tho’, I’m still gonna wait for the “creamy nougat”, if you know what I mean, with all trolls, real or fox.

  62. jdm says:

    mojo, as the 2003 Battle of Iraq showed, there is no such thing as a valid causus belli on planet leftofocenter.

  63. y’all are entirely too complimentary of my cutting and pasting skillz.  ^_^;

  64. Rusty the uncultured hun says:

    This pretty much describes all the swagger the preznit of the USA can muster at this point. And since he doesn’t display any particular affection for his own children, one must suspect he doesn’t give a shit about anyone else’s children. Which means he doesn’t give a shit what happens in the Middle East.

    At least Actus is going to law school. Hasn’t anybody on the left read anything besides Chomsky?

    Yo. Maggie. Got a shout out ta the BMU for your other halfs safe return.Rusty. Out.

  65. Michael Carroll says:

    If people here think Syria is a problem now imagine Syria with no government.  Be careful what you wish for. 

    Imagine Isreal occupying ALL of Syria and Lebanon.  Who is going to be shelling out the cash for that one?  (Go find a mirror) Oh yeah we are running $250 billion dollar fiscal deficits in the US and have about 7 percent deficit in the balance of trade.  We send $20 billion dollars a month to the people who fund Hamas and Hezbollah so we can drive our cars at $75 dollars a barrell even before this got started.  Lets not get started on how pleasantly this will play in Sadr City.  And remember the Cedar Revloution, anyone?

    Somehow I doubt we having a hot-war here, people.

  66. corvan says:

    How wide this conflict becomes depends in great part on what Syria and Iran do next.  The transfer of hostages to Iran would be a big, big flashpoint, I think.

  67. Swen Swenson says:

    “A controversy has arisen about this: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or vice versa. My view is that it is desirable to be both loved and feared; but it is difficult to achieve both and, if one of them has to be lacking, it is much safer to be feared than loved.”

    Machiavelli—The Prince

    “Love me, Love me, Love me, I’m a liberal!”

    Phil Ochs

    I suspect that the Israelis figured out a long time ago that they’re never going to be loved..

    TW: Soon things are going to get interesting again.

  68. mrp says:

    Jeff:

    It’s like watching a Frederick Forsyth novel unfold in real-time.

    Does that mean there’s a “The Fourth Protocol” review in the works?

  69. Verc says:

    now imagine Syria with no government.

    Done and done.

    Anything is better than one of the world’s greatest state sponsors of terrorism.

  70. Verc says:

    Somehow I doubt we having a hot-war here, people.

    The hot-war already started. And Israel hit Syria not two years ago.

    Let’s get it over with already.

  71. John Lynch says:

    A large part of the dollars we are transferring there in “aid” is bribe money to get the actors to pay lip service compliance to agreements not in force.

    I think we can plan on restructuring and reducing those payments as the need for false agreements gets crispy in this conflagration.

  72. RTO Trainer says:

    Some folks here are badly in need of a history lesson, especially where it comes to the “aid payments” to Isreal.

    The search terms shoud include Sinai, and Jimmy Carter.

    TW:  Friend.  As in Google is your….

  73. Bruce says:

    Imagine Isreal occupying ALL of Syria and Lebanon.

    Imagine Israel nuking Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia and placing a “transportaion tax” of say 100% on all oil destined for France and other scumbag regimes.

    It would certainly fund their armed forces for a long, long time.

    I’d go for it.

  74. Rusty says:

    Where the hell is Jimmy Carter anyway?

  75. Where the hell is Jimmy Carter anyway?

    Would it were true.

  76. Muslihoon says:

    Imagine Isreal occupying ALL of Syria and Lebanon.

    Pffffffft. Not going to happen.

    Persnickety note for some: It’s Israel, not Isreal.

  77. ahem says:

    Weel, Corvan, Bill Roggio over at counterterrorism.org agrees with you–as do I.

    Iran and Syria may very well enter this conflict. Hezbollah is the proxy of the Iranian and Syrian governments. The destruction of Hezbollah will be a massive loss of face for Iran and Syria, who have invested enormous amounts of time and resources to secure Hezbollah’s position in Lebanon, as well as the international terror network.

    I can’t see the transfer of prisoners to Iran as anything other than a provocation.

  78. The_Real_JeffS says:

    Where the hell is Jimmy Carter anyway?

    In a fit of Alzheimers induced hallucinations, Jimmah Cahtah is fighting killer rabbits away from his carrot patch, using his passionate rhetoric in the attack and Michael Moore as a shield when those murderous rodents counterattack.

  79. Scape-Goat Trainee says:

    Why do totalitarian governments, and the western liberal intelligentsia that sympathize with them, so hate Israel and Jews, when it is Israel that brought to the Middle East what the Middle East had never had: democracy and religious liberty?

    I think you just answered your own question when you used the words “bringing Democracy” and “religious freedom” in describing why libs would hate something.

  80. monkeyfan says:

    Yup…

    TW: believe – Believe you me, this little fracas would be a great way to find out where them there WMD shuffled off to…

  81. John Lynch says:

    UM.  History of ‘aid’ payments.  You mean the Egypt/Israel Camp David Accord?  You mean the Palistinian support paid (until recently) for the Oslo Accord? Which of these accords are still in effect? Which agreement (for which aid was granted) are still in effect?  The Israel tax collection for Palistinians (as a part of the Oslo accords)?

    The point is none of these agreements held, although Egypt is still trying, so maybe the granted aid needs restructuring (or eliminating)

  82. Jeff, you might not have noticed, but this isn’t a debate.  It’s a nuthouse.

    In situations like this, rational people don’t usually howl for more bloodshed like a pack of baying dogs.

  83. Jeff Goldstein says:

    Actually, I see some outrage and some thoughtful commentary.  Bring up a point if you want a debate.  What do you want to talk about.

    So far you’ve made 3 posts and all of them have been accusatory—each based on your not having found whatever it is you happen to be looking for.

    Do you have specific questions?  Concerns?  If so, raise them.  If not, get on with your life.

  84. What can I say?

    I try not to take sides in this particular conflict, since it seems to me that both have crimes to answer for.  But what I see on this thread brings to mind the argument Morgan Freeman deploys in Seven – “If you’re doing God’s work, why do you take so much pleasure from it?”.

    I certainly don’t have the roadmap for middle east peace in my pocket, but I can’t see anything constructive coming on any of these threads, just a lot of ra-ra for more bombs and more death.

  85. Jeff Goldstein says:

    Not taking a side is a taking a side.

    You didn’t come here to “debate.” You came here to feel morally superior.

    I have nothing to apologize for, having thought through and argued my position enough times over the years.

    You want to preach cycles of violence and empty relativism and make the mideast conflict about a reflection on you, have at it.  But it seems to me an easy, lazy position to take.

    Nobody wants more bloodshed.  But some people think it’s inevitable—and that, it being inevitable, it should be done in a particular way.

  86. Verc says:

    both have crimes to answer for

    The Palestinians first.

  87. My point was the obvious bloodlust in both your tone and that of your commenters. I don’t see that being addressed at all.

    You’re welcome to your position on this issue, if you’ve spent so much time mulling it over.  I’ve thought long and hard on it too, but if the standard is “Not taking a side is taking a side” then where the hell does that leave anyone who doesn’t agree with either Hamas or Qadima?

    As for “nobody wants more bloodshed”, you’re obviously not reading your commenters, which means I’d rather not find out which “particular way” you would conduct this war.

  88. Verc says:

    if the standard is “Not taking a side is taking a side” then where the hell does that leave anyone who doesn’t agree with either Hamas or Qadima?

    Generally speaking, we tend to take the side of liberal democracies over nail-bombing, katyusha-launching thugs, but that’s just US

  89. Jeff Goldstein says:

    Obvious bloodlust in my tone?

    Let me revisit my post:

    Constant updates at Pajamas Media and Hot Air, where Allah uses wire reports to confirm Debka’s earlier report that “Iran’s national security adviser Ali Larijani flies to Damascus aboad special military plane Wednesday night as war tension builds…. Iranian air force, missile units and navy are also on high alert…. Israel began calling up an armored division, air crews and technicians from the reserves Wednesday night.”

    The Iran-Syria defense pact.  The upcoming G-8 Summit.  Iran’s nuclear ambitions.  Hosni Mubarak.  The muted US/EU reaction to Israel’s military response.

    It’s like watching a Frederick Forsyth novel unfold in real-time.  Only with heavy casualties and the remote chance of a nuclear winter in July.

    Nope.  Not seeing it.

  90. Verc says:

    Jeff, I think he’s talking ‘bout us.

    Well I just want to make it clear to the aptly named flying rodent that I, Bradley W. Hankinson, of sound mind and body, when it comes to Hezbollah, Hamas, and other terrorists like these, want to see every last one of them dead. And I consider the eradication of the same to be a virtue of the highest order even as I see your loaded equivalence, flying rat, to be loathsome and objectively evil.

    You do not split the difference between the civilized and barbarian, victim and perpetrator and get away with a holier than thou act over here.

  91. Many apologies.

    Your initial post certainly betrayed no bloodlust.  I must’ve mistaken the tone of your commenters, given that you moderate content, as reflecting your personal opinion.  For that, I am sorry, I have clearly rushed to judgement.

    At this point, I’ll have to call an end to this rammy – it may be dinnertime in the US, but it’s two in the morning in the UK.

    I’ll be glad to take this up with you anytime, however, as I can’t see this being over in the next few weeks. Just go to my page and click on ‘comments’.

  92. Big Bang Hunter says:

    “…just go to my page and click on ‘comments’.”

    – So that was it all along…. sigh …. I feel…so…so…. used…..

  93. cranky-d says:

    I visited the flying rat’s blog so you wouldn’t have to.  Don’t bother.  No surprises.

  94. McGehee says:

    I must’ve mistaken the tone of your commenters, given that you moderate content, as reflecting your personal opinion.

    Jeff? Do you moderate comments? First I’ve heard of it.

    Or maybe that word doesn’t mean what the pigeon (rat with wings) thinks it means.

  95. Iran and Syria may very well enter this conflict. Hezbollah is the proxy of the Iranian and Syrian governments. The destruction of Hezbollah will be a massive loss of face for Iran and Syria, who have invested enormous amounts of time and resources to secure Hezbollah’s position in Lebanon, as well as the international terror network.

  96. History of ‘aid’ payments.  You mean the Egypt/Israel Camp David Accord?  You mean the Palistinian support paid (until recently) for the Oslo Accord? Which of these accords are still in effect? Which agreement (for which aid was granted) are still in effect?  The Israel tax collection for Palistinians (as a part of the Oslo accords)?

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