Howard Dean Calls Iraqi PM Maliki "anti-Semite"

Howard Dean, the Democratic Party chairman, in a speech today in Florida called Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki an "anti-semite" for not denouncing Hezbollah and for condemning Israel's attacks against them in Lebanon. He said, We don't need to spend $200 and $300 and $500 billion bringing democracy to Iraq to turn it over to people who believe that Israel doesn't have a right to defend itself and who refuse to condemn Hezbollah."(AP)
Its really disturbing to see American politicians on both sides of the aisle who use feeble rhetoric and fail to look at the opposite side of that rhetoric. Maliki Is the Prime Minister of Iraq, he is a Shia Muslim with ties to Iran. If he were to say that Israel is in the right, his constituents would demand he resign from office and possibly call for his beheading. It would cause a firestorm. Hezbollah is supported by most of his co-religionists, and sadly by Iraq's other powerbroker, Iran. Mr Dean does not seem to have much knowledge of Islamic Civilization. He does not seem to know the definition of "anti-semite," which means your prejucide against Jews. It does not mean anti-Israel. His rhetoric and similar comments made by others will only helped the ill-learned in our country and be counterproductive to our national interests in the Middle East.

Israel’s War Plan against Hezbollah was Created over a Year Ago

Israeli war plans used for this current conflict was designed over a year ago to combat Hezbollah. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Israel was concerned with Hezbollah’s buildup of weapons, since it withdrew from Lebanon in 2000. Israel had made simulations and rehearsed for this conflict for the past two years or so. Senior Israeli military officials even displayed power point presentation to US diplomats, journalists and members of a few think tanks.
The war plan was formulated to last 3 weeks long, with the first week concentrating on the destruction of Hezbollah’s long range missiles, followed by the destruction of control centers, transportation and communication facilities. The second week zeros in on individual ammunition sites and missile launching sites. The third week features commando attacks and mobilizing ground troops to disable Hezbollah’s strongholds in Southern Lebanon

Lebanese Defense Minister Warns Israel

Yesterday the Jerusalem Post had an article in which the pro-Syrian Lebanese Defense Minister, Elias Murr, warned Israel that the Lebanese Army may join forces with Hezbollah if Israel invades South Lebanon. This would be a disturbing change of events regarding the internal situation of Lebanon, allying more groups of people to Hezbollah’s cause. It could cause the Lebanonization of the war. If these events were to occur, Hezbollah could gain more support and possibly the people may start believing in their message. It might change the dynamics of the war as far as the Lebanese street is concerned. On the other hand, under the 1989 Taif Accord which ended the Lebanese Civil War, 2/3 of cabinet members would have to approve of all matters regarding war and peace. The majority of the cabinet members are anti-Syrian, and would most likely be too reluctant to allow the Lebanese Army to be used with Hezbollah. Elias Murr’s threat could be considered empty threats, unless Israel makes horrible p.r. moves.

Hezbollah's War on Disarmament

Prior to the outbreak of hostilities last week, the Lebanese government were having periods of talks under a national dialogue. The national dialogue consisted of all of the major groupings in the Lebanese government, the pro- and anti-Syrian members of the government. The issues that were up for discussion were Lebanon's relationship with Syria, the demarcation of the border, the status of Palestinian weapons outside the refugee camps, and the fate of Hezbollah's weapons. Since the withdrawal of Syrian troops last year, Hezbollah has been put on the defensive by the anti-Syrian majority in Parliament. Hassan Nasrallah Hezbollah's, secretary general, said in several statements that they won't be disarmed until the Arab-Israeli conflict ends. Hezbollah's capture of Israeli soldiers last week was an attempt to change the current political deadlock to its favor. Debka's website reported a few months ago on a failed to attempt to capture a few Israeli soldiers during a Lebanese holiday. The article mentioned that they wanted to look powerful and strong in the face of the March 14th, anti-Syrian alliance.
This episode was Hezbollah's attempt to remind the Lebanese that they are a force to be reckoned with and to rally its Shia constituency's support. Calling for the release of Lebanese prisoners from Israeli jails was Hezbollah’s scheme to make themselves look like the "The Guaranteer of Lebanese's sovereignty." It would show the Lebanese that they cared about Lebanon and were not out for Iranian or Syrian interests.
It seems like this plan has backfired but has given them the opportunity to become even more influential in the state. During the current crisis Hezbollah has almost complete control of Lebanon, while the central government just watches and complains. They have the most military power and its foreign policy decisions are more important then the Prime Minister’s. Nasrallah has no intentions in letting the March 14th alliance gain from this conflict. He has made it known that if the government supports and ceasefire it has to go through the Party of God first. The government is so weak that at this stage any sign of tension could almost lead to a civil war. Hezbollah knows this war domestically speaking is about their weapons. At this stage it is hard to see the Party gets wiped out. They will most likely agree to a ceasefire as long it doesn't compromise their weapons. If the national dialogue continues they will feel they will be able to keep their weapons permanently and use this crisis as their defense and the issue will be closed. This crisis shows how important and powerful they are, reason which they will continue to justify its reasons for keeping its weapons
With the conflict exacerbating, Hezbollah wants the Lebanese to remember that they lead the Lebanese resistance that they care about their sovereignty and freedom from occupation. If they gain more support from non Shia citizens during this time of crisis then they should be able to bring down the anti-Syrian government. Israel will be doing its best to weaken its hold on Lebanon but in the end Hezbollah’s fate will be decided on the street and in the capitals of Tehran and Damascus.

Spanish Civil War Redux?

Seventy Years ago on Monday marked the 70th anniversary of the start of the Spanish Civil War. The war pitted the Republican government against Nationalist rebels. The significance of the war relied on the fact that the Nationalists were aided by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy; the Republicans were supported by the Soviet Union. The Germans used the war as a testing ground for the Luftwaffe, where they introduced some of their new bombers and fighter jets; the Soviets also introduced some of their own fighter jets. The use of bombing campaigns became an important feature during the Civil War and epitimized the worst atrocities of the war with he bombing of Guernica , which Picasso made famous in his paintings.
The present conflict between Israel and Hezbollah reminds me of the Spanish Civil War. Hezbollah, an Islamic fundamentalist group, which is backed by Syria and Iran is the focal point in this war. It is practically a fact that Iran uses Hezbollah as its proxy against Israel. It is my belief that Iran is using this war to threaten the West over its nuclear weapons program. If the US attacks Iran in any way then the current violence would be just a taste of what the US and her allies would be facing. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasarallah warned Israel to expect many suprises. Those words are the same words Iran is telling the West.
The Hezbollah attack on an Israeli warship the Ahi-Hanit was one of the suprises. According to intelligence website Debka. Hezbollah fired an Iranian made missile a "C-802 shore-to-sea missile with a range of 120km, the missile was armed with a strong anti-jamming capability, which lends it a 98% success rate in escaping interception." The Israeli warship's anti missile system did not detect it. It would be interesting to see if Hezbollah uses similar weapons.
During the spring Iran played war games in the Persian Gulf. According to the USA Today the Iranians bragged about their new Fajr-3 missile, which can avoid radar and hit several targets simultaneously using multiple warheads. The missile speeds at 223mph, which would make it one of the fastest torpedos in the world. In conclusion it will be interesting to see if there are any "suprises" up Hezbollah's sleeve to worry over. Unfortunately,with the case of the Spanish Civil War, the West in the late 30s did not learn much about Nazi Germany's strengths or weaknesses. It did not prepare us for that troubled road ahead.