What Happens When the World is Warned and Ignores the Warning

 

Well, the United Nations has been informed and their response was a simple, “Ho Hum” and they went on as if nobody had spoken. They claim that the people have not said anything and query, “Would not the people protest such things?” But why would people make any complaint over their own nation having the military place their weapons in their towns as they would be told this was for their protection. But who is protecting what? Are these weapons of war to protect the people of the town or are the people protecting the weapons from attack? This depends on who you ask and their perspective of the entire matter. Those whose weapons are spread amongst the towns and even in homes will claim that the safety of the people and the weapons are all one and the same. They will tell the world that this is necessary because their enemy is likely to attack at any time with no warning and that this at least allows some of the weapons to survive to defend the people. The enemy is one of the most vicious and heinous of enemies in the entire area after all they have been condemned by the United Nations so many times as to be near countless. Their perfidy has been established by the United Nations Human Rights Council at virtually every meeting even requiring special sessions just to address their acts against people across the entire region. Almost every country across much of the nations included in the MENA alliance (Middle East and North Africa) repeatedly bring complaints against Israel to such an extent that they include almost all measures taken for the nation’s defenses. Anyway, the people have volunteered as they are patriotic and know what the risks are and are willing to assist their national military in this attempt to protect the nation as they see this as their patriotic duty. Additionally, they realize that the military will also be in their location which will only serve to make their towns and villages even safer.

 

There are a few things which should probably be added to clarify this picture. The evil entity which requires all this using of civilian homes and locating weapons stores, rocket launchers and the rockets themselves in and around towns and villages is, in case you did not guess, Israel. The claim is being made by the Lebanese Army. The Lebanese Army has another name with which you are likely more familiar with, Hezballah. Recently the Lebanese government, which is heavily influenced if not controlled by Hezballah, merged their military with the forces of Hezballah, a merger where it is difficult to know which one was more heavily armed. The main difference for Hezballah is they will gain some American weaponry and weapon systems. These weapons and weapon systems include, but are not limited to, M-4 assault rifles, M-16 assault rifles, Barrett M82 50 cal. sniper rifle, M-24 7.62 mm, sniper rifle, M249 squad automatic weapon (SAW), M-60 30 cal. machine gun, M-2 (Ma Deuce) 50 cal. machine gun, M-203 grenade launcher, M-72 LAW (light antitank weapon), M-141 bunker defeat munition (BDM), M-40 105mm recoilless rifle, MK-19 40 mm grenade launcher, and BGM-71 TOW (“Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided antitank weapon). These are the firearms, but wait, there’s more. Wait for it, because here are the vehicles they have provided care of the United States. Starting with the tanks they have M60 Patton main battle tank, M48 Patton main battle tank, M1 Abrams main battle tank, Humvees, M113 armored personnel carrier, AIFV-B-C25 Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle, M109 self-propelled 155mm howitzer, M198 self-propelled 155mm howitzer, M114 155 mm howitzer, M101 and M102 105 mm howitzer plus jeeps and other various military vehicles.

 

The one item which simply screams at you is the M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks which were recently delivered a mere two years ago. The Obama Administration and military personnel, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a direct query of the Lebanese government as to whether their military was also under or cooperating with the Hezballah terrorist group. From the best we have been able to determine, the question was very likely phrased something like this, “Our friends, the Lebanese government, could you tell us that your military is not aligned in any way and is completely separate from the Hezballah terror group as if it is we could not in good conscience provide you with the A1M1 Abrams main battle tanks.” And somehow the Lebanese government provided the expected guarantees that their military was not aligned in any way and is completely separate from the Hezballah terror group. What a surprise. Who would have ever predicted such an answer? We are surprised as we thought that it was known and understood by even the most casual of observers that Hezballah now ruled Lebanon and had complete control and full access to all military and other such equipment owned or operated by the Lebanese government. We had been under the idea that Hezballah had a majority coalition in the government and had placed their personnel alongside the generals and other command officers within the Lebanese military and that the two had full operational cooperation in all means and measures since immediately after the 2006 Second Lebanon War with Israel as Hezballah realized they required similar weapons systems to the Israelis, particularly when it came to armored fighting vehicles such as main battle tanks, armored personnel carriers, wheeled fighting vehicles and mobile artillery. As Hezballah is not about to be capable of buying such weaponry on the open market because even should some government feel inclined to sell Hezballah such weapons to use against Israel or Islamic State, doing so would place them in a position where they would be considered a pariah amongst nations due to selling weaponry, especially weapons of war, to a known and universally recognized terrorist group.

 

This brings us down to the specific problems. Imagine if Israel were placing their weapons of war inside its towns, cities or villages; placing artillery pieces, rockets and/or missiles as well as their launchers within built up civilian areas and even within people’s homes. Other than the United Nations and the European Union and their member states denouncing Israel, there would be calls universally for weapons embargoes and possibly general trade embargoes and Israel would be excised from the community of nations. But when Israel pointed out to the world that the villages and towns across Lebanon were being utilized by Hezballah to locate their rockets and missiles, their launchers, entrances to their tunnel and bunker systems (which keep their fighters safe but are forbidden to the Lebanese people even including those whose houses hide their entrances), MLRV’s (multiple launch rocket vehicle), fighting and ambush positions, and weapons and ammunitions caches. Hezbollah reportedly has gone so far as to offer reduced-priced-housing to Shiite families who allowed the terrorist group to store rocket launchers in their homes. The Israelis even declassified one of their military maps which had been researched through intelligence and surveillance drones allowing for an accurate and precise location and classification of each location (see map below). Our map only displays the weapons distribution in the Nabatieh region of Lebanon which can be used as a representation of the remainder of Lebanon. This area is also including part of the Bekaa Valley, a Hezballah stronghold, but the entirety of the areas south of the Litani River, which was presumably prevented from Hezballah returning and building up their provisions, weapons stores, rocket and missile launchers and their bunker and tunnel systems by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) which was presumably doubled in size in order to enforce such a return by Hezballah, has now been transformed into an area bristling with offensive weaponry and underground facilities. Their failure was complete enough that one might even suspect they assisted in Hezballah’s efforts in rearming the areas south of the Litani River (see lower map). These was the same identical region from which Hezballah launched their murder and kidnapping raid on an Israeli squad patrolling the border killing eight Israeli soldiers and taking three captive, who they later simply executed.

 

Declassified Map of Hezballah’s Military Infrastructure in Lebanon

 

Southern Lebanon South of Litani River to the Israel Border

 

The reality is that Nasrallah has been threatening Israel rattling sabers and dealing threats. His big threat is that he promises to destroy the huge ammonia storage tank in Haifa, and a nuclear reactor in Dimona. His threats are directly aimed to emphasize high casualty events and declaring the improved accuracy of the Iranian provided missiles which also have far greater range and accuracy than those Hezballah possessed in the 2006 war. He has also expressed that targeting Eilat is within their capabilities which is the southernmost tip of Israel and the furthest from Lebanon. Nasrallah has also warned that when he strikes Israel that it will be due to the Israeli strikes on Hezballah soldiers and innocents in Syria. What he has left out is that the Israeli strikes have been targeting advanced weapons being smuggled into Lebanon which are absolute game changers such as advanced anti-aircraft batteries and heavy weapons. These are legal attacks as Hezballah is a recognized and universally declared terrorist group. Nasrallah is now claiming that these attacks are on Lebanese military stores using the fact that Hezballah has taken control of the Lebanese military absorbing their armaments and the majority of their troops which already consisted of a fairly high overlapping of personnel. The world will soon realize that there is no longer an independent nation of Lebanon but that it has become a simple cover story for Hezballah. The world will likely continue to turn a blind eye to the reality in Lebanon for as long as possible as to do otherwise would create a situation where all travel and trade with Lebanon would become problematic, and the world has sufficient problems and is not seeking another. As far as Europe, the United Nations and likely just about everybody else, the situation in Lebanon will be treated as a purely Israeli problem. The world really does not desire to accept another Syria. What is really sad is that Syria is much of the reason that Hezballah has taken such complete control over Lebanon as Iran simply desired that Lebanon become the final peg in their Shiite Crescent from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea which includes Iran, much of Iraq, Lebanon and they are working on cementing Syria once they retake Syria from Islamic State and the rest of the rebels (see map below). Iran has been working to establish this slash across the Middle East providing them with an opening on the Mediterranean Sea allowing them to become a major player in the Muslim world and as their initial play to bring Shiite Islam into the mainstream and end it being simply the little sideshow playing second fiddle to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Sunni world. This is why the war in Syria is so important to the Iranians, but a war solely in Syria is becoming hard to sell both for Iran and Hezballah at home.

 

Iranian Crescent Resulting from an Iranian Surge
Retaking Syria for Bashir al-Assad Connecting
Iran to Mediterranean via Iraq, Syria and Lebanon

 

There is a solution to the Syria dilemma, and that solution unfortunately is Israel. If Iran can sell the war in Syria as their next front against Israel, their people would be more willing to accept the losses being taken by Iranian soldiers from the IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) fighting in Syria. They could sell such as further support for Hezballah against Israel claiming that Hezballah also sees the advantage to having another front against Israel through the Golan Heights if they can gain control of Syria. Hezballah has all but completely taken control of Lebanon and one last war with Israel and they can use such to finish their takeover and totally divorce the Christians and other opponents from the public domain. Those who have attempted to rescue Lebanon from Hezballah and keep them from taking complete control have been fighting a slowly losing battle. Lebanon is but a slip and a fall from falling into the graveyard of failed terror controlled states across the MENA expanse. Already there are Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Sudan, South Sudan and Iraq with some even including Afghanistan which is falling inch by inch to the Taliban. Even Iran could be considered to be a nation controlled by a terrorist group commanded by the Mullahs and enforced by the IRGC and religious police. The Middle East is facing the danger of falling to any of a number of terrorist entities including but not limited to the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic State, Hezballah, Taliban, Iran as the IRGC, and other groups such as Boko Harem and smaller groups from Sudan, Somalia and throughout lower Sahara states including Nigeria, Kenya, Niger, Chad and others in what has been called the African Transition Zone (see map below). This is an area currently under threat by Islamist terrorists and considered to now becoming more and more unstable. These are the areas where in the future we will see new failed states in the future. This is an area of the world which, were the West not under threat itself, it would be receiving greater attention but with the world currently so unstable, these nations are going to be left on their own for the immediate future.

 

African Transition Zone

 

The greatest threat looking at the world in the near term future is the area surrounding Syria. Within this area is Lebanon which will soon be lost to the Hezballah terrorists who all but control the area and should there be yet another war started by Hezballah with Israel, part of their reasoning will be that any opposition to their complete control will be more easily destroyed while the world is ignoring their war with Israel and thus not looking at what is happening inside Lebanon beyond what Israel is doing that they can condemn. The United Nations and European Union will both play a large part as they condemn Israel defending herself against Hezballah and their rocket and missile placements within people’s homes, hospitals schools and other public buildings and locations such that they can picture suffering Lebanese victims of Israeli strikes, of course the remains of the rocket launcher in the living room in the bed room will be ignored as that is of little consequence and certainly no reason for a bomb to be dropped on a house. Then there will be the stories of the people who lost everything in the evil Israeli raid and the higher death count than the count in Israel. We will hear all about the disproportionate damage and disproportionate civilian casualties and we will almost hear the question of where are the dead Jews equal to the dead Lebanese. There will be no mention of the obvious difference where the Lebanese are forced to be human shields while Israel provides shelters and defends their civilians keeping them as far as possible from the war, not the first line victims as Hezballah will do. The world will stop turning and all eyes will be on Israel and the lack of casualties by comparison and they will demand to know why so few Israelis have died, why so few, well, do we even need say it?

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Nasrallah and Allies Throwing Threats at Israel

 

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel to “Count to one million!” this past Monday before starting any attacks or violence against Lebanon. To those who know Israel they realize this threat has nothing to do with any threats which might emanate from Israel, they have everything to do with Nasrallah reinforcing his own standing as Hezballah has some difficulties as their losses in the Syria conflict continue to mount. Hezballah requires their front with Israel to give their movement legitimacy and without support in Lebanon they would not have this front. Nasrallah’s problem is the fighting by Hezballah in support of Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad in his war to try and reestablish his country with him still in control. Hezballah only has an obligation to fight for al-Assad because Iran insists they assist the Iranian efforts to support al-Assad, an ally, or should we say the more honest assessment of puppet, and thus retain Syria as the anchor on the Mediterranean of the Shiite Crescent across the Middle East. This Shiite Crescent begins with Iran bordering the Indian Ocean and Persian (Arabian) Gulf across Iraq and on through Syria and Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea. Should Iran lose their claim to Syria personified by Bashir al-Assad who is more Shiite than Sunni as an Alawite Muslim, they lose their western Shiite Crescent anchor. The civil war in Syria has drawn more assets from Iran who has sent mostly Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) units and as the fighting had continued they demanded that Hezballah assist the efforts and this demand has only increased as the fighting became more and more desperate. Initially Hezballah had great successes but soon they began to have sufficient losses that they were no longer able of hiding the deaths and severe injuries to their fighters. As Hezballah is mostly an all-volunteer force, leaving Hezballah has proven bad for some individuals’ health.

 

Hassan Nasrallah Gesturing during remote feed video onto large screen during Hezballah semi-annual pretense of readiness to defeat any Israeli assault as he remain in hiding presumably beyond the reach of Israeli drones and commandos. This enhances his appearance of constantly under threat by Israeli forces seeking to assassinate him. The likely truth is that Israel had no reason, desire or even bothered to draw up plans to do so. As far as whether Israel could find Hassan Nasrallah’s various secreted locations, probably already have them pinpointed on some map just in case it becomes advantageous to remove Nasrallah from his position as the figurehead of Hezballah.

 

Still, and especially with the losses in Syria, Hezballah needs volunteers to fill their ranks of fighters. They control much of the government forces throughout Lebanon and is allied closely with President Michel Aoun and through these connections they control the education system in much of the areas and through this they indoctrinate the youth thus providing for future volunteers. One of the main attractive themes which is used in the schools and in their seeking for new recruits is the idea of fighting the Jews, Israel in particular. This has been a central theme even in Iran where their two major indoctrination inducing themes are “Death to America” teamed with “Death to Israel” both of which are often chanted in demonstrations after Friday prayers. This is the Iranian version of George Orwell’s 1984 “Two Minutes of Hate.” The similarity between the Iranian use of hate and Nasrallah using hate for Israel and the Jews are asimple means of holding power through defining and demonization of the other. This has been one of the means of unifying populations throughout Islamic history beginning with Muhammad during his later period in Medina after his being cast out of Mecca as his preaching that his revelations were the only truth, something the pluralistic society of Mecca refused to accede to, eventually rubbed the leaders of the city and the populace to such an extent they rejected both his preaching and soon the man himself, Muhammad, was cast out of the city. Once he established his power base in Medina he turned on those who had rejected him, first the Jewish tribes in the vicinity of Medina and then on Mecca bringing it down and subjugating those who had formerly rejected him. This was why he called his religion Islam which best translates as submission. This is still the method used by Islam that all must bow to their wishes and as Muhammad chose the Jews for a special place as the most accursed by Islam, this theme is repeated today. This is part of why Israel is so hated and why they so often depict the United States as controlled by Jews or as the puppet of Israel and thus singling the United States for equal hate as is given Israel. Some may ask why then is Britain also given such hate even more so than France, which was just as much a colonial power after the end of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, and the reason is simple, the Balfour Declaration brining Israel into existence, as they were under Jewish control. Everything traces back to the Jews no matter how absurd such a premise may be. Below we have Orwell’s “Two Minutes of Hate” and a rally against Israel, Britain and America from Tehran and the similarities are easily recognized.

 

Two Minutes of Hate

 

Endless Mindless Hate

 

There has also been a renewed belligerence from Gaza using a new tactic of firing their rockets from both within Gaza and from the Sinai Peninsula. Other than opening up a new front by using Egyptian territory there may be more involved. These rockets have been largely a single volley and then a return to what can be described as a normal level of fear and anxiety. The truth is, as we noted in our article Hamas Appointments Signal Coming Conflict, the recent retirement by Ismail Haniyeh and his replacement by Yahya Sinwar signals an expected increase in belligerence and the definite possibility of another Gaza war as Hamas will likely start a new rocket offensive this spring and into the summer. More rockets were fired into Israel today and all that remains is to see who and how many take credit for the attacks. Currently there is a war ongoing in Gaza in a rather subdued struggle for control of the area, the attacks on Israel as well as potentially Egypt between Hamas and Islamic State. Both groups would desire to eradicate Israel and both find Egyptian President Sisi to be a threat to their particular version of Islam, as he is calling for a reformation within Islam placing the emphasis on the Meccan coexistence verses instead of the Medina conquer the world and subjugation verses. Both Islamic State and Hamas see conquest as the true path of Islam holding no question in the supremacy which must be brought about by any and all means necessary including by the sword. Their argument with Sisi still would take a back seat to their hatreds for Israel and the Jews. In the case of Hamas one should not believe their aim is simply to destroy Israel and scatter the Jews to the far corners of the Earth as their Charter calls for the annihilation of all Jews wherever they may be found. Quoting the Hamas Charter, it states in Article 7, “The Day of Judgment will not come until Muslims fight the Jews, when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say, ‘O Muslim, O servant of God, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’” Further, it states in Article 32, “Zionism scheming has no end, and after Palestine, they will covet expansion from the Nile to the Euphrates River. When they have finished digesting the area on which they have laid their hand, they will look forward to more expansion. Their scheme has been laid out in the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion.’” These are actual beliefs which they intend to act upon yet nobody appears capable of understanding their deep-seated anti-Semitism and the extents to which they intend to carry the extermination of the Jewish People. What the world need understand is that the Islamic hatred for the Jews goes all the way back to the beginning starting with Muhammad and was not a product of their influence from the Nazis but rather it was an Islamic influence of Jew hatred which spurred the Nazis even further and was responsible in part for the “Final Solution” which was in part formulated through the input of the Mufti of Jerusalem in discussions he partook in at the Wannsee Conference. Hamas is simply the continuation of Muhammad’s preoccupation with the extermination of the Jewish People.

 

Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar

 

What poses the real threat is the possibility of facing a two front assault from the south using both Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula by Hamas as well as facing Hezballah in the north potentially attacking from both Lebanon and onto the Golan Heights from within al-Assad held areas around Damascus in Syria. Where such would not prove an impossible task for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), it would limit that care which could be granted should the IDF only need fight on just one front. There would be a necessary broadening of any theater of operation with less ability to use discretion when targeting essential structures being used as rocket launching facilities or command and control. This would be particularly true on the front against Hezballah as they have been provided with sufficient ability to destroy much of Israel with their estimated one-hundred-fifty-thousand rockets and missiles. With such an arsenal they could probably overwhelm the Iron Dome systems and in order to preserve the nation the IDF would be required to rely on intensive air strikes and use of Israeli missiles in a series of precision munitions. The usual surgical precision and calling off air strikes simply because there would be a potential for civilian casualties would need to be given less urgency as many of these rockets and missiles and their launchers have been placed in what Hezballah refer to as their hardened positions which they claim Israel is unable to strike. What they are relying upon is that no Israeli government would ever permit the unrestricted use of missiles and air strikes regardless of civilian casualties. The difference in any coming conflict with Hezballah is that it would come down to Lebanese casualties or Israeli casualties and that would not be a difficult, though it would be an unpleasant, thought for any Israeli Prime Minister no matter where on the political scale they may sit. Any Israeli Prime Minister who would hold Lebanese or Gazan lives as more important and more precious than Israeli lives and call off strikes which would save Israeli civilians simply because Lebanese or Gazans might be hurt should step down immediately. There is a point where being humane when fighting a war has to give way to the practicality of fighting a war. Any war with Hezballah who have been provided with more missiles and rockets than many European military powers could put into use at any given time by Iran with the intent of overwhelming Israel and destroying as much of the country and murdering as many of the people as possible, that requires taking off the gloves and fighting any confrontation as what it is, an all-out no-holds-barred war. Such is not exactly something to be proud over, but reality has consequences and the only thing which Israel can promise is that she will not fire the first shot.

 

That leads us to the final reason Nasrallah made the comments he did. His other purpose is to establish through quotations the idea that any confrontation must have been started by Israel. In this with repeated statements of how Hezballah will go to any length in protecting Lebanon from Israeli aggressions, Hezballah will not shy when Israel attacks, Hezballah stands ready for the coming Israeli attacks and statement after such statement that when Hezballah strikes Israel in a cross border raid killing IDF soldiers on patrol and kidnapping soldiers if able they will claim the Israelis attacked and the world, even for a moment believes and reports such, then the entire following conflict will be blamed on Israel. Many of the world media will point to all the times Nasrallah warned of impending Israeli attack. The problem is Hezballah claims that the Galilee is occupied land and that Israel illegally holds these lands so when they attack it is in defense of lands they claim are occupied despite there being a recognized international border which places these lands within Israel. The entire length of the Lebanon Israel border is fenced and any attack required crossing through the fence at recognized crossing points. The entire border between Israel and Lebanon is supposed to be monitored by the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon. These are the same peacekeepers who were supposed to prevent Hezballah from rearming and prevent their digging an entire new set of underground facilities. This is the same United Nations peacekeeping force which the Europeans walked out of supporting, India left after they were threatened and these peacekeepers now basically work for Hezballah. These United Nations forces were referred to as UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) and were put in place after the Second Lebanon War and almost lasted two years before basically turning the other way and allowing any breaching of the agreements they were supposed to enforce. They became so threatened that one seldom sees any United Nations vehicles south of the Litani River and those one can find are often being driven by and used to transport Hezballah units, rockets and provisions. UNIFIL became a joke and if there is any logic left in Israel, they will never again trust the United Nations, European union, European nations or most of the world to keep even a single promise if doing so places them in opposition to the forces of Islam as the world is more afraid of terrorists than they are of Israel because Israel will not be blowing things up in their capitals or anywhere they care about. Israel needs to realize they are on their own for the most part and any friends they may have after an election may disappear after the next election and their promises will leave with them. Such is the lesson of the written agreement given Ariel Sharon by George W. Bush which has since become a dead letter with at best may become resurrected briefly but will then be eclipsed somewhere down the road, guaranteed. The only promises Israel can count upon are in Torah.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Military Strike Spoils Plans for Attack on Israel

 

Hezballah has reported that a helicopter strike in southwestern Syria has killed Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of Imad Mughniyeh, along with four Iranians amongst others while they were setting explosives along the Syrian border with Israel, breaking terms of the armistice, and preparing rockets for strike to be launched against Israel. No nation has claimed credit for these strikes but I would like to issue an open ended thanks to whoever it may have been. There were reports that shortly before the strike there were drones orbiting over the site though it has not been reported where the drones went. It has also not been explained what a top Hezballah was doing with four Iranians in southwestern Syria setting explosives along the Israeli border or why rocket launchers were being set up and armed with rockets set in a direction which would have resulted in their launching into Israel. As Israel has refused to comment and there has also been no commentary from the United States, let me first thank President Obama and the folks at the Pentagon just in case the United States decided to strike these dangerous and potentially problematic actions along the Israeli border and if it was Israel then well played, well played.

 

Whatever were the particulars on who performed this strike, what was surprising is this is the first actual report of preparations for a strike on Israel from within Syrian territory. There have been numerous people crossing from Syria into Israel seeking medical aid and each has been treated and returned to Syria upon their complete recovery. There have been no question as to which side they may be aligned with or even whether or not they are civilians, Syrian military or from amongst the myriad of terrorist groups including al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, ISIS, or even Hezballah; they are simply treated and returned across the border. Perhaps this explains some of the reasons for healthcare costs along with the Palestinians from Judea, Samaria and even Gaza which receive treatment in Israel even including the granddaughter and wife of leading Hamas officers. Had these rockets been launched into Israel it would not have made any difference where or what they had struck or what response they might have intended, be that being able to internationalize the conflict or to have drawn Israel into the war in order to gain sympathy and involvement of other Middle Eastern governments into the war, the sole response they would have drawn would have been an Israeli strike against whatever forces within Syria which were determined to have been responsible. This brings us to emphasizing something which needs to be stressed and made known before it ever becomes an incitement in the form of an attack on Israeli cities, towns, farms or other targets within Israel as evidence has been gathered where such strikes have been proposed as a way of internationalizing the Syrian war and being able to make a general call to arms in support of Assad claiming that Syrian forces have come under attack by the Israelis. Assad realized that Syria is lost and is fighting now for the survival of the only thing he really cares about, his survival and to remain the Iranian base of supply for Hezballah and the Iranian harbor for any operations they may plan for the Mediterranean Sea. Assad realized his strategic importance as Iran’s western Mediterranean base and also as an Iranian staging area bordering Israel which offers far greater strategic depth than does Lebanon. Iran has also proven their belief in the importance of their Syrian base of operations through their providing provisions for Syrian and Hezballah fighters and their ordering Nasrallah to commit Hezballah forces to assist Assad for without the Hezballah forces it is very likely that Syria may have already fallen before the combined forces made up by al-Qaeda allied terror groups such as al-Nusra plus the forces of the now infamous ISIS terrorists, though they prefer to simply be called IS (pronounced iz) rather than ISIS (pronounced iz-iz).

 

This now primordial struggle between historic forces of enmity, Sunnis and Shiites, has ravaged Syria beyond imagination of anyone who has not resided or been stationed in a nation embroiled in a war where the complete eradication and destruction of the enemy was the stated aim of both sides fighting within the national borders. Many cities in World War II faced such destruction; Stalingrad and Dresden come to mind. That is the real horror of the war in Syria, the complete and utter destruction of a nation to the point that it no longer retains the infrastructure necessary to support the nation’s population and the neighboring nations where most of the population has fled are not prepared or capable of absorbing these refugees who no longer have homes, jobs, places to shop, food stores, farms or much else to facilitate their returning to their former neighborhoods. The horrific destruction has been one of the resulting dilemmas for which nobody has given much concern. Perhaps this might be something which the United Nations might put some of their brainiacs on seeking answers to instead of rushing to investigate Israel at the behest of a collection of terrorist entities pretending to be a nation. Solving the dilemma which is Syria would also assist in finding a solution for a fair number of so-called refugee Arabs who had been held in camps in Syria before Assad had his military target those very same camps just in case they might join the forces marshalled against him. Those refugees are now double refugees which are currently under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and potentially might return to being under United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) should they ever be returned and their camp rebuilt in Syria. All of this is pure conjecture about a future which is so far out of sight that perhaps any solutions for what to do after the Syrian struggle reaches an end point should be planned for some time in the next century.

 

Hezballah has responded to the strike saying that the death Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of Imad Mughniyeh, along with four Iranians was “a hard blow to take.” Further it has been reported by Turkish media that Hezballah has elevated the readiness of its forces stationed along the southern border areas of Lebanon with Israel. These forces are stations south of the Litani River which has brought a number of Israeli complaints as such placement of Hezballah terrorists south of the Litani River breaks the agreement which ended the second Lebanon war armistice. But never mind such a brazen breach of a treaty presumably enforced by the United Nations, United States and the European Union with European and other United Nations troops were supposed to enforce along with forces from the Lebanese Army. The United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) were reinforced almost doubling their size with the explicit orders and mission statement was to prevent any rebuilding of the infrastructure of command bunkers, concealed rocket launching emplacements, ammunitions depots which are often placed within people’s homes, interconnecting tunnels and tank traps amongst other military support emplacements as well as preventing Hezballah terrorists to take up position south of the Litani River but they found an endless number of reasons why they failed every stipulation of their mission statement. About the only unanswered question is whether or not Hezballah and the UNIFIL forces are sharing buildings again where they both have their flags raised overhead on the same flagpole. Whatever the case with UNIFIL and their questionable ability to restrict Hezballah from reestablishing their fortresses rocket launching platforms, armament depots and other installations, with Hezballah blaming Israel for the loss of their command level personage, Jihad Mughniyeh, four Iranian fighters and other personnel and placing their terrorist forces on heightened military preparedness level and announcing their holding Israel responsible for the attack on their personnel, Israel has also placed personnel in the north along the Lebanese border on a heightened awareness and hopefully doubling the numbers of patrols and soldiers contained in each patrol making all the needed preparations to repel any Hezballah incursions across the border. Hopefully neither side will provoke any further actions escalating the confrontation further nor requiring an Israeli response as such will not be anything like the second Lebanon war, the IDF has provided all infantry units’ additional training to better prepare her troops for any situation. As of the time of this report there has been no infiltration by Hezballah terrorists and with any luck the fates will allow for both sides to relax their heightened levels of alert ending this escalation without any further altercations. The Hezballah reactions and statements begs a basic question namely; what were Jihad Mughniyeh, four Iranian agents and a platoon or so of Hezballah terror fighters doing in Syria and what was their intentions as they were caught laying explosives charges along the Syrian-Israel border and setting up rocket launchers such that any rocket fired from them would necessarily strike within the borders of Israel and not be launched into Syria at their opponents.

 

Beyond the Cusp