Obama trying to head off war between Israel and Hezbullah
Amid confusion over Syrian intentions, the Obama administration is trying to head off a war between Israel and Hezbullah. Arab press reports cited anonymous sources as saying [US Ambassador to Lebanon Michele] Sison showed Lebanese Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri photos of truck convoys, evidence of increasing and escalation weapons shipments to Hezbollah. More shockingly, the reports said that she told Lebanese officials the United States had stopped Israel from launching an imminent strike against the convoys. Neither of those details is true, according to multiple administration sources.The problem is that neither Beri nor Hariri can really control Hezbullah. And Hariri, at least, is pishing in his pants over the prospect of war.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told The Cable that the idea American waived Israel off of a strike on Syrian weapons transfers is "totally false," but declined to describe the specifics of the meeting. Another U.S. official described the Arab press reports as "bullshit."
Two administration officials close to the issue, however, said that the meeting did in fact take place, but no photos were shown and the United States did not halt an imminent Israeli strike.
"The Israelis weren't ready to shoot anything. There was never a point where they said, ‘We are going to strike something,'" the official said, adding that at some point Israeli action could of course be a possibility -- albeit a disastrous one.
And what about Hariri, who said the SCUD allegations were "reminiscent of the weapons of mass destruction allegations against Saddam Hussein" and "a pretext for threatening my country"?Good luck with that.
"Hariri is terrified that another war is going to break his country apart and if that means denying the weapons transfers or whatever, he's going to do it," our official speculated. "He's desperately trying to save his country from utter decimation."
The real question here is Syria's motivation. The Cable gives three possible lines of thinking. Read the whole thing.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:33 PM
2 Comments:
The Democratic party has always been SOFT ON CRIME. They will try to bully Israel into sitting still under rockets. Just like they will try to bully Arizona and the other border state into sitting still while their ranchers are slaughtered on their ranches, while Phoenix has the highest kidnap rate anywhere, and where Juarez (a border city adjacent to El Paso, Texas and New Mexico) is the most dangerous city in the world. The only reaction from these people comes when the locals do anything to protect themselves because the poor baby criminals had a rough upbringing and can't help themselves. It has been the Dem way for generations.
For Syria, Lebanon has a cost-free proving ground to test Israeli strength and resolve without getting involved in another war. But this time, that may be the biggest miscalculation Damascus has made in the event another war should break out in the North.
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