According to the Washington Times, recent military action by Israel in response to the attack and the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers near the southern Lebanonese border has as its ultimate goal the elimination of Hezbollah.
Hezbollah is thought to have up to 13,000 missiles. According to the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper, Iran transferred to Hezbollah 11,500 missiles and rockets between 1992 and 2005, along with large numbers of artillery shells and rocket launchers.
In 2004, Hezbollah subsidized nearly 70 percent of Palestinian terrorist attacks and offered old-guard Fatah and Hamas militants as much as $100,000 to deliver suicide bombers into Israel, according to Israel's International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism.
Israel views the weeklong crisis as a chance to find a long-term solution to the Hezbollah problem, officials and analysts said.
"As tragic as it is, it also affords an opportunity to deal a blow to Hezbollah and Iran," said Michael Herzog, a general in the Israeli army who is a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
There is little doubt that Iran has a hand in the Hezbollah attacks. In an article that may be found at the Weekly Standard, Dan Darling expands upon the Iran connection and its implications.
The Time article also goes on to discuss the continued financial support that Hezbollah enjoys from Iran, reporting that "one Western diplomat in Beirut estimated the figure at between $20 million and $40 million a month." These continued logistical and financial ties further highlight the absurdity of denying the clear-cut patron-client relationship that exists between Iran and Hezbollah. That this relationship continues in spite of Hezbollah's recent attacks leaves little doubt that Iran at least approved of, if not ordered, the current violence.
It is worth noting that Israel and the United States share a common foe with regard to Iran. For instance, as recently as June 23 the Washington Post quoted General George Casey as saying "We are quite confident that the Iranians, through their covert special operations forces, are providing weapons, IED [Improvised Explosive Devices] technology and training to Shia extremist groups in Iraq, the training being conducted in Iran and in some cases probably in Lebanon through their surrogates." Casey went on to say that the Iranians were "using surrogates to conduct terrorist operations in Iraq, both against us and against the Iraqi people." The extremist groups being referenced by Casey undoubtedly refer at least in part to Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi army, members of which have caught a bloody swath of sectarian violence through Baghdad and the surrounding areas in recent weeks. Americans would do well to remember these facts as Israel confronts Hezbollah and their Iranian allies.
The fact of Iranian involvement in Hezbollah attacks on Israel and in the ongoing sectarian violence in Iraq would seem to be supported by recent statements of Muqtada al-Sadr.
BAGHDAD — The radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Friday that Iraqis would not "sit by with folded hands" while Israel struck at Lebanon, signaling a possible increase in attacks from his mercurial militia, the Mahdi Army.
Al Sadr's militia was recently the target of an attack by the Iraqi army supported by American troops. They are thought to be behind much of the sectarian violence in Baghdad. So while al Sadr has leaped to the support of Hezbollah, the rest of the Middle East has not joined the chorus. In fact, Saudi Arabia issued a statement condemning the recent violence by Hezbollah and Hamas.
Statements by the government in Riyadh on the recent fighting in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip departed from traditional Saudi censure of Israel by blaming Hezbollah and Hamas for their provocative attacks.
That by itself should be considered a breakthrough. The mindset has changed. There is dwindling support for temporary cease fires that serve only as rest periods in which the terrorists regroup and plan their next attacks. President Bush doesn't support a cease fire at this time, content to let Israel continue to pound on Hezbollah. If it turns out that the determination to straighten out the mess in the Middle East is finally here, I'll blame the cowboy in the White House for it. Stability has never been his goal.
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