Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other Muslim leaders demanded a halt on Thursday to Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Gaza and said they wanted to strengthen U.N. peacekeeping forces in the area.
The little Iranian fanatic was quoted by Reuters as saying "although the main cure (to the situation) is the elimination of the Zionist regime, in this stage an immediate ceasefire should be implemented.
Let's get this straight, Ahmadinejad and friends in Syria and his clients Hezbollah in Lebanon and others in Gaza all advocate the destruction of the Israelis. In pursuit of this aim they respond to unilateral Israeli withdrawals from Gaza and Lebanon by moving the front lines of conflict closer to Israel. Now when the Israelis balk at such an arrangement, Muslim leaders call for a halt to the fighting? What exactly is the benefit to the Israelis?
In addition, Ahmadinejad boasts of the impending doom of the Jews and Americans. Here is an August 1 quote from crazy Mahmoud shown on Iranian TV, "Hezbollah in Lebanon is the standard-bearer of the resistance of all the monotheistic peoples, of the seekers of justice, and of the free people. Hassan Nasrallah is shouting the loud cry of the vigilant human consciences. Today, Hezbollah stands tall as the representative of all the peoples, all the vigilant consciences, all the monotheistic people, all the seekers of justice, and all free people of the world, against the rule of hegemony. Until now, with the help of Allah, [Hezbollah] is winning, and, Allah willing, it will reach the ultimate victory in the near future." ( complete comments can be found at Memri.org)
Does Mahmoud and the bleeding hearts in Europe and the United States expect that the conflict should be one sided? Does anyone but him expect that the Israelis should remain idle while Hezbollah and Hamas prepare positions and launch attacks at Israel with impugnity?
If a cease fire is what crazy Mahmoud wants then he can initiate it all by himself. He can order his clients to release the Israeli soldiers and stop the cross border attacks. If this is not possible then Israel hopefully will have the determination to continue attacking these organizations until an international consensus is built and assets deployed to demilitarize South Lebanon and Gaza.
Both Iran and Syria have seriously miscalculated or have they? The continued rocket attacks from Lebanon (200 today) prove that the Lebanese government had been powerless to rein in Hezbollah and that there has been an enormous build up of weaponry in the Hezbollah arsenal since the Israeli withdrawal. The Israelis have taken these developments seriously and simply cannot and will not allow this to continue. Now is the time to render Hezbollah impotent and to force a settlement that leaves the northern border pacified.
Mahmoud is riding high in the Arab world for the moment. How long will he maintain rock star status if he stands by idly, talking pugnaciously while the Israeli Defense Forces systematically destroy his proxies in Lebanon?
What is his next step? Will he become emboldened militarily if the conflict continues? The possibility of an escalation in the conflict is great however it is a risk that the Israelis must take now. If Iran is to be confronted should it be done now or later?
The land for peace argument is a dead one. Every time the Israelis give up land it only makes them more vulnerable and emboldens the enemy further. Any more concessions by the Israelis should include concrete agreements guaranteeing Israel security from all the participants in the Middle East violence. If not, then the Israelis simply are not obligated to limit themselves to measured responses against those who launch or sponsor attacks on them.
Does that response play directly into Iran's plans? Is the real Iranian plan simply to constantly be a world wide threat so that countries are on pins and needles and consequently oil prices are driven ever higher. What is the impact on the Iranian and Arab income if they some how manage to walk the line and reap the profit without getting a bloody nose?
Ahmadinejad is rising in stature in the Arab street because of his staunchly anti Israel position, but in the Middle East counting rooms it is $76 a barrel oil that is contributing to his rise as a regional and soon to be larger world figure.
What else can it be but money and power that are driving Middle Eastern politics?
It certainly must be the pursuit of that rather than some perceived or real injustice imposed upon the people of the region. How can a postage stamp of a nation like Israel be the cause of all that ails the Arab lands ? Just as a reminder of how insignificant a geographical and demographic spot Israel is, take a look at some of the numbers.
Population and land mass
Egypt 78 million 1.1 million sq km
Iran 68 million 1.6 million
Saudi Arabia 27 million 1.9 million sq km
Syria 18 million 185 sq km
Sudan 41 million 2.5 million sq km
This is only a portion of the Muslim nations. The total of this area is 7.2 million square kilometers populated by over 232 million mostly Muslim people. Contrast these numbers with the 21,000 square kilometers occupied by about 6 million Israelis.
If Israel disappeared tomorrow it would amount to nothing for the average Muslim. Their honor would not be regained, their economic plight would not improve and the health care, literacy and poverty rates would still be just as embarrassing. Forgive the Israelis for not wanting to go out of existence to prove that point.
