The Perfect Soldier: Special Operations, Commandos, and the Future of Us Warfare by James F. Dunnigan
More Books by James Dunnigan
|
Lebanese Want Israel To Invade
by James Dunnigan
June 3, 2008
Discussion Board on this DLS topic
Representatives from Hizbollah, the Lebanese government and various factions met in Qatar to try and resolve the political problem in Lebanon (Iranian backed Hizbollah wants all efforts directed at the destruction of Israel, and no interference with the Hizbollah "state within a state." Most Lebanese want the Hizbollah militia disbanded.) The Arab League arranged these talks, after the fighting in and around Beirut caused about 300 casualties. Arab states were pretty unanimous in condemning Hizbollah, which they see as the puppet of non-Arab Iran (the same Iran that scares the hell out of the Persian Gulf Arabs). Then there is the religious divide, as conservative Sunni Arabs believe Shia Moslems (especially Hizbollah and Iran) are heretics and deserve death if they don't convert to Sunni religious practices. Meanwhile, the recent Beirut fighting shows that Hizbollah isn't afraid of restarting the civil war that tore the country apart in 1975-90. The other factions in Lebanon, who are the majority, do not want another civil war. The country took nearly two decades to rebuild, and they don't want to lose it all again. But Hizbollah seems determined to bring on war with Israel. This would be less destructive than another civil war, and might destroy Hizbollah (or weaken it to the point that the remnants could be taken care of without a destructive civil war). No one wants to come out and say that, but that's the logic of the situation. Everyone says they want a decent deal for the Palestinians, but most Lebanese do not like the Palestinians, and mainly want them out of Lebanon.
|
|
