The Friday Furo Questus

Questus Furore - My View of the Current Israeli-Terrorist-Palestinian-Lebanese Conflict

Did I leave anyone out?

Yes, I did - Syria and Iran.

The events in Israel of the last 48 hours did not well up in a vaccuum. Continued provocations, such as the periodic rocket attacks across the borders into Israel from Gaza and Lebanon, have been gradually turning up the heat; then the attacks on Israeli outposts and kidnapping of Israeli soldiers on the Gaza border last week and the Lebanese border this week set off the explosion.

Israel feels they are getting gamed - and they are. Since the rise of the Ayatollahs in Iran, Iran has backed and supported Hizbollah, providing arms, funding, and training, and possibly more. We do know that the Iranian intelligence services have extensive contacts with Hizbollah. And Iran also works with Syria, a nation which has been manipulating and stirring up the Palestinian-Israeli conflict since 1947 for its own ends.

What's different this time is very clear warnings to Iran and Syria that they will be held to account if events grow any worse. This raises the spectre of general war - and possibly nuclear war, if Iran is closer than suspected or Israel is pushed into a corner.

The Israelis are out to teach a lesson: you can choose to live in peace or rest in peace. We really don't care which anymore.

This casual observer of the world can't say he blames them.

Recommended Reading
VDH, "Has Bush - Or The World - Changed?"

Claudia Rosett, "Guilty!" The Oil-for-Food scandal investigation has finally gotten its first conviction. Read the article to find out why this matters.

Jonah Goldberg, "Big Ideas? Feh." Apparently the Democratic party isn't the "party of ideas" anymore.

Thought of the Week
"Whatever enables us to go to war, secures our peace."
Thomas Jefferson (letter to James Monroe, 24 October 1823)

Churchill Quote of the Week
"Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room."
Sir Winston Churchill