Saturday - July 15, 2006

World War III

And so it begins. Just as in 1914 and 1939, a simple act of killing triggers a response and then a counter-response and before you know it countries are signing defense treaties and the alignment of opposing sides begins. The calm before the storm is over and the gods of war are rousing from their half-century-long sleep ready to plunge the world into global conflict all over again.

Forget the Cold War. That was only “realpolitik” taken to a new level. What is happening now is the first step to all out conflict. It has been a long time coming and once again we find ourselves in the dilemna of figuring out how to extricate ourselves from this mess. With the latest escalation, described below, we now have Iranian soldiers in Lebanon firing missiles at Israeli warships, killing Israeli sailors and even managing to sink a civilian Egyptian vessel as an extra bonus.

The insane leaders of Hezbullah and Hamas are going to get their war, it seems. They continue to ratchet up the verbage and scream shrilly for the destruction of Israel. Unfortunately for all of us, the surrounding countries are even now being drawn into the conflict. The killing spreads slowly at first and then takes on a life of its own as Hezbullah fires rockets into Israel and the IDF strikes back.

The Jews are fighting for their lives once again. Their backs are up against the wall and they are being left with absolutely no alternative. Fight or die. If you think they are going to calmly accept destruction, think again. What would you do in their place? You can’t reason with the Muslims in any shape or form. In 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973 the Muslims got their noses bloodied. They have yet to feel the impact of total warfare and that is why this will become the next World War.

Just as in 1914, people have forgotten how miserable, painful, shocking and damaging a conflict on this scale can be. The human race has too short a memory. We always forget the horror of total war in the periods of peace. So we rush blindly into the next big war expecting different results than the last time. Remember the definition of insanity? Based on that criteria, the human race, as a whole, is as barking mad as it gets. We never learn ...

Update I: Israeli has delivered an ulitmatum to Syria - 72 hours to back down or else ...

Update II: Russian Defense Minister - “other nations could be drawn into the escalating Middle East conflict, which he called ‘a war that has begun.’”

Update III: US evacuating American citizens from Lebanon

Israel Official: Iran Helping Hezbollah
—JERUSALEM (AP) - July 15, 2006

A missile fired by Hezbollah, not an unmanned drone laden with explosives, damaged an Israeli warship off Lebanon, the army said Saturday. Iranian troops helped fire the missile, a senior intelligence official said. One sailor was killed and three were missing.

The intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information, said about 100 Iranian soldiers are in Lebanon and helped fire the Iranian-made, radar-guided C-102 at the ship late Friday.

The attack alarmed Israel because initial information indicated the guerrillas had used a drone for the first time to attack Israeli forces. But the army’s investigation showed that Hezbollah had fired an Iranian-made missile at the vessel from the shores of Lebanon, said Brig. Gen. Ido Nehushtan.

“We can confirm that it was hit by an Iranian-made missile launched by Hezbollah. We see this as very profound fingerprint of Iranian involvement in Hezbollah,” Nehushtan said in an interview with The Associated Press. Another Hezbollah missile also hit and sank a nearby merchant ship at around the same time, Nehushtan said. He said that ship apparently was Egyptian, but had no other information.

Nehushtan said the body of one of the four Israeli soldiers missing in the attack was found aboard the damaged warship. Other Israeli military officials said two bodies had been found. Israel launched an offensive after Hezbollah guerrillas crossed the Israel-Lebanon border on Wednesday and captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel has bombarded Lebanon’s airport and main roads in the most intensive offensive against the country in 24 years, while Hezbollah has launched hundreds of rockets into Israel.

The intense fighting has sent shock waves through a region already traumatized by Israel’s battle against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. With Israeli officials pointing fingers at Hezbollah’s close allies, Syria and Iran, the crisis could soon spread.

Posted by The Skipper     on 07/15/2006 at 10:27 AM   
Filed Under: • News-Briefs •  
• Comments (16) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

DISCLAIMER

THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.

Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.

Copyright © 2004-2015 Domain Owner