War in The Middle East

[Sean]

Re: War in The Middle East

Iranian and Turkish joint operation? Definitely not good news.

why not?

[karoaper]

Re: War in The Middle East

why not?

Let's see. Iran = Ally. Turkey = Enemy.

A military coloboration is between our Ally and The Enemy is not a good thing.

[Sean]

Re: War in The Middle East

Let's see. Iran = Ally. Turkey = Enemy.

A military coloboration is between our Ally and The Enemy is not a good thing.

you have a point but its not about Armenia, they're just trying to control their Kurdish population.

[karoaper]

Re: War in The Middle East

you have a point but its not about Armenia, they're just trying to control their Kurdish population.

I understand, but a common goal/concern may bring them closer to each other, not to mention exchange of military information/tactics. I'm not saying it's a huge deal, but simply not good news. And who knows it might prove to be a very big deal.

[skhara]

Re: War in The Middle East

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2648103&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

BEIRUT, Lebanon Nov 12, 2006 (AP)— Behind Lebanon's deepening political crisis is a tug-of-war between the United States and its Middle Eastern opponents Iran and Syria a battle with high stakes for America's push for greater democracy in the region.

At the center is the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah's demands for a larger role in the Lebanese government, now dominated by anti-Syrian politicians with strong backing from the United States and Europe.

The crisis deepened Saturday when two Hezbollah Cabinet ministers and three others from an allied Shiite party resigned hours after talks to form a unity government collapsed. Hezbollah and its allies want enough seats in 24-member Cabinet to wield veto power, a prospect that has some Lebanese on edge after the guerrillas' war with Israel last summer.

Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora refused to accept the resignations, but it was unclear whether his weak government had the clout to force the ministers to stay on. Lebanon's pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud insisted Sunday that the Cabinet has lost its legitimacy, arguing the constitution requires the government to be representative of the country's religious sects.

Hezbollah, whose popularity among many of Lebanon's majority Shiites rose after its war Israel, has threatened mass street protests to topple the government.

The collapse of Lebanon's government would be a major setback to one of the U.S. diplomatic successes in the Middle East.

The United States was instrumental in forcing Syria to withdraw its army from Lebanon last year in the wake of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a killing his supporters blamed on Syria.

Syria denied involvement, but mass protests in Beirut and international pressure forced Syria to leave, ending its nearly three-decade dominance of its smaller neighbor. Shortly afterward, Lebanon held democratic elections a rarity in the Arab world which brought an anti-Syrian majority to the Parliament and Cabinet.

Washington has warned Lebanon's government one of the friendliest to the United States in over two decades is at risk of falling apart. Some in the region have sounded similar warnings, saying giving Hezbollah veto power would bring Lebanon back under the influence of Iran and Syria, the main supporters of the Shiite guerrillas.

[Armenian]

Re: War in The Middle East

Lebanese Christian minister is assassinated
Bush, others point to Syria after politician Pierre Gemayel shot, killed

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Pierre Gemayel, an anti-Syrian politician and scion of Lebanon’s most prominent Christian family, was gunned down Tuesday in a carefully orchestrated assassination that heightened tensions between the U.S.-backed government and the militant Hezbollah. Anti-Syrian politicians quickly accused Damascus, as they have in previous assassinations of Lebanese opponents of its larger neighbor. Gemayel, 34, an outspoken opponent of the Syrian-allied Hezbollah, was the fifth anti-Syrian figure killed in the past two years and the first member of the government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora to be slain.

The assassination, in Gemayel’s mainly Christian constituency of Jdeideh, threatens further instability in Lebanon at a time when Hezbollah and other parties allied with Syria are planning street protests unless Saniora gives them more power. The United States denounced the killing, calling it “an act of terrorism.”

Well-coordinated attack

Saniora went on national television to call for unity and warned that “sedition” was being planned against Lebanon. He linked the slaying to the issue that sparked the crisis with Hezbollah: plans to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri before an international court. “I pledge to you that your blood will not go in vain,” Saniora said, eulogizing Gemayel. “We will not let the murderers control the fate of Lebanon and the future of its children.”

Gemayel, Lebanon’s industry minister and a member of the Phalange Party, had just left a church and was traveling through Jdeideh when a vehicle in front of him slammed to a stop, causing his car to ram it, security officials said. Witnesses said Gemayel’s car was also struck from behind. Three gunmen stepped out of the other vehicles and shot Gemayel at point-blank range with automatic weapons, security officials said. Video showed Gemayel’s car, which apparently had been shot at from both sides: The passenger-side window was shattered and the driver’s-side window was dotted with about a dozen bullet holes, and the front hood was crumpled.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15829846/

[skhara]

Re: War in The Middle East

So fighting rages in Lebanon between Sunni militants and the Lebanese army. In my opinion, at the very top echelons, this is really an example of co-operation between Zionist Washington and the Wahabi Islamists. After the humiliation the zionist armed force suffered at the hands Hezbollah last summer, and the boost of Hezbollah to the status of heroes in Lebanon amongst sects other than Shias, a different strategy needed to take shape to try to weaken Hezbollah.

[Armenian]

Re: War in The Middle East

I'm afraid its not that simple. The current situation in Lebanon may actually be an attempt by Lebanese authorities to root out "foreign" militants within Lebanon, in this case the Palestinians. I think this may have been planned/instigated by the US. Ever since the summer war of 2006, the US government has been putting allot of effort in manipulating the Lebanese authorities. There seems to be a plan to rid Lebanon of its foreign elements. As a result, they may be attempting to start with the smallest/weakest ones amongst them. Note that the Palestinians in Lebanon are hated by the Lebanese population. The average Lebanese, regardless of political or religious affiliation, blames the Palestinians for the Lebanese civil war.

Nonetheless, I think Hizballah and Damascus are watching this situation very closely.

So fighting rages in Lebanon between Sunni militants and the Lebanese army. In my opinion, at the very top echelons, this is really an example of co-operation between Zionist Washington and the Wahabi Islamists...

[Armenian]

Re: War in The Middle East

With Syrians cleaning house in lebanon; Hamas taking full control in Gaza; the Turks and Kurds on the brink of a full-scale war; Shiites and Sunnis of Iraq getting ready to ethnically cleanse each other - the Mideast is fast becoming a volatile powder keg on the verge of exploding.

Armenian

Anti-Syrian MP, five others killed in Beirut seafront blast



Anti-Syrian MP Walid Ido, his eldest son, and four other people were killed in a seafront blast in the Lebanese capital Wednesday, his party's television station said. Ido, the chairman of parliament's defense committee, his eldest son Khaled, his two bodyguards, and two civilians were killed, said Future Television. Pieces of flesh and splashes of blood stained the ground as relief workers rushed to transport the wounded to hospital and to treat passers-by for shock, a witness said. Troops cordoned off the area where there are a number of popular cafes and beaches, including the military beach club. Ido is the third member of the parliamentary majority to be killed in a car bombing in the past two years. The blast came after a recent spate of deadly bomb and grenade attacks in and around the capital that members of the ruling coalition have blamed on neighboring Syria?

Source: http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php...3-120329-1652r

Lebanese troops battle Palestinian militants in northern Lebanon



At least 40 people have been killed in a day of fighting between Lebanese troops and gunmen from a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon. Some 15 fighters from the radical Fatah al-Islam group and 23 Lebanese soldiers died in intense battles, reports said. Fatah al-Islam, said to be linked to al-Qaeda, killed some 15 soldiers in clashes around the Nahr el-Bared camp. Soldiers then bombarded militants in the camp and fought battles at a house in Tripoli used as a base by fighters. Two civilians were killed and 40 were injured, AFP news agency reported. A Lebanese army spokesman said another 27 soldiers were injured. Lebanon is home to more than 350,000 Palestinian refugees, many of whom fled or were forced to leave their homes when Israel was created in 1948. The military is banned from entering the Nahr el-Bared camp under a 38-year-old deal. Sunday's violence was the bloodiest internal fighting Lebanon has seen since the end of its civil war more than 15 years ago.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6673639.stm

Hamas hails 'liberation' of Gaza



Hamas militants have hailed a series of military victories over rivals Fatah in the Gaza Strip as a new "liberation" of the territory. Fighters seized Fatah's Preventative Security building in Gaza City and the intelligence service headquarters, and overran the town of Rafah. A least 20 Palestinians died as the latest battles raged throughout Gaza. An aide to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Mr Abbas plans to dismiss the government and call elections. Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the Hamas offensive was "illegal" and a coup against the Palestinian Authority.

"This is part of the job of the president, he has full power according to the law to dismiss the government," he told the BBC. Gaza has been the focal point for a violent and bitter power struggle between Hamas and Fatah since Hamas won a surprise election victory in early 2006.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6751079.stm

[skhara]

Re: War in The Middle East

Well it only makes sense for Hezbollah to go after air-defense capability.
The air defense weapons mentioned in this article are short and medium range. I assume that most of the weapons would be shoulder fired systems such as these:





Hezbollah is Rearming for another round with Israel
Colonel David Eshel

Just over eight months since the Second Lebanon war ended, Hezbollah leaders are already renewing their sabre rattling rhetoric against Israel. Senior political advisor to Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Hussein Halil said in an interview to the London based A- Shark al-Awsat, newspaper last Monday, that his group was already sufficiently armed to confront Israeli aggression. Only last week, Hezbollah's deputy secretary Sheikh Naim Kassem hinted to the London based Guardian newspaper that Hezbollah is preparing for the possibility of another "adventure" with Israel by coming summer.

Both men should know what they are talking about. Since last September, soon after the UN brokered cease fire, Iran has restarted its non-stop weapons deliveries to Hezbollah. In clear defiance of UN resolution 1701, which prohibits arms smuggling from Syria into Lebanon, or for that matter through any other way, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has been busy delivering the latest weapons arsenal from Tehran's military hardware coffers. Even UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern during his latest visit to Lebanon. Following his Middle East tour briefing, the UN Security Council is considering to form a special investigation team, probing implementation of its resolution on Lebanon. Sources in New York said the secretary-general informed the Security Council that he had obtained evidence from Israel and from "another country" indicating that Syria and Iran were indeed smuggling arms into Lebanon.

According to Israeli intelligence officials, Iran and Syria, who have recently signed a mutual defense pact, have been smuggling mass quantities of high quality weaponry to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Officials warned that Hezbollah has regained most of its strength since the last summer with Israel and that the rate of weapons smuggling has nearly doubled over the past few weeks. Those sources disclose that advanced Iranian-Chinese missiles have already been smuggled into Lebanon. Among these are allegedly Iranian Sayyad (U.S. Hawk derivative), Misagh 2 (derivative of the Russian SA-18 Igla) and Shahab Tagheb (Chinese HQ-7 derivative) air defense missiles. These missiles could seriously restrict the Israeli Air Force’s tactical freedom over Lebanon's airspace. Should new confrontation break out, Israeli pilots will have to fly into a high-risk combat zone, in which a relatively modern air defense network will pose considerable danger to them.




During Last summer's air war, the air force operated virtually without opposition from the ground. Although, the Iranian missiles are not of latest state-of-the-art technologies, they nevertheless pose a threat to be reckoned with. To stress this point: Iranian Misagh-2 man-portable infrared guided anti-aircraft missiles were found after a failed attempt to shoot down a plane at Baghdad's airport in 2004. Furthermore, disclosure of the Iranian provision of anti-aircraft missiles came officially from US military sources, as no less than six U.S. helicopters have been shot down by insurgents in the past months alone.

Unconfirmed reports, from sources close to IDF intelligence, indicated that this week, Hezbollah had officially formed its new air defense wing, for which several hundred graduates had just ended their training in Iran, learning how to use air defense missiles in combat. According to these reports, a group of specially selected Hezbollah trainees were flown from Damascus to Tehran early March to start a six week training session held by Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) instructors at the Imam Ali base.

Meanwhile the war of words is already intensifying. Syrian Information Minister Muhsen Bilal warned earlier this week, that armed resistance will be the only way to liberate the Golan Heights. It seems that the Syrian leadership may have misjudged Israel's military performance during the last Lebanon conflict and is therefore more prone to test its own power in restoring the Golan. As for Hezbollah's determination to attempt another round with Israel: Although last August's cease-fire has deployed the Lebanese Army and a reinforced UNIFIL along the international border, it is highly questionable whether these forced will be able to prevent renewed fighting, once one of the belligerents decides to attack. Past experience in this volatile region has demonstrated that neither UNIFIL nor a UN Multinational force could present an effective barrier to a determined force. For example: In June 1967 the UN withdrew from Sinai, following Egyptian President Abdul Nasser's request, which opened the Six Day War. A similar situation happened, when the IDF invaded Lebanon to fight the PLO warlords in June 1982, by rolling right over UNIFIL troops.

According to Israel intelligence reports, Hezbollah has sofar not attempted to rebuild its fortification line along the border. However, intensive construction work is already going on north of the Litani River line, in which Hezbollah is rebuilding its fortifications and new missile sites. Should fighting resume, the IDF will have to confront a powerful enemy, prepared to fight with determination. Moreover, next time, Israel may well confront hostile action on two, if not three fronts, Hezbollah to the North, Syria East of the Golan Heights and a much more powerful Hamas in the Gaza Strip. A major element in preparing Hezbollah and Hamas for war, is the IRGC's "Quds Force".