Speaking Of Lebanon--"Is Israel Facing War with Hizbullah and Syria?"

The following summary of the full article appeared on the Jewish Center For Public Affairs (JCPA) website back in April.

Is Israel Facing War with Hizbullah and Syria?

David Schenker

• Concerns about Israeli hostilities with Hizbullah are nothing new, but based on recent pronouncements from Syria, if the situation degenerates, fighting could take on a regional dimension not seen since 1973.
  
  
  
• On February 26, Syrian President Bashar Assad hosted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Damascus. Afterward, Hizbullah's online magazine Al Intiqad suggested that war with Israel was on the horizon.
  
  
• Raising tensions further are reports that Syria has provided Hizbullah with the advanced, Russian-made, shoulder-fired, Igla-S anti-aircraft missile, which could inhibit Israeli air operations over Lebanon in a future conflict. The transfer of this equipment had previously been defined by Israeli officials as a "red line."
  
  
• In the summer of 2006, Syria sat on the sidelines as Hizbullah fought Israel to a standstill. After the war, Assad, who during the fighting received public assurances from then-Prime Minister Olmert that Syria would not be targeted, took credit for the "divine victory."
  
  
• Damascus' support for "resistance" was on full display at the Arab Summit in Libya in late March 2010, where Assad urged Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to abandon U.S.-supported negotiations and "take up arms against Israel."
  
  
• After years of diplomatic isolation, Damascus has finally broken the code to Europe, and appears to be on the verge of doing so with the Obama administration as well. Currently, Syria appears to be in a position where it can cultivate its ties with the West without sacrificing its support for terrorism.

Read the complete article.

Considering the influence that Hezbollah exerts in Lebanon in general and in southern Lebanon in particular--including influence on Lebanese troops, the concerns about the possible outbreak of hostilities is still relevant.

Technorati Tag: Lebanon and Hezbollah and Syria.