Sheikh Naim Qassem, the number two man in Lebanon’s Hizbullah, told Reuters on Wednesday that any Israeli strike on Iran would spin out of control and “ignite the region.”
Qassem said that the Shiite party-militia’s stance toward Israel is “defensive.” But he was clearly warning that a strike on Iran would not remain a bilateral issue between Israel and Iran.
Meanwhile, Burhan Ghalioun, the leader of the opposition Syrian National Council, backtracked on earlier statements and attempted to reassure Hizbullah that if the SNC came to power and ousted President Bashar al-Assad, it would not cut off Hizbullah.
The changed SNC stance might be explained in part by the SNC’s allegations that Hizbullah is patrolling the Lebanese-Syrian border and not letting Sunni fighters move back and forth or infiltrate arms into Syria.
Just to make it convenient, here is the link to the white house should you feel the need to let Obama know you don’t want our soldiers dying for the bloodthirsty, nutcase Likud party.
link to whitehouse.gov
Done!
Of course, Hezbollah’s promise/thret is just a form of smoke, since Iran has already been attacked many, many times on the nuclear issue. Not with airplanes or guided missiles, I suppose, perhaps with drone-airplanes.
I suppose that “keep them guessing” is always a good practice in brinkmanship.
If Israel attacks Iran, Assad would almost certainly exploit heightened anti-Israeli sentiment to squash the opposition.
Just like the Iranian government itself did when the United States attacked Iraq. People forget, but in the years immediately before the invasion of Iraq, there were protests in Iran so powerful that the government felt the need to imprison some of its own security personnel for killing protesters. Then, when the clouds of war gathered, the Iranian public rallied ’round the flag, and the protests petered out.
In case the reader’s education did not include the classic, here’s the quickie version of Orwell’s “1984.” link to en.wikipedia.org
Any of this sound familiar? How much of what the Privileged Oligarchy is up to has anything to do with the small loves and aspirations of the “proles?” Other than stealing the real wealth they create to maintain that giant pyramid scheme?
And might one speculate that Sheik Naim Qassem was adding, as a “sharp player” in the Great Game, via his sonorous statement, some additional cred-cement to his public persona, by showing himself to be a Serious Player deserving of the loyalty and affection of his “people?”
No one is talking about the environmental fallout from an attack on Uranium-enriching facilities. Presumably the partially enriched Uranium is in a state dangerous to human health, and a strike could spread it to nearby population centers.