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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Why Hizbollah Scares the Arabs |
| 2006-07-18 |
| July 18, 2006: The leader of Hizbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, is being declared another Nasser (the Egyptian leader that took the Arab world into several wars with Israel). This comparison is not seen as flattering. In retrospect, Nasser's pugnaciousness is seen as a disaster for the Arab world. The last war Nasser participated in, was in 1967. It lasted six days, and the armed forces of Egypt, Syria and Jordan were shattered by the Israelis. It's called the Six Day War because six days was all Israel needed to accomplish this. Arabs blame Nasser for this disaster, and many now believe that Nasrallah is playing the same game. It has become conventional wisdom that Israel will only be defeated in the long term. It will take generations, perhaps over a century to overwhelm Israel. Nasrallah sounds like a brave, bold and heroic figure now, as Hizbollah fires rockets into Israel. But at the same time, Israeli bombs, missiles and shells destroy Lebanon, inflicting far more damage on Arabs than Hisbollah on Israel. Worse yet, Nasrallah is doing the bidding of Iran, a radical, and too most Moslems, heretical, nation that has never looked after the best interests of Arabs. Thus when an Arab calls Hassan Nasrallah, "another Nasser," there's good reason why this is done without a smile. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #7 Mr. Wife told of seeing Egyptian soldiers standing guard in Cairo, their sandles and guns both held together by duct tape and hope. This was about 1987. They haven't fought a war since, and the economy is sinking as fast as the hope of Mubarek ever giving over his emergency controls -- what odds either sandles or weapons are in better shape now? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-07-18 20:21 |
| #6 It has become conventional wisdom that Israel will only be defeated in the long term. It will take generations, perhaps over a century to overwhelm Israel. They mistakenly liken Israel to the Crusader kingdoms that lasted a hundred years and were then overwhelmed. In their view Israel is an alien entity that survives by local military superiority that will eventually degrade. Gynnne Dyer and other UK reporters have written on this. |
| Posted by: john 2006-07-18 19:21 |
| #5 You wants history Besoeker? Here's history.... Gamal, Gamal Bright as a camel, Where did your army go? With shattered ranks And burnt out tanks, and planes all in a row... /MAD circa '70 |
| Posted by: 6 2006-07-18 16:24 |
| #4 "....those who simply call for a return to the old borders have an understanding of history that goes back to the breakfast table." B.B. Netanyahu |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-07-18 14:44 |
| #3 Nasser was a fool. I believe he could easily have taken over Sudan and/or Libya and gotten oil revenue to support further adventures. Hell he probably would have gotten credit from the world if he'd conquered Sudan, but intead he went for the one state in the region with a real military. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2006-07-18 14:36 |
| #2 Sometimes I wonder about the Middle East. Are they Muslims first and Arabs second, or is it the other way around? |
| Posted by: Iblis 2006-07-18 14:22 |
| #1 The Law of Diminishing Returns. Careful, Naz. You could end up laid out like Zark and it won't even necessarily be the Israeli's that do the deed. Might even be your butt buddies in Iran that give you up. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-07-18 12:52 |