| Oh no! Anyway…. |
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
and warned it could push Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state
spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word
Iranis a cognate form of
Aryan.The abbreviation
IRGCis the same idea as
Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term
Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either
Duceor
Führeror maybe both. They hate
to intervene, two U.S. officials and one Israeli official told U.S. news portal Axios.
U.S. and Israeli officials said there is growing concern in the Israeli army and the Israeli Ministry of Defense that the situation in Lebanon is reaching "a turning point."
The Biden administration told Israel it doesn't think "a limited war" in Lebanon or a "small regional war" is a realistic option because it would be difficult to prevent it from widening and spinning out of control, U.S. officials told Axios.
The Biden administration warned Israel that a ground invasion of Lebanon, even if it is only in the areas close to the border, would likely push Iran to intervene, U.S. and Israeli officials said.
One scenario the administration raised with Israel is that Lebanon could be flooded with
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
who would want to join the fighting.
No decisions were made in an Israeli war cabinet meeting on Tuesday, but the Israeli army presented several options for expanding the fighting, including a ground invasion aimed at pushing Hezbollah's elite Radwan force away from the border, an Israeli army official told Axios.
He stressed that since Oct. 7, the army's directive from politicians has been to focus on "defeating Hamas
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
and avoiding war in Lebanon."
The official warned that changing this policy could have far-reaching consequences.
Theofficial said war with Hezbollah or a limited operation in Lebanon would have "huge implications for Israel" and, after costing lives and draining resources, likely result in an agreement similar to that currently being sought between Israel and Lebanon.
"We need to understand this before making decisions," he said.
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
A series of developments in recent days has again increased #US concerns about an all-out war between Lebanon’s #Hezbollah and #Israel as the wait continues for the outcome of the latest round of Gaza ceasefire talks. https://t.co/JHYdbODIxe
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) June 7, 2024
The old — but unwritten — rules of engagement were shattered in the weeks following the start of cross-border exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah last year. Yet, the targeting had been primarily limited to Israeli military sites and infrastructure on the one hand and Hezbollah fighters and safehouses on the other. Residents on both sides of the border were quickly displaced and sought refuge in different parts of their respective countries.
NEW LEVELS OF ESCALATION
However,
if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning...
a series of developments in recent days have again raised the prospect of an expanded conflict between the two sides. Israeli officials have threatened a military operation inside of Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
to push back Hezbollah fighters and capabilities despite previous comments that Israel prefers a diplomatic solution. On the other hand, Hezbollah, which initiated the first attack in October in what it said was support for Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
, has said it does not want a war but is prepared for one.
Hezbollah-affiliated al-Akhbar newspaper published an article days ago, claiming that the UK relayed Israeli threats to attack Lebanon later this month with a specific date. American and European diplomatic sources played down the report but did raise the prospect of escalation. "If things carry on as they have been, then sooner or later, the Israelis will do something about it," one diplomat told Al Arabiya English.
On Thursday, Hezbollah said it forced an Israeli fighter to leave Lebanese airspace after it launched a surface-to-air missile, marking the first time since Oct. 7 that such a weapon was deployed. After an Israeli attack hit commercial properties in southern Lebanon this week, Hezbollah retaliated by targeting a mall in the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona. The Iran-backed group also released a video that it had purportedly struck an Iron Dome launcher.
DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES FOR LEBANON AND ISRAEL
Any potential new Lebanon-Israel war would have devastating impacts on both sides. US officials believe Lebanon would suffer massive numbers of civilian casualties and the destruction of a majority of the country’s infrastructure. Israel would also endure heavy numbers of deaths, both civilian and military, while electricity plants and other basic infrastructure could be severely damaged or destroyed in parts of the country.
US Senator Lindsey Graham
...soft-spoken senator from South Carolina, former best buddy of John
MaverickMcCain. Since McCain's demise, Graham has become more outspoken, more Republican and more of a supporter of President Trump. The speech he gave in support of Brett Kavanaugh was downright manly and really cheesed off the Dems...
recently told Al Arabiya that escalation could lead to an Israeli reaction that would completely destroy Beirut. But he cautioned that if Hezbollah, which is believed to have over 100,000 rockets and missiles, unleashed its arsenal, "they could overwhelm the Iron Dome."
He added: "If Israel had a massive attack from Hamas
..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...and Hezbollah at the same time, it could really do a lot of damage to the State of Israel."
However,
if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning...
a bigger fear is that a war with Hezbollah is likely to drag in multiple Iranian proxies as well as Tehran itself.
For months, US officials have studied contingency plans, as is customary for any conflict-struck country, to evacuate American citizens if needed.
The number of dual US-Lebanese citizens residing in Lebanon is estimated to be in the tens of thousands.
Special agents have traveled between Washington and Beirut throughout the Gaza war to plan for potential US evacuation operations. There are an undisclosed number of agents currently in Lebanon, sources familiar with the matter have told Al Arabiya English.
A Level 3 travel advisory remains in place, with the State Department recommending that those planning to go to Lebanon reconsider their plans.
Southern Lebanon has a Level 4 advisory, meaning US citizens should avoid that part of the country. "Cross-border rocket, missile, and artillery fire continues to impact southern Lebanon on a daily basis and has caused a significant number of fatalities and injuries," the advisory reads.