I was going to write an analysis of what happened on the Lebanese-Israeli border, but I have something bigger and better that’s almost ready to post, so instead I will just direct you to this.
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A message in Farsi from hezbollah to Israel. If the Israelis were smart they would raise the ante. Aggressively target Hezbollah leadership in Lebanon while simultaneously sharpening diplomatic warnings to the mullahs in Iran. Ie. terrorize the terrorists by creating a drumbeat toward an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities if and when Israel chooses to do it.
It will be entertaining to see if the Lebanese Army gives (or doesn’t) any medals or honors to its members for their actions in this incident.
comments included in parentheses are mine.
Israel threatens to destroy hostile Lebanese border positions
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report August 5, 2010, 11:37 AM (GMT+02:00)
Binyamin Netanyahu warns Beirut and Hamas
Israel has handed Lebanon an ultimatum. (Source?) Before a line can be drawn on the Lebanese-Israeli clash which flared Tuesday, Aug. 3, the Lebanese Army 9th Brigade commander responsible for sending snipers to shoot at Israeli troops clearing brush on their side of the border and killing Lt. Col. (Res.) Dov Harari, must be dismissed or court-martialed, debkafile’s military sources report.(again, unnamed sources and shouldn’t the officer involved be tried for murder? Egypt demanded the person involved in killing it’s border guard by Hamas stand trial)
This burst of Lebanese sniper fire triggered the clash.
The ultimatum was delivered at a three-way meeting at UNIFIL headquarters in Naqura on Wednesday night, August 4, attended by UN, IDF and Lebanese Army officers, after Israel learned that the guilty Lebanese officer is a Shiite who hangs out with Hizballah commanders in South Lebanon. (source?) The possibility is not precluded that his Hizballah friends tipped him off to the presence of high Israeli officers within firing distance from the Lebanese border. (conjecture)
This information runs contrary to the IDF’s official line on the incident, which absolved Hizballah of involvement in the clash and claimed the Shiite terrorists were taken by surprise no less than the Israeli military (Yes, why the contrary statement from Bibi?)
UNIFIL carried a warning to Beirut that if the Lebanese army failed to punish the officer, Israel would deem it an enemy force and feel free to destroy its military positions along their border. (Does UNIFIL care to verify this?)
Our military sources (please cite) reveal that the Naqura conference was also attended unofficially by the American, French and German military attachés stationed at their embassies in Beirut. They were sent to apply the brakes on any further escalation of the Israeli-Lebanese military showdown.
A UNIFIL spokesman announced early Thursday morning, August 5 that Israel and Lebanon had both pledged to work with the UN to avoid violent incidents in the future. However, on the quiet, our sources report the UN peacekeepers agreed to convey the Israeli ultimatum and warning to Beirut with their own recommendation to remove the Lebanese officer responsible for the outbreak from the South in the interests of restoring calm.
The ultimatum did not give the Lebanese army a deadline for punishing the officer or say what action Israel would take if it was not met, but the Israeli officers at Naqura presented a tough and unyielding front. (transcripts please) Jerusalem will not let the death of a high officer go unpunished.
The Lebanese high command and Hizballah were reminded of Israel’s reprisal Saturday Aug. 1 against Hamas, for firing a Grad missile at Ashkelon on July 30: Israeli Air Force bombers struck a number of targets across the Gaza Strip, one of which killed the high-ranking Hamas commander, Issa Batran, commander of the organization’s missile batteries.
It was to avenge his death that Hamas’ military wing, Izzedin al-Qassam, launched half a dozen Grad missiles from Sinai against Eilat on Monday, August 2. In the event, they missed their aim and hit Aqaba, killing one Jordanian. (This contradicts earlier reports that the missile likely came from somewhere other than the Sinai and intended to hit Aqaba as a show of force to Jordan. Remember that claim?)
Far from winding down the Lebanese-Israel border crisis, the Israeli ultimatum looks more like the opening move for the next round. The Beirut government is not expected in Jerusalem, Washington or Naqura to punish the Shiite 9th Brigade officer lest Hizballah throw its weight behind him and canonize him as a national Shiite hero. Israel will then feel free to exercise its options for the Lebanese act of aggression.
The state of play between Israel and Lebanon was described by high Israeli military sources Thursday, Aug. 5, as fluid and incendiary. A single tree or rocket could blow up into a major conflagration and spread across the Middle East. (now doesn’t that imply a rateher poor control of events? What is Israel doing to prevent mistakes?)
Time is rushing toward another flashpoint: Hizballah’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, has threatened to pass the buck for the five-year old assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri to Israel to ease the pressure of guilt preying on his own organization. He promises to present “proof” of Israeli secret service complicity at a press conference on Monday, August 9.
Western military and intelligence circles in the Middle East agreed Thursday that Israel cannot afford to let a second casus belli from Lebanon go unanswered after the unprovoked death of its officer. (really? Why not?)
A tense Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set the scene Thursday night with his first ever videotaped speech that was broadcast on three Israeli TV channels.
He held Hamas and the Lebanese government responsible for three cross-border attacks in as many days. While the third was staged by Lebanon, Netanyahu placed the Grad attacks on Ashkelon and Eilat squarely at the door of the Palestinian Hamas.
He made it clear that Israel would make both answerable when he said: “Don’t test our resolve to defend our citizens.”
I not sure how this entire report actually informed me of anything new or that Debka keeps their story straight..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10900327
I didn’t know where to put this, but I think this curbs Erdogan a bit. I can understand the pressure the US thinks it puts on Turkey via placing the X-band radar pointed at Iran. Not sure this is very wise.
Not reported much, has been the pressure placed on Turkey from numerous allies, though Cameron who has continued on his gaffe spree with a few more lovelies including the misstatement that Iran HAS the bomb, kissed ass on his sales tour. Another brilliant gafe would be his claim Britian was the US junior partner DURING THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN. The English public is having a good laugh with their PM. Israel and Pakistan, not so much.