Escalating war: the dilemma of false alternatives--and why Americans must not let our government entangle us further in the current Mideast mess."We are in the early stages of what I would describe as the third world war, and frankly, our bureaucracies aren't responding fast enough," Newt Gingrich declared. "We don't have the right attitude about this.... This is, in fact, World War III World War III (abbreviated WWIII), or the Third World War, is a term used to describe a hypothetical conflict on the scale of World War I and World War II, or even larger, such as a nuclear holocaust. ." That alarming statement, laden with overtones of approaching Armageddon, came on NBC's Meet the Press with Tim Russert Timothy John Russert, Jr. (born May 7, 1950) is an American journalist who has hosted NBC's Meet the Press since 1991. He is the Washington Bureau Chief for NBC News, and hosts Tim Russert, a weekly interview program on MSNBC. on Sunday, July 16, as Gingrich put the current Lebanon crisis in context by running through a list of terror attacks worldwide. Mr. Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives and neo-conservative guru, subsequently took up the same theme on CNN's Larry King Live Larry King Live is a nightly CNN interview program hosted by broadcaster and writer Larry King. The show premiered in 1985, and is CNN's most watched program, with over one million viewers nightly. , Fox's Hannity and Colmes, and other programs. But he wasn't merely expressing his opinion that events on the ground have already, de facto [Latin, In fact.] In fact, in deed, actually. This phrase is used to characterize an officer, a government, a past action, or a state of affairs that must be accepted for all practical purposes, but is illegal or illegitimate. , put us squarely in the opening throes throe n. 1. A severe pang or spasm of pain, as in childbirth. See Synonyms at pain. 2. throes A condition of agonizing struggle or trouble: a country in the throes of economic collapse. of WWIII WWIII World War Three . No, he was arguing for kicking the process up another notch, pressing for Israel--with U.S. backing--to attack Syria and Iran, the state sponsors of the Hezbollah and Hamas terrorists who have been attacking Israel. Agitating ag·i·tate v. ag·i·tat·ed, ag·i·tat·ing, ag·i·tates v.tr. 1. To cause to move with violence or sudden force. 2. for the Apocalypse Gingrich is not the only influential policy wonk to be casting the Lebanon flare-up in apocalyptic terms and rattling the sabers. James Woolsey, a former under secretary of the Navy and President Clinton's CIA CIA: see Central Intelligence Agency. (1) (Confidentiality Integrity Authentication) The three important concerns with regards to information security. Encryption is used to provide confidentiality (privacy, secrecy). director from 1993 to 1995, is even more hawkish, advocating that the United States itself bomb Syria, rather than wait for Israel to do so. "I think we ought to execute some airstrikes against Syria," Woolsey said on Fox News Channel's The Big Story with John Gibson. If we're going to go after Syria, why not also "hit something in Iran?" Gibson asked. Woolsey is not averse to that course of action, but acknowledges that we may be too overextended overextended, adj 1. the situation occurring when a prosthetic appliance is inadvertently constructed in such a way that part of the oral mucosa is injured by the appliance. adj 2. militarily, at present, to take on another war. "One has to take things to some degree by steps," Woolsey replied, noting that with our troops already committed in one major war in Iraq, a full-tilt war against the Tehran regime may not be practical "at this moment." Other war hawks, apparently, are unburdened by these concerns. William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard and a leading cheerleader for a global war against Islam War against Islam (also War on Islam, or Attack on Islam) is a critical term used to describe a perceived campaign to annihilate Islam, using not only military but economic and cultural means. , is calling for a U.S. military effort to bring about "regime change in Syria and Iran." In a July 24 editorial entitled, "It's Our War," Kristol advocates that we launch "a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities." Now! "Why wait?" he asks. Likewise, neo-con propagandist Michael Ledeen, another leading voice in perennial pro-war punditry, sees the Lebanon situation as a mandate for a U.S. military attack on Syria and Iran. In a July 13 National Review Online piece entitled "The Same War," for instance, Ledeen argues: "In this war, there is no meaningful distinction between Iran and Syria, they work in tandem." He insists, "The only way we are going to win this war is to bring down those regimes in Tehran and Damascus." And, he continues, "Only the United States can accomplish it." Defiance Facade Opposed to (or rather, seemingly opposed to) these and other voices of the war chorus are the accommodationists, all of whom seem to be pretty much in general agreement that the solution to the Israel-Lebanon-Hamas-Hezbollah-Syria-Iran crisis must be an international one, involving a parley par·ley n. pl. par·leys A discussion or conference, especially one between enemies over terms of truce or other matters. intr.v. among all of the above-mentioned parties plus the United States, the UN, the EU, Russia, and China. These advocates propose an international peace force for the Israel-Palestine-Lebanon region--most likely under the United Nations and/or NATO NATO: see North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO in full North Atlantic Treaty Organization International military alliance created to defend western Europe against a possible Soviet invasion. auspices--along with generous largesse lar·gess also lar·gesse n. 1. a. Liberality in bestowing gifts, especially in a lofty or condescending manner. b. Money or gifts bestowed. 2. Generosity of spirit or attitude. (from guess who) for humanitarian aid, refugee resettlement Re`set´tle`ment n. 1. Act of settling again, or state of being settled again; as, the resettlement of lees s>. The resettlement of my discomposed soul. - Norris. , rebuilding of infrastructure destroyed in the recent conflict, etc. This is the school of thought expounded by, for example, Judith Kipper, adviser for Middle East Programs at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR CFR See: Cost and Freight ), who urges the Bush administration to "do some meaningful diplomacy" with the terrorists and their state sponsors. In a July 22 New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times op-ed entitled, "Don't Just Talk to States," Kipper happily reports that "Hamas and Hezbollah, supported by Iran and Syria, have opened a new diplomatic front for the United States." President Bush, she says, "should undertake a robust diplomatic initiative that, directly or through third parties, engages not only states, including even Iran and Syria, but also non-state parties to the conflict, especially Hezbollah and Hamas." Why negotiate with these murderous thugs? Because, Kipper avers Avers is a municipality in the district of Hinterrhein in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. , "both are political parties and social welfare organizations." But she admits that both Hamas and Hezbollah have "lethal military wings" that must be disbanded. However, she is hopeful that this can be accomplished if we agree to "rebuild Lebanon physically and politically" and to "revive the detailed peace plan" known as the Oslo Accords and its follow-up agreements over the past decade and a half. (Ka-ching, ka-ching. No dollar amount is being mentioned now, but rest assured, it would be in the tens of billions, paid mostly by ... guess who?) Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former national security adviser to President Carter, was proposing a similar approach to Iran several months before the latest ignition of the Israel-Lebanon border wars. Back in April, Brzezinski penned a piece for the Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Morning daily newspaper. Established in 1881, it was purchased and incorporated in 1884 by Harrison Gray Otis (1837–1917) under The Times-Mirror Co. (the hyphen was later dropped from the name). opining o·pine v. o·pined, o·pin·ing, o·pines v.tr. To state as an opinion. v.intr. To express an opinion: opined on the defendant's testimony. that the "United States should join Britain, France and Germany, as well as perhaps Russia and China (both veto-casting U.N. Security Council members), in direct negotiations with Iran, using the model of the concur rent multilateral talks with North Korea. As it does with North Korea, the U.S. also should simultaneously engage in bilateral talks with Iran about security and financial issues of mutual concern." On July 18, former national security adviser and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger appeared with "Zbig" (as he chummily refers to Brzezinski) on Jim Lehrer's PBS PBS in full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member stations, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, News Hour to jointly pitch the notion of the need for "international involvement" and serious U.S. dialogue with Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas. Many other voices are hymning the same tune. Such as former Secretary of State George Shultz, for instance, mentor to current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who said recently in Time about his "Plan for Peace": "If you want to create stability, then you have to carry through on U.N. [Security Council] Resolution 1559." This will require, he notes, "an international force" All of the "experts" quoted above--both the "bomb Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Syria" and the "talk to Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Syria" schools of thought --are longtime members of the elite private establishment that has been deciding and running U.S. foreign policy for the past several decades: the Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an influential and independent, nonpartisan foreign policy membership organization founded in 1921 and based at 58 East 68th Street (corner Park Avenue) in New York City, with an additional office in Washington, D.C. . It would appear that the "bomb Iran" school, as represented by the Gingrich-Woolsey-Kristol-Ledeen wing of the CFR, is primarily serving as a foil to make the planned "international" approach, as represented by the KipperKissinger-Brzezinski-Shultz wing of the CFR, look more reasonable. Public support for an endless Iraq-Afghanistan war has been crumbling for months; support for expanding this open-ended, undefined, and unfocused un·fo·cused also un·fo·cussed adj. 1. Not brought into focus: an unfocused lens. 2. "war on terror This article is about U.S. actions, and those of other states, after September 11, 2001. For other conflicts, see Terrorism. The War on Terror (also known as the War on Terrorism " to include Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, and Iran is about nil. So, a multinational force that does not require (for now) putting U.S. sons and daughters into that perennially boiling pot may seem much more palatable to American voters. Incredibly, many of these supposed experts, whose collective wisdom is now being peddled to the American public for the solution to the Lebanon crisis, are the very ones who have, by their previous official actions, put us in the current pickle. But are those the only alternatives open to us: global war or partnering with terrorists (under a UN-led regional mandate that lavishes untold billions on all the parties concerned)? Is there no other way? Is minding one's own business not an option? George Washington, in his farewell address in 1796, articulated the moral and constitutional foundation for just such a foreign policy. "Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground?" he asked. "The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations," he said, "is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible." John Quincy Adams, our sixth president, endorsed this sensible policy thusly thus·ly adv. Usage Problem Thus. Usage Note: Thusly was introduced in the 19th century as an alternative to thus in sentences such as Hold it thus or He put it thus. : "America goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own." When it comes to Lebanon and the surrounding vicinity, Americans have a fight (nay, a duty) to ask just how many times we are going to allow this same crew of CFR "wise men" (yes, that's actually how they refer to themselves) to drag us into this monster hunt. Over the past five decades, one CFR-dominated administration after another (Republican and Democrat) has intervened in Lebanese affairs--always with disastrous results for America, Israel, Lebanon, and the entire Middle East. The age-old tribal, ethnic, political, ideological, and religious enmities that have been the source of so much strife and bloodshed in the region have been exacerbated over the past several decades by Moscow and Beijing, which have been working the Arab and Islamic "street" ever since the founding of Israel in 1948. That has not changed since the apparent demise of the Soviet Union; Russia continues to support the terror states, as does China. If Iran and Syria are the real powers behind Hezbollah and Hamas (and they are), then Russia and China just as certainly are the powers behind Iran and Syria. But the CFR policy cartel would have us believe that Presidents Vladimir Putin and Hu Jintao are our indispensable allies in the region, who will help us make nice with Iran, Syria, and their terror surrogates. For America to step into the Lebanon-Israel inferno would be utter folly, in even the most favorable circumstances. To do so with our Iraq and Afghanistan occupations already draining our military and economic resources, with our borders unprotected, with the knowledge that Hezbollah will respond by launching terror attacks against (and within) the U.S., and with the "solution" being crafted by those with a track record for stirring up the flames, is utter madness. Israel and Lebanon: Decades of conflict: thousands of Palestinian refugees were driven into Lebanon by the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli wars, destabilizing that small nation. Anti-Israeli groups, such as Hezbollah, have used Lebanon to stage repeated cross-border attacks. Israel has retaliated with invasion and occupation. Who is Hezbollah? Formed 1982 by Shiite Muslim clerics to resist Israeli occupation of Lebanon; name means Party of God; called terrorist group by U.S., other nations * Sponsors Iran, Syria provide financial, military, political aid * Military Thousands of supporters armed with short-range, Katyusha rockets, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, rifles * Politics 14 members recently elected to Lebanon's parliament; seat in cabinet; major provider of social services to Lebanon's 1.2 million Shiites * Leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah Katyusha rocket Upgraded World War II-era Soviet rocket; Hezbollah reportedly has over 13,000, launched from truck beds; some common types: The fighting 1975 Lebanon civil war breaks out among several religious, political factions; tens of thousands killed 1978 Israel invades south Lebanon to eliminate Palestinian bases; U.N. peacekeeping force arrives 1982 Israel invades, occupies Beirut; drives out PLO PLO abbr. Palestine Liberation Organization PLO Palestine Liberation Organization Noun 1. PLO * leaders, fighters; massacres in Palestinian refugee camps Palestinian refugee camps were established after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War to accommodate Palestinian refugees who fled from the war. This article lists the current Palestinian refugee camps with current population and year they were established. 1983 Israel withdraws to "security zone" in south to keep Hezbollah from shelling across border 1991 Syria-Israel-Lebanon treaty recognizes Lebanon as separate state; Syria keeps troops in Lebanon; civil war ends 1993, 1996 Heavy Israeli air attacks on guerrilla bases in Lebanon 2000 Israel pulls troops out of south Lebanon 2006 Israel attacks southern Lebanon; imposes air, sea blockades after Hezbollah captures two Israeli soldiers * Palestinian Liberation Organization Source: World Almanac almanac, originally, a calendar with notations of astronomical and other data. Almanacs have been known in simple form almost since the invention of writing, for they served to record religious feasts, seasonal changes, and the like. , CIA World Factbook, AP, BBC BBC in full British Broadcasting Corp. Publicly financed broadcasting system in Britain. A private company at its founding in 1922, it was replaced by a public corporation under royal charter in 1927. , U.S. Navy, Global Security, Council on Foreign Relations, NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. Graphic: Lee Hluteng, Judy Treible
Length Range Warhead
Diameter
Length Range
Arash 10 ft./3 m 12 mi./20 km
Oghab 16 ft./5 m 21-28 mi.
/34-45 km
Warhead Diameter
Arash 40 lb./18 kg 5 in./122 mm
Oghab 154 lb./70 kg 9 in./x 230 mm
Israel's
military
Active Reserve
Army 125,000 600,000
Air Force 25,000 25,000
Navy 11,000 11,000
Tanks 3,700
Amored 400
reconnaissance
vehicles
Amphibious 400
armored
personnel
carriers
TOW missiles 1,225
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