Lebanon war’ only postponed
 Posted on 8/23/2006 9:54:03 AM
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

ISRAEL’S 33-day war on Lebanon has achieved nothing. Israel failed in its quest of defeating and disarming Hezbollah. Similarly Hezbollah couldn’t achieve its dream of securing the release of the three Lebanese who have been jailed in Israeli prisons. The war didn’t open any doors for Syria to escape from international isolation. It didn’t end accusations that the Syrian regime is responsible for the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri or postpone the deadline issued by the UN Security Council asking Iran to end its nuclear programme.

Such a vicious war, which didn’t achieve any of its objectives, can be considered only a “postponed war” where the involved parties will resort to the use of military when they fail to make any headway in diplomacy. The current truce is fragile and may break anytime in southern Lebanon. Although Hezbollah’s maneuvers are aimed at forcing Israel to resume the war, it has been denying its soldiers are firing at Israeli positions. This has forced the Lebanese Defense Minister to announce that any soldier found involved in shooting at Israeli positions will be tried by a military court and face charges of betrayal.

On the other hand, Israeli leaders are keen to pick up where they left off and recommence the war to escape internal pressures and political questioning, especially as their army has failed to disarm Hezbollah, break the Iran-Syria alliance or their influence in southern Lebanon. The dangerous point is that the whole world is suspicious about this truce. Reconciled to the inevitability of the “postponed war,” international leaders are hesitant to send their troops to southern Lebanon.

France is one of those countries afraid of sending their troops to Lebanon because this is the first war which has ended without any clear defeat or victory for any of the involved parties. After misleading the Lebanese with claims of victory and pacifying them with a paltry sum to compensate their huge losses, Hezbollah has understood if it allows the fragile truce to continue for a longer period victims of the war will wake up from their dream and realize the magnitude of the devastation of their country. No wonder Hezbollah is keen to resume the fight.

The situation in Lebanon is very dangerous as its people are being misled. Currently they are living an illusion under claims of victory. The situation will become more dangerous if the war is resumed. However, restarting the war in Lebanon is an urgent necessity for Iran to escape UN Security Council’s pressures. For the Syrian regime this is necessary to help its President Dr Bashar Al-Assad escape accusations of assassinating Al-Hariri.

Under these circumstances the international community cannot hope to contain this war through UN peace keeping forces. The power of Satan in Tehran and Damascus must be rooted out. This is the only way to stabilize the Middle East and establish free and democratic states in Lebanon and Iraq.

Currently the war is being waged on the fringes. The main objective of a greedy Iran is to take over the entire Middle East. Lebanon can’t fight this war or handle the huge responsibility of dashing Iran’s dreams on behalf of the free world by itself. A mission of such magnitude can be achieved only by the United States and its allies. Meanwhile, all the parties involved in this war are trying to resume hostilities to kick the Americans out of the Middle East. They are even prepared to lose their lives to achieve their objectives.

e-mail: ahmedjarallah@hotmail.com