The real issue here is not that Israel and Lebanon and the palestinians are warring with each other, the real question should be who is behind the curtain pulling the strings.

 

Iran and The United States are about to go to war with each other through their respective proxies. Hezbollah and Lebanon are controlled for the most part by one country, Iran. Iran gives millions to Hezbollah and what used to be the palestinian authority and is itching to see just what kind of response there would be to open hostilities with The United States only true friend in the region, Israel.

 

The United States too gave millions to the old leadership of Gaza and the West Bank, though it was questionable at the times what was done with that money under the old leaders, at least they were open to sitting at the table and talking in between squirmishes with the Jewish state. But Hezbollah has made no such attempts to help in brokering a peace with Israel and has stepped up the violence against them, most recently kidnapping soldiers from Israeli posts.

 

Lebanon, now a Democracy so they claim, has been funneling money into the terrorist organization to keep them afloat. Without funds Hezbollah can not keep the basics going like trash pickup and the utility grid so they were going to find money somewhere, this much we should have known. They may be terrorists but as the leadership party now they have to keep things running if they want the locals to support them.  Lebanon’s greatest backer is Iran due in part to them sharing one very important element, they are both Shia Muslim. Now it is Iran’s turn to become a regional super power much like the United States and the former Soviet Empire did, by backing the little guys in hopes of some return on their investment. The intifada is sure to be pushed along by Iran and their sometime silent partner in crime, Syria.

 

Iran now has an opening to push some buttons that the West would just as much like to keep from being pushed. Israel, while being an ally of the U.S. is much less under our control than many people think. Israel is its own country so to speak. While they value our friendship and have in the past been held at bay by our suggestions, this is a country that has been, since its inception in its latest incarnation, completely surrounded by enemies who openly denounce their very existence. They do not tend to care much for what the U.N. has to say when it comes to their own protection from tyrants who want to see them pushed to the edge of the sea and then some.

 

It’s a shame really. This part of the world could learn so much from the Israeli people from their agricultural processes which have the highest yields in the region to their Democracy which has withstood many different leading parties but has remained intact. Remember, just as Islam has many different factions from the religious zealots and fringe groups to the mainstream Muslims, Judaism is also fragmented. The difference with the Jewish factions is that at the end of the day they all realize they are on the same team unlike Islamic Fundamentalists. In America we think of our two party system as the only form of democracy but in Israel there are 15 plus parties all fighting for control.

 

But that aside, we are talking about who’s at war with who or whom (I always get that mixed up). On one side we have the Iranian/Syrian backed group of Hezbollah and on the other we have the United States backed (if you prefer to see it that way) Israelis. One side is held together by a Shia Muslim religious alliance who are hell bent on destroying Israel and giving that land to the palestinians who claim it as their land (I will not get into that argument right now) and then you have what could be called a loose religious alliance of sorts between what America sees as God’s chosen people and those offered his salvation through grace as our only way into what has been promised to the Jewish people as we Christians have been taught. This would be fine if it was all that we or they were fighting about; that could be settled with a clear victory by some military might. But the real issue is much deeper than that in my opinion.

 

Iran is on the cusps of having a very real Nuclear Program not unlike North Koreas which could upset what balance there has been in the world up to this point. Like North Korea Iran wants to seen as a real player on the world scene, but unlike North Korea it also has at its root a pet cause, the annihilation of Israel. They see Jews much as Hitler did; an infestation that must be eradicated. Israel sees Iran as a major threat to their life period and probably has a few ideas of its own on how best to secure a future for itself, Iran’s end might even be on that list, if not at the very least a major shift in leadership and policy towards Israel from Iran.

 

Israel has nukes; Iran wants to counteract these weapons with an arsenal of its own. Fair enough, worked for us and the Soviets, but the leadership in Iran is just too damn unstable for anyone to feel comfortable with them having weapons this powerful and a vendetta against Israel. Just like China and Japan having the technology to create nuclear weapons (and I’m not that happy about the Chinese having them) Iran is the Mid-East’s North Korea.

 

So Iran gets to play ball from the sidelines as we ourselves will do from our side. Both countries have something to loose, both will use this exchange to see where the other will go to bob and weave, they will check each others foot work so to speak and look for a weakness. Meanwhile the real dieing will be done by the Lebanese and the Jews who are for the moment the center attraction in this battle royale.

 

But as I remarked above, the United States, while an ally of Israel can not control what they do to protect themselves from foreign aggressors, nor should we believe for a moment that we can. Israel has along standing history of taking care of herself and doing what is in her best interest, the rest of the world be damned. And, as I said many months ago, Israel might well wake up one day and decide that she has had enough of this nonsense and launch full steam ahead on Iran. This would be a big war folks, not the Armageddon of biblical prophecy (my opinion is that that day will be obvious and any debate will be unnecessary) but a hum dinger anyway. Israel has proved time and time again, she can win these regional conflicts with or without our help. I don’t think I would bet against her in a Mid-East street fight.

 

But what would I know; I’m just an Average American.