Posted on 02/29/2008 12:29:16 AM PST by maquiladora
Meanwhile, it seems Syria has opened backdoor channels to talk to Israel.
yitbos
When you think of Hezbollah and Hamas; think of Iran and Syria.
Ok this is actually quite serious. First of all, the Russians have 3 ships to the north at the Syrian port. Its something to consider.
Second, Israel is going to put the hurt on in Gaza.
Clearly, these ships are there as a deterrent to prevent Hezbullah from opening up a second front while Israel mops up Hamas in Gaza. But, Iran may have no choice. We (US, Israel, NATO to a degree) are going to systematically remove Iran’s chips from the ches board.
Israel is going to wipe out Hamas. In return, Iran almost has to activate Hezbullah to open fire. That is when the US will be ready to pound them, or Israel will pound them. If not, then Iran loses Hamas and is left only with Hezbullah, who will get pounded later.
The wildcard is Russia. But if we (or Israel) are on the road to attack Iran in the next year or two or 3, we/they need to remove Hamas and Hezbullah first so that they cannot open up new fronts in the war against Islamic terrorists and their supporters.
See my post above. Israel is on the move. I think our ships are there just as a deterrent but could come under fire from Hezbullah. In 2006 they fired a silkworm missile at an Israeli ship. Seems our ships may get into harms way if Hezbullah is activated when Israel enters Gaza, which it is almost likely to do. Iran/Hamas are goading them into doing it. Gotta act now while Israel is still strongest and before Hamas gets any more fortifications and advanced weaponry. Israel, nor the US, wants Hamas to get as weaponized as Hezbullah and Fatah wants them dead too.
Do you have a source for that?
Or more Al-Qaida who came through the Gaza/Egyptian border breech recently.
AQ infiltrates to Gaza, poof, largest rocket attack on Israel.
yitbos
AS usual Nutjawb and his terrorist cronies get very very silent right now, lots of terrorists walking around with umbrellas and hiding in basements of schools as usual.
Some of you probably know bits and pieces of what’s going on. But the more amenable Arab nations have been trying to talk Syria into compromising on the Lebanese presidential stand-off. Some buildup of military positions sponsored by Syria and Iran has also been noted.
"We are facing an American threat against Lebanon," Hezbollah legislator Hassan Fadlallah said. "It is clear this threat and intimidation will not affect us."
“Russia recently decided to reestablish its naval presence in the region at Tartus, Syria. In recent months, Syria has begun renovations at the port to facilitate the docking of large Russian Navy ships.”
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1202064573279&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
I’ll dig for more sources...
Actually from what I can find, I may have been mistaken - the 1 ship appear to have gone listing off to sea... I’ll search more later.
Thank you familyop for the ping and post.
You are right about that. Israel is going into Gaza that much seems sure. What will hezbullah do? It appears the US fleet is there to encourage them to do nothing.
whoa!
I think this is to deter Syria and/or Iran.
Hizballah continued building up its units in South Lebanon since the last round with Israel, BTW. Also, after the recent assassination of Imad Mughniyah (who was behind the bombing of our Marines in ‘83 in Lebanon), Syrian leaders and other Hizballah elements have issued threats.
IMO, the Navy movement is intended to be a demonstration without fire for the purpose of stability in Lebanon. The group will probably be there for at least a whole tour—maybe longer.
What's strange about it?
Not that I would know anything about such situations.
ping
Let’s hope the Cole get’s the first shot.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.