Israeli officials don’t want to publicly talk about their repeated attacks on Syria, but off the record they are presenting this as a victory over Iran. Privately, officials say they believe Iran is starting to withdraw its forces from Syria.
They didn’t provide any evidence to back this up, nor do they ever, but the same officials, speaking off-the-record in the Israeli press, did say Israel would keep attacking Syria until Iran “leaves for good.”
Since Israel isn’t acknowledging these attacks, and Iran’s putative pullout isn’t based on any evidence, Israel will likely keep attacking, and either keep making it about Iran, or come up with a new justification.
Attacks have been on the uptick in recent weeks in Syria, mostly hitting Shi’ite targets, but generally Lebanese, not Iranians. Though any Shi’ite tends to be labeled Iranian by Israel, this suggests the strikes are part of a broader campaign.
The marketing boys at Langley must be working from home.
Iran could just as well be drawing down because it won. Now it seeks to save money, as so after happens after winning a war.
iran knew they were outmatched. this is an attempt to lure israel into attacking them on iranian soil to gain russian support. russia agreed to help them if they got attacked on iranian soil. but there would be a price to pay for that help. it almost seems like israel wants us to fight iran for them. is israel that diabolical.
Outmatched by whom? Did you think they were in Syria to fight someone other than ISIS? If they are leaving–if–it is because ISIS is defeated. The Iranians have not attacked another nation in 200 years and given what they and everyone else is going through, the last thing they want is a war, on their soil or anyone else’s. But if Israel were foolish enough to try that they would be routed and they know it. What the Israelis want–as usual–is to “lure” the US into attacking Iran. It’s been their policy since the 1990s. That’s right. Iran has been “six months away from a Bomb” for 30 years. Everybody clutch their pearls. Meanwhile Israel has had its own Bombs for longer. Everybody clutch their nuts.
Funny, you edited your post to include a question about Israel wanting US to fight for them. I wouldn’t call them diabolical, that would imply they are fiendishly clever or something. No, it’s just that the US has been that stupid for 50 years or so. They have already fought a war for them since 2002, assassinated an Iranian general for them, and basically supported them with more foreign aid than any other country despite it being used for military purposes, which is verboten, and vetoed every single resolution condemning Israel’s illegal activities on the UN Security Council and in other UN deliberations.
i thought if you fought a war over territorial rights of a region and won you get the land. the loser doesn’t get to cry foul because they were there first. even though they were just squatters in the first place.
What are you, 12 (or 112)? The international law of war since 1945 put an end, at least officially, to wars fought over borders.
Did you think the ISIS quasi-state territories would not revert back to the Syrians and the Iraqis for some reason? Who do you think ISIS were? Another country? They’re ex-Iraqi soldiers, some Syrians and a motley assortment of (very) young Muslims from around the world who drank the kool-aid. The lands they took control of were parts of Iraq and Syria. Iran was invited to help combat them by Syria. Iran didn’t invade Syria, nor did it pick a fight with the Israelis, who decided not only to target Iranians (just because they like to and it plays to the bloodthirsty gallery in Israel), but to provide medical help to ISIS(!) which for some reason few ever talk about.
So, no, you thought wrong in more ways than I can keep track of. While we’re at it, this is also why the territories Israel has had control of since the 1960s are called “occupied” because they were never part of any agreement. Israel claimed the nations they represented (Syria, Transjordan, Egypt) were “about to attack” them, invaded and seized those lands and has sat on their populations ever since. Even if you were correct and the land is “theirs” now because they “won” it, wouldn’t that mean that the people living there are now Israeli citizens with a right to vote in members of the Knesset? You know, so they could have representation in the government that decides their fate, like you do?
the u.s. and israel believe they are exempt from international law including this one. also seems like the u.s.s.r. violated this law consistently in the past.
I’m not sure what you mean by this. If you mean they flout international law, yes, they do. That’s a bad thing. I’m not sure how many times the USSR violated that law in the past but it’s a moot point since the USSR ceased to exist 30 years ago. I didn’t say it hasn’t happened. All I did was try to educate you that winning a war does not “entitle” the winner to another country’s lands, resources, etc. Strictly speaking, starting a war is illegal in and of itself, hence why the US likes to seek cover by going to the UN for anything big, or it used to. Now they pretty much don’t give a f%#k. This is what people mean by American exceptionalism. They believe themselves to be above the laws they write themselves, and that American law itself doesn’t apply if they do things beyond their borders. Israeli law forbids the settlers from doing wht they do, too, but nothing is done about it. Laws mean nothing if they are not actually enforced. See the unfollowed Soviet Constitution.
Another example is Diego Garcia. The UK “owns” this island in the Indian Ocean, supposedly. The British forcibly removed its entire native population so that they could lease the island to the Americans as a base / permanent aircraft carrier, in a dispicable act of extreme colonialism. The UK’s Appellate Court ruled that this was a terrible thiing to have done but basically said “too bad, so sad”. So much for justice and fair play.
i’ll give you laudits about land grabs for winning a war. i believed it was legal and warranted. however those arabs didn’t own the land there either. they were all squatting on british land. as far as us flaunting international court and law. no one has ever even tried anything this outlandish. if we wanted to take out maduro we wouldn’t resort to a method like that. we are planning to get rid of him down the road but not with that effort. just some mercenaries with a bad plan.
Squatting on “British” land??? And in the same breath as admitting you’re wrong about land grabs for winning a war? What do you think coloialism is? Palestine was not actually British, any more than South Africa was, or Morocco French, etc., etc. You can’t really be that stupid or ignorant. Of course the Arabs were there before the British. The whole of what they used to call “Arabia” was part of the Ottoman Empire, which was dismantled in 1918 after 700 years of rule by the Turks. If you want to see how the British made that happen, see the film Lawrence of Arabia (overly romanticized, but at least reasonably honest about the British betrayal, and a beautiful piece of cinematography anyway).
You really need to read up on your history. I know it’s not what they teach in your schools, it’s not all your fault, but wow, what a rude awakneing you have in store. You have been resorting to “a method like that” for decades! The CIA basically admitted years ago that it was behind the coup against Iran’s democratically elected leader in ’53, and the subsequent installation of the Shah, who was a brutal dictator, which, by the way, is what led to the Revolution later co-opted by the Ayatollah. That is why Iranians chant “death to America” now and then and refer to America as “the great Shaytan” (who does not actually correspond to the Christian concept of devil, he’s more of a problem child to God in Islam, Iranian mothers call their own kids “Shaytan” when they behave badly, the way we might say “scamp”, “brat”, etc.)
“Some mercenaries with a bad plan.” Who happen to be American. After years of pressure on Venezuela, going back to the last coup in 2002 or whenever. Really. Just as the US sent a great big warship down there to “fight drugs” even though Venezuela is not even a minor transit corridor for cocaine and certainly doesn’t produce any. Really. Big fucking coincidence, that. And then you say “we are planning to get rid of him” as though you are somehow legally justified in interfering with other countries’ internal political processes. Newsflash: you are not. That you feel that you do is a form of self-entitlement. The world doesn’t belong to you, neither its resources nor its people. The US has wanted to control Venezuela for its oil for a very long time. They have opposed Maduro, though he was elected democratically, because he continued the policies of Chavez. Guaido did not run against Maduro. Installing him as president would be like a coup against the US in which Nancy Pelosi becomes President. They don’t have any excuses to do it themselves, that’s why they’re operating covertly. They’ve tried instigating a popular uprising by cutting them off economically. That didn’t work. Now this. Next option is creating some kind of false flag op presumably.
the arabs lost the land to the british, then when the british didn’t have a lot of interest in policing it some arabs drifted back and squatted. the british didn’t seem to care and sold it to the jews. i don’t blame the arabs for being a tad upset about all that but they lost the war in 1948 or it would have been theirs.
we’re not giving up diego garcia to anyone. we leased that from britain. blame them. we’ll end up giving them money but we are taking it by eminent domain if necessary.
You have a very poor understanding of the law. Eminent domain cannot be applied to land that isn’t the US in the first place. And I do blame them, equally. How is the removal of the entire native population of a country in any way justified? Why can’t you do what China does, namely build your own damn base in the ocean if you need one instead of aiding and abetting a crime against humanity (removing an entire people from their homeland is basically cultural genocide)? I thought you were just poorly educated but it seems like you’re also morally underdeveloped: your thinking is tribalist: you think America = good, so whatever America does is good. Likewise might = right, right? We’ll see how that works out for you. Better hope the next empire treats your kids better than yours has treated the world’s.
golly zarhan i know i’m not even qualified to comment on this. today is the first time i ever heard of diego garcia. i’m sorry but that place is too strategically located to let native tribes occupy it. where they were moved to and how they are doing will be my next project. everyone involved apologized for taking the island but it isn’t going to be reclaimed. certainly the U.N. doesn’t have the ability to get us out of there. i know eminent domain wouldn’t be the correct term for what we are doing there. it’s like home away from home for us now. we ain’t budging.
OK, I get it now. You’re a troll, but one of the nicer ones. Coming across as a bit racist in that one, but I’ll assume you’re doing it to get a rise out of me. You hooked me good, but I’m wiggling off and swimming home now.
Israel used to have good relations with Iran. Iran was happy to sell Iranian oil to Israel & Israel was happy to sell products to Iran. The Revolution changed that. Israel would love to go back to good relations again.
Iran said that it wants Israel gone. Iranians shout “Death to Israel” & print “Death to Israel” on their missiles. Iran boasted that it helped both Hezbollah & Hamas kill Israelis. Iran said that it will help anyone willing to attack Israel. That’s war mongering.
I’d like to see your sources for all of that. You seem to be confusing Iran and Iraq under Saddam Hussein for some of it. Iran has said that the regime in Israel behaves criminally. It supported Hezbollah as a movement to resist incursions by Israel, not the other way around. Hezbollah is a political party in the government of Lebanon. Likewise Hamas is a political party, the legitimate government of both Gaza and the West Bank till they were ousted by the coup by Fatah. The world isn’t the black and white good and evil morality play you think it is–or if it is, you’re very confused about who the good are and who the evil: hint, the people who steal land and build on it, destroying people’s homes on a regular basis… aren’t very nice.
Israel warned us against Iraq invasion, US official says
Chief of staff of former secretary of state reveals that large number of senior Israeli officials warned Bush administration that invasion of Iraq would be destabilizing to region.
Yitzhak Benhorin|Published: 01.09.07 , 10:22
I seem to recall very clearly Israel very much supported the invasion of Iraq in 2002-3, one of the few who did. You’re saying someone said diffrent in 2007? I’d like to see something published in 02-03.
It seems kind of cowardly to attack someone who is so much weaker then you are they cant even strike back. It’s obvious that peace is the last thing in the world that Netanyahu wants because he is afraid the Arab majority would absorb his national identity if the people’s were to integrate peacefully.
i’m getting the impression that many groups of arabs do not like the fact that israel is there. all those countries ganged up on them in 1948 as heavy favorites and failed miserably.and lost that war. now they whine you stole our land when in fact it is the opposite.
The opposite? How can you call the establishment of Israel, which was a migration of people from Europe into Arab land (Palestine) under British Mandate (colonialism), subject to an agreement not agreed to by any Palestinians, anything but stealing land? Israeli settlers continue the process, illegally. The Israeli government continues the process, illegally. And it’s more than land. It’s the needless deaths of thousands upon thousands of Palestinian men, women and children going back many decades. Tell you what else is missing from your “analysis”: the Iranians aren’t Arabs and weren’t involved in 1948, and maintained friendly relations with Israel for a long time. Israel’s best friends in the region remain bloody dictatorships (Saudis and Egyptians). The conflict with Syria is about the Golan Heights, which Israel seized, but in your Bizarro World version of history, I suppose you think Israel stole it “back” somehow.
European Jews started arriving in 1882 as legal immigrants. They bought land. Evidence that even one square inch of Palestine was stolen by the Jews before Palestinian terrorists began a genocidal holy war against the Jews in 1947?
Approximately 3% of Israel’s land was bought that way. It’s not a holy war. It was about the fact that land (and real property) was taken by the Israelis who came in as invaders (even if an international body could have negotiated such a thing, there was no final agreement that is represented by what we see today), terrorizing the population, many of whom fled. Why would they have fled if that were not the case? Why does Israel deny them the right to return to the land where they were born (or their descendants)? Please do not quote the made up stories of Arabs from other countries encouraginng them to come as refugees, it’s a ridiculous canard. Anyway, what you’re describing surely does not apply to the Occupied Territories, now, does it. But you keep up your deflections, I’m sure it works for you now and then. Not on this site.
Until Syria restores its borders, they will probably put up with these inconsequential Israeli attacks without responding. Once the borders are restored, Syria will shoot down Israeli planes attacking them from over the Golan and may even launch a counter attack against Israeli airfields using surface-to-surface missiles.
And there is the water. Israel is currently taking more than its legal share of Jordan River water. Syria should invite Palestinians to live in Syria and build irrigation projects along the river. Israel may eventually attack but they will be no match for rejuvenated, battle-hardened Syria, with three times Israel’s population.