This War Will Set Its Own Pace - Arab Machismo and the Coming Escalation
How will escalation in this war happen? It will happen in part because the lunatics that are attacking Israel don't really know what they're doing. They're a combination of braggadocio and machismo built on a foundation of incompetence and fanaticism. These organizations and entities - Hezbollah, Iran, Syria, etc - are not totally in control of all of their people. Various spokesmen from various factions speak for the entire organization - but since these Arab fanatics speak in terms of honor and martyrdom, no one can ever say "that other spokesman who said we were going to launch rockets at Haifa... yeah, actually we'd rather not risk that escalation."
And so you have anonymous Hezbollah people reading statements on the air promising that Hezbollah would attack Haifa if Israel attacked Beirut. Now of course Israel was going to attack certain neighborhoods in Beirut - that's where Hezbollah has their 20 story office buildings and all the rest of their logistical network. So because Hezbollah can't ever look like they want to do anything but trigger a major war in the region, any Hezbollah idiot has the power guarantee massive escalation by committing Hezbollah to doing something incredibly stupid in reaction to something Israel was already in the process of doing.
Ditto for the Iranian lunatic who committed Iran to attacking Israel if Israel attacks Syria. An Israeli-Syrian confrontation is inevitable - not because Israel wants it, but because Syria has to trigger it. For the last two decades, Syria has been strutting around and insisting that they were Lebanon's protectors from Israel. Their justification for turning Lebanon into a Syrian colony was that they were Lebanon's big brothers, and that they would come to Lebanon's aid in case of an Israeli attack. Well, now Israel is attacking - and Syria has to either slink back home with its tail between its legs or attack the IDF. Arab pride being what it is, they can't just admit "you know, starting a potential world war seems like a steep price to pay just so that we don't look stupid for making up excuses to meddle in Lebanese affairs." So Syria is committed to at least a confrontation with Israel's military.
Now Israel obviously cannot just let it be attacked because the Syrian leadership is too worried about its masculinity not to try to kill Israelis. They will not fight this war with a hand tied behind their back, and they will respond to Syrian aggression with force. And now we have this Iranian idiot - knowing that an Syria must attack Israel and that Israel must respond - committing Iran to attacking Israel if Israel attacks Syria. And once Iran launches their missiles at the dense Israeli population centers, we're talking hundreds of thousands of deaths. After that first attack, the Jewish State will not allow a regime that promises to eradicate it from the planet a second chance.
And so you have anonymous Hezbollah people reading statements on the air promising that Hezbollah would attack Haifa if Israel attacked Beirut. Now of course Israel was going to attack certain neighborhoods in Beirut - that's where Hezbollah has their 20 story office buildings and all the rest of their logistical network. So because Hezbollah can't ever look like they want to do anything but trigger a major war in the region, any Hezbollah idiot has the power guarantee massive escalation by committing Hezbollah to doing something incredibly stupid in reaction to something Israel was already in the process of doing.
Ditto for the Iranian lunatic who committed Iran to attacking Israel if Israel attacks Syria. An Israeli-Syrian confrontation is inevitable - not because Israel wants it, but because Syria has to trigger it. For the last two decades, Syria has been strutting around and insisting that they were Lebanon's protectors from Israel. Their justification for turning Lebanon into a Syrian colony was that they were Lebanon's big brothers, and that they would come to Lebanon's aid in case of an Israeli attack. Well, now Israel is attacking - and Syria has to either slink back home with its tail between its legs or attack the IDF. Arab pride being what it is, they can't just admit "you know, starting a potential world war seems like a steep price to pay just so that we don't look stupid for making up excuses to meddle in Lebanese affairs." So Syria is committed to at least a confrontation with Israel's military.
Now Israel obviously cannot just let it be attacked because the Syrian leadership is too worried about its masculinity not to try to kill Israelis. They will not fight this war with a hand tied behind their back, and they will respond to Syrian aggression with force. And now we have this Iranian idiot - knowing that an Syria must attack Israel and that Israel must respond - committing Iran to attacking Israel if Israel attacks Syria. And once Iran launches their missiles at the dense Israeli population centers, we're talking hundreds of thousands of deaths. After that first attack, the Jewish State will not allow a regime that promises to eradicate it from the planet a second chance.
