So a war between Israel and Hezbollah is brewing?
Syria is facing a new turn in its civil war, and Hezbollah militants haven't shown this much anticipation at the possibility of a conflict with Israel since the beginning of the Syrian revolution in 2011.
“We are very ready for the possibility of a war breaking out, and it will be unlike any other,” said Ahmad, a Hezbollah sniper who spoke with Al-Monitor in Lebanon on condition of anonymity.
That makes sense and I've been saying for a while that the timing for Israel to initiate such a war is when Hezbollah's role in the Syrian multi-war is winding down. That allows Hezbollah to experience maximum damage in the war and have minimal time to redeploy and recover from that war.
The Syrian multi-war is still raging, but Hezbollah may feel that they've died enough and that others can carry the burden. So I can't rule out the talk of war with Israel from Hezbollah is simply an argument to disengage from the bloody war in Syria to go home.
It depends on whether Israel is planning to wage an offensive war rather than wait for Hezbollah to recover and initiate a war on their terms.
And say, the president of America and Israel's prime minister are meeting today:
"We want to know and we must know, what the U.S. position will be if we do enter into some wider confrontation with Iran," Michael Oren, a deputy Israeli cabinet minister and former ambassador to Washington, said on Sunday on Israel's Channel 13 TV.
I wonder if the subject of Iran and their proxy Hezbollah comes up?
And there is this about a potential American plan to address the Palestinian-Israel dispute:
U.S. officials have told Reuters it would deal with all major issues, including Jerusalem, borders, security and the future of Jewish settlements on occupied land and Palestinian refugees, and would also urge Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to provide significant financial support to the Palestinians.
A real plan with Israel's agreement that Arab states can get behind will provide cover for Arab states to mute their response to an Israeli attack on Iran's proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Oh, and I'll note that I read that Trump will meet with our ambassador to the UN after the Netanyahu meeting, which might be an opportunity to fill her in in case she has to defend America and shield Israel during some big events forthcoming.
If war is coming (but I could be connecting unrelated dots), as I've long said I think Israel will mount essentially a massive ground raid deep into Lebanon to rip up the infrastructure of Hezbollah rather than just try to bomb Hezbollah into oblivion.
UPDATE: Huh:
U.S. and Israeli contingency plans for a joint response to an Iranian missile attack could be activated at any moment, with U.S. forces arriving in Israel from Europe in 72 hours, officers from both countries explained.
“It depends on the scenario at some point, but we will have fighting forces moving within 72 hours,” U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, 3rd Air Force commander, told reporters at Hazor Airbase on Thursday during Juniper Cobra, a biannual air defense drill aimed at honing the ability of both nations to operate as a joint task force, or JTF, against an Iranian missile attack.
We can get there in 72 hours--once we leave after the exercise is over, of course. Which might deter an Iranian impulse to expand a war in Lebanon against Hezbollah. And help deal with any larger missiles that Hezbollah might have acquired since the 2006 war.
I wonder how long our troops from Europe stay in Israel? And what happens elsewhere before then?
