From the Sky to the Center (a caelo usque ad centrum)

I've had a lot of people ask me about the situation in Israel these past few days. These are the facts as I see them, feel free to correct or refute any of them. I've included source links in footnotations.

17 days ago, after tunneling through the southern Israeli border at Gaza, Hamas operatives kidnapped an Israeli soldier. Gilad Shalit was taken, presumably, for ransom in exchange for the release of prisoners from Israeli jails.

On Wednesday, Hezbollah (which means 'Party of Allah'), a terrorist organization based out of Lebanon, captured two Israeli soldiers during a skirmish. Their names are Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.

Two years ago Hezbollah negotiated the release of 400 prisoners in exchange for an Israeli businessman and the bodies of three Israeli soldiers². Now, it seems they believed they could do it again.

Syria and Iran have supported both Hamas and Hezbollah since their inception. Their involvement in this conflict was inevitable.

On July 13th a UN resolution was being put to a vote condeming Israel. The United States vetoed it, with Ambassador Bolten saying this:

"The draft Resolution before the Council was unbalanced. It placed demands on one side in the Middle East conflict but not the other. This draft Resolution would have exacerbated tensions in the region and would have undermined our vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security."

Keep in mind that this resolution was being pushed by the UN security council, of which Qatar, an extremist Islamic nation, is a member.

In July of 2005 Smithsonian Magazine published an article entitled "Syria at a Crossroads" ¹. Its author Stephen Glain painstakingly details Syrian life in modern Damascus, and he goes to great trouble outlining political thought from a variety of sources and viewpoints. One quote from the article has stuck with me for the past twelve months.

"Take Hezbollah. The Americans and Israel call this an extremist organization, but I know Hasan Nasrullah [the head of Hezbollah]. He is not an extremist. If anything, he is a bulkhead against extremists in his own party. Remember, when Hezbollah kicked Israel out of southern Lebanon, Nasrullah saved many churches there and prevented reprisal attacks against those who fought on the Israel side. This is extremism?

Apparently the State department and the White House aren't coordinating their foreign policy message to Syria. In a speech before German press President Bush had this to say about Syrian involvement in the conflict ³:

"Thirdly, Syria needs to be held to account. Syria is housing the militant wing of Hamas. Hezbollah has got an active presence in Syria. The truth of the matter is, if we really want there to be -- the situation to settle down, the soldiers need to be returned, and President Assad needs to show some leadership toward peace."

On the State Department website, however, Secretary Rice implored Syria to step up to the proverbial plate ⁴ by saying:

"We are united in our determination to achieve the release of the Israeli soldiers. Syria has a special responsibility to use its influence to support a positive outcome. All sides must act with restraint to resolve this incident peacefully and to protect innocent life and civilian infrastructure."

Only today did the White House release a statement from President Bush calling on Syria to exert influence over Hezbollah.

The retaliatory attacks by Israel are being viewed by many as a sign that Israel believes Hezbollah is Lebanon, that the Lebanese government is responsible for this conflict. However, the United States has been working diligently over the past 18 months trying to cement a democracy in Lebanon after it was clear that Syrian influence was unwelcome, and elections were held to replace Syrian officials.

And then there's Iran. The President of Israel has mentioned that many of the rockets which have hit Israel were "Made in Iran". This is a strong sign that Israel intends to include the Iranian government in this conflict.

The US state department has repeatedly urged that this conflict be myopically focused on Hezbollah and the kidnappings, while little is being said anymore about Gaza by either side.

The French Goverment has a long diplomatic history with modern Lebanon, and they are no friend of Israel. Their reaction to an Israeli attack on the Lebanese government might be a military one.

UN Resolution 1559 was created and passed in 2004 in an effort to halt Syrian influence in Lebanon. It is what has given UN Secretary General Kofi Annan a mandate in this crisis to oversee the peacemaking process.

I'll post more as things progress.