APS Diplomat News Service articles from August 2006

APS Diplomat News Service archives from August 2006

Lebanon's Hizbullah War Strategy Gives The US An Idea Of What It May Face In Iran.
August 7, 2006... *** Shi'ites Of The Oil-Rich Eastern Province In Saudi Arabia Have Been Openly Rallying Support For Hizbullah, A New Wave Of Iran-Inspired Manifestations Which Anger The Wahhabi Religious Order & Other Branches Of Sunni Islam - Where Ja'fari...

Iran's Proxy War.
August 7, 2006... "This is our war", wrote Tehran's conservative Kayhan daily in reference to the fighting between Hizbullah and Israel in Lebanon. Such proclamations, emanating from Iran's most ideological paper, should have come as no surprise, considering the...

What Is Hizbullah.
August 7, 2006... Robert A. Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, wrote in The New York Times of Aug 4: "Israel has finally conceded that air power alone will not defeat Hizbullah. Over the coming weeks, it will learn that ground...

The Use Of Civilians In The War.
August 7, 2006... Hizbullah is a tightly knit group and propaganda is taken seriously. But it has no problem attacking civilians in Israel or using Lebanon's civilian population as a shield against Israeli counter-attacks. The Israeli propaganda machine is...

A Hizbullah Trap For Israelis.
August 7, 2006... Israel's decision to launch a broader ground offensive in Lebanon may succeed in driving Hizbullah back and may destroy more of its capability, but it also risks drawing Israel into a costly guerrilla war. With relatively little to show from...

Lebanon-Israel Propaganda War - Hizbullah Gains The Upper Hand.
August 14, 2006... *** UK Police On Aug. 10 Foiled A Neo-Salafi Plot To Blast Several US-Bound Passenger Aircraft; 21 Suspects Were Arrested, All British Muslims Mostly From Asia Who Were Said To Be Planning To Use Liquid Explosives To Kill As Many People As...

The Hizbullah Tenacity.
August 14, 2006... Israeli warplanes have flattened village after village in South Lebanon, and reduced Beirut's Shi'ite suburbs to rubble. Bridges, factories, roads, Beirut's international airport and national fuel reserves have all been hit, cutting the country...

Nasrallah's Stature.(Hassan Nasrallah)
August 14, 2006... Nasrallah has seen his own aura and that of his Shi'ite organisation enhanced immeasurably by battling the Israeli Army since July 12. With Israeli troops operating in South Lebanon, Nasrallah can continue fighting with the legitimate excuse...

Arabs' Anger Hurts Moderates.(US policy for Middle East is putting center parties on defensive)(airline bombing plot failed in UK)
August 14, 2006... Moderates who seek changes across the Arab world say American support for Israel's battle with Hizbullah has put them on the defensive, tarring them by association and helping Islamist parties. The very people the US wanted to encourage to...

Neo-Cons Want Syria Attacked.
August 14, 2006... The Christian Science Monitor on Aug. 9 reported that neo-conservative (neo-con) adviser at the White House encouraged Israel to attack Syria as an expansion of its action against Hizbullah in Lebanon. The news site ConsortiumNews.com on Aug. 7...

Why Israel Is Losing.
August 14, 2006... The following are extracts from an article by Anatol Lieven, a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington, which was published on Aug. 10. "...Israel is losing [the war] for the same reasons that it lost its previous...

LEBANON - Israel-Hizbullah Hostilities Were A Dress Rehearsal For A Wider War.
August 21, 2006... *** With Israelis Shocked By The Performance Of Their Military During July-Aug Hostilities Against Forces Of Hizbullah, Premier Olmert Concedes That A Unilateral Pull- Out From The West Bank Is No Longer A Viable Option *** Natanyahu Is...

US Rush For Lebanon Reconstruction.
August 21, 2006... The Bush administration is scrambling to assemble a plan to help rebuild Lebanon, hoping that by competing with Hizbullah for the public's favour it can undo the damage the war has inflicted on its image and goals for the Middle East....

The Position Of Neo-cons.(George W. Bush's views on Israel-Lebanon crisis)
August 21, 2006... There is a power-struggle in Washington between the neo-cons and "realists" seeking to influence President Bush's stance on the Israel-Lebanon crisis. The neo-cons still seem to have the upper hand. Former and current administration...

Lebanon "Gains" Arab & Int'l Confidence As US Tries To Draw Syria From Iran-Led Axis.
August 28, 2006... *** The Turkish Authorities Have Prevented Five Iranian Planes & A Syrian Aircraft From Flying Into Lebanon, With Ankara Govt Suspecting Them Of Carrying Arms/Missiles To Hizbullah *** Nasrallah's Rep In Tehran Says The Shi'ite Organisation...

Assad's Wish.(Bashar Assad)(Brief article)
August 28, 2006... Assad is hoping the 34-day war could lead to peace talks with Israel on the Golan Heights occupied by Israel in 1967. He told Dubai TV: "We in Syria consider ourselves part of Arabs delighted at [Hizbullah's] victory... We have to exploit this...

Will Israel Hit Again? - The Sunni Arab Caution.
August 28, 2006... Uri Dromi, head of international outreach at the Israel Democracy Institute, Jerusalem, wrote in the International Herald Tribune of Aug. 23: "[Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan] Nasrallah and his like, who have no idea how democracies...

US Help Sought As Hizbullah Leans On Iran.
August 28, 2006... PM Siniora on Aug. 23 urged the US to "put pressure on Israel" to end the air and sea blockade. He said American help would be appreciated for reconstruction, adding: "The US can do more on the level of financial assistance, and the US can do...

The Iran Challenge.(Brief article)
August 28, 2006... It was tough for US Secretary Rice to hold together a fragile coalition to rein in Iran's nuclear ambitions. The Israel-Hizbullah war has made that job harder. The key point in Iran's Aug. 22 response to the package of incentives from the US,...