The U.S.-Israeli War AgainstLebanon Enters
a New Phase
On Friday, August 12, the United Nations
Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 1701 (2006) calling for a ceasefire
between Israel
and Hezbollah. The Israeli and Lebanese governments both voted to accept the
terms of the resolution. Hezbollah announced that it would also respect the
ceasefire and terminate its bombardment of Israel
but would continue to fight against Israeli occupation forces in Lebanon. The
final resolution is widely seen as a partial defeat for U.S.-Israeli interests
as it represents a significant retreat from an earlier draft which would have
authorized a de facto permanent
Israeli occupation of all Lebanese territories south of the LitaniRiver.
The final resolution which was adopted calls
for “the immediate cessation by Hezbollah of all attacks and the immediate
cessation by Israel
of all offensive military operations”. It further calls for Israel to gradually withdraw its troops from
Lebanese territory as the Lebanese army and up to 15,000 UN forces take up
positions in the southern part of Lebanon. The resolution also calls
for the disarming of Hezbollah’s militia forces.
Following the adoption of the UNSC resolution
and prior to the official ceasefire taking effect, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) escalated its bombing attacks against
the suburbs of Beirut
and other residential areas. In response, Hezbollah intensified its rocket
attacks against northern Israel.
The Israeli government has also announced that it considers “defensive
operations” to include preventing Hezbollah from rearming and clearing guerilla
positions out of southern Lebanon.
In other words, Israel
intends to continue most of the offensive operations it was carrying out prior
to the ceasefire, including the bombing of roads, bridges and other
transportation infrastructure. There have also been reports that the IDF was
continuing to attack Hezbollah militia positions after the ceasefire went into
effect. Israel
has also declared that it will “retaliate” against any attacks by Hezbollah,
which could mean renewed Israeli bombing of Lebanese civilians if Hezbollah
launches rockets against Israeli military or civilian targets. Therefore, it is
unclear whether any ceasefire actually exists or how long even a state of
reduced hostilities will continue.
There are reports in the American media that
the Israeli offensive against Lebanon
was approved by U.S.
president George W. Bush at least three months ago and that the Israeli
government was merely waiting for a convenient excuse to launch it. Since both
the IDF and Hezbollah militia have been making regular forays across the border
ever since the 2000 withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, it was
just a matter of time before such an opportunity presented itself. It has also
been reported that the Bush regime was pushing for an early Israeli offensive
because it thought that a defeat of Hezbollah would weaken Iran’s military position and reduce the number
of rocket attacks on Israel
in the wake of possible U.S.-Israeli air strikes against Iranian nuclear
facilities. Hezbollah is considered a close ally of Iran
and Syria and would be
expected to escalate its attacks against Israel if either of those countries
were to be attacked.
There are also reports that the U.S. and Israel wanted to use the attack
against dug-in Hezbollah rocket installations as a trial run to assess the best
ways to strike at Iranian missile defences and
nuclear research facilities which are buried deep underground. The abysmal failure
of the IDF to significantly affect Hezbollah’s ability to launch rockets
against Israeli military and civilian targets, has reportedly led to a
difference of opinion within the Bush administration on the wisdom of
proceeding with plans to attack Iran.
However, the experience of the past several years indicates that wisdom is a
scarce commodity within the Bush regime and it appears that it is determined to
broaden the conflict in the Middle East to include Iran
and Syria.
Israel
has openly threatened to launch nuclear missiles in response to any Iranian use
of conventional missiles against Israeli cities, so it would appear that the
U.S.-Israeli strategy is a scorched earth policy – any country in the region
which does not submit to their dictate will be destroyed. Therefore, no
illusions should be maintained that the current “ceasefire” has anything to do
with bringing peace the Lebanon.
It merely represents a new phase in the U.S.-Israeli war against the Lebanese
people and the peoples of the entire Middle East.