The coming Mideast war and how to stop it
The language of
strength And
power speaks
volumes. — Benlolo
It’s only a matter of time before war comes to the Middle east. everyone knows that the terrorists are arming themselves to the teeth. Israeli military leaders now believe that combined, Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have over 150,000 missiles pointed at Israel. Worse, Iran has also provided them with GPS guided missiles that are more accurate in potentially hitting sensitive targets in Israel. Given its budding “friendship”, Iran could also deploy up to 200 long-range missiles in Iraq.
Iran’s strategy is to create a hostile ring surrounding Israel from Syria, Lebanon and Gaza. It has already established bases in both Syria and footholds in Lebanon through Hezbollah, its main client terror organization. Obviously, this ring of terror is meant to ward off a crippling attack by Israel and the united States on its nuclear facilities. It will be used as leverage in the coming nuclear negotiations with the u.s. and possibly, it’s a method to elicit lucrative trade deals with the europeans.
For its part, Israel has been preparing for the war that is coming. This week, the famed Israeli Air Force now equipped with F35s undertook what it called a massive exercise simulating a full-scale war with Hezbollah. In the simulation, over 3,000 targets were hit — particularly russian and Iranian surface-to-air missiles. Israeli veteran analyst ehud yaari said this was a clear warning to Hezbollah “demonstrating how a massive first strike may affect Hezbollah’s missile arsenal all over Lebanon in a single day”.
According to Andrew Hanna of the u.s. Institute of Peace, Iran continues to transfer missiles to proxies. He says that “since the early 2000s, Iran has supplied cruise and ballistic missiles to its proxies in at least three countries — Iraq, Lebanon and yemen”. One of its primary goals is “the deployment of missiles under Iran’s direct or indirect control would allow it to strike any adversary during a conflict from multiple directions”.
It’s apparent the strengthening of Iran over recent years has created a tinderbox in the Middle east. unless stronger measures are undertaken by the international community, a war is coming. Israel has been “mowing the lawn” in Syria and Lebanon by destroying Iranian proxy fronts — but the weeds keep growing and its enemies continue building up their arsenals and threatening Israel, as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah did once again this week.
To put an end to this madness, Israel’s allies must immediately dis-embolden its adversaries. First and foremost, a Nato-like alliance of free nations must be created for the Middle east creating a ring of peace around Iran and its proxies. With the Abraham Accords and strengthening of ties between Israel and the Gulf States, this is now happening naturally and by virtue of a common threat. American President Joe biden and Israeli Prime Minister benjamin Netanyahu released a joint statement on the matter of regional security only saying they see the “importance of continued close consultation on regional security issues, including Iran”. biden however should declare unequivocally that all options are on the table if Israel’s security is at stake.
The language of strength and power speaks volumes in the Middle east. but strength also implies economic cooperation. Israel’s allies must create trade-free zones in the region to bolster cooperation and mutual relations. People across the Middle east and especially in hostile nations must see a better future for themselves and their families. Inspiring them to work collaboratively and through mutual recognition and understanding can create a seismic shift in the region. This week for example, a bahraini led initiative was formed across the gulf region to bring together Jewish communities as part of the new cohesivity process unfolding in the region.
Finally and most significantly, the way to stop the coming war in the Middle east is to unify around and resolve the impasse with the Palestinians. It takes two to tango and the Palestinian Authority has resisted any normalization and peaceful dialogue with Israel. It has also repeatedly failed to make peace with Hamas in Gaza and bring both entities under its control. The world community can avert another Israel-gaza war or a third “Intifada” by withdrawing funding to the Palestinians and forcing them to make hard compromises for the sake of their people. Canada’s recent renewal of $90 million to aid the Palestinians without pre-conditions only serves to embolden their hostility toward Israel.
If the past is any indication, Israel will not wait much longer to be surrounded by its enemies. Following the coming elections on March 23rd and given its successful drive to vaccinate its population, it may opt to reduce its enemies to rubble. The regional implications will be significant and may even harm the peace gains that have been made. To avert the next war, the time for the international community to act is now.