Not good news. I assume they are still in Lebanon, but this report is troubling. If the hostages were moved to Iran and it was acknowledged, that alone would broaden the scope of the current conflict and put Israel at war with Iran.
As an ally, naturally we should then support them and declare war on Iran. Unfortunately, I'm unconvinced we are willing to see this thing through to what will ultimately be the conclusion, no matter what happens now.
Face it, eventually, a major war across the Middle East is going to be fought before terrorism is defeated. Whether now is the right time, or not, is a tough call. Though it certainly might be better now, as opposed to later, if Iran gets the bomb.
Israel has information that Lebanese guerrillas who captured two Israeli soldiers are trying to transfer them to Iran, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Spokesman Mark Regev did not disclose the source of his information.
Seriously, we need to recognize that the "terrorist groups" are paramilitary operations attempting to play grown-up war with the big boys. Soldiers are "captured" not "kidnapped", not "hostages".
Plus, then, we get away from the equivocable term "terrorist", who some wish to magnify [like Bush] and others like to minimize into being little more than a latter-day version of our own sainted American Revolutionaries.
Call it what it is, and treat all the people who work for paramilitaries -- the teenagers who transport C4 in their pockets to the pregnant women who fill the bomb vests -- the same as any of us who work for defense: legitimate targets.
Posted by: rwilymz | Thursday, July 13, 2006 at 12:17 PM
One wonders if the kidnapped Israeli soldiers weren't required settlement (read: repayment) for the large sums of cash that Hamas leaders have ferried into their state recently, from Iran and other sponsors of terror, to keep their government afloat.
Posted by: Steve W | Thursday, July 13, 2006 at 12:25 PM
Doesn't it seem obvious that the attacks on Israel are the work of Iran as it attempts to buy more time with the nations opposed to their acquisition of nuclear weapons?
By upping their proxy war with Israel they effectively change the focus of the UN security Council from the Iranian nuclear program to Israel's acts of self defense against the proxy armies of Iran.
Posted by: Gabriel Sutherland | Thursday, July 13, 2006 at 01:15 PM
That's one of the things I alluded to elsewhere.
Iran has been soft-peddling on their nukes recently, and they wouldn't soft-peddle anything unless
1] someone just kicked their ass, or
2] something was up their sleeve.
Can we all spell Armageddon?
Posted by: rwilymz | Thursday, July 13, 2006 at 01:34 PM
"Can we all spell Armageddon?"
Well, we were promised "the fire next time" and Iran is north of Israel. It was foolish to worry about USSR nukes while third world countries were striving for thier own. It was STUPID to sell the Koreans the technology to build "reactors". You're right rw, it is coming. The happy folks in the mideast WILL obliterate themselves. The big boys MAY sit and watch rather than turning the globe into a fire ball......then, the fallout will kill us off.
Posted by: Rick | Thursday, July 13, 2006 at 02:53 PM
Middle East, you suck.
Posted by: tester | Thursday, July 13, 2006 at 02:59 PM
The big boys may sit and watch, but guess what they'll be watching - Iran. Any excuse now is all they need. We won't suffer any fallout because no one with nukes needs to fire them off to snuff out this mess. This is just one great wake-up alarm for those idiot countries sitting by thinking they don't have a stake in this.
Ya just don't want to mess with the Israelis.
Posted by: Phoenix | Friday, July 14, 2006 at 11:38 PM