Rockets, Lebanon, and Tom Friedman
30 July 2006 12:35 am by Taylor Marsh
First, some very big and exciting news. Congratulations to Ned Lamont and everyone working so hard on his campaign. As Joh mentioned yesterday, the New York Times has endorsed him. Needless to say, this is huge, not because it's an editorial endorsement. It's huge because the Times has always backed Lieberman. Not even Bill Clinton can undo this damage. But there are more thoughts from Broder and the Courant, which endorses Joe.
Now, on to the sobering stuff, especially for a Sunday.
When the new Hezbollah rockets were first launched, the CNN general talked about the “khaybar”
missile, though it's actually a rocket. No one could confirm it at the time,
so a big void expanded into a pit. Nothing on the web about them either. I contacted
Billmon, but he didn't know about them, though we had a productive email exchange,
for which I'm grateful. I don't need to tell any of you how invaluable his insight
has been over these last weeks.
I was able to find out that Hezbollah's latest rocket is a longer version of
the Fadjr-3 or Fajr-3, depending on who's doing the spelling, which I discussed earlier. It's actually the Fadjr-5. (Here's pictures of the Fajr and the Zilzal missiles. The picture below is a Katyusha rocket.)
However, I found something else out recently. It is indeed called the Khaybar rocket
and for a very good reason. No doubt, Nasrallah
would prefer that identification, though the Israelis do not, as it
threatens innocent civilians deeper inside their country; but that's only one reason.
Hezbollah's Khaybar rocket is named after the Battle
of Khaybar in 629 A.D. Khaybar is considered an historical oasis by anyone
who has written about the famous location, which is around 95 miles from Medina
(once spelled “Madinah”)
on the Arabian Peninsula, now known simply as Saudi Arabia. Khaybar was once
inhabited by Jews, but in the 629 A.D. battle, Muhammed and his followers attacked
Khaybar and expelled the Jews, though it wouldn't be until the next caliph (Islamic leader) before they would vacate the peninsula completely. This battle was significant
to Muslims because it signaled the beginning of the rise of Islam. The naming
of the missile is no doubt symbolic. Hezbollah's
new rocket, which is not guided like a missile, is being
reported by the Israelis like this: “Khaibar-1 rockets were renamed, Iranian-made Fajr-5s.”
This is for obvious reasons.
clip
from CNN last night, which gives some background, which is helpful. Also
covered is the environmental disaster from an Israeli strike that released over
15,000 tons of oil along the Lebanese coast. CNN military analyst David Grange
explains the rocket at the end of the clip.
| VIEW THE VIDEO |
This second clip is a re-run of Tim Russert's interview of Thomas Friedman
on CNBC last weekend. I wrote about the discussion last Sunday in About
Syria, because I found it significant, though it was more of a gut feeling.
Russert made a point of saying Friedman's bags were packed for Israel and Syria,
then Tom continued on talking about Syria's importance. Here's
the clip I explain in the post “About Syria.” above.
| VIEW THE VIDEO |
Well, Friedman will now be on “Meet the Press” today, after coming
back from Israel and Syria. I obviously have no idea what will transpire, but
Russert is pushing Friedman hard. An interview airing two Saturdays in a row
on CNBC, which also happened to announce Friedman's trip to Israel and Syria;
now a follow-up interview when Tom returns to be broadcast on “Meet the
Press.” All this Timmy and Tom stuff can't be a coincidence, but I could
be wrong.
Unfortunately, no matter what Tom brings home, or what Condoleezza concocts
can balance this sobering military account from an Israeli, Ze'ev Schiff (h/t
Billmon).
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is the figure leading the strategy
of changing the situation in Lebanon, not Prime Minister Ehud Olmert or Defense
Minister Amir Peretz. She has so far managed to withstand international pressure
in favor of a cease-fire, even though this will allow Hezbollah to retain
its status as a militia armed by Iran and Syria.As such, she needs military cards, and unfortunately Israel has not succeeded
to date in providing her with any. Besides bringing Hezbollah and Lebanon
under fire, all of Israel's military cards at this stage are in the form of
two Lebanese villages near the border that have been captured by the IDF.
…ANALYSIS: Israel
failing to give U.S. the military cards it needs
Israel has played this terribly because they never had any intention of destroying
Hezbollah, not realistically. The memories of the last time they marched into Lebanon
still burn. However, this disaster, with Bush's horrific fumbling and waiting, will likely
have long term ramifications for us all. An emboldened Hezbollah is the last thing we need right now.
