Israel vs Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria, Iran, the Muslim Bro...

[earth_as_one]

A link to recent developments:

Lebanese troops have finally deployed along their border with Israel.

Saturday, 23 September 2006
BBC
Lebanese troops deploy on border

Lebanese government forces have been deployed along the border with Israel for the first time in decades.

The move, co-ordinated by UN peacekeepers, follows a UN-brokered ceasefire between Israel and the militant Lebanese movement Hezbollah.

A UN spokesman said troops had deployed south of the port of Naqoura and around the village of Mays al-Jabal.

Israel has delayed the completion of its withdrawal...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5373940.stm

Israel's troops haven't pulled out yet.

Hezbollah is armed and not far away.

We still have 20,000 rockets, says Nasrallah

· Hizbullah leader emerges for first time since war
· Hundreds of thousands in Beirut for speech

Brian Whitaker
Saturday September 23, 2006
The Guardian

In a defiant "victory" speech in a bombed-out suburb of Beirut, the Hizbullah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said yesterday his organisation had recovered from its month-long war with Israel and now possessed more than 20,000 rockets.
"Within days, and [despite] emerging from a ferocious war, [Hizbullah] has recovered all its organisational and military capabilities ... it is stronger than it was before July 12," he told a cheering crowd of several hundred thousand people.

Under intense security amid fears of an assassination attempt, Mr Nasrallah was making his first public appearance since the war started more than 10 weeks ago.

Israel has been particularly anxious to prevent Hizbullah re-arming. According to various estimates the organisation had fewer than 20,000 rockets before and fired about 4,000 during the conflict.

Although Mr Nasrallah's latest claim is impossible to verify, he has a reputation for not bluffing...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1879237,00.html

I have no doubt's this dispute will resume. South-Lebanon/North-Israel appears to be the designated battleground for a looming proxy war between the US/Israel and Hezbollah/Syria/Iran. I feel sorry for the innocent people on both sides which will inevitably suffer most of the consequences of the actions of the belligerents.

Israel/US face a new generation of cheap man-portable weapon systems which have significantly weakened their traditional advantages in expensive weapon systems like tanks and attack helicopters:

Hezbollah's Creative Tactical Use of Anti-Tank Weaponry

By Andrew McGregor

As the world waits to see if the UN-brokered ceasefire in Lebanon holds, the Israeli army will begin assessing its disappointing performance against Hezbollah guerrillas. Among the many aspects to be investigated is the vulnerability of Israel's powerful armored corps to small, hand-held, wire-guided anti-tank weapons. Indeed, Hezbollah's innovative use of anti-tank missiles was the cause of most Israeli casualties and has given the small but powerful weapons a new importance in battlefield tactics...

http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2370105

Likely Hezbollah is getting weapons from Iran/Syria.

Misaq II Production Launched

TEHRAN, Feb. 6--For the first time in the country, mass production of a new and advanced air defense missiles began on Monday.
According to a report by Defense Ministry’s Propagation Bureau, the mass production of the missile named ’Misaq II’ was launched at a ceremony attended by Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar in the ministry’s Aerospace Industries premises.
The missile is capable of destroying targets that cannot be detected on the radar screen due for flying at low altitudes. It can be used in electronic warfare.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, Mohammad-Najjar said the missile will be utilized by different military units, including the Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps and Basij (volunteer forces), significantly boosting their flexibility and agility.
He said Iran’s aerospace industry is currently mass producing surface-to-air, surface-to-surface and air-to-surface missiles.
“The Defense Ministry today supplies the Armed Forces with more than 1,700 defense products,“ Mohammad-Najjar said...

http://www.iran-daily.com/1384/2495/html/national.htm

Its possible the proliferation of cheap man portable anti-tank, anti-aircraft weapon systems have made tanks and low flying aircraft obsolete.