Just my opinion, based on my understanding of the people involved....I believe that the Israeli "withdrawal" and the current explosion of violence in Lebanon were carefully coordinated between Washington and Jerusalem.
Remember that PNAC and the Israeli hardliners are in bed together (AIPAC, the 90's papers). All is on target....
Tell me I'm crazy after the break....
A few months ago when Israel began shutting a few minor settlements and withdrawing from Gaza, a Jewish friend said to me, "See, they want peace."
What they were doing, I explained, is stepping up to the moral high ground for strategic, and not moral reasons. Israel pulled back and seemed magnanimous - remember the images of Israeli settlers screaming as they were taken from their homes by Israeli soldiers?
In truth, Israel was simply coiling like a snake, and waiting for an excuse. They're sick of the low-level violence and their inability to affect and real change; they're "thinking big," like PNAC.
They knew full well that Palestinian groups would strike at them, regardless of who sat in power over the Palestinians.
A few attacks happened and Israel, standing on Mt. High Ground, got their excuse. From Mt. High Ground, there's no need for restraint, you see.
We will hear more and more in the coming days about Iran's involvement in this. Hezbollah = Iran, Hezbollah = Iran, Hezbollah = Iran. Republican mouthpieces are going to blame all of what's hapening in Lebanon on Iran, hinting that the new demon in Tehran is the one who really started it. O'Reilly is probably learning to pronounce his name as you read this.
I believe that what's happening in Lebanon is cover for us to go into Iran.
These types of skirmishes have happened before, of course. The problem this time is that the US won't try to diffuse it - quite the opposite. Bush will declare: "Israel has the right to defend herself" and look down upon it all from Mt. High Ground.
And Beirut will burn - again. And PNAC will use the cover to push us into Iran. Richard Perle must be giddy today.
Edit: UPDATE - is anyone seeing anything on the news today to refute my diary? Think about it; have you ever before seen violence in Gaza or the West Bank so quickly and intimately tied back to Tehran? Or Damascus?