IRAN'S PROXY GAMBLE
By Mike Evans
Hezbollah has taken the ultimate gamble and now finds itself in the crosshairs of the Israeli Defense Forces. They gambled that Israel would simply engage in “talks” after a Hezbollah raiding party crossed the border into Israel, killed eight soldiers, and dragged two back into Lebanese territory. The Israeli response has been swift and precise. Will the Hezbollah leaders now run crying to Syria and Iran, their mentors and sponsors, to beg for help?
Contemplating their options against Hezbollah, Israel continues to face down the number two terror organization on the “World’s Most Dangerous” list. Israel could well incur retaliation from two of the nations listed on Washington’s Axis of Evil list; it is critical, however, the American people understand that Israel is not the only target in Iran’s and Syria’s crosshairs.
The September 11 commission report detailed evidence that eight to 10 of the September 11 hijackers were given a “get out of Iran” free pass a year prior to the attacks on the United States. According to New York Times reports, Iranian officials instructed border guards on Iran's western border with Afghanistan not to stamp the passports of Saudi citizens who may have been traveling to and from al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan. An Iranian stamp in a passport would have caused closer scrutiny by U.S. immigration officials.
This speaks volumes to those who believe that there is an impenetrable barrier between the Sunnis and Shi’ites, and neither will cross to the other side. The commission report outlined: "In late 1991 or 1992, discussions in Sudan between al Qaeda and Iranian operatives led to an informal agreement to cooperate in providing support--even if only training--for actions carried out primarily against Israel and the United States."
Is this really a surprise? Iran has harbored, financed and cooperated with terrorists who have attacked the "Great Satan" since June 1985, when the United States began an embargo against Iran because of its sponsorship of international terrorism.
Ayatollah Khomeini was the inspiration for the founders of Hezbollah in the 1980s. The early organization consisted of Lebanese followers of the Ayatollah, and by components of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps stationed in Lebanon. Before the tragic events of 9/11, it was thought that Hezbollah was responsible for more American deaths from terror attacks than any other group. Members of the organization successfully carried out an attack against the Marine barracks in Beirut that resulted in the deaths of 241 Marines. Not since the Vietnam War had America suffered such losses. Apparently, Osama bin Laden was taking notes when the attack ultimately drove the American forces from Lebanon.
Iran has been working day and night to stir up trouble throughout the Gulf region. Hezbollah factions have been infiltrated, and the seeds of a tremendous explosion on the world scene have been sown.
In fact, a former member of Yasser Arafat’s Force 17 bodyguards, Imad Maghniyeh, moved up the ladder to become Hezbollah’s chief of operations. For more than twenty years, he was linked to Hezbollah’s Iranian-supported terrorism around the world. Among the notches in his ammunition-belt are the Beirut bombings, the kidnapping and murders of U.S. government officials in Lebanon, the TWA 847 hijacking, and the attacks against Israeli interests in Buenos Aires in 1992 and 1994. And if that were not enough, he is suspected in the bombing of the Khobar Towers in 1996.
In April 2004, the London Daily Telegraph reported: "Intelligence officials in Iraq have uncovered evidence that Mughniyeh has been helping to train the self-styled al-Mahdi army set up by Moqtada al-Sadr." It is believed that the followers of these two groups share culpability for the sectarian violence that has spread across Iraq.
The world was shocked when Israel captured the Palestinian ship the Katrine-A in the Red Sea on Jan. 4, 2002. The ship was loaded with Katyusha rockets with a maximum range of 12 miles, assault rifles, anti-tank missiles, mines, ammunition and explosives. Most of the weapons were Iranian.
The truth is that Iran was flying up to three jumbo jets laden with military supplies to Syria each month. The majority of the supplies were being ferried directly to Hezbollah guerrillas for the war against Israel. Those same Katyusha rockets are now finding their way across the border, and into Israel. Israel’s restraint has been long, its attempts to reach a peaceful settlement with those that only desired her destruction have been with practiced patience and willing relinquishment of territory. No, the battle cry rings across the nation, “No more!” Will Israel succeed in dealing a crippling blow to Hezbollah, or will she, once again, be forced to the negotiating table in yet another land-for-peace deal that will never come to fruition?
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