It's rare these days to hear of good news from Syria, but today is an exception. An Israeli helicopter fired at a group planning missile attacks against Israel from Syrian territory and the strike killed Jihad Mughniyeh, the commander of Hezbollah in that area, as well as the commander of Iranian forces in the area and three other terrorists. The Israelis have not confirmed the attack, but they never confirm or deny such things. The story, instead, is in the Lebanese media. In a rather strange twist, the Hezbollah spokesman says that the attack proves that Israel is cooperating with the al Qaeda forces in the region.
The statement from Hezbollah indicates rather clearly why, in the midst of the Syrian civil war, the Hezbollah and Iranian leadership would try to attack Israel. The area of Syria which is adjacent to Israel is currently controlled mostly by rebel forces affiliated with al Qaeda. The Assad forces (with whom both Hezbollah and Iran are allied) have been pushed out of the region on a steady basis over the last year. At this point, Hezbollah, Assad and Iran are trying to draw Israel into the conflict since the Israelis could rather easily oust the al Qaeda forces from the border region. Apparently, that plan called for Hezbollah to fire missiles at Israel from the area so that the Israelis would think that al Qaeda was attacking and respond.
Having Iran and Hezbollah fight al Qaeda and ISIS brings to mind Henry Kissinger's comment on the Iran/Iraq war of the 1980s: Kissinger said that it was too bad that both side couldn't lose.
The statement from Hezbollah indicates rather clearly why, in the midst of the Syrian civil war, the Hezbollah and Iranian leadership would try to attack Israel. The area of Syria which is adjacent to Israel is currently controlled mostly by rebel forces affiliated with al Qaeda. The Assad forces (with whom both Hezbollah and Iran are allied) have been pushed out of the region on a steady basis over the last year. At this point, Hezbollah, Assad and Iran are trying to draw Israel into the conflict since the Israelis could rather easily oust the al Qaeda forces from the border region. Apparently, that plan called for Hezbollah to fire missiles at Israel from the area so that the Israelis would think that al Qaeda was attacking and respond.
Having Iran and Hezbollah fight al Qaeda and ISIS brings to mind Henry Kissinger's comment on the Iran/Iraq war of the 1980s: Kissinger said that it was too bad that both side couldn't lose.
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