All Not So Quiet On The Middle Eastern Front.

There are two views on the causes of this war. By far the most 
common, which is the one adopted by the "left" and the "right" 
alike, is that it concerns some kind of moral crusade, a battle of 
principles whether or not they are noble or ignoble depends on which 
side of the divide you are on. This type of idea has been adequately 
expressed recently from the "left" as follows;

{ The awesome and disproportionate military superiority of Israel at 
the regional scale, doubled with the blind and unconditional support 
of the United States is one of the key problems of the Middle East 
crisis. 

There has to be some kind of a balance of power. It is very 
unfortunate to express it this way but one has to have the frankness 
to express it: the very logic and strategy followed until now by 
Israel needs a "balance of terror", a "deterrence" capacity against 
the systematic resort to "disproportionate" aggressions or 
retaliations. This is the only way left for bringing Israel to an 
acceptable compromise with all the Arabs, especially the 
Palestinians, and that does not leave it freehanded in destroying 
its neighbours every time a problem arises. 

The West, in general but particularly meaning western governments, 
has to abandon the dogma of the moral superiority of Israel over the 
Arabs altogether, the myth of the only democracy in the Middle East 
that stands as the ultimate barrier of the "Civilized World" against 
the threat of "Muslim Terror". 

The Western powers have to come back to a more balanced view where 
the different protagonists are treated as equally "valued" parties 
in a conflict that has to be resolved through negotiation and 
compromise. But a compromise that does not wipe out the whole 
history of the conflict and try to impose an "accomplished fact" 
achieved solely through military superiority and so called moral 
superiority in the name of an eternal "divine right of Israel to 
unilaterally define its borders and then defend them"}

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14384.htm

This kind of analysis of the situation is probably sincerely held by 
most of the working class involved and adopted by the ruling class 
on both sides of the conflict for their convenience. 

The alternative view is that, for the ruling class, this present 
slaughter is just the present arena for a global economic power 
struggle between two gangs of competing capitalists that have set 
their dogs on each other in a savage struggle. 

Wars, and this is certainly one of them, are not fought and 
supported by the capitalist class over "blind dogma" and issues 
of "moral superiority"   that do not concern them, but over the only 
thing that does matter, that they see clearly and are very much 
focused on, money and power.

At present the US/Western  power block dominates the Middle East 
through the combined use of compliant client states like Saudi, 
Egypt  etc, along with its ever expanding principal enforcer 
and "hit man" of the region, Israel. The necessity for the US power 
block's  only  military colony in the region to consolidate and 
expand  its position by oppressing a culturally alien and 
potentially hostile section of its population is its Achilles heel. 

The natural concern, compassion and sympathy  for the plight of the 
Palestinians by the indigenous working class of the region is an 
opportunity for the ruling class of the opposing power block to 
obtain control over the Middle East by inciting and providing them 
with the means to eject the incumbents. 

The professed concern and support of the Syrian and Iranian ruling 
class for the Palestinians will be as sincere and have a similar 
nature and reason to the US support of the  Mujahadeen in 
Afghanistan in 1979 and that other well known philanthropist, Saddam 
Hussien`s support of the Palestinians in the past. It wasn't all 
that long ago that Assad's Syria was "rendering" suspected Moslem 
fundamentalist for torture for the US and violently repressing 
oppressed minorities of their own.  


The Zbigniew Brzezinski's, President Carter's and  director of the 
CIA, Robert Gates, "Afghan Trap" is being re played back by the 
Iranians and Syrians who had no doubt observed and learned this 
model lesson. Probably to be renamed and boasted about in the future 
if "successful"  as the "Palestinian Trap". 

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7323.htm


The West, just like the USSR were, are well aware of what they are 
being drawn into and we will probably continue to hear more empty 
rhetoric from the likes of Tony Bliar on the need for an equitable 
Palestinian solution and such like in an attempt to ameliorate its 
consequences.

The unpopular Western backed puppet ruling class in  Saudi and Egypt 
etc fearing that they will be replaced in a popular revolt incited 
by the western backed oppression of the Palestinians will be forced 
to make similar gestures.

The bait or cannon fodder will probably never realise what they 
really died for.  

What is going on now is probably the opening rounds of a widely 
predicted conflict between the ruling class of both power blocks 
contestinting for control of the region. 

An attack on Iran by the Western power block has been considered by 
the military strategists of the Pentagon for sometime along with the 
possible reactions open to the Iranian ruling class. Two 
possibilities were the closing of the Straits of Hormuz by military 
action and direct and indirect intervention in Iraq. The third 
option was as outlined below by the Oxford Research Group in 
February 2006; 


   {Hezbollah. Iran would be likely to encourage more militant 
action by Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon. Given that Hezbollah now 
has large quantities of surface-to-surface missiles of a range 
sufficient to reach Haifa and other population centres in the north 
of Israel, a vigorous Israeli response should be expected, further 
adding to an atmosphere of crisis. It is true that Hezbollah is 
currently undergoing a period of substantial political 
transformation, moving more firmly into the social and political 
arenas, so that major military action against Israel would be a 
regression to previous patterns. This is to be expected, though, 
given the likely extent of the popular support for Iran resulting 
from US military action.

Any action from Hezbollah would result in substantial Israeli 
military responses. At the very least these would involve air 
strikes, the use of artillery and battlefield missiles and naval 
bombardment. They might extend to cross-border operations by 
infantry and armoured units.}


 http://www.iranbodycount.org/     

It is possible that what we are seeing now is an attempt to 
neutralise a potential retaliatory reaction by the Iranians before 
the major conflict begins or at least a test of strengh to see who 
blinks first. 


It is important for the "left" and everyone else involved in this 
conflict to realise before taking sides that there are powerful dark 
forces and hidden hands manipulating events for their own malevolent 
ends that are of no interest to those that are doing the dying.

Before people start inciting others to kill and die and handing out 
white feathers they need to disengage themselves from the idea that 
for everyone involved on one side of  this war that it is just about 
defending "plucky little Belgium from the marauding Hun" and to a 
least understand that they are also being "used" by others for their 
own evil ends.   

As to;

 "There has to be some kind of a balance of power. It is very 
unfortunate to express it this way??."

It certainly is unfortunate, it was this kind of "logic" of the 
balance of power between the ruling class of opposing power blocks 
that led to the bloodbath of the first world war were British 
workers fought for a "Land fit for Kings". Only  to endure death or 
the grinding poverty of the great depression for the "victorious"  
that survived.        

As Gospel New Testament allusions are back in vogue, I shall quote a 
Chomsky quote from; 

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14221.htm


"false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly 
are ravening wolves. By their fruits ye shall know them."

The full quote is of course from Matthew 7.15;


"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but 
inwardly are ravening wolves. 7:16 By their fruits ye shall know 
them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 7:17 Even 
so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree 
bringeth forth evil fruit."


So perhaps before the working class start plucking ideas from 
elsewhere they should consider which type of trees are giving them 
up.

On another type of grape;

 {Operation Grapes of Wrath (Hebrew: îáöò òðáé æòí) is the Israeli 
Defense Forces code-name for a sixteen-day military blitz against 
Lebanon in 1996 in an attempt to crush the Lebanese resistance to 
Israel's occupation of South Lebanon. Israel conducted more than 
1,100 air raids and extensive shelling (some 25,132 shells). A UN 
installation was also hit by Israeli shelling causing the death of 
118 Lebanese civilians (see Qana shelling). (Amnesty 1996) 639 
Hezbollah cross-border rocket attacks targeted northern Israel, 
particularly the town of Kiryat Shemona. (HRW 1997) Hezbollah forces 
also participated in numerous engagements with Israeli and South 
Lebanon Army forces. The conflict was de-escalated on 27 April by a 
ceasefire agreement banning attacks on civilians.}

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Grapes_of_Wrath