IRAN’S PROXY WAR WITH ISRAEL

While it might be hard to tell sometimes, this is actually a blog that has something to do with foreign policy. After some appropriate links, my comments on the war between Israel and the PA, various terrorist groups, Islamist militias and their state supporters, Syria and most importantly, Iran.

Blogging the War:

Abu Aardvark, Atlas Shrugged, Aqoul , American Footprints, American Future, Austin Bay, Belmont Club, Bliss Street Journal, Captain’s quarters, Collounsbury, Chicago Boyz, Centerfield, Cliopatria, Coming Anarchy, Counterterrorism Blog, Dan Drezner, Deja Vu, Democracy Project,

Glittering Eye, Global Guerillas, History Unfolding, Instapundit, Iraq the Model, Juan Cole, Memeorandum, Michael Totten, Middle East Perspectives, OPFOR, Penraker, Rightwing Nuthouse, Shloky, Sic Semper Tyrannis, SyriaComment, Thomas P.M. Barnett, Whirledview

Now that the Right, the Left, the Middle, scholars, amateurs, soldiers, strategists, journalists, partisans and professors have had their say, I’ll weigh in with a brief analysis:

Iran, and specifically Ahmadinejad’s faction in the leadership, have sought to provoke Israel into action for some time now. Scratch Hezbollah enough and you find the Pasdaran – particularly when Hezbollah suddenly demonstrates newfound military capabilities.

Conflict serves to strengthen Ahmadinejad’s hand and allow Shiite Iran to pose as the champion of Islam against the “Zionist Entity”- a goal of the late Ayatollah Khomeini and a dual propaganda blow against both the conservative Sunni monarchies of the gulf and the radical Salafist movement that regards Shiites as “apostates”. Provoking Israel distracts the Europeans away from Iran’s illegal, covert, nuclear weapon program and toward the more comfortable and politically safer topic of condemning Israel for defending itself.

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