Current Event Info???

Question

Can anyone give me very simple information about what is going on in the Middle East, what is it REALLY about, and please make it simple. Not only for me, but so I can relay it to others. As many facts as possible not just opinions please.

Reason is, the more news I see, the more confuzed I get. One channel says its about "this" then the next says "that" ...I am just curious and would like to know what is going out side the US and if it really does involve us, or if it will....

So its about oil , or religion...or both. Muslim and Jews, right???

So more religion, and anti-terrorism than anything, how does oil/gas get involved...

I didnt ask for your religious views on weather or not something is evil or good, please keep your OPINION to your self...Thank you...move on...

Answer 1

I can not make it a short explanation, but I will try to make it easy to understand and comprehensive including political as well as religious motives.

Israel is bombing Hezbollah forces which are situated in Lebanon.

Hezbollah is Arabic حزب "hezb" means party and الله‎‎‎ "Allah" is the Arabic (not Muslim only) word for God. Therefore, Hezbollah means the Party of God. People in the organization are fighting in jihad/qitl fee sybil Allah (jihad/killing in the path of God.) In the Qur'an this type of jihad is mandatory for a Muslim.

Hezbollah is an umbrella organization of radical Shiite group founded in early 1982 to combat Israeli, French and American troops in Lebanon. It is supported by Iran and Syria and located in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah are Shiite Muslims as are most Lebanese, Syrians, Iraqis, Iranians and some Yemenis, Pakistanis and Bahrainians. Diplomatic efforts are aimed at getting the Sunni Muslim countries to negotiate. This includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Hezbollah is not the government of Lebanon

Hezbollah's spiritual leader is Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, and its senior political leader is Hassan Nazrallah, who has held the title of secretary general since 1992. Its military arm is known as Islamic Resistance.

Hezbollah gained popular support by providing social services such as hospitals and schools for Lebanese Shiites. Hezbollah was able to step into the power breach created by Lebanon’s weak government. Hezbollah has pursued a political and religious agenda that centers on the destruction of Israel and opposition to the United States and has been carried out through terrorism against Israeli and Western targets. In 1983 Hezbollah killed 241 US marines in Beirut. Syria admits supporting Hezbollah, but denies arming the group.

Hezbollah’s official rhetoric calls for the destruction of Israel and its replacement with an Islamist Palestinian government. Sinilarly, Hezbollah sought to replace Lebanon’s secular government with an Iranian-style Islamic government.

Hezbollah maximizes Israeli civilian casualties when they launch Syrian and Iranian designed antipersonnel missiles with ball-bearing shrapnel. Furthermore, in Lebanon, Hezbollah deliberately operates military wings out of densely populated areas to maximize Lebanese casualties and gain media attention through gruesome pictures of maimed children.

Hezbollah gains from maximizing civilian casualties on BOTH sides.

The war began at Hezbollah's time and choosing. Military analysts say that the way the Israel-Hezbollah war has been prosecuted up until Monday, July 24, is more likely to bring Nassrallah closer to his war objectives than Olmert.

When Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon, Hezbollah could operate freely because of the weak Lebanese secular government. Hezbollah was able to step into the power breach.

The first point to bear in mind is that the crisis did not truly begin with the capture of two Israeli soldiers (Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev) by Hezbollah's Operation True Promise . The kidnappings presented a serious problem for Israel, but could not, by themselves, define the geopolitical issue. That definition came when Hezbollah rockets struck Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, on July 13. There were also claims coming from Hezbollah, and confirmed by Israeli officials, that Hezbollah had missiles available that could reach Tel Aviv. Israel's population is concentrated in the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem corridor and in the Tel Aviv-Haifa corridor. In effect, Hezbollah had attained the ability to strike at the Israeli heartland. Hezbollah has been hitting the northern part of this heartland, as well as pounding Israel's northern frontier

According to reports, Hezbollah forces are dispersed in multiple bunker complexes and are launching rockets from these and other locations. Hezbollah strategy is to draw Israeli troops as deeply into Lebanon as possible, forcing them to fight on extended supply lines. Hezbollah's will tie down the Israelis as long as possible first in the area south of the Litani River and then north in the Bekaa. It can, and will, continue to rocket Haifa from further north. It will inflict casualties and draw the Israelis further north. At a certain point Hezbollah will suddenly abandon the conventional fight, going to ground, and then re-emerge as a guerrilla group, inflicting casualties on the Israelis wearing them down.

In order to destroy Hezbollah's infrastructure, Israeli troops must move into the Bekaa Valley and as far as the southern suburbs of Beirut. Israeli forces have pushed forward from the mountaintop village of Maroun er Ras captured Sunday to the fringes of Bint Jubeil, Hizballah’s south Lebanese capital.

In a military engagement just over the border of Lebanon Israeli soldiers of the Egoz regiment discovered one of the many fortified bunkers holding the large arsenal of missiles currently raining upon Israeli towns in the North. Hezbollah is using Viet Cong-style guerrilla warfare out of hundreds of small bunkers scattered across the country. In addition, Hezbollah borrowed camouflage techniques that the Japanese used in the 1945 Iwo Jima battle. In the first ten days of the war, therefore, the Israeli air force bombed out empty Hizballah premises in South Beirut and Baalbek, but missed the moving woods and vegetation which concealed the rocket launchers.

Hezbollah rockets struck Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, on July 13. On July 17 Hezbollah used an Iran-made radar-guided C-802 shore-to-sea missile of the Silkworm family to disable the Israeli state-of-the-art warship,Ahi-Hanit, which was shelling Beirut airport.

Hezbollah has indicated that it will bombard Tel-Aviv, Israel with 500 missiles. So far, Hezbollah has used Kassam and Ketuysha rockets. It has not used the Zelzal or Fajr missiles, yet which have longer range.

What Hezbollah wants is political power in Lebanon and among the Palestinians, and freedom for action within the context of Syrian-Iranian relations. This war will cost it dearly, but it has been preparing for this for a generation. If it can avoid utter calamity, it will have won -- if not by defeating Israel, then by putting itself first among the anti-Israeli forces. It opposes Israel and is the most effective force fighting it. Hezbollah's job is to survive and hurt Israel and the IDF as long as possible. That is what this war is about for Hezbollah.

Nasrallah has already struck the pose of victor and is dictating terms. Monday, July 24, he handed the Lebanese government a list of the prisoners in Israeli jails whom he wants released as the price for returning the kidnapped Israeli soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. He has not budged an inch from his initial demand for their release: indirect negotiations for a prisoner swap.

Hezbollah has complex objectives.

Hezbollah had prepared for war with Israel for years. It had received weapons and training from Iran and Syria. Hezbollah bridges the deep division between Syrian secularity and Iranian religiosity.

Syria's interests and Iran's are never quite the same.

Nor are Hezbollah's interests quite the same as those of its patrons. Hezbollah has business interests in legal and illegal businesses around the world. It has interests within Lebanese politics and it has interests in Palestinian politics. As a Syrian client, it looks at the region as one entity. As an Iranian client, it looks to create a theocratic state in the region.

As an entity in its own right, Hezbollah must keep itself going. If it can avoid utter calamity, it will have won -- if not by defeating Israel, then by putting itself first among the anti-Israeli forces.

It is important to begin with this point: Almost all Muslim Arabs opposed the creation of the state of Israel. Not all of them supported, or support today, the creation of an independent Palestinian state or recognize the Palestinian people as a distinct nation. This is a vital and usually overlooked distinction that is the starting point in our thinking.

When Israel was founded, three distinct views emerged among Arabs.

The first was that Israel was a part of the British mandate created after World War I and therefore should have been understood as part of an entity stretching from the Mediterranean to the other side of Jordan, from the border of the Sinai, north to Mount Hermon. Therefore, after 1948, the West Bank became part of the other part of the mandate, Jordan.

There was a second view that argued that there was a single province of the Ottoman Empire called Syria and that all of this province -- what today is Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and the country of Syria -- is legitimately part of it. This obviously was the view of Syria, whose policy was and in some ways continues to be that Syria province, divided by Britain and France after World War I, should be reunited under the rule of Damascus.

A third view emerged after the establishment of Israel, pioneered by Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt. This view was that there is a single Arab nation that should be gathered together in a United Arab Republic. This republic would be socialist, more secular than religious and, above all, modernizing, joining the rest of the world in industrialization and development.

All of these three views rejected the existence of Israel, but each had very different ideas of what ought to succeed it. The many different Palestinian groups that existed after the founding of Israel and until 1980 were not simply random entities. They were, in various ways, groups that straddled these three opinions, with a fourth added after 1967 and pioneered by Yasser Arafat. This view was that there should be an independent Palestinian state, that it should be in the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, extend to the original state of Israel and ultimately occupy Jordan as well. That is why, in September 1970, Arafat tried to overthrow King Hussein in Jordan. For Arafat, Amman, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv were all part of the Palestinian homeland.

After the Iranian revolution, a fifth strain emerged. This strain made a general argument that the real issue in the Islamic world was to restore religious-based government. This view opposed the pan-Arab vision of Nasser with the pan-Islamic vision of Khomeini. It regarded the particular nation-states as less important than the type of regime they had. This primarily Shiite view was later complemented by what was its Sunni counterpart. Rooted partly in Wahhabi Sunni religiosity and partly in the revolutionary spirit of Iran, its view was that the Islamic nation-states were the problem and that the only way to solve it was a transnational Islamic regime -- the caliphate -- that would restore the power of the Islamic world.

The Sunni-Shiite fault line had become venomous. Tensions not only in Iraq, but also in Afghanistan and Pakistan were creating a transnational civil war between these two movements. Iran was positioning itself to replace al Qaeda as the revolutionary force in the Islamic world and was again challenging Saudi Arabia as the center of gravity of Islamic religiosity.

Muslims want to rid the world of fitnah. Qutb, an Islamic scholar, writes that the world would be a utopia under Islamic theocracy. Islam is a political as well as a religious system.

Muslims might consider moving to Jupiter. It is a big world. The rest of us can live side-by-side peacefully.

Allah commands deeds of terror by the believers against the unbelievers as the means of creating the emotion of terror in their hearts. The only reason needed for action is that "they resisted Allah and His Messenger". Such an approach to "conflict management" is nothing to be ashamed about according to Islamic understanding, but it is a basis for pride. It is one reason for the superiority of Muhammad over all other prophets.


The Qur'an says {English, transliteration, Arabic}:
(8:39) "So fight them (unbelievers) until there is no more fitnah (disbelief or worship of any god but Allah) and all submit to the religion of Allah alone (in the whole world)" ... "And fight with them until there is no more fitnah (persecution) and religion should be only for Allah"

Waqatiloohum hatta la takoona fitnatun wayakoona alddeenu kulluhu lillahi fa-ini intahaw fa-inna Allaha bima yaAAmaloona baseerun

وَقَتِلُوهُمْ حَتَّى لَا تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ وَيَكُونَ الدِّينُ كُلُّهُ لِلَّهِ فَإِنْ انتَهَوْا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ

(3:151) We will throw terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, since they set up besides GOD powerless idols. Their destiny is Hell; what a miserable abode for the transgressors! (Khalifa trans.)

Sanulqee fee quloobi allatheena kafaroo alrruAAba bima ashrakoo biAllahi ma lam yunazzil bihi sultanan wama/wahumu alnnaru wabi/sa mathwa alththalimeena

سَنُلْقِي فِي قُلُوبِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا الرُّعْبَ بِمَا اشْرَكُوا بِاللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَنًا وَمَاوَهُمْ النَّارُ وَبِئْسَ مَثْوَى الظَّلِمِينَ

(8:12-13) Recall that your Lord inspired the angels: "I am with you; so support those who believed. I will throw terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved. You may strike them above the necks, and you may strike even every finger. This is what they have justly incurred by fighting GOD and His messenger. For those who fight against GOD and His messenger, GOD's retribution is severe.(Khalifa trans.)

Ith yoohee rabbuka ila almala-ikati annee maAAakum fathabbitoo allatheena amanoo saolqee fee quloobi allatheena kafaroo alrruAAba faidriboo fawqa al-aAAnaqi waidriboo minhum kulla bananin. Thalika bi-annahum shaqqoo Allaha warasoolahu waman yushaqiqi Allaha warasoolahu fa-inna Allaha shadeedu alAAiqabi

إِذْ يُوحِي رَبُّكَ إِلَى الْمَلَئِكَةِ أَنِّي مَعَكُمْ فَثَبِّتُوا الَّذِينَ ءامَنُوا سَأُلْقِي فِي قُلُوبِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا الرُّعْبَ فَاضْرِبُوا فَوْقَ الْأَعْنَاقِ وَاضْرِبُوا مِنْهُمْ كُلَّ بَنَانٍ
ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ شَاقُّوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَمَنْ يُشَاقِقْ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ

(8:59-60) Let not the unbelievers think that they can get the better (of the godly): they will never frustrate (them). Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies, of God and your enemies, and others besides, whom ye may not know, but whom God doth know. Whatever ye shall spend in the cause of God, shall be repaid unto you, and ye shall not be treated unjustly. (Yusuf Ali trans.)

Wala yahsabanna allatheena kafaroo sabaqoo innahum la yuAAjizoona. WaaAAiddoo lahum ma istataAAtum min quwwatin wamin ribati alkhayli turhiboona bihi AAaduwwa Allahi waAAaduwwakum waakhareena min doonihim la taAAlamoonahumu Allahu yaAAlamuhum wama tunfiqoo min shay-in fee sabeeli Allahi yuwaffa ilaykum waantum la tuthlamoona

وَلَا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا سَبَقُوا إِنَّهُمْ لَا يُعْجِزُونَ
وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُمْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ وَمِنْ رِبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ وَءاخَرِينَ مِنْ دُونِهِمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَهُمْ اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُهُمْ وَمَا تُنفِقُوا مِنْ شَيْءٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ يُوَفَّ إِلَيْكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تُظْلَمُونَ

Petroleum is not a natural resource of Lebanon. The Sidon terminal is the site of a large, mordern electrical power station and a modest petroleum importing terminal. Its natural resources are: limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land.

Substantial receipts from donor nations stabilized Lebanese government finances in 2003, but did little to reduce the debt, which stands at nearly 170% of GDP. In 2004 the HARIRI government issued Eurobonds in an effort to manage maturing debt. The downturn in economic activity that followed the assassination of Rafiq al-HARIRI has eased, but has yet to be reversed. Tourism remains below the level of 2004. The new Prime Minister, Fuad SINIORA, has pledged to push ahead with economic reform, including privatization and more efficient government.

Answer 2

Are you are referring to what is currently happening between Israel and Hezbollah. If so, the answer is that Hezbollah refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist. Their stated intentions are to destory Israel. The current conflict began about 2 weeks ago when Hezbollah entered Israel and kidnapped 2 Israeli soldiers. They then demanded that all Hezbollah and Hamas prisoners be released from Israel in return for the release of Israel's soldiers.

In retaliation Israel began bombing targets in Lebanon, and Hezbollah began rocket attacks on targets in Israel. Unfortunately there are numerous civilian causalties in Lebanon. Israelis are also dying although not in as a great of numbers. Both sides have refused a ceasefire, and there is no apparent or immediate end to hostilities in the region. Since Israel is a US ally, and Hezbollah is a terrorist organization we are supporting Israel, and have not called for a ceasefire directly.

Many people feel that the Lebanese are innocent bystanders in this conflict. While it is sad that civilians are caught in the crossfire, this is indeed the nature of war. This conflict is not new. Israel invaded Lebanon and occupied the southern part of the country in the 90's. In 2000 a ceasefire was brokered by the UN. UN resolution 1559 called for Israel to withdarw their troops, and in return the Lebanese government agreed to disarm Hezbollah. To date Lebanon has taken no action against Hezbollah, and in doing so has allowed Hezbollah to strengthen their position in the south. So while it is again unfortunate that Lebanese civilians are dying the government is more than partially responsible for their suffering by failing to honor international commits made to the UN.

Whether or not you believe that Israel is justified in it's attacks, certain facts are indisputable. Among these are that Israel has not acted unprovoked. Hezbollah has refused a ceasefire and have publically stated that they will widen the war, and chase Jews to wherever they run. Hezbollah is carrying out continued rocket attacks against Israeli citizens. Hezbollah is launching these rockets from civilian populated areas making attacks on these areas, and additional civilian deaths unavoidable.

pherdpherphle: I will be happy to correct the statement regarding whether or not it was an incursion into Israel. However if the territories are under dispute and a ceasefire is in place which it was under 2000 resolution, then to capture citizens/soldiers of another nation is indeed an act of war. Doesn't matter either way, because Hezbollah is indeed a terrorist organization, they are not soldiers in either the Syrian or Lebanese armies, and they have taken refuge in Lebanon. Lebanon has failed to meet international agreements, which if honored, might have negated the necessity of this current conflict. The essence of the post is still correct. Israel has the right to defend her citizens. Thank you for your correction, believe it or not I do like to try and deal in facts rather than supposition.

deaddeerny: For Israel and the other participants (Syria, Lebabnon, Palestine, Hezbollah, Hamas, etc.) it is about religious dogma, and disputed territory. Oil is not a factor. While many people believe that we (USA) only invaded Iraq for oil, that is another discussion, and wholly irrelevant to the current Israel/Lebanon conflict.

deaddeerny: Let me state that the following is just opinion. Oil/gas become involved in the equation because there are people who believe that because there is a valuable commodity (oil) in the Middle East that all conflicts must revolve around it. This is a western idea that since we require this commodity our only goal in any action related to the Middle East is designed to control those resources. This is open to interpretation based on your own world view. However, the existing conflicts in the Middle East unrelated to western action are much more complex. They have been raging for thousands of years, and defy any simple logic. This is almost always the case with wars where ideology, rather than resources or territory are concerned.

Answer 3

bryrose, the israeli soldiers were captured in the Shaba Farms area. This is recognised as syrian territory but this is disputed by lebanon who are persuing the matter through the court system.

Therefore, the hezbollah militants did NOT enter israel to capture the soldiers. The very act of israel having the military there was provokative. Then to use the force they did was unjustified.

Answer 4

Put simply it's Oil and Gas. Make this as the foundation, do some history check of your own, then you can get a fair idea where all the participants stand. Don't go by the news, it'll will clout your mind.

Answer 5

SIMPLE - IT'S ALL ABOUT GOOD AND EVIL.
Terrorist = Evil
In religion and ethics, evil refers to the "bad" aspects of the behaviour and reasoning of human beings —those which are deliberately void of conscience, and show a wanton desire for destruction.

God Loving People = Good
Those who are not Evil.

Answer 6

Television and Yahoo! News