The Powder Keg That Is The Middle East: Ignited?

As President Bush hobnobs with G-8 leaders this weekend, violence in the Middle East continues, unabated. The "Group of 8" leaders from Great Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States are together in Russia for an annual meeting.

But talk of economies (oil was more than $78 a barrel on Friday) pale compared to the fire in the Middle East, where Israel has launched two offensives. The events are causing some observers to flashback to the 1980s, when Reagan was President. In the Gaza Strip the opponent is Hamas; in Lebanon, Hezbollah (Party of God) -- a Lebanese Islamic umbrella group. The US considers both groups terrorist organizations.

Moreover, Iraqi Shiites are linked by blood and belief to Shiites in Lebanon. The US is Israel's most important ally. This creates a narrow tightrope for the US to walk.

Earlier this week, Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets into Northern Israel, part of an ongoing conflict with Israel, which occupied southern Lebanon in the '80s and '90s. Events escalated when they "rammed an Israeli missile ship with an unmanned aircraft rigged with explosives."

The Israeli prime minister called the first, mid-week attack, an "act of war." In retaliation, Israel bombed the Beirut airport, reportedly killing 60 civilians. It continues the attack Saturday, targeting Lebanese bridges, fuel storage tanks and gas stations.

In a separate offensive, Israel targeted a "bridge in the central Gaza Strip" early Saturday. McClatchy Newspapers report:

"The situation is deteriorating, and it is a situation that should be stopped if we do not want to see a complete collapse, maybe beyond the scope of Israel and Lebanon," said Yoram Meital, the chairman of the Herzog Center for Middle East Studies at Ben Gurion University.

The speed with which the two incidents escalated into major military campaigns surprised even seasoned observers. What had been a crisis became a regional battle with the growing potential to become a broader war.

Lebanon has called for a ceasefire, which the UN Security Council rejected. Israel counters that the government must stop Hezbollah, per UN Security Council 1559 resolutions. However, the government has made little headway with Hezbollah, which is supported by Syria and Iran.

The United Nations has sent an envoy to Cairo, Egypt with the goal of difusing tension in the region. Syria has announced that it will support Lebanon. The US supports the UN, but has "ruled out a new U.S. special envoy or shuttle diplomacy in the model of past U.S. involvement in Mideast crises."

How Did We Get Here?
In the 1980s, Israel responded to attacks from the Palestine Liberation Organization -- and occupied Lebanon for two decades. In 1983, "241 U.S. Marines, peacekeepers where there was no peace, were killed in a single suicide bombing of their barracks at the Beirut Airport."

Richard Reeves writes:

For those who have forgotten what happened in those unlamented days of yesteryear, it began with ...

Well, nothing "begins" in the Middle East; it is always the same, circular and cyclical, and "began" is a loaded word that implies that someone "started" something that was always there. "Began" is a word of blame, and all sides share that in the endless insanity of peoples destined and determined to destroy each other in the name of God the merciful.

It's A World Stage
The Taipai Times writes a scathing editorial, critical of American response:

Imagine if, as a result of the Mumbai bombings, the Indian government assumed Pakistan was to blame and, without consulting any of its allies, laid waste to the international airport in Islamabad -- or worse. Or imagine Japan deciding that one more North Korean missile test over its waters or land was too many, before attacking North Korean missile bases.

Would a reasonable person expect Washington to respond to such actions with the line, "We respect the right of [insert name of country] to defend itself"? No: Americans would be expected to deplore acts of revenge and retaliation that are out of all proportion to the provocation because of the long-term instability that this feeds, if not triggering outright war.

But this is not the case with Israel and Lebanon.

See Hezbollah v Israel - Facing A Crisis, U.S. Role in Middle East Crisis One of Diplomacy

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