Iran and Syria Stoke the Fire

I must admit I did not expect that Iran and Syria would accept the recent Israeli/Hezbollah cease-fire as a stalemate. I figured they would be one to gloat in favor of their Hezbollah brethren. That being said, I think even they are going a bit too far with their recent comments.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims the victory was "God's Promise." Syrian "President" Bashar Assad claimed Israel was "defeated" by the Hezbollah fighters. Great that those lads think that their Hezbollah boys stole the show, but let's remember a couple of things.

First off Israel walked to the Leitani River and probably could have gone all the way to the northern border of the country. All that stopped them was their willingness to heed the international community's call for them to stop.

Second, despite some missteps, they were regimented in avoiding civilian casualties. Unlike Hezbollah, who lobbed bombs without any regard for collateral damange, the Israelis did what they could to avoid it. In cases where it did happen (note that they would actually call ahead and warn that the bombs were coming), it was due to the fact that ordinary citizens were human shields protecting Hezbollah rockets.

The reason why Syria and Iran need to be careful about gloating is that they run the risk of ticking off the Israelis to the point where they damn the consequences and start to overrun the Middle East. In the past if there's one thing we know it's that the Israelis don't lose. Everytime a neighbor tries to take their land they respond by whipping them. Just ask Jordan if they'd like the West Bank back or Syria if they want the Golan Heights. In the end it might behoove both Syria and Iran to ease off a little a bit on the gloating.

Hawk's View: We're in the 54th year of the Israel Vs. The Rest of the Middle East. History says Israel is the strongest nation against its enemies. They are clearly tired of fighting but are also at the end of their rope in dealing with all the nonsense they face around them. The view here is the cease-fire won't last and the next move is Israel not only going back into Lebanaon but going after Syria as well. Unfortunately this will get worse before it even looks to get better.