Syrian parliament member Mohammad al Habash told Al Jazeera this week that Syria is actively preparing for war against Israel, which he expects to break out this summer. Israeli Prime Minister has said in recent months that Israel is seeking peace with Syria, and there was even speculation at one point that Israel might be willing to give back the Golan Heights — which they took from Syria during the 6-Day War — in exchange for peace.
A war between Israel and Syria would be extremely bad for a couple of reasons. For one, the Middle East has enough issues as it is, with the Iraq War, battles in Lebanon between the pro-US government and terrorist groups, and Israeli-Palestinian fighting; not to mention the Iranian nuclear conflict. Adding an Israeli-Syrian war to the equation would catastrophically worsen things. Secondly, a war with Syria also means another proxy war with Iran, as it provides equipment and weapons Syria. In addition, we can anticipate that Hezbollah would join the fight as they are allied with Syria, so that opens up another front in Lebanon. Let’s not forget the Palestinians too, as they’d surely attack Israel during the mix as well. Thus, as opposed to fighting on one border, Israel would be fighting on three: Lebanon, Syria, and the Palestinian territories.
I’m not sure if this would be a war that Israel could win. Surely they could defeat Syria in a one-on-one battle, but with Hezbollah and Hamas in the mix, things could prove very difficult for Olmert and Co. I hope that there is a way to prevent this from taking place, as the negative effects would be felt worldwide. That being said I don’t see why it can’t be prevented, I mean if you are anticipating a war months in advance surely the door is open for negotiations, as there are reasons for the impending war. Sometimes I feel like governments in the Middle East actually want war, which poses a very frightening notion.
So here’s to putting a little faith in human beings actually being able to achieve peace…
9 Comments
Hopefully they can get past it without going to war. Their wars take such a toll on their citizens since sometimes fighting fair isnt part of their agenda.
Fighting fair or fighting unfair it doesn’t matter, they shouldn’t be fighting at all. This world will never have peace until different religions can learn to co-exist in a peaceful manner.
We all know that this war if it happens will probably solve nothing and will most likely result in yet another war. Unfortunately, they too stubborn and too proud to see any other resolution. Its really sad.
War is necessary and its the only language Arabs especially Arab governmnets that support terrorists want. Arabs have never shown that they want civilised ways of solving problems. To this day the syrian government continues to support Hizbollar and Hamas terrorists. This is is not the kind of behavour of a country that believes in diplomacy.
@ Emmanuel - could this maybe be because of the way the West has treated them for decades? Perhaps they don’t know any other way to combat Western imperialism. I could be wrong, but I think the Middle East would be a much more peaceful region sans Western interference.
I think Jon that your using the plural in “they shouldn’t be fighting at all” is highly unfair and not well thought out as it clearly shows that you do not distinguish between aggressor and victim. Israel fought defensive wars in this and the last century and therefore statements like yours seem to undermine her right of self-defense and have very little to do with reality. If one is constantly attacked and wishes to survive, he has to fight. Whishing he doesn’t fight equals wishing him death. That’s what you want for the Jews in Israel?
Of course every nation has the right to self-defense Andras, there’s no question about that. There’s also no question that the Jews have been hated and persecuted throughout all of history. The point I was trying to make is that nobody should be fighting, that there are other non-violent ways to settle disputes between countries. I think the ideology that conflict can only be solved through war is medieval and outdated. We certainly have evolved as a species and learned that war doesn’t accomplish anything in the end. What we have to do now is put this knowledge we have acquired over the centuries to use so that this world has a future for our children and grandchildren. Perhaps I’m being a bit too optimistic in putting faith in human beings actually being able to co-exist peacefully, but what would this world be if not for hope.
I really am sorry to disappoint you Jon, but I think that if as a species we’ve learned anything at all, we’ve learned that ONLY war resolves conflict and brings peace. History does not show us one single example of non-violent conflict resolution. At this point I’m sure you will want to mention Ghandi, so let me point out to you that Ghandi was murdered, alongside with hundereds of thousands of his countryman and that today India and Pakistan are both countries with nukes. It is violence and threat of violence that determine things in the world. Is it nice? No! But I don’t think just because it is not nice we should close our eyes in front of reality. I close here, be well, Bereny
i’ve read the discussion over there….
but really i’m sorry to see there still sounds votting to war either from Arab side or from israel side……
so please be more civilized and think more in your children…
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[...] It’s a strange time in Israel. Israelis seem to agree that there’s going to be a war this summer. Probably in August.At the very same time there are constant reports of contacts with Syria and [...]