Smoking Guns

The United States is at war with Iran and Syria.
Oh, no, Congress hasn’t declared war in the classic sense, and Iran hasn’t attacked Pearl Harbor or anything…but our countries are locked in a bitter conflict nonetheless.

The theatre of operations isn’t on American soil, nor within the borders of Syria or Iran, however. The battlefield is along the west coast of the Fertile Crescent, Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon.

According to British news sources, Hezbollah troops have been supplied not only with sophisticated weaponry from Syria, but also the training to effectively use them. Laser-guided missiles with double warheads have been effective in stopping Israeli tanks.

Shell casings and other weapons left behind by retreating Hezbollah fighters have been identified with markings showing their origins in Russia or Iran, and shipping through Syria to the insurgents. This week, eight Kornet anti-tank rockets, considered the best such weapons made, were discovered in a village in southern Lebanon. According to the Telegraph.co, “…on each casing were [stenciled] the words: "Customer: Ministry of Defence of Syria. Supplier: KBP, Tula, Russia."

The Telegraph also reports a van filled with 6-foot green casings was discovered by IDF forces outside a village in Lebanon. Serial numbers on the casings identified them as AT-5 Spandrel anti-tank missiles, a wire-guided weapon originally developed in Russia, but copied by Iran in 2000.

Iran and Syria know that despite their bluster and venomous threats to annihilate Israel, they dare not fire a shot directly without recrimination from the West. Birds of a feather are flocking together with thugs hired by thugs to provoke unrest in the region.

The leaders of Syria and Iran do no want democratic governments (by the people, for the people) because they would be out of a job. So they continue to supply arms to groups who fight behind the skirts of women and children, using weapons of precision destruction, and spewing platitudes of hatred.

World opinion is now somewhat critical of Israel and its western allies for answering the bombardment of northern Israel by an invasion of the territory hosting Hezbollah. Israel is correct in seeking to silence the missiles of mercenaries and protect its people from the shelling of Israeli real estate.

Verbal criticism of the US and Israel, Lebanon, and Hezbollah does little to solve the problem. World powers with spines need to enforce the pursuit of peace in the region by clamping down on the real bullies in the neighborhood, Syria and Iran.