U.S. troops are in Syria and Iraq to give Iranian-backed insurgents a target for their attacks, which would then give the U.S. an excuse to wage war against Iran. From Alastair Crooke at strategic-culture.su:
The Resistance seeks to maintain their calibratory control for attriting Israel, whereas Israel wants to move directly to its ‘Armageddon vision’.
Israel’s dual strategy for Lebanon is to exert pressure through direct raids to instil fear amongst the wider population, whilst deploying diplomatic pressure to purge Hizbullah – not just from the border, but from regions beyond the Litani River (some 23 kms to the north).
Only Hizballah doesn’t budge.
It remains adamant: It will not be displaced from its historic homelands in the south – and refuses to discuss the matter at all.
“If this threat is not removed diplomatically, we will not hesitate to take military action”, Israeli ministers repeatedly insist. A poll by the Israeli (Hebrew) newspaper Ma’ariv showed that 71 percent of Israelis believe Israel should launch a large-scale military operation against Lebanon to keep Hizbullah away from the border. Again, the U.S. accepts the Israeli lead – that Israel needs to mount a military operation in Lebanon.
Special U.S. Coordinator, Amos Hochstein, whilst emphasising the absolute need for Israeli residents to return to their homes in northern Israel, says that the U.S. nonetheless is seeking to keep the conflict in Lebanon to the lowest level possible. He outlined:
“What we’ve been trying to do is to make sure that we can contain the fighting to the lowest level possible and to work on lasting solutions that can bring a cessation of hostilities. We’re going to have to do a lot of building up of the Lebanese Armed Forces; we have to build up the economy in south Lebanon. That’s going to require an international coalition of support, not just the U.S.”.
Put simply: Hizbullah has created a buffer ‘fire-zone’ inside Israel, extending over 100 kms laterally and penetrating 5-10 kms deep. Israel wants that buffer back, and now insists on having its own buffer deep into Lebanon – to ‘reassure’ its returning border inhabitants that they will be safe.
