More Sabre Rattling?

In a new twist, the White House is almost appearing the most reasonable party involved in the latest geopolitical saber rattling, or flashpoint, developing as Venezuelan troops are reportedly completely deployed in three regions along the Columbian border, aside from invoking the word terrorism in defense of the Columbian military raid into Ecuador. The matter is further complicated by assertions that FARC was dealing in Uranium. After all, no military adventure is too costly when defending the world against Weapons of Mass Destruction. There is a qualitative difference in this tension, though, as it is being complicated by an arms deal. In this case, the vaunted F-16 would have been sold to Venezuela from Spain, had it not been for a veto from the United States. Secretary of Defense Gates is comfortable in the ability of the Columbian military to handle their own affairs. This is hardly the first time that there has been tension along this border, as observable by the airstrips built into the road system in eastern Columbia. The investment community has signalled strong support for the Columbian side, pushing the Columbia's main stock exchange to the highest gain on world markets. As usual, the Wikipedia site on the incident is the most comprehensive.

In other news, Syrian and Saudi officials met in Cairo in an effort to relieve the tensions in the region, namely in Gaza, Iraq, and Lebanon. The Saudis then held discussions on the side with an American envoy. The USS Cole has been relieved off the coast of Lebanon by two U.S. warships and has passed through the Suez Canal en route to the Persian Gulf, signaling a wider build up of U.S. Naval forces in the region. The head of Egypt's Head of Intelligence, Omar Suleiman, has canceled a planned visit to Israel, perhaps reflecting a response to Ban Ki-Moon's letter, a denunciation of Israel's operations in the Gaza Strip, a snub at the U.S.-led bloc, or a combination of the three. Judging from the militaristic propaganda, and pondering minor war crimes to avoid major war crimes, Israel is ready to fight.

Does anyone remember Somalia? The United States has conducted another air strike there, which is sure to keep the fires of war still burning.

Sabre Rattling?

Israeli citizens living along the border had a rude awakening, which was initially feared to be Qassam rocket attacks. Unfortunately for everyone who can read this, there are tensions, to say the least, on both sides of the border. In Lebanon, among long-standing political deadlock and the assassination of their military leader, Hezbollah has replenished its arms to pre-2006 war levels. Meanwhile, on the Israeli side of the border, the Israeli Defense Forces are training in the ways they have improved their vaunted Merkava tanks in light of deficiencies discovered during the aforementioned Israeli invasion.

The UN General Secretary, perhaps desperate to enforce UNSC Resolution 1701, has sent a letter to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak about the situation. If I had to guess and paraphrase:

Dear President Hosni Mubarak,

Get me on this one and I will owe you big!

Your BFF,

Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary-General

On a more serious note, Imad Mughniyeh, the Hezbollah official, whom was reportedly assassinated by Israel by sources of no repute, was actively involved in facilitating international cooperation, such as "bringing members of the Iraqi Shi'ite Mahdi Army to the Lebanese Beqa'a valley, where they trained in paramilitary methods," amongst other allegations. However, again, I would advise one to judge the quality of the source before completely swallowing either side.

The Saudi Arabian and Kuwaiti governments, on the other hand, are pulling all of its civilians out of Lebanon for fear of violence.

And the addition of the group of vessels off the coast of Lebanon, led by the USS Cole, has brought its own added significance to the dangerous situation.

With the Israeli government looking ready to apply its lessons learned and vindicate a troubled administration, the entire situation is a tense powder keg that is ready to explode. I, for one, hope that this entire affair turns out to be another tempest in a teacup. However, as the Lebanese military moves to the highest state of readiness, the question should be raised, "What about the children?" Or, why isn't this story more of a headline in the mainstream media?