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Friday, August 17, 2012

STEAM AND THE PRESSURE COOKER

ARAB AUTUMN IN RELATION TO ISRAEL

Events in Syria, which country is a pressure cooker boiled over into violence, have presently stirred the media into a daily frenzy of speculation that Israel will attack Iran.  Iran is the force behind Hezbollah and Syria, and Iran is a pending nuclear threat to the entire Middle East.  The Shia threat of the Syrian regime and the Iranian regime does not negate the also serious Sunni threat of other nations surrounding Israel, such threat being ever sustained on the ground actively from such terrorist groups as Hamas,  Al Quaeda, etc.

Israel is at the geographic center of much Muslim on Muslim violence, having the appearance of being the eye of the storm, even though Israel has little or nothing to do with that violence -- though to hear the nations of the world speak, one would think Israel was at fault for the slightest appearance of violence anywhere anytime, either explicitly or implicitly.

There has been much talk of "Arab Spring" and more recently talk of "Arab Winter".  It is premature yet to speak of Arab Winter, but, it may be appropriate to speak of "Arab Autumn".  A new relative stability may replace the prior relative stability.  Or a temporary stability may sooner or later yield to even deeper instability.  The present "Hot Arab Summer" could have been profoundly hotter, though Syria is still a wide open caldron.

Will Israel attack Iran?  The world at large may be projecting it's  own fears and desires onto Israel, such that the world in all it's ambivalence may be understood to fear the outbreak of war with Iran and yet to simultaneously be goading Israel into initiating that war.