(American Enterprise Institute) Danielle Pletka - The significant escalation on the part of the Iranians in Syria sharpens the challenges Israel faces not just with Hizbullah, the Iranian-controlled terrorist group on its border in Lebanon, but now with a substantial Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) presence in Syria as well. The steady escalation by Iran on Israel's border belies the notion that Tehran is feeling any heat from the departure of the more pro-Iran Barack Obama and the arrival of Donald Trump, with his pledge to take the Iranian threat more seriously. Rather, Iran has continued to cut a wide swath throughout the Middle East. The U.S. government appears determined to ignore the Lebanese Armed Forces' increasingly obvious cooperation with Hizbullah, as well as Hizbullah's swelling arsenal throughout Lebanese territory. Somehow, both Centcom and the State Department have persuaded themselves, despite ample evidence to the contrary, that Lebanon is somehow independent despite massive Iranian infiltration through Hizbullah. The U.S. has not availed itself of sufficient soft or hard power options vis-a-vis Iran in Syria, Yemen, or anywhere else in the region. Iran is rising inexorably, and inevitably, at least for Israel, there will be no choice but conflict. The writer is senior vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at AEI.
2018-02-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive