With American and Allied Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, Israeli forces in Gaza and Lebanon, and homegrown Jihadists rearing their ugly heads throughout the world, the War on Terror has taken on the global dimension that it was rightly ascribed back in 2001. Radical Islamist terrorists are sworn to the destruction of the Western World and they will continue down that bloodstained path until their singular objective is achieved.Speaking during a May 2006 interview with CNBC, President Bush equated the Global War on Terror to World War III. Indeed, numerous politicians and political pundits have offered similar assessments both before and after President Bush's statement.
Speaking yesterday on CNBC's Meet The Press With Tim Russert, the former Republican Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, offered a similar conclusion. The dialogue was part of an overriding discussion on Israel's present battles with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza.
MR. GINGRICH: I mean, we, we are in the early stages of what I would describe as the third world war, and frankly, our bureaucracies aren’t responding fast enough, we don’t have the right attitude about this, and this is the 58th year of the war to destroy Israel. And frankly, the Israelis have every right to insist that every single missile leave south Lebanon and that the United States ought to be helping the Lebanese government have the strength to eliminate Hezbollah as a military force, not as a political force in the parliament, but as a military force in south Lebanon.
MR. RUSSERT: This is World War III?MR. GINGRICH: I, I believe if you take all the countries I just listed that you’ve been covering, put them on a map, look at all the different connectivity, you’d have to say to yourself this is, in fact, World War III.
(Among the countries that Mr. Gingrich "listed" were Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, North Korea, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and the homegrown Jihadists in America, Canada, and Britain.)
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, meanwhile, spoke today before the Knesset of an 'Axis of Evil' that extends from Tehran to Damascus. It is well-known that Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon receive primary monetary support from Iran — to the tune of $100 million per year — as well as weapons shipments that are flown to Syria at which point they are trucked into Lebanon.
Article comments
1 - Deano
I agree with your assessment of Iran but one of the points you seem to be missing is the "why"...
The Iranian revolution began as a more wide-spread politically diverse revolution then it has become. Over time the Iranian Revolution moved rpaidly towards theocratic dominance of the political sphere in Iran (spurred on by both the Iranian hostage crisis and the later war against Iraq).
One of the key elements in maintaining that dominance is to continue to paint Iran as "under perpetual threat from the Great Satan". Yes Iran is pursuing a strategy to become the dominant power in the region - an ascendent Persia so to speak - but it is very very dependent on continuing that "external threat" - one major reason for their continual policy of brinkmanship with the international community and the US. They use that external threat as a prop to justify their own internal policies and repression.
It makes coming to a diplomatic settlement an almost impossible task...
2 - Dave Nalle
The ongoing internal threat is always a great way to keep your totalitarian regime going. It's also traditional to have an evil minority to persecute, like Zoroastrians, perhaps...
Dave
3 - You Dumb Moron
lots of opinions from dumb asses like Dimwit Gingrich and the rest of the treasonous Republican and democrat politicians. We need to clean house and bring real americans into politics.
4 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
To the commenter in #4 (I don't want to take you apart with that moniker - man, it's tempting - but you might have something intelligent to say). Having ditche daerica's present crew of traitors, who ould you replace them with?
5 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Let's try that again... Having ditched America's present crew of traitors, who would you replace them with?
6 - Nancy
Anyone who isn't a professional politician, spinmeister, lawyer, or rich. 3-term limits, no exceptions. No "free" anythings from anybody, for either the seatholder OR any family member, no gifts, no favors, nada; they want to go on a fact finding tour of Hawaii, let them pay for it themselves & deduct it on their 1040s like everyone else (& have the IRS check it out, too). No special privileges: no special parking lots, no special or freebie limos, housing, staff, or anything else. I could go on, but this website doesn't have enough space.
7 - Georgio
I am curious but WHY does the Arab states with all their OIL money NOT have tanks ;jet fighters and modern weapons like Israel..maybe if they had the same capabilities as Israel leaders would think twice about bombing each other ..
8 - SFC SKI
Georgio, you might be able to find a link to an article called " why arab armies lose wars", IIRC, the authore was named DeAtkine, but I could be wrong. It is surely not politically correct, but it is a pretty accurate analysis of several of the reasons that most Arab armies are ill-maintained, mostly untrained, and poorly-led.
The short version is, many of the oil states can buy a lot of high tech weapons, but they seldiom have an educated populace to train to use it, or maintain it. Not only that, but in some Arab countries, working with your hands, or taking orders is considered beneath everybody, so you have a case of too many chiefs and not enough followers. There is also an unwillingness to admit ones mistakes, both individually and institutionally, that causes defeats to be glossed over or balmed away. These are just some of the reasons that most, though certainly not all, Arabarmies can't compete wit hIsrael or the West militarily.
9 - gazelle
#8 you must also look at US military and civil aid in $s to israelcompared with others. other allies are jordan, egypt and saudi. best
10 - gazelle
i dont want what the gingrinch wants (to steal) : WWIII - and he wants it bad. WWIII is not imminent unless some people succeed, who should be failed by being stopped.
best
11 - gazelle
and it has to do with the palestinian settlement, and not so much iran as the article suggests in a political demonizing way.
best
12 - gazelle
#8
this article A Beautiful Friendship by Glenn Frankel" might be useful from the washington post. It follows on the Walt and Mearsheimer articles which are on the net.
best
13 - SFC SKI
Gazelle, you missed one of the points of my post; Arab armies, and Iran's for that matter, will not do as well against most Western armies because of training and education, not because of inferior technology.
Also, the Palestinian problem is used by Iranian backed Hizbollah, supported by Syria, to fight a proxy war against Israel. If Iran was not backing Hizbollah, they could not have maintained their existence and arsenal for such a long period of time. The fact that Iran has also aided Hizbollah to strike at the US as well is just further evidence for the case against Iran.
14 - gazelle
SFC SKI
I was replying to Giorgio actually. I take your point, but these countries are also poor. it would be interesting to look at the GDPs of the US and Israel and these countries. or defence expenditures.
best
15 - Bliffle
The rash decisions of Arabs and muslims to back the lost cause of palestinians have retarded them for 50 years and will be their undoing. How stupid.
16 - gazelle
#15, B.
The rash decisions of the Americans to back the lost cause of new israel has retarded them for 50 years and will be their undoing. How stupid.
best
17 - HA!
May the best well equipped country win!
18 - gazelle
#17
you mean like : "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" in iraq.
Thats wouldnt be news. May the best well equipped country lose ! or how about: May the worse equipped country not lose ? (very lkely).
best
19 - durian
my advice to iran is be prepared to fight unless you intend to submit to the newcon in america.iran keep on stressing oil price will jump but has it occur to the iranian govt that is precisely what the oil companies in the usa hoped will happen.their greed knows no bound and they are the sponsors of bush incorporated.