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This already happened, and was true. I don’t understand the comment.
22·8 minutes agoI’m certain there’s no quantifiable way to address the difference between those phrases, and that this is rather a matter of opinion regarding what one thinks “massive” means in terms of military/political rhetoric. I think my point was made, despite my questions going unanswered.
Thanks for the discussion!
(I’m not continuing this discussion, since the interest here seems to be quibbling over one word of rhetoric.)
Edit:
https://www.dw.com/en/what-comes-next-for-iran-after-strike-on-israel/a-70387376
Tehran is waiting for Israel’s response to a massive missile attack as the conflict in the Middle East threatens to escalate.
Sounds commensurate to me :)
I truly don’t understand what you think I’m saying. I think that a response to a second direct attack being massive does not preclude it from not escalating (unless there’s a less conventional definition specific to military responses I’m not familiar with). Is Iran’s second direct attack on Israel not considered an escalation, and do you think that is not massive, despite rhetoric from the Ayatollah?
Or is Israel not supposed to respond to this?
Massive payback can be commensurate with the attack on Israel, while still not escalating. Was Iran escalating when it directly attacked Israel for the second time? Or was that a measured response to the deaths of members of their proxies in other countries?
Their last response to Iran’s direct attack on Israel was a calculated move consistent with not escalating.
https://www.csis.org/analysis/assessing-israels-strike-iran
I’m hopeful their (along with the US’) move in response to Iran’s second direct attack on Israel will yield similar results.
Israel imposing their ring of fire around Iran?
Inb4 historic grievance a b and c…
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that Iran’s attack on Israel “will have consequences.”
“We are on high alert both defensively and offensively,” Hagari said during a news briefing following the attack. “We will defend the citizens of the State of Israel.”
Hagari said the military has “plans” and will strike at the time and place of their choosing.
Hagari said the military has not identified any additional aerial threats from Iran, and reiterated that people can leave shelters. The IDF “carried out a large number of interceptions,” Hagari said, adding that parts of central and southern Israel were impacted by missiles.
“At this stage, we are still assessing the situation,” Hagari said. “We are not aware of any casualties.”
Just in case this becomes a problem, the title of the article seems to have changed since I posted this.
The letter calls on Muslims to instead vote for any of the third-party candidates, including the Green Party’s Jill Stein whose support has swelled among the Muslim American community in recent weeks.
You don’t say…
I do believe she said it too.
Hassan Nasrallah was a terrorist with American blood on his hands. Across decades, his leadership of Hezbollah destabilized the Middle East and led to the killing of countless innocent people in Lebanon, Israel, Syria, and around the world. Today, Hezbollah’s victims have a measure of justice.
I have an unwavering commitment to the security of Israel. I will always support Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.
President Biden and I do not want to see conflict in the Middle East escalate into a broader regional war. We have been working on a diplomatic solution along the Israel-Lebanon border so that people can safely return home on both sides of that border. Diplomacy remains the best path forward to protect civilians and achieve lasting stability in the region.
Russia strongly condemns Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in the Lebanese capital Beirut, the foreign ministry said on Saturday, calling it “yet another political assassination”.
“This forceful action is fraught with even greater dramatic consequences for Lebanon and the entire Middle East,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The Israeli side could not fail to recognise this danger, but took the step of killing Lebanese citizens, which would almost inevitably provoke a new outburst of violence. Thus, it bears full responsibility for the subsequent escalation.”
Any time, I’d say.
Polling during the almost year of hostilities following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hezbollah ally Hamas on Israel suggests that Hezbollah’s influence continues to exceed its popularity. An Arab Barometer poll of Lebanese in early 2024 found that only 30% trust Hezbollah, whereas 55% said they do not trust the group at all. While Hezbollah still retains the trust of 85% of Shiites, only 9% of Sunnis and Druze and 6% of Christians trust the militia.
K, maybe the Lebanese can finally get rid of Hezbollah?
Yes I see they have some beef with Israel.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-hezbollah
Hezbollah essentially operates as a government in the areas under its control, and neither the military nor federal authorities can counter this, Arab Barometer analysts MaryClare Roche and Michael Robbins write for Foreign Affairs. It manages a vast network of social services that include infrastructure, health-care facilities, schools, and youth programs, all of which have been instrumental in garnering support for Hezbollah from Shiite and non-Shiite Lebanese alike. Even so, Arab Barometer polling in 2024 found that “despite Hezbollah’s significant influence in Lebanon, relatively few Lebanese support it.”
At the same time, Hezbollah maintains its military arm. Under the 1989 Taif Agreement, which was brokered by Saudi Arabia and Syria and ended Lebanon’s civil war, Hezbollah was the only militia allowed to keep its arms. The International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated in 2020 that the militia had up to twenty thousand active fighters and some twenty thousand reserves, with an arsenal of small arms, tanks, drones, and various long-range rockets. Analyst and Brigadier General (Ret.) Assaf Orion, of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, says Hezbollah possesses “a larger arsenal of artillery than most nations enjoy,” and a 2018 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies called it “the world’s most heavily armed non-state actor.” In June 2024, experts speculated that Hezbollah has 150,000–200,000 rockets and missiles of various ranges.
Critics say Hezbollah’s existence violates UN Security Council Resolution 1559—adopted in 2004—which called for all Lebanese militias to disband and disarm. The UN Force in Lebanon (UNFIL), first deployed in 1978 to restore the central government’s authority, remains in the country and part of its mandate is to encourage Hezbollah to disarm.
In October 2019, Hezbollah became a target of mass protests. Government mismanagement and years of slow growth had saddled Lebanon with one of the world’s highest public debt burdens, at 150 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese citizens disillusioned by the economic slump called for the government, including Hezbollah, to cede power to a new, technocratic leadership. The formation of a Hezbollah-backed government under Prime Minister Hassan Diab in January 2020 failed to appease antiestablishment protesters, who saw it as a win for the country’s entrenched elites. Unemployment, poverty, and debt soared under the new government, and demonstrations persisted for months despite lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The protest movement spanned religious backgrounds, and even fellow Shiites openly criticized Hezbollah.
I was wondering when it would be Hamas’ or Hezbollah’s fault for once again using residential/civilian areas for military purposes.
I see.
https://www.newsweek.com/jill-stein-vladimir-putin-war-criminal-1954965
Hasan later asked Stein why she had labeled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal, but not Putin.
“Well, as John F. Kennedy said, we must not negotiate out of fear and we must not fear to negotiate,” she replied. “So, if you want to be an effective world leader, you don’t start by name-calling and hurling epithets.”
“So, how will President Stein negotiate with Israel then if you’ve called Netanyahu a war criminal?” Hasan asked in response.
“Well, because he very clearly is a war criminal,” Stein said, prompting Hasan to ask: “So Putin clearly isn’t a war criminal?”
“Well, we don’t have a decision—put it this way—by the International Criminal Court,” Stein said.
The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Putin, alleging that he is responsible for war crimes. No such warrant has been issued for Netanyahu, whose war on Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians. However, the chief prosecutor of the ICC has applied for an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister.
Additionally
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location inside the country with heightened security measures in place, two regional officials briefed by Tehran told Reuters.
The sources said Iran was in constant contact with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and other regional proxy groups to determine the next step after Israel announced that it had killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on south Beirut on Friday.
K, but considering Iran did attack Israel… Yesterday… And the comment was made just moments ago, I myself find the comment to be misplaced.