Reactions: the Middle East crisis

The situation in the Middle East remains fluid.

Here are a few interesting items I found as I moused and clicked around.

Bill Maher had a few positive things to say about Bush in regards to the crisis in Lebanon. HT: Prof. Reynolds. Excerpt:

I have to say, watching George Bush talk about Israel the last week has reminded me of a feeling that I hadn't felt in so long I forgot what it felt like: the feeling of pride when your president says what you want your president to say, especially in a matter that chokes you up a bit. I surrender my credentials as Bush exposer - from the very beginning - to no man, but on Israel, I love it that a U.S. president doesn't pretend Arab-Israeli conflict is an even-steven proposition.

One of my favorite guests on the Hugh Hewitt show is Mark Steyn. I don't always catch the radio show but I can always check the blog and Hewitt reported the conversation he had with Steyn. Excerpt:

MS: I think this is why the Europeans and the Arabs suddenly have gone very quiet, and in fact, have been supportive of Israel, because they understand...the Arabs, after indulging in this post-modern fear-mongering for 60 years, that Israel is an entire threat to the region. Suddenly, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia see that there's a real threat, not a pseudo-threat to the region, that they are going to be living per force under an Iranian-dominated region. That in fact, the last 50 years will just have been a brief interlude of Arab independence between living as subjects of the Ottoman Empire, and now being subject to a kind of de facto apocalyptic Iranian Empire.

One place to click by for some military perspective is Strategypage. Excerpts:

Israel is believed to have destroyed, on the ground, three or four rockets for every one that is fired. Israel has a large force of UAVs and long experience using them. There are a lot of Israeli self-propelled artillery up near the Lebanese border, no doubt working in close cooperation with UAVs and helicopters (which tend to stay on the Israeli side of the border to avoid ground fire) to zap Hizbollah rockets as they are being moved or set-up for firing. A lot of this takes place as night, when Hizbollah gets reminded how well the Israeli night-vision cameras work.

Hizbollah is riding high now, as the independent Arab media praise the attack on Israel. But state controlled media throughout the Arab world is less supportive, and sees Hizbollah as an anti-Arab agent for the Shia Iranians. Iran has, for thousands of years, been seen as the enemy of the Arabs, and many Arabs see the current Hizbollah antics as another ploy to stick it to the Arabs. Arab politicians realize that the chances of Hizbollah "winning" its war are practically nil, and that a Hizbollah defeat will further erode the reputation of Arabs as fighters and thinkers.