Where Do We Go From Here?

The Israelis are in the midst of trying to find their way out of the Lebanese quagmire following Hezbullah raids that killed 4, including an Israeli Brigadier General. Israeli Defense Forces retaliated with several days of raids on suspected terrorist sites in the Southern Lebanese security zone which prompted further rocket attacks against Northern Israeli positions. Meanwhile, a number of Israeli politicians have floated several ideas to extricate Israel from the problems.

One of the more interesting positions came from Ariel Sharon, who stated that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu should dissolve the Knesset and form a unity government to unilaterally withdraw from Southern Lebanon. This suggestion was roundly criticized by some although Labor Prime Minister candidate Ehud Barak suggested that he would have Israel unilaterally withdraw from Lebanon by 2000. Many called this an election year ploy but there may be some merit to withdrawing unilaterally since the Lebanese operations continue to sap the Israeli military of its elite - an army that is forced to occupy and defend itself constantly from terrorist attack is worn down emotionally and has seen an increase in the number of soldiers who choose not to pursue military careers beyond their minimum service requirements.

Elsewhere in the region, Jordan's new King Abdullah reshuffled his cabinet installing a new Prime Minister. Abdul-Raouf Rawabdeh was nominated by King Abdullah and is seen as a strong supporter of close ties with Israel and the US. In addition, he is seen as wanting to bring closer relations between Jordan and the Gulf States - many of whom had turned away from Jordan as a result of Jordan's role during the Persian Gulf War. The time may be right for Jordan to thaw that relationship and bring a higher profile to the desert empire.

Finally, I was hoping that some of you would have some questions or comments as to what areas of the Middle East that you would like to see addressed in upcoming articles. I'm always looking for topic ideas so if you're wondering what is going on in Kuwait or Iran or what the deal is with the Kurds in Turkey and Iraq, drop a comment and I'll write about it in an upcoming article.

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