Escalation V

So here's the latest on the on brewing crisis in the Middle East (which only a few are calling a war):

There doesn't seem to be any let up on either side. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced that they will fight on until attacks end and the kidnapped soldiers are returned. And to underscore that point, IDF troops have entered southern Lebanon.

Strangely enough, though, the Arabs in general seem to be getting fed up with Hezbollah, and Syria is being urged to influence Hezbollah to stop attacking Israel. However, Syria is now vowing to join the fight if Israeli forces approach the Syrian border

Meanwhile Iran is now boasting that no part of Israel is safe from Hezbollah attack. Cute. Jerusalem Newswire is reporting that Hezbollah is poised to fire dirty bomb warheads, using spent nuclear reactor fuel rods as their payload (hmmm, where did they get those?) Elite Israeli commandos are supposedly deep in Lebanon searching for these weapons with orders to document what they find before destroying them. And remember all of those WMDs that Saddam Hussein supposedly had? Perhaps some of those have ended up in the hands of Hezbollah.

Jerusalem Post is reporting that Hezbollah sleeper cells are standing by for activation for attacks against Israeli (and perhaps American) interests around the world

Diplomats are still scurrying about the Middle East; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Lebanon today to help negotiate a US-backed cease-fire. The Lebanese government rejected our proposal, though.

The most compelling news now is that Isreali troops in Lebanon are now focused on a Hezbollah stronghold, believed to be a missile launch site and to hold a large cache of weapons. That could turn out to be quite interesting.

Keep watch, my brethren. Stay vigilant.