[Baltimore Sun] Armstrong Williams: Israel strikes Hezbollah as war intensifies | STAFF COMMENTARY
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The largest and most successful terrorist infiltration operation in history is currently underway, an operation that rivals the legendary Trojan Horse that gave tactics like these their name. During the Trojan War, the Greeks gifted a wooden horse to the Trojans as a ruse to deceive them, concealing soldiers within to infiltrate and seize the city. Recently, Israel embedded explosive devices within pagers distributed to thousands of Hezbollah operatives, which all detonated simultaneously and gave Israel a treasure trove of information that can be used to finally take Hezbollah down for good. The collected intelligence and the elimination of operatives will undoubtedly incapacitate Hezbollah’s global operations, both physically and psychologically, and will wreak untold havoc and distrust among its leadership and militants.
As the conflict with Hezbollah escalates, Israel’s strikes have killed hundreds and injured thousands, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
This operation, in addition to causing physical destruction and mass fatalities among militants, is poised to become the most significant intelligence achievement in history, which very well may eventually lead to the complete dismantling of Hezbollah. Israel very likely is developing a comprehensive and up-to-date map that integrates data captured from the pagers and Hezbollah communications on injuries, hospital admissions, social media activity, electronic communications, news footage and medical records, linking them to all of the people who hold these pagers. This would give them an ever-expanding trove of information regarding both known and previously unknown Hezbollah militants, along with their supporters, associates, relatives, colleagues, places of work, vehicles and homes.
The New York Times reported that Israel successfully intercepted a shipment of pagers produced by the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo, later concealing small explosive devices within the pagers next to the battery. At 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 17 in Lebanon, every recipient of the pager received a message that purportedly originated from Hezbollah leadership; however, the message was, in fact, the trigger for the explosion.
Unfortunately, two children were killed, and some innocent bystanders were injured when a pager exploded at a funeral in Lebanon. Otherwise, however, the mission was executed flawlessly. The success of this mission, executed by Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, and the Israeli military, will unequivocally demonstrate to the Middle East, and the world, the extensive intelligence and military capabilities and effectiveness of Israel’s intelligence apparatus.
This operation is coming on the heels of another successful military operation in which Israeli operatives covertly placed an explosive device into a guesthouse frequented by Hamas’ political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, during his visit to Iran for the inauguration of the new president, following the death of former president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash caused by inclement weather while returning to the capital from an event.
Hezbollah and Lebanon have both denounced Israel for the attack. Hezbollah and Iran condemned the assault as “Israeli terrorism.” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday described Israel’s detonation of pagers as “a declaration of war.”
Hezbollah represents a major threat not only to the Middle East but also to the global community, especially the United States. Hezbollah is widely regarded as one of the largest global terrorist networks. According to Hezbollah’s leader, there are approximately 100,000 trained fighters — though independent studies have indicated that the figure is at least 40,000. Furthermore, U.S. officials have estimated Hezbollah’s military receives around $700 million a year from Iran. They possess between 40,000 and 120,000 rockets, surpassing the arsenals of numerous countries. In addition to those, they possess an extensive military arsenal comprising anti-aircraft systems, anti-ship missiles and anti-tank missiles as well as a close relationship with Iran and Syria who provide military support. They also possess a vast military apparatus that reaches as far as Venezuela, a country that the United States had approximately 266,000 migrant encounters at the border with last fiscal year.
Now, Israel has begun to take advantage of the internal panic and loss in leadership of Hezbollah caused by the pager explosions, initiating a destructive bombing campaign against Hezbollah targets. As of Tuesday, Israel has killed at least 500 people across Lebanon, and they have stated that they will continue to expand the “extensive, precise strikes against terror targets.” Prior to initiating the bombing campaign, Israel sent out evacuation notices to civilians in affected areas.
Following this significant blow to Hezbollah’s operations, Hezbollah will be forced to proceed with caution, meticulously scrutinizing and examining all of its resources and questioning the intentions of its fighters. This may indeed provoke an internal struggle greater than the devastation that any direct attack by Israel could bring.
Armstrong Williams (www.armstrongwilliams.com; @arightside) is a political analyst, syndicated columnist and owner of the broadcasting company Howard Stirk Holdings. He is also part owner of The Baltimore Sun.
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