Tidbits from the MEM* - I

*MEM = Middle East Mess. There is now so much news from the ME, mostly bad, that it's time for acronyms. Short SITREP SYNOPs of MEM items from my RSS [feeds]:

Southeast Asians En Route to Middle East to Fight the Israelis: Bombastic Threats of a Previously Unknown Organization or the Real Deal?
By Zachary Abuza

"News reports carried on the website of the Indonesian daily Detik and by the Antara news wire are making clear that the events in the Middle East are reverberating in Southeast Asia. The two articles report that a group of 217 Southeast Asian jihadis have pledged to travel to Lebanon to fight the Israelis. This group, calling themselves the Palestine Jihad Bombing Troops (PBJ) is hitherto unknown. However, at the group’s 19 July meeting in Jakarta, the spokesman/organizer was Suaib Didu, the head of the radical Indonesian student organization, the Islamic Youth Movement (known by its Indonesian acronym, GPI). Suaib is also chairman of AMSEC (ASEAN Muslim Youth Secretariat), in whose capacity this week’s meeting/press conference was held. At the meeting, Suaib, presented 12 of the 217 jihadis. According to press reports, they were “dressed entirely in black and wore full face balaclavas.” Several of the 12 claimed to be Afghan veterans. Suaib explained, "They came here today to discuss plans for their fight in Palestine." [continues at link]

Ground Push Imminent as Hizballah Rockets Fly
By Steve Schippert

5,000 More Reserves Called Up and Lebanese Civilians Warned as IDF Prepares to Roll Into Lebanon

As at least 19 civilians are wounded in Haifa in yet another Hizballah barrage on the Israeli port city, Israel is stepping up its warning to civilians in south Lebanon to leave the southern areas immediately. After over a week of hammering Hizballah positions since the northern front opened, it appears the IDF rolling into Hizballah territory is the next logical option. [continues at link]

Worst Case Scenario: Hezbollah's Conventional Forces
By Bill Roggio

The Israeli Defense Forces and Hezbollah have fought pitched battles over the past two days in the region around Avivim. Ynet News reports nine Israeli soldiers were wounded during the fighting, and two were killed in the nearby town of Maroun al-Ras. "Attempts to rescue some of the injured were carried out under relentless fire," according to the Ynet News report. Six Hezbollah cells were engaged during the attack. Israeli forces have withdrawn from the area. [continues at link]

Worst Case Scenario II: Hezbollah's Ambush of the Golani Brigade
By Bill Roggio

Worst Case Scenario: Hezbollah's Conventional Forces: Hezbollah's Conventional Forces, we discussed Hezbollah's surprising conventional military prowess and weaponry, and reported of an ambush on a unit operating in Lebanon near Avivim. Haaretz reports that four soldiers from the Golani Brigade were killed and five wounded during the ambush, and the unit withdrew from the batlefield after the encounter, under heavy fire. Excerpted from the Haaretz article, the emphasis is mine:

The hardest clashes Thursday took place at the outskirts of the village of Maroun Ras in the central sector of the border area, just north of Moshav Avivim. This is the second day of fighting in the same area where two IDF soldiers were killed Wednesday. [continues at link]

The Lebanon evacuation window
by Walid Phares

As I have witnessed previous evacuations in Lebanon for about two decades, and as I am monitoring the ongoing evacuations of Western and American citizens by US and European military, I was able to establish a security map through which the evacuation is taking place. In short it is happening in a very dangerous geopolitical context, more than many believed it would be. [continues at link]

United Nations an Accomplice in Hezbollah Kidnapping
by Dave Kopel

United Nations an Accomplice in Hezbollah Kidnapping: After Hezbollah's kidnapping of a pair of Israeli soldiers spurred an Israeli counter-attack, many critics of Israel actions have suggested that the United Nations can serve as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah. To the contrary, the United Nations has a well-established record of collaboration with Hezbollah in the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers. [continues at link]

Hezbollah wins hearts in Gaza
by Lucy Williamson

While Israeli forces fight militants across its northern border, and the Israeli public waits for the return of its captured soldiers, the other fight - and the search for Israel's other captured soldier - has been continuing in Gaza, to the south. [continues at link]

Some important missed facts on the Hezbollah/Iran/Syria-Israel war
by Olivier Guitta

In the same vein of my latest July 13 post, here is some additional info that has been overlooked:

1- Over two weeks ago, Hezbollah's leader Nasrallah told opposition leader Walid Jumblatt: "The stability of Lebanon is vital for us. We have to preserve the touristic season and continue with a dialogue between the different political parties."

2- After the Syrian Army left last year, not only did Syrians still place officials in the Lebanese Army, Secret Service, and high in the administration (for more on that, please read my piece in the "Daily Standard" here), but also Hezbollah did the same.

3- Nasrallah admitted that it took five months of preparation to plan this operation.

4- As Bill Roggio pointed out, linking to the English portion of an Asharq Al-Awsat article:

"The source said more than 3,000 Hezbollah members have undergone training in Iran, which included guerrilla warfare, firing missiles and artillery, operating unmanned drones, marine warfare and conventional war operations. He said they have also trained 50 pilots for the past two years. According to the source, Hezbollah currently possesses four types of surface-to-surface missiles, some of which extend to a distance of 150 kilometers." [continues at link]