> From what point of view is perpetual war desirable? > From the point of view of the president of a nation economically reliant on the manufacture and sale of arms abroad?

I got this from another site. Hopefully it hasn't already been posted here. I dont have time to check. Leading Saudi Sheik Pronounces Fatwa Against Hezbollah http://www.nysun.com/article/36373?page_no=1 Message was edited by: xpiali docious

saentanju, ["It's called the roman "empire", meaning it was stretched halfway across the world with most of it divorced from rome. Because they didn't have satellite communication it was easy for the vandals to pick at its weak spots. Israel is more of a porcupine rather than the roman empire - but it is strong like you said".] Israel is immensely vulnerable in the near future, let alone in decades or hundreds of years. Possessing a nuclear arsenal is not a protection from missiles with high explosive in a small country which is desnely populated. We have already seen how the civilian population in Israel has been shaken by rather out of date missiles with limited explosive power. The whole of North Israel is at a stand still. If Tel Aviv becomes within range, as it will assuredly do from a number of Arab countries, (it is not possible to monitor them all, nor can their own governments do it successfully all the time), the Israeli economy could grind to a standstill. The stupidity of those that believe that Israel can maintain itself permanently in a state of siege, even with US support, is beyond belief. Pre-emptive action will only exaccerbate the situation, as we have seen in the past and that presupposes knowing where the next threat is coming from. The only chance of Israel surviving, and it is a slim one at that, is for a settlement of the Palestinian problem but is is likely that geopolitical considerations and ancient enmities will preclude this. It is to be expected that the macho pro-Israeli voices on OD will assert that Israel can take out all of its enemies because of its military technological superiority but we have seen how difficult it is when an enemy is totally committed to assymetrical warfare and planning nasty surprises. What we can most probably look forward to is coninuing conflict in the Midle East in spasms for perhaps decades, with increasingly dangerous flare ups. The biggrest danger is that the interests of the growing superpower of China might eventually clash with those of the US in this oil region and we may get a proxy war with Iran supported by China and Israel by the US. Proxy wars happened throughout the Cold War and it looks as if China could occupy the position of the Soviet Union in this century.The current uneasy 'friendship' between China and the US should not blind us to the potential that exists for this to turn bad. The fact that China is not ideologically driven by Maoists any more with s desire to confront capitalism, is not the safeguard it appears to be. The first world war in western Europe was fought by capitalist countries.