Arab Street Celebrates A So-Called Victory

The Arab world seems to agree with Hugh Hewitt et. al. in seeing the first round of the new Lebanon-Israel war as a hands-down win for Islam -- despite the fact that Hezbollah was much diminished militarily and Israel's still standing.

By simply not being blown into oblivion by Israeli forces, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah -- getting a hands-0n flossing in this photo -- is the hero of the Arab nations. "Bloodying" Israel has apparently become synonimous with beating Israel on the Arab street.

What a pathetic bunch of nations. They outnumber and surround Israel and have a limitless pool of people and money to put into war. And yet they can't defeat the least militarily brilliant, the least militarily prepared Israel they've ever fought.

Nonetheless, a surge of Islamist thinking is racing through the Arab nations. Today's NYTimes offers up this:

“I have more faith in Islam than in my state; I have more faith in Allah than in Hosni Mubarak," Ms. Mahmoud said, referring to the president of Egypt. “That is why I am proud to be a Muslim.” ...

“The victory that Hezbollah achieved in Lebanon will have earthshaking regional consequences that will have an impact much beyond the borders of Lebanon itself,” Yasser Abuhilalah of Al Ghad, a Jordanian daily, wrote in Tuesday’s issue.

“The resistance celebrates the victory,” read the front-page headline in Al Wafd, an opposition daily in Egypt.

Dangerous talk. There will be another war, probably quite soon, and the Israeli people and the Bush Administration need to force serious improvements in Israel's administration and military so a quick end can be put to this talk of Hezbollah victory. Then let Yasser Abuhilalah consider the "earthshaking regional consequences" of that.

Photo: New York Times
Related Tags: Islamism, Muslim, Nasarallah, Hezbollah, Israel