Morning Report: 2008-05-09

Iran's influence, from the Persian Gulf to the Levantine coast; and a candidate who is no longer flattered.

Hezbollah rears its head in Beirut. This Ain't Hell: 'I guess Hezbollah decided that attacking Israel head-to-head is too costly, and seein’s how they’re just bloodthirsty thugs that need to kill, they’ve decided to declare war on the Lebanese Army - an army they’re reasonably certain they can beat ...' Gateway Pundit has a roundup. Via Exit Zero, Lebanese Political Journal reports:

Hezbollah has taken control of the media in Lebanon, and their propaganda campaign has already begun. They are currently presenting themselves as liberators of Lebanon, and allies of the Lebanese Army against a corrupt government supported by pro-government snipers and brigrands.

Hezbollah's militant takeover of Beirut and its systematic destruction of the authority of the state and freedom of the press suggests a sophisticated and planned campaign to take power. There is no hiding the violence Hezbollah used to seize Beirut and cut it off from the rest of the country. But as their media campaign is already showing, Hezbollah is employing subtle and sophisticated mechanisms to take over the rest of Lebanon. All news which could be construed as negative behaviors, such as the blatant destruction and corruption of Lebanese institutions, is hidden beneath a Hezbollah-dominated media blackout....

Targeting the Lebanese Christians

Hezbollah seems to be making a concerted effort to placate the Christian population. Ashrafieh was not attacked, and life is relatively normal in the Christian suburbs north of Beirut.

Belmont Club, reader on Iran's islands. The Belmont Club discusses a reader's insights on the strategic importance of certain islands in the Persian Gulf:

In particular any naval conflict with Iran, whether of a defense or offensive nature will require the capture of several Iranian held islands in the middle of the waterway in the Gulf of Hormuz. The islands, Siri, Abu Musa and the Tunb group "are arsenals on the deep water channel in and out of the Gulf, they will require Marines to secure in a war against Iran". The Tunbs, incidentally, are claimed by the UAE. ...

Logically any naval confrontation with Iran would imply an amphibious operation to taking out these islands and the "armchair admiral" advises his readers to watch for the deployment of such forces when assessing the likelihood of conflict with Iran. Readers should bear in mind, however, that given the limited distances in the Gulf, a shore to shore operation might be conceivable.

Obama not flattered anymore. Goldfarb at the Standard:

Deftly pivoting on a dime, the Obama campaign has emphatically declared the irrelevancy of the Hamas endorsement. But it was not ever thus. Let's enter the way-back machine and journey all the way back to April when Hamas let its preference be known:

When asked about the endorsement, Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, was flattered that Hamas compared his candidate to JFK: “We all agree that John Kennedy was a great president, and it's flattering when anybody says that Barack Obama would follow in his footsteps.”

And yet suddenly it's dirty pool to mention this endorsement, one that initially flattered the Obama campaign? Actually, Axelrod's initial reaction highlights something I pointed out a couple of weeks ago – Obama loves to be loved, and that leads him to some strange places. We truly have entered some odd ground when a presidential campaign welcomes kind words from an Iranian terror proxy.

Commentary. I expect to be back to regular posting by Sunday. Have a great weekend.