Israel was engaged by 3 major Arab military powers simultaneously and with every Arab power backing them. The war ended in less then a week with an Israeli victory and Israel conquering Palestine, the Gordon Hights and the Sinai Peninsula. Of the 3 nations, 2 of them (Egypt and Jordan) are now Israeli allies.
Before you were born.
Before Iran was close to having its own nukes and probably able to get them from NK.
Before the Soviet Union collapsed.
etc etc etc
You need to take into account that the Arab world that attacked them recognized that a frontal assault would fail. That's why they engage through proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah. That's why they have engaged in decades of a propaganda war centered in the UN where the bulk of resolutions passed have been resolutions condemning Israel.
Hezbollah engaged Israel directly recently. This was a probing engagement. All Hebollah needed to do was fight to a stalemate to regard it as a victory. Now they have seen how Israel will respond and in what measure. Hezbollah is now rearming itself and digging in more deeply in areas that were successfully held and abandoning ideas that failed.
Hamas continues to be Hamas.
Egypt and Jordan are not allies of Israel.
Egypt did "normalized" relations with Israel in the Carter administration. What that meant is that they no longer actively sought the destruction of Israel though they are regarded as an enemy. There is nothing close to a friendly relationship between the two. Theyt never established any meaningful diplomatic ties after 1979 and signed the Camp David Accords largely to receive very generous American aid.
Jordan has signed a peace treaty and they have acted to protect each other through intelligence and threats to possible agressors. They are not allied.
Every Arab power except Syria is now a US ally.
And antagonistic toward Israel (excepting Jordan). Many of those states harbor terror organizations we are fighting. That these states cannot rid themselves of these terrorsist organizations is fairly good evidence that their alliance w/the US means nothing to Israel or worse.
Syria remains opposed to Israel but is warming to the US.
They are the conduit for Hezbollah in Lebanon from Iran. This warming is meaningless (and I see no evidence of it)
Only the Turks and Persians match the Jews in military power today, nether share a border with Israel and nether can attack without triggering a global free-for-all war
Turkey is slouching towards fundamentalism. The military has traditionally stepped in to prevent a trend toward sectarianism. Their position with regard to Gaza has challanged that position.
Iran, Iran doesn't give a shit if they start a global free-for-all. Or rather, the guys with their hands on the things that go BOOM!!! don't give a shit.
(too many contradictory alliance obligations, none of which can be ignored for strategic reasons) that would in all likelihood end in a nuclear holocaust if it dragged on for more then a few years and would end badly regardless.
lol... Iran doesn't care. Entangling alliances and a state pushed over the brink? See Sarajevo 1914.
Needless to say, the Israelis can cry all they want but the fact remains, anyone that thinks they're weak and attacks will eat a cruse missile. The hardline act is just that, an act. Israel is unconquerable barring ether a total withdraw of US support (and with said support being given to the Arabs) or the previously mentioned free-for-all war.
No one thinks they are weak. See above regarding indirect attacks, propaganda and proxy wars. They think Israel is out manned ten thousand to one. Israel cannot fight a long war. Hezbollah demonstrated that non-state actor military force could fight Israel to a stand-off. The longer Israel is engaged the weaker it will become the less any of those American allies will work against terror groups with lots of grass roots support who are fighting Israel and the sooner they'll join in to push Israel into the sea. Obama isn't sending the marines to rescue Israel. He's been antagonistic since day one.
I must say, I wasn't expecting this.
