Taliban and Hezbollah could join in the war on Israel
Hezbollah and the Taliban are supposed to be religious enemies
Prior to waking up to all this I had an apocalyptic vision.
Yesterday I read that the TALIBAN are intending to contribute 100,000 troops to Hezbollah.
I can't imagine the logistics of getting 100,000 troops to Lebanon but that would be real end-of- world, gog and magog stuff,wouldn't it?
The thought wouldn't leave me but was quite insistent!
Taliban, Hezbollah could join current Palestinian war on Israel: top US foreign-affairs pol
Other Mideast terror groups such as the Taliban and Hezbollah may join the current Palestinian attack on Israel, warned House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul on Sunday.
When asked about whether the war between the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and Israel that broke out Saturday could devolve into a “full blown war,” McCaul (R-Texas) said he was worried.
“I’ve seen indications that the Taliban wants to come to liberate Jerusalem, in their words, to fight the Zionists. That’s very concerning,” McCaul told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Host Dana Bash name-dropped both the Taliban and Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah in her question.
Although the area controlled by the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group, is mired by dire poverty and separated geographically by nations to Israel’s east such as Syria, Iraq and Iran, McCaul didn’t rule out the prospect of it getting involved.
McCaul’s panel has been steadfastly focused on investigating the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.
Also concerning for him is Hezbollah, which is sitting on more than 100,000 rockets worth of firepower to Israel’s north in Lebanon, he said.
Michael McCaul voiced his frustration with the House GOP infighting that has paralyzed the lower chamber.Getty Images for The Recording Academy
“As it stands right now, the Israeli military capability far outweighs Hamas. And they can take care of this problem. But it will take time to go house to house” to root out the enemy and secure Israel’s territory, McCaul said.
“But if this lights up into a larger jihadist war against the Zionists, if you will — that’s what always keeps me up at night.”
There have already been skirmishes between Israeli and Hezbollah forces, amplifying concerns about a two-front war. Hezbollah is aligned with Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip situated near the west coast of Israel.
A Hezbollah supporter holds a Palestinian flag during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza, in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023.AP
Hamas’ surprise attack Saturday, which came a day after the 50-year anniversary of the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, caught Israel’s intelligence and defense off-guard.
Israel’s cabinet invoked Article 40 Aleph, marking the nation’s first formally declared war since 1973, in response.
McCaul has been a steadfast supporter of Israel and placed blame on Iran for the historic violence unfolding in the Jewish state.
At the moment, the House of Representatives is being overseen by Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) because of the sensational ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last week.
“It’s not ideal. It wasn’t my idea to oust the speaker,” McCaul acknowledged.
Fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah carry out a training exercise in Aaramta village in the Jezzine District, southern Lebanon, Sunday, May 21, 2023.AP
“I thought it was dangerous,” he said. “I look at the world and all the threats that are out there, and what kind of message are we sending to our adversaries?”
McCaul noted that there is $3.3 billion in foreign military financing available to the Biden administration as it responds to the burgeoning crises raging half a world away.
The Texas congressman underscored the need to appoint a full-fledged speaker next week to get legislation on the House floor condemning the attack on Israel and potentially appropriate funding to replenish its Iron Dome defense system.
House Republicans are planning to hold a candidate forumTuesday, followed by a vote for speaker Wednesday.
The top two contenders for the top slot are Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Oh.) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) McCaul declined to endorse one of them.
Taliban Offers Manpower Support to Hezbollah Against Israel: Sectarian Issues Put Aside
The Taliban government of Afghanistan has reportedly offered to provide manpower to fight alongside the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah in its escalating conflict with Israeli forces. This development, if confirmed, would mark an unprecedented shift in Taliban policy, with the Sunni Islamist group having previously considered Muslims from the Shiite sect to be apostates, leading to attacks on Shiite minorities in Afghanistan and high tensions on the Afghan-Iranian border in the 1990s. These sectarian issues have been a primary cause for the alignment of a range of jihadist groups in the Middle East against Hezbollah, forcing the militia group to fight a two front war both against such jihadists and against Israel. This division notably led Israel to join its allies in Turkey and the Western world to fund Sunni Islamist groups in Syria in the 2010s to weaken Hezbollah, as confirmed by Israel Defense Forces’ Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot in 2019. The dispatch of Taliban forces, widely revered among Sunni Islamist groups, to fight alongside Hezbollah, could thus mark a watershed moment in Shia-Sunni Islamist alignments.
Taliban Personnel in Armoured Personnel Carriers
Despite Taliban offers of manpower contributions to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East having been reported by a number of sources, they are unlikely to materialise for a number of reasons. With Hezbollah described as “a defensive guerrilla force organised along North Korean lines,” the sophistication of its equipment and warfighting techniques would make integration of Afghan militia into its forces highly challenging, as would issues such as language barriers. Hezbollah General Secretary Hassan Narsallah on June 19 highlighted the widespread offers of support his group had received in its fight against Israel, but made clear at the time that no such support was needed, expressing confidence in the ability to handle possible contingencies alone. Hezbollah has also had a far from positive experience operating alongside Sunni extremist groups, and after sharing key military knowhow with the Palestinian militia group Hamas in the 2000s, including passing on North Korean expertise on tunnel warfare, this was the following decade passed on by Hamas to Turkish-backed Al Qaeda affiliates which used it against Hezbollah. Thus while the Taliban may be seen as sympathetic to Hezbollah’s present conflict due to common animosity to Israel, Kabul’s future alignment remains highly uncertain.