Israel will Invade Southern Lebanon: Self-defense against a growing terrorist threat? Or is Israel pursuing unseen ambitions? Both?

Times Online July 21, 2006
Israel calls up reservists for push into Lebanon
By Times Online and Nicholas Blanford in Tyre, Lebanon

Israel called up five battalions of army reservists today and dropped leaflets across southern Lebanon warning civilians to leave towns and villages and head north towards Beirut as it prepared for a major ground offensive against Hezbollah positions.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...280007,00.html
Lebanese Army will Stand with Hizballah: Does this make them a state sponsor of terror? Or are they protecting their sovereignty from a foreign invasion? Both?

Jul. 20, 2006 17:23
Lebanese Army may join forces with Hizbullah
By JPOST.COM STAFF

The Lebanese Minister of Defense warned Israel Thursday that if IDF ground forces are sent into southern Lebanon, Lebanese troops will fight along with the Hizbullah against Israel.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull

So far, no word on potential expansion into Syria and Iran. However, this is highly calculated:

Iran's Destabilization of the Middle East
July 21st, 2006

The current conflict being fought on Lebanese soil caused the nation of Iran to achieve its immediate goal of diverting world attention away from its non-compliance on the nuclear issue. It successfully prevented condemnation from international leaders meeting at the G8 summit in regard to its continued uranium enrichment program. It also temporarily distracted world powers from focusing their attention on punishing Iran with sanctions in the UN Security Council.

http://www.americanthinker.com/artic...rticle_id=5687
By Peter Brookes
Iran: Overplaying Its Hand?
July 20, 2006 11:42 AM EST
(Editorial)

While the world focuses on the smoldering conflict in the Middle East, the war’s instigator -- and puppeteer -- Iran must be pretty darn pleased with itself. While Iranian-backed Hezbollah jolts Israeli cities with rockets and Israeli forces ferret out terrorist militants across Lebanon, Iran has suffered nary a nick, verbally or otherwise.

Moreover, Tehran was skillfully able to divert attention from its nuclear (weapons) program, keeping its atomic aspirations out of the limelight at the G-8 summit last weekend in St. Petersburg, Russia.

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/16299.html
It seems that Iran has met with huge success with their plan to use Hizballah in provoking a war between Lebanon and Israel to distract the rest of the world from its nuclear ambitions.

I suspect that Israel is well aware of this and is making plans for a regional conflict, starting with strategic air assaults against Iran's know nuclear facilities, as well as the infrastructures of both Iran and Syria in a pre-emptive tactic to stall military response.

I highly suspect that this will grow much worse.