The following article appeared in Globes: Israel’s Business Arena.
The other Middle East threats
Egypt, Syria and Iran get the attention, but there are plenty of other places in the region where trouble is brewing.
In the increasingly chaotic Middle East, certain crises get most of the attention: the Egyptian economic meltdown; the anarchy in the Sinai Peninsula; the Iranian nuclear threat, and the Syrian civil war. But there are a large number of other developments in the region which deserve our close attention also.
The disintegration of Lebanon and Hezbollah. Lebanon has become a failed state. The writ of the central government covers parts of Beirut and that’s almost all. Hezbollah controls the south and Christian and Druze militias the north. In the center the Sunni try to get along. The Lebanese army is no match for Hezbollah and control of smuggling, included drug trafficking, has disappeared. A total breakdown would obviously create a dangerous situation for Israel and perhaps require military action.