Hezbollah

One Sudanese source said he had cultivated ties with Syria and Iran, as well as with Hamas in Palestine and Hizbollah in Lebanon.

He charged that Syria and Iran, the main backers of Hizbollah, "are not to be considered absent from what's happening in the country" .

Unfortunately both for Israelis and Lebanese, the strategy did not deter Hizbollah's missiles.

Ignoring anxieties in western capitals, Turkey has engaged with the Palestinian Hamas and with the Iranian-sponsored Hizbollah in Lebanon.

Hizbollah blames Israel for that attack, although Israel denies it.

The last time this happened, in 2006, Israel refrained from attacking the supply lines for Hizbollah's missiles, which run through Syria.

And this time, you can hear the officials whispering, Israel will not repeat the mistakes made during the 2006 war against Hizbollah.

Only Iran, for whom Syria is a priceless Arab ally, and Hizbollah, the Lebanese Shia movement Damascus sponsors, have real cause for alarm.

Some western government analysts believe this could include asking Lebanon's Shia movement Hizbollah to strike at the US.

As elsewhere in the Middle East, defying Washington is a cause of strength and popularity, as Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran show.

Hizbollah, funded and directed by the Iranians, has rebuilt its stocks of missiles.

Israel has held the Lebanese government responsible for reining in Hizbollah.

The rockets of Hizbollah and Hamas have brought these wars to Israel's cities.

There is a large Lebanese diaspora in Canada which must include some Hizbollah supporters.

It could back radical Islamist movements such as Hizbollah and Hamas with more energy and less fear of reprisals.

Iran will have more money to fund its nuclear programme and to support foreign surrogates such as Hamas in Gaza and Hizbollah in Lebanon.