Professor Entessar: Pager attacks by itself will not automatically lead to regional war

Nader Entessar, Professor Emeritus of Political Science from university of South Alabama says that pager attacks by itself will not automatically lead to a regional war.

News ID: 5121

Date: 18 September 2024 - 12:17

TABNAK –Nader Entessar, Professor Emeritus of Political Science from university of South Alabama says that pager attacks by itself will not automatically lead to a regional war.

“However, pager attacks will certainly raise the temperature and add another notch on the ladder of war as every action by Israel will beget a reaction,” Entessar told TABNAK News Agency.

Following is the full text of interview with Professor Entessar:

Q: What was the purpose of the pager attack on Lebanese Hezbollah forces by Israel?

A: The main purpose of Israeli-orchestrated pager blasts in Lebanon was to (a) assassinate as many Hezbollah operatives as possible, and (b) to introduce a new tactic in Israel's expanding war fronts.
Q: Hezbollah is a legal party in Lebanon and some of the victims of this attack were civilians. Lawyers believe that this method of attack, in which neither the principle of separation nor the principle of caution is observed, is an example of a war crime. What is your assessment?

A: One of the byproducts of Israel's war against the Palestinians has been the near-total evisceration of international law, especially the laws of war.  The issue of distinguishing civilians from combatants has long been ignored by Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza due to Israel's indiscriminate bombing campaigns against all targets, civilian or otherwise.

Q: The United States has announced that it was not aware of this Israeli action and had no role in it. On the other hand, some news sources have announced that American military aircraft used in electronic warfare and war operations related to telecommunications and signals have been seen on the shores of Lebanon in the eastern Mediterranean. According to this issue, was America unaware?

A: The United States has been involved, in one war or another, in practically every military mission Israel has undertaken since the beginning of the Gaza war.  This is especially true in the areas of electronic and cyber warfare.  The Biden administration's statement that it was not aware of the pager attacks is cynical and disingenuous.

Q: This attack by Israel will probably lead to a regional war. What is your assessment?

A: I don't think this action by itself will automatically lead to a regional war.  However, pager attacks will certainly raise the temperature and add another notch on the ladder of war as every action by Israel will beget a reaction.

Q: It seems that by changing the way of war, Israel is announcing to the ‘resistance front’ that it is capable of large-scale killing to create deterrence without creating an all-out military war. On the other hand, the Yemeni forces also targeted the depth of Israel with hypersonic missiles. Will these developments change the equations of war in the future?

A: This is a multifaceted war in which Israel and the United States are seeking to combine both low-tech and high-tech weapons to change the course of the war that has been a disaster and embarrassment for them.  The notion that high-tech and superior technology will allow combatants to prevail in war has shaped the mindset of war planners in the West, including Israel for some time now.