Western Asia vs. Europe-by David Carlin
The current struggle between Israel and Hezbollah is the sixth episode in a 58-year-long war between Israel and its Arab neighbors that commenced in 1948 when the state of Israel was proclaimed. Fighting was renewed in 1956 over Suez, in 1967 in the Six-Day War, in the Yom Kippur War of 1973, and in 1982 with the invasion of Lebanon. Only an incurable optimist will imagine that whatever "peace" agreement closes the current episode will bring anything like a permanent settlement.
The 58-year Arab-Israeli conflict is but the latest manifestation of what may be called the world's longest war -- a 2,500-year struggle between the world of Europe and the world of Western Asia, the region now called the Middle East. The struggle began in the late sixth century B.C. when the Persian Empire demanded the submission of the Greek cities of Asia Minor. It reached its first climax in the 480s when Xerxes, the "Great King" of Persia, invaded Greece with an enormous army. Greece survived, winning two crucial battles.
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