A heated diplomatic campaign waged by the United States and Israel against Iran and its Lebanese protege, Hizbullah, could have an unintended and potentially destabilizing backlash. Instead of cowing Tehran and its Islamist allies, the verbal salvoes and Israel`s hardline policies against the Palestinians are providing encouragement and inspiration to Hizbullah and radical Palestinian groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The result could be a new explosion of violence in the Middle East. “Hizbullah and Iran feel comfortable that the drums of war are beating so loudly,” says Professor Nizar Hamzeh, head of the political science department of the American University of Beirut. Full Story