Nasty Little Man

We can bomb the world to pieces but we can't bomb it into peace

It's hard to support people who think it's good strategy to bomb civilians.

Which is why I cannot take sides in this current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Unfortunately, it is the people of Lebanon who are paying for their foolishness.

Although I would agree that Israel has a right to defend itself, two numbers explain why I am not an Israeli sympathizer: 600 and 60. 600 is about the number of people who have died in Lebanon in the last few weeks as the result of the Israelis aggression, and a majority of them are civilians. 60 is the approximate number of Israelis that have died, and 2/3 of them are soldiers.

Clearly, the Israeli leadership is lacking in wisdom. First, Lebanon had recovered well from years of civil war. It's economy was rebuilding, and it was a popular tourist stop. Beirut was even described as the Paris of the Middle East.

Now it's all blown to hell, literally. Hezbollah needs to be diminished and disarmed. To do so, the Israelis and the international community needed to work with the Lebanese. Instead, the Israelis have destroyed key components of the country. What motivation would the Lebanese have for working with the Israelis now?

Worse, the war that is being fought today is planting the seeds for the war that will be fought 20 years from now. I recently watched the documentary Hamas: Behind the Mask on the Discovery Times Channel. The leader of Hamas was 11-years-old in 1967, and his family lived in Gaza, which Israel occupied after the Six Day War. He said that the experience left a permanent mark on his psyche.

Last night on Larry King Live Queen Noor of Jordan noted that 70% of the population of the region is under the age of 30 and 60% is under the age of 20. Children in Lebanon are living through this (and dying in this). What marks are the Israelis leaving on them today that will last into the coming decades?

In an op-ed in yesterday's WaPo, President Carter said

It is inarguable that Israel has a right to defend itself against attacks on its citizens, but it is inhumane and counterproductive to punish civilian populations in the illogical hope that somehow they will blame Hamas and Hezbollah for provoking the devastating response.

At this point, this sounds like an anti-Israel rant. Well, frankly, I feel the Palestinians are an oppressed people. Unfortunately, Palestinian, Hamas, and Hezbollah leadership isn't wise enough to recognize that a) they cannot go toe-to-toe with Israel and b) bombing pizzerias and malls in Tel Aviv wins you few friends. Where would the Palestinians be if they didn't carry out these foolish missions? Where would they be if they chose the route of non-violent resistance to Israeli oppression?

Politicians are rarely visionaries, and it shows in the current climate. Martin Luther King, Jr., said that we must live together as brothers or perish together as fools. Clearly, those in the Middle East and their enablers around the world have chosen the latter.

posted by Kinder Gentler Little Man @ 9:46 AM