from the Daily Star:
Bush and Olmert deserve their fate because it is largely self-inflicted. The US government has acted too duplicitously and too myopically for too long to expect that anyone in this part of the world still trusts American promises. The Israelis should understand by now that blowing things up is not a suitable substitute for talking things out. In addition, those Arab regimes that long ago sold their political souls in exchange for American protection are speeding toward irrelevancy.
But what of Siniora? He has struggled mightily to keep Lebanon on an even keel, only to see his hopes dashed by Hizbullah's poor judgment, Israel's devastating riposte, and America's heartless intransigence. He deserves better.
In all fairness, what of the Israeli people? No one expects them to choose new leaders who will grovel and cower like those who accepted abuse in Europe until the Holocaust forged a very different attitude, but most of the policies pursued by Israeli governments since 1948 have served only to maintain the enmity of the Jewish state's Arab neighbors. Parents should not have to fear for their children's lives because their leaders are obsessed with proving how tough they are.
And what of the long-suffering Lebanese people? They asked for none of this, and yet their lives are being ended, ruined or thrown into turmoil. No one should be surprised if a substantial number of the children who survive this latest nightmare grow up determined to exact revenge against those who inflicted gratuitous violence on their loved ones, those who helped them do it, and those who remained silent. Who could blame them? And who could be so naive as to ask the world's most obtuse question: "Why do they hate us?"
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2 comments:
The Israelis should understand by now that blowing things up is not a suitable substitute for talking things out.
Just the Israelis? You know, those suicide bombers might have had something to do with it. And so might the fact that the various talks and promises which got extracted (e.g. hezbollah do this, PLO do that, Hamas do another thing, all in exchange for Israeli action) tended to float into thin air when convenient. Talking hasn't actually done a whole lot.
But what of Siniora? He has struggled mightily to keep Lebanon on an even keel,
He's been between a rock and a hard place. Hasn't done a bad job, actually, though the hezbollah thing was pretty inevitable so long as he let them fortify in the south.
only to see his hopes dashed by Hizbullah's poor judgment, Israel's devastating riposte, and America's heartless intransigence. He deserves better.
Yes, he does. I'd include Syria and Iran on the top of that list--probably above either Lebanon or Israel. We're just not supposed to like autonomous militant forces within a country who doesn't want them there and can't kick them out. Had Syria and Iran (or lebanon's other neighbors) either stayed out or helped against hezbollah lebanon would have had a much better chance.
In all fairness, what of the Israeli people? No one expects them to choose new leaders who will grovel and cower like those who accepted abuse in Europe until the Holocaust forged a very different attitude,
well put
but most of the policies pursued by Israeli governments since 1948 have served only to maintain the enmity of the Jewish state's Arab neighbors.
and, um, you know, to prevent the enormous array of enemies on their various borders from obtaining their publicly-stated goals of destroying the state of Israel. Yeah, that.
Are you arguing with a straight face that the enimity was israel's fault? How exactly do you NOT maintain emnity with someone who wants you dead?
Parents should not have to fear for their children's lives because their leaders are obsessed with proving how tough they are.
No.
Nor should they have to fear for their lives because someone wants them dead because they're Jewish, or because they're Israeli. Don't forget that part.
And what of the long-suffering Lebanese people? They asked for none of this,
They are really getting the short end of the stick. Their main complicity--if any--was in voting for Hezbollah, without which Israel would have had much less international legitimacy in attacking Lebanon.
and yet their lives are being ended, ruined or thrown into turmoil. No one should be surprised if a substantial number of the children who survive this latest nightmare grow up determined to exact revenge against those who inflicted gratuitous violence on their loved ones, those who helped them do it, and those who remained silent. Who could blame them?
I could. in fact, I do. Mostly because it's not as simple as a lot of people make it sound.
Israel drops bombs, and kills civilians. That's a bad thing. But the civilians are killed because hezbollah hides in civilian areas. And hezbollah does that because civilian deaths are a powerful recruiting tool for Hezbollah. Who's to blame?
Um, you know I didn't write this article, right?
I really don't want to get into it wrt "who's to blame." Really, really, really. The whole thing sucks and scares the shit out of me. particularly the exponential escalation when one side has nukes at their disposal. and is being sponsored by our wack-ass administration who lives on Planet Clair and apparently takes a fair amount of advice from people who seriously believe that Armageddon must take place (with the ME and Israel playing key roles, natch) so that Jeebus can come back and start kicking ass.
and people are dying and suffering and miserable, and this helps anything--how?
That's all that I know. and all that I care to say on the subject.
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