Israelis are dying for America?
Young Israelis are dying in south Lebanon, while their families huddle in shelters, to fulfill Condi Rice’s vision stated in Jerusalem of creating a “New Middle East�. With each passing hour, the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict is turning into a proxy war between the United States and Iran.
It is worth remembering that this war is about the safety of innocent Israeli civilians. All we need is a ceasefire that stops rockets falling on Israel and ends the destruction of Lebanon. Grander visions of a new and democratic Middle East are best left to another day. More so, because the region’s only Arab democracy is being pummeled by the Jewish democracy.
It is urgent and important to stay narrowly focused. Ehud Olmert claims that Iran is Hezbollah’s command and control center. Shimon Peres says Hezbollah is “a foreign legion� in Lebanon. Both are half-deceiving themselves.
It is possible that Hezbollah executes orders from Teheran but it is not foreign to Lebanon. It emerged from indigenous Lebanese Shiites after Israel’s 1982 invasion. That is why it will be so hard to prevent its rearmament when Israel withdraws after the current war.
Rice wants a “durable ceasefire�. That cannot be won through the barrels of tanks. It must have local support to succeed. That means forcing the Maronites and Sunnis to give the Shiites a better social-economic deal in Lebanon. Failing that, the Shiites may protect Hezbollah and resist foreign soldiers in their midst, especially if they are clueless Egyptians and Turks who are Sunnis to boot!
Iran engorged with ever more petrodollars will surely encourage insurgency if it perceives Hezbollah’s defeat as its own humiliation at the hands of America through Israeli proxies. Iraq demonstrates that insurgencies are even more murderous for civilians than modern wars. With the Shiite south already destroyed, Iran will gladly provoke Israel’s Jews to destroy the Sunni and Maronite remains of Lebanon.
In today’s world, only people who decide to end enmity can ensure a nation’s security. Bombs however massive are ultimately useless because people can always turn into deadly insurgents. Homemade explosive devices are holding America’s super military technologies in check in Iraq and shaking the throne in Washington.
Israel should avoid using its northern border to deliver a statement to “axis of evil� Iran. Only right-wing Christians understand this rhetoric of “evil�. Those unfamiliar with that particular jargon, which is over 5 billion people, do not see it as a just reason to visit bombs or sanctions upon non-Christians.
Hezbollah is certainly not capable of fulfilling Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s mad thoughts about the destruction of Israel. But it could over time if all Lebanese perceive Israel as being hell bent on destroying their entire country to send a message to Iran. In any case, that is a futile message since Iran can foment insurgency in South Lebanon and Southern Iraq with a wave of its hand at almost no cost in treasure.
Israel should take a deep breath and temper its visceral anger. At root, its people are Middle Eastern and desire to live there peacefully for millennia. In that sense, Israel is the “demandeurâ€? – the new family in the neighborhood. Fifty-eight years is a short time when a home is being built for centuries.
opinions powered by SendLove.to
16 Responses to “Israelis are dying for America?”
OK, I’ll play devils advocate here, [and folks I am just throwing this out for discussion]. Why should Israel take a cautious approach? Why not bomb Lebanon for the specific purpose of destabilizing the government and causing a civil war? The factions spend so much time fighting each other that none of them have time for Israel. Better yet Syria moves back in and keeps a lid on everything. It is not a permanent solution but it does buy considerable time.
Condi’s statement did seem cold and patronizing to me, but this is just indicative of the power hungry monster that we already know she is. The “New Middle East� comment was quite laughable. However those Israelis are emphatically NOT dieing for America. It is Israels wish and choice not to have a cease fire and the United States is just playing along.
I do not believe the “this war� is about the safety of Israeli civilians. I believe it is merely an extension of a war that began in the 1930s with five Jewish terrorist organizations killing Arabs and Brits to take over Palestine. One that has been repeated several times. Beyond that it is a Carthinigan-Arab tribal squabble that the United States has allowed itself to be dragged into. You must remember that Jew is not a race but a religion and the Arab and the Jew are the same race, (ref: Encyclopedia).
Israel being a Democracy pounding the regions only other democracy is rather Ironic. I would venture a guess that Israel did not have to destroy so much Lebanese infrastructure. They gave no descriptive reason for it. Seems very cruel and an awful unnecessary over-reaction..
After that Brij, your analogy descends into rhetorical assumptions and assertions as you run out of logic.
I have a better idea. Why not demand all Shia be removed from Lebanon and sent to Iran or forever shut their mouths? If they decide to stay and be good, then Israel foots the bill for their prosperity and domestic tranquility. A few hundred million a year should be a small price to pay.
Well using that logic, we should be able to leave Iraq any day now, since removing Saddam is leading to civil war between the Sunni’s and Shia!
From a legalistics viewpoint? Doing so would likely require several breaches of the normal rules of war, and significantly undermine Israel’s stance in the United Nations. They only reason Israel is surviving in the United Nations is through the support of the United States, and because most countries like having the option of bashing it. If it’s understood to be a true instigator of chaos, both of the above reasons won’t really be valid (particularly if a Democrat wins in 2008, since Jewish people vote overwhelmingly Democrat, and thus a D president would have very little reason to work hard at keeping the bloc). The mullahs would realize it would be too much of a risk for them.
From a more cost-benefit viewpoint… Israel doesn’t want to blow away the Lebanese government. As Brij (and very few others) note, Lebanon is a democracy. It’s quite possible that if it weren’t for the Syrian/Iranian implantation of Hezbollah (estimated at over half a million USD a month, likely more), Lebanon could be a normal if unstable friend (not likely, but possible).
Israel can’t afford to toss anarchy into the country: it’s simply too likely to make things worse than they currently are. Hezbollah or a similar group could establish a dictatorship in Lebanon. Or the LAF could go nuts, that could end nastily, too.
Israel doesn’t need to blow apart the Lebanese government. It needs to blow Hezbollah out.
They’ve got two options. If Hezbollah’s money is coming primarily from the Lebanese government, the Israelis need to show the Lebanese people a good reason to get the Hs out of politics. If it’s coming from Iran and Syria, we’d be better off using Hezbollah and other proxy groups to drain the two mullacracies of funding.
The Hezzie war was cooked up several months ago by the Iranians to take attention away from their Bomb program. The IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps) have funneled over 150 million dollars to the Hez over the past year in preparation for this offensive. It is part of their grand design to push America out of the ME and establish Persian suzereinty over the Arab League. Hezbollah is part of their arsenal. It’s in our interest to see that arrow of the Iranian quiver broken as much as possible.
Kim Ritter
We can leave Iraq at anytime and at aytime it would be to our benefit to do so. We do not need to have troops in Iraq.
gattsuru
Hahahahahaha…….BWAAAAHAhahahahahaha…….
Section9
I say let them do it.
“Why should Israel take a cautious approach? Why not bomb Lebanon for the specific purpose of destabilizing the government and causing a civil war?”
Because it will produce another result, not civil war. It will instead cause them to join together since the country is ruined, and fight Israel as one unit. If Israel want’s civil war in Lebanon you sure as hell don’t do it by attacking every group there, you support the non-Hezbollah groups and recognize the government separate of Hezbollah. You use diplomacy to freeze them out, and offer under the table to stomp Hezbollah some for the fledgling Lebanese government, and they might have gotten somewhere with clearer results.
I don’t doubt the right of Israel to exist, but is her existance worth never-ending slaughter, destruction and hair-raising atrocities on both sides? Do you think the Israeli’s ever wish they’d been transplanted to Idaho after the Holocaust? How can they ever plan for the future living as they do with chronic violence?
Kim Ritter
That has been my point for the past thirty five years.
They were not “transplantedâ€? anywhere. They went down there voluntarily with the specific intent to take that land away from the Arabs. They started killing Arabs and Brits with five named terrorist organizations a decade before WWII. Long before the Nazi persecution of the Jews. Its all public knowledge. You just have to dig a bit because it seems to be getting harder and harder to find.
Kim, now come on. You should understand why it is Jews want to live in what’s called Israel (again) nowadays. Idiaho, yeah, nice, but it’s not where they’re from.
Michael – Of course, I understand it, but at what cost to Israel,the region and to the U.S.? Our support for Israel is a main factor that fosters terrorism, and was cited by Osama for one of the reasons for 9/11. Its hard to see fledgling democracies like Lebanon destroyed because of Hezbollah-how many innocents need to die? Can we accept that there never has been or will be a peaceful solution? The Lebanese government is one of the few pro-Western regimes in the Middle East, and Israel is risking turning the country into a clone of radical Syria, or yet another failed state.
What happens if Iran gets a nuclear warheads from North Korea? Yes, I know Israel also has nuclear weapons, but who wants to risk nuclear war?
The U.S. has abandoned its dual role as peace-keeper and supporter of Israel. Now the policy is merely support of Israel, with no pretense at neutrality. Do you think there won’t be more anti-American backlash , even by moderate countries like Egypt and Jordan? I guess Bush is giving up on the “hearts and minds” part of his ME policy.
I blame the British for setting up this mess in the first place. They were well-meaning but they were naive to think that the Palestinians would just eventually accept Israel’s right to exist and be absorbed by other Arab countries in the region. And shouldn’t Germany do more to help? They drove the Jews out of Europe in the first place.
Michael van der Galien
My ancesters come from Holland. Maybe the United States should go there and take Holland back for me. We will make it a Quaker State and drive everybody else out.
Yes, sounds fair and reasonable.
Remember that the Zionist congress in 1903 seriously considered Uganda as a homeland, Palestine won out but was not the only contender. Also, Kim, Russian attacksagainst the Jews prior to WW1 was the major push for the Jews having their own homeland.
Grognard–Well I do feel for the Jews. They can never feel safe and I personally know people who lived through the Holocaust (am half Jewish myself) . But the present situation doesn’t seem like much of a solution. The Jews have had to live through centuries of persecution and deserve a homeland. I am definitely not an antisemite (in case Holly’s lurking around) but am frustrated with the whole impossible scenario in the Middle East.
I don’t understand why Arafat refused that last peace offer from Bill Clinton. Clinton said he offered the Palestinians just about everything they asked for. When Arafat turned him down, Clinton said he knew he wasn’t seriously interested in a peace settlement. Why don’t the Palestinians want peace?