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.