The Israeli philosophy of hit back ten times harder is so obviously flawed, yet it plays out time and again- ironically feeding the entities it wishes to eliminate. I would argue this heavy handed approach locks Israel into this endless cycle, in other words the latest outbreak is their own creation. How many young Lebanese will now seek revenge with bombed out buildings as the backdrop? How many Palestinian shopkeepers with empty shelves will now sympathize with the party that advocates the destruction of Israel? The radicals now have more proof of Israeli repression, while moderate voices are silenced.
I'm tired of Israel acting with impunity in the region. Yes, Hezbollah threw the first salvo. Yes, Hamas built a tunnel and exacted their own revenge. However, what we are witnessing now has thrown the entire region back ten years over a relatively minor event. There I said it- in a region where people, mostly Palestinian, are killed regularly, the fate of a couple soldiers shouldn't translate into complete chaos. Has Israel's reaction brought them any closer to the return of these men? In fact, their fate is now sealed, along with all the other dead Israeli's since this began. When will the Israeli government realize the lose-lose proposition? Having the "right to defend yourself" doesn't justify over the top responses, nor does it excuse the conditions that precipitated the "crisis".
Update
I crossposted this at Daily Kos, which has generated a great deal of discussion.
Update 2
Israeli strike kills Canadians, demonstrating the "precision" bombing that doesn't target civilians.
9 comments:
Steve V - Great post!
When I visited Lebanon (and more specifically, the Palestinian/Hezbollah controlled south Beirut) the reasons for hating Israel were anything BUT religious. They could care less that they were jews, it was the fact that they were the oppressors.
It is the fact that they're breaking the Geneva Conventions by populating and settling occupied territory then forcing the previous inhabitants to move elsewhere (in Lebanon's case, out of their own country).
Some people do not understand how that would fuel the fire of revenge.
In one day 55 civilian lives were traded for the two Israeli soldiers - who are probably dead. It's a dark day when the lives of the oppressor become so valuable that even women and children are expendable.
If you're interested in more of the "terrorist psyche" the film "Paradise Now" is wonderful. The main character uses this logic to justify his own suicide bombing on Israel: since they are not equal in life, since Israel plays both the role of oppressor (at home) and victem (to the international community) then who are the palestinians? They must too become the victems and the oppressors if they are to be equal - not in life but in death. That is the equalizer.
It's a pretty scary rationale, but one we must learn and one we must try and change without more violence.
"They could care less that they were jews, it was the fact that they were the oppressors."
And questioning Israel's policy doesn't equate to "anti-semitism" as is so often thrown out.
"A collection of incoherent rants on all things political"...true, it has my approval...
Dude, you could not be more correct. I mean, if they would just get out of Gaza, then the poor Palestinian society could flourish as it was always meant to.
And if they would have just gotten out of southern Lebanon 6 years ago, then the Lebanese government could have used that time to marginalize these terrorists.
And if they would have just offered the Palestinians a state of their own in the West Bank and Gaza years ago, then there would be no problem.
I mean, some people think that the the Palestinians would rather kill Jews than have their own country.
We both know that's not true, don't we Stevie??
Doug
I just found this blog because it is now linked to from Pajamas Media. Please don't delete the above post someone else posted because it cuts to the heart of the matter: the Palestinians were given the right to create their own democratic state and then they went ahead and voted for terrorists who still wanted to destroy Israel. Apparently, no desire to build resorts and casinos and a tourism industry!!
The Israelis pulled out of Lebanon 6 years ago and you got Lebanese Christians in 2006 saying "we won't protect Israel's border". Hello?
Also: this idea that destroying one's enemies only creates more enemies...is not supported by history. This is only a problem when you don't finish the job.
Sure, some cultures like the Serbians "get it" more quickly than others when they lose a war. Others like the Germans and Japanese and Iraqis had to be occupied for awhile before they "got it."
There is no room in this world for warlike and irrational political parties that want to dominate populations much greater than they are (Sunnis were only 20% of the Iraqi population).
The US Republicans will be defeated in the USA in November not because of the war but because they represent anti-sex, pro-smoking minorities and the majority will send them packing.
But, otherwise, go to Vietnam or Serbia and tell them you served in the US Army...and you will get respect. In Germany, American WW2 soldiers were highly welcomed when they were still alive (some still are around).
And nobody really believes that "arabs are different" or "more primitive". That is like saying "let them build nukes and kill Jews because they don't like it when they are attacked."
It is a myth that arabs are motivated to kill by viewing images of killed arabs. Most recruits to Hezbollah are recruited via money or sex (even if it is of the 72 Helen Thomases in Paradise variety), not because they saw a dead child on TV.
And one has to ask "what are the motivations and responsibilities of those who would try to incite them by showing them images of dead bodies"?
In the west, the bodies of dead westerners are not allowed to be viewed via the media or the Internet even! Nobody uses such images to incite revenge or hate. An exception would have been the video, not shown in the media, of bodies falling from the World Trade Center.
Think about it: did you see images of the dead Israelis from the past few days on the Net anywhere?
No. It is not part of western culture to show photos of the dead like that.
Steve: Our "heavy handed" and "disporportionate response" against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sure did increase radicalism by them.
Radical pacifism. Haven't had so much as a hint of militaristic aggression out of them for 60+ years now.
Notice also the response from Egypt and Jordan in the current crisis. I suspect neither are anxious to repeat 1967 or 1973.
Maybe we're not being as disporportionate in fighting the war against Islamo-fascism as you think, or as much as we should be.
To Steve V: Your posts are great.
To the war mongers commenting here: sounds like "the biggest global bully wins" is your philosophy - since when were we being invaded by anyone? We invaded the Middle East after WWII by creating Israel.
Here are some links that I believe will be interested
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