Monday, July 17, 2006

Israel vs. Lebanon (Hezbollah): The War Rages On

As I'm sure you all know, Israel has been engaged in a two-front war, fighting against Hamas in Gaza, and now against Hezbollah in Lebanon. It's pretty clear that Hezbollah is being fueled by jihadist Iran, and Baathist Syria. I'm totally supportive of Israel, and believe that they have a right and a moral duty to defend themselves. It does seem though, that Israel might be going in the wrong direction, in their all-out attack on Lebanon. I'm no expert on this, and I totally understand what Israel is trying to do (responding to unprovoked attacks), but they don't want to heap unnecessary havoc on innocent Lebanese, most of whom are anti-Hezbollah, and even pro-Israel. They've spent months rebuilding after the Syrian occupation. We don't want to lose them as an ally. Honestly, I still place the chief blame on Hezbollah. They started this.

There are great Mideast blogs that cover this a lot better than I can. Michael Totten, our man in the Middle East has been covering this. He has a personal stake in this, for obvious reasons. He is one of the leading voices for informed, unbiased, and insightful coverage of the Middle East. Also, the Lebanese Political Journal has been covering things straight from Lebanon. Get yourself a healthy dose of smart coverage from all sides. Also, let's keep the debate sensible and intelligent, please.

UPDATE: It looks like a cease-fire might be possible. PM Olmert has aid that if Hezbollah releases the captured Israeli troops, stops attacking Israel, and if the Lebanese government puts their troops on the border, this can end. Also, at the risk of appearing to contradict my earlier position, I want to reiterate the Israel is totally justified in their fight against Hezbollah. Hezbollah is the villain of this piece, fueled by the two-headed beast of Iran and Syria. I do think Israel really should focus their attacks on isolated Hezbollah targets, and try not to attack the whole country, but Hezbollah has forced them into this position.

Like President Bush said, they need to stop doing sh*t like this.

UPDATE #2: I thought I'd change the title a bit, to reflect the fact that this war isn't/shouldn't be against the people of Lebanon, but Hezbollah.

4 comments:

Aaron B. Brown said...

RAFIQUE

I feel sorry for you man, because you just seem to take everything you watch on the Fox network as gospel, as if it were the unrefuted word of God.

You say these are unprovoked attacks, perhaps you didn't notice the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip with tanks and troops, that was the provocation. It's amazing how many news organizations avoid making the connection between the two, especially when one was a direct result of the other. Israel invades Gaza, Hezbollah attacks the North. If Israel had not sent troops into Gaza there would've been no attacks in the north, at least at this particular moment.

Now I understand that Israel's assault was something of a preemptive move, and militarily it might have been the right move. But politically, and for the well-being and safety of the people in the region on both sides, it was a bad move. The Israeli citizens who are dying, and the Lebanese citizens who are dying, and the Palestinians who are dying, all of those deaths must be laid at the feet of the Israeli government and its actions. For ultimately they are the only real power in this region.

Israel chose to ignite this current conflict with a disproportionate response, which I believe is mistakenly being called a war. It's somewhere in between open war and limited conflict. If Israel invades Lebanon and Syria, and starts all-out bombing, then you can call it a war. I hope that doesn't happen.

As to the Iranian connection, of course the Hezbollah and Hamas are supported by the Iranians, this is nothing new. But the propaganda being put forward on Fox, that Iranian troops are in Lebanon, there is no evidence to support that, nor is there any evidence which shows any increase in logistical support for Hezbollah in Lebanon.

This is nothing more than the right wing propaganda machine preparing the ground for a strike against Iran, something that would be completely unjustified, just as the war in Iraq was completely unjustified.

Innocent babies are dying, and more will die the longer this goes on. Here's what you won't see on CNN, MSNBC or Fox or in any of the mainstream media providers, they don't have the guts to show you the reality of war. They don't want Americans or people in the West to have to face those realities.

Israeli Bodies, Lebanese Rubble: A Trip Through Monday's Photos in the New York Times

Rafique Tucker said...

Aaron,

I feel I must correct you. I don't take what Fox (or any news network for theat matter) says as gospel. If you're accusing me of being pro-Israel, I'm guilty. The fact is, Hamas attacked Israel by capturing Israeli soldiers. Israel responded. Hezbollah attacks Israel, and Istael rightfully responds.

We can agree that the Lebanese people are caught in the middle of this, and that Israel may have made a mistake in their all-out bombing of Lebanon (as opposed to simply focusing on Hezbollah targets), but what is Israel to do? Hezbollah's to blame here. Hezbollah started this. Hezbollah's firing rockets at Istaeli cities. Hezbollah has forced this, with Lebanon caught in the middle.

I realize that right-wingers have their own ideas and theories. Honestly, I don;t really hang in those circles. All I know is, Israel has a right to defend itself, and if there's a villain in this piece, it's Hezbollah, and its two-headed master, the combination of Syria and Iran.

Anonymous said...

I do not think many disagree that Israel has the right and responsibility to defend itself as does any sovreign nation. The issue here is how Israel is choosing to defend itself. I think they are in danger of falling into the same trap that we did when we went to Iraq. We saw an opening and make a move that is proving now to be in the words of Colin Powell, broken and owned by us. Right now it appears the only people being helped by Israels tactic are those who do not want to see peace in the Middle East (Hezbollad and Hamas) by making enenmies of innocent bystanders. There is a school of thought that this is a chance for Israel to do serious damage to Hezbollah.....I hope they are right....and I hope the serious damage they are doing to the rebuilt Lebanon will not overshadow their plan. I wished Israel had given the Lebanese government a chance to work this out(yes I know Hezbollah is a part of the government) but it is too late for that now. I hope this gamble pays off.

Anonymous said...

ever since israel state was formed again(1947 or 48),it has come under constant attack from palestinians,syrians and egyptians trying to regain the whole of jerusalem.i also think that these allied muslim countries dont want the jews to coexist beside them.They under estimated Israel b4 the 6day war,provoking it into action, and they got a good thrashing.
Israel could have demolished hizbollah but thought of the innocents.hizbollah guerillas mingled among the innocents,using them as shields against the israel army.if israel had launched a full scale invasion,i fill sorry for the lebanese people.
Israel has only attacked only when attacked.
Israel is doing what it always been doing-protecting and standing up for itself against those tring to occupy their GOD GIVEN HOLY LAND