Last night a CNN Mideast expert confessed that the term “Mideast expert” is an oxymoron. If so, then it’s no wonder people like me are baffled by the shifting ironies and contradictions in this conflict. Consider: the Israeli army has a large number of Russian-born soldiers using American-made weapons to attack and occupy southern Lebanon in order to defend Israel. So far they have managed to kill a large number of civilians (a 10-story apartment building in Tyre was demolished last night). They have killed foreign tourists (including 8 Canadians). They have killed UNIFIL peacekeepers (including another Canadian).
All of this killing is supposed to be an act of “defense” against Hezbollah, who (stupidly) stirred up this mess by capturing 2 Israeli soldiers. I watched a British BBC correspondent tour the carnage in Beirut, while bloodied women screamed out the names of missing children. Then I watched a British-born Israeli soldier explain how the bombing was done with pinpoint accuracy — just surgical strikes. In another report we see Israeli intelligence analysts sporting 3D visors as they explain how they use a system akin to Google Earth to virtually “fly” through Lebanese streets to define targets. Maybe their data points are just a few metres to the left of pinpoint accurate?
Then we have the world’s only remaining superpower pretending to feel “concern” for the Lebanese people, while declaring that conditions are not yet “conducive” for a ceasefire. In order to prove that conditions are not yet right, the U.S. agrees to expedite a shipment of bunker buster bombs. Can someone help me out here? According to the rules of geopolitical etiquette, when a country ships weapons to Israel and humanitarian aid to Lebanon, is it OK to ship everything on the same airplane?
To further confuse the issue, Israel announces they will not seek to “expand the offensive” (I thought this was defense?) but that they are calling up an additional 30,000 troops.
I can not imagine the political machinations that must be taking place in Washington (while my country’s dopey PM tags along as best he can). Does they Bush administration seriously think all of this death will do anything but guarantee another decade of terrorism? Are they trying to divert attention from Iraq? By hammering Hezbollah do they think they are somehow fighting Iran by proxy?
At the same time, Hamas and Hezbollah would do better to disarm and put their resources into a coordinated publicity campaign to raise awareness of Israel’s border incursions and shameful treatment of Palestinians as others are already doing. Of course, such a campaign could only work if Hamas and Hezbollah refrained from suicide bombings and other terror activities. Oh yes — and they would have to recognize Israel’s right to exist.
Or why not just keep on fighting. Keep pouring more money, weapons and blood into the region so that U.S. arms makers can keep their stockholders happy. War hasn’t solved anything in the past and the only thing certain in the region is war not solve any problems in the future. But that is no reason to stop fighting, is it? Not in an area of the world where conditions are not conducive to reason.