Apparently the Israelis have got it into their heads that not only do fences make the best neighbors, but rocket strikes on civilian neighborhoods do too. You can hardly blame them. Their most northern of neighbors kind of agree, but on a smaller scale. Actually most of Lebanon probably does not agree, but Hezbollah, which has been thoroughly entrenched in the South of Lebanon for many years certainly does. I wonder when the Israelis, or the West in general will learn? This is what the extremists want. They want all out war between Muslims and, well, everyone else. They want scenes of bombed out neighborhoods (which is why Hezbollah allowed photographers in to document the carnage) to be broadcast all over the (Muslim) world. They want to be proven right. And they sort of have been, although theirs tends to be a twisted logic. They've most recently been proven right that the West is not above the very barbaric behavior it decries. It seems that they don't see it as a tit for tat, but as a return to realism as they understand it. Religious factions kill each other, as a matter of course, they seem to think, when will you pansies get over yourselves and get your hands dirty? If Israel's hands weren't dirty before, they are now.
If it sounds like I have conflicting opinions on this whole mess, I do. And I'm not alone. At the G8 summit, with this being one of the most pressing issues in the world, our President could think to do nothing but give Angela Merkel, his German counterpart, an unwelcome backrub. What? You heard me. Frat boy is what Frat boy does. This was a bit after he was overheard cussing like a sailor to World Lightweight Champ Tony Blair. Sometimes in reference to the Middle East dictatorships, you'll hear someone (usually on the right) say "Countries deserve the Governments they have" I can't think of a better example than in the good old US of A.
Posted by ian at July 21, 2006 08:58 AM