Once again, the all too familiar patterns emerge as another sad chapter in the history of the Middle East is written. Violence begets more violence and all the players are just falling into their familiar habits. Israel overreacts, Hezzbolah rationalizes away its motives and means, Syria and Iran claim no connection while excusing and openly supporting the extremists, Europe wrings its hands, China and Russia do nothing but ignore the situation, and the US falls back on its “Israel needs to defend itself at all costs” rational (Think of the Cuban Missile Crisis and what would have happened if the USSR had let Cuba make all the choices about the missiles).
Hezzbolah could not have underestimated the response of Israel. It was already preordained by what was going on in the Gaza Strip. This was a calculated move to raise Hezzbolah’s profile and to consolidate its position in Lebanon. Stroking up Arab anger against the west is its ultimate aim here and right now, everyone is playing their role perfectly. By allowing Hezzbolah to instigate a fight which will damage the fledgling democracy and civil society of Lebanon, the momentum goes to the other side, thus making the region all the more dangerous and unstable.
Furthermore, the timing could not be worse for the US and the West. Bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, stonewalled by Iran and North Korea, domestically weakened by the dissatisfaction with the present policies, the US is not in the driver’s seat of events. We are being driven by them instead. Lashing out verbally and complaining is a sign of utter impotence. Evacuating nationals and and turning tail shows no confidence that the fighting will be stoped. We are like a large muscle bound man trapped in a door way.
A fresh and radical approach is needed if we want to avoid history repeating yet again in the Middle East. This would mean tough choices, mia coppas, and compromises. Putting the past aside, we should strive to be a real honest broker, in both spirit and deed. We must be willing to stop the fighting at all costs because the fighting is what the extremist on both sides want. This country must be willing to sacrifice more than just the lives of its citizens in the military. We must be ready to sacrifice our fortune (i.e., wealth and life style) to achieve our ends of peace. We must be willing to anger all sides, including Israel, to boycott all imported oil, to halt the sale and trafficking of weaponry to all sides, call a spade a spade, and most of all, we must lead by example. We must go to the root cause and excuse for all the violence in the region and settle it once and for all. It should have been a democratic and stable Palestinian state that would be the linch pin to halting all the intrigues of this region, not a Sadam-less, civil strife ravaged Iraq. Put it another way, to stop malaria, we had to drain the swamps, not just try and kill every moskito. This is the only way now. Big, bold gestures to show we mean business and to put our faith in our country and values truly to the test. Military might and dollars alone do not solve conflicts of this nature. Going the way we are is just buying time until the next war, traveling the same old road to no where, and letting the extremists win.
Planet Irving 