I’ve been struggling with my thoughts regarding what’s going on right now in Lebanon. I’ve come to a few conclusions, but I have had to admit that my understanding is very simplistic. As I learn more, my understanding changes and the whole situation looks different again.
Iran and Syria have been and will continue to use Lebanon to cause trouble for Israel at a very low cost to themselves, through the destructive force of Hezbollah. Anti-Syrian politics has been difficult in Lebanon, with Syria-supported terrorism plaguing the country.
Lebanon has been trying to make gains in controlling Hezbollah (in the wake of Syria’s occupation of Lebanon, which ended last year) but those were slow going. Now, Hezbollah has crossed a line that Israel can’t abide and as Hezbollah knows what’s in store, they’re unloading all of their weapons into Israel as IDF forces bomb Lebanese targets and begin the invasion.
What should Lebanon do? What should Israel do? Civilians are already dying as a result of the bombing. It’s absolutely horrible. And I don’t have any genius advice or a solution. I think that Blair’s call for international forces to help police the Lebanese border might be a positive step. But too late now?
This morning I listened to some microcephalic people talk about how they knew what was best for Lebanon, and their knowledge was even less than my meagre understanding. The ignorance was galling. At the same time, I was reading a blog post from an anti-Syrian Lebanese blogger in Lebanon, feeling his frustration, and sympathizing. It was quite a counterpoint to the voices on the radio which seem to always favor a “Hulk Smash” approach.
I’ll leave you with these comments of frustration on Lebanese Political Journal, and a link to the blog post.
The entire time this was happening, we were reaching out through the internet to Israelis creating a human bond. Perpetual Refugee actually went to Israel and wrote quite passionately about his personal experiences there.The whole time, we were being attacked by Hezbollah members and anti-semites. I argued with people on a daily basis. I argued with government officials. I argued with the Army. I argued with Islamists. But I guess that’s not good enough. If the United States, France, and the UN Security Council are too afraid to do it, I’m supposed to.
So, Israel is doing it for us, eh? I thought they would impact on the local dynamic, at first. I thought Israel was going to help prove that they would not abide with Hezbollah’s weapons and wouldn’t let Hezbollah continue spreading the stupid myth that they can protect Lebanon. I thought this even after they bombed the airport. Okay, it’s a major symbol. I don’t like it getting bombed, but I get it. At first, they hit military targets and the airport.
But the devastation they have wreaked on us is truly horrendous. The US did not do this to the Iraqis. The US didn’t do this to al Qaeda in Afghanistan, for crying out loud.
My heart goes out to all the people suffering from this flare up in the middle east, no matter what country they’re in.
Salaam
Posted by James at July 17, 2006 1:03 PMGreat word, microcephalic.
I hate to admit that I've really only become aware of Lebanon during the past week.
Posted by: Mike L. at July 17, 2006 2:13 PMI understand this far less than you do, so I really DO feel like a pinhead. Could this mutate into WW3, or are the key players so unpopular (i.e. don't have oil) that no one else will want to take their side?
Posted by: Julie at July 17, 2006 2:45 PMI've stopped reading a lot of the blogs and opinions because people are talking in circles and it makes me sick. The bottom line is that many many innocent people on both sides of the border are being killed, injured and displaced. What is happening in Lebanon is horrific, and the citizens do not deserve this! They are suffering because some powerful people with an agenda do not want there to be peace.
I am so saddened by what is happening there, and so sickened by much of the reaction here.
I pray for both the people of Israel and the people of Lebanon. May there be an end to the fighting and a real and lasting peace.
Posted by: Wormie at July 17, 2006 3:08 PMI went looking for a "Lebanon for Dummies" type of article, and what did I see as the focus of today's headlines? To sum up, it's "we caught Bush saying a bad word, we're gonna TELL!!"
I am SHOCKED!! Shocked that it got a headline, I mean. It is a word that I would assume he uses every day. I certainly use it every day. If I were president, I would still use it every day, and it's quite possible that I would be overheard once or twice.
The rest of the sentence he uttered, and Tony Blair's reply, are a lot more interesting and reveal much more about Bush and Blair than that one particular word ever could, but there you have it. The least relevant word in their conversation was the one that got the headline. No wonder I don't know what's going on in Lebanon.
(I'm not saying that there's not also coverage of the situation, or their actual conversation. I'm just annoyed that I have to wade through all of this cussin' crap in order to get to the real news.)
Posted by: Julie at July 17, 2006 3:19 PMI just started reading the occasional article from TIME Magazine in my RSS reader. I can't vouch for the content of these articles I've bookmarked or even of the magazine itself these days but they do look more substantial than the soundbite nonsense that passes for headline news.
Their content seems to last for a week before being moved behind a magazine subscription barrier:
TIME: The Risks of Israel's Two-Front War
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1213591,00.html?promoid=rss_mv
TIME: Hate Thy Neighbor
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1214951,00.html
Thanks, Mike. That's much better than the "poopie words" stuff that's on sister site CNN right now, where "Lebanon being cut to pieces, PM says" is listed under "other developments," apparently still not as important as Bush's "expletive."
Posted by: Julie at July 17, 2006 4:17 PMI don't see it mutating into World War III - I say it's pretty much been World War III for 5 years; the strategy, operational pace and engagements just don't have the visibility on the global scale they enjoyed in '39 - '45. It would just be a super-ugly turn amongst all the other ugly turns.
James, like you, I have to claim mostly ignorance until very recently on Lebanon. Being of Lebanese descent, I'm pretty ashamed of that fact.
I'm giong to pick up Thomas Friedman's book "From Beirut to Jerusalem" again. I unfortunately never finished it, reading a decent chunk of it many years ago, just after 9-11. Originally published in 89, he updated it about a decade later. It was shaping up to be a good "Lebanon for Dummies" book - and an "Israel, PLO, Syria, and Iraq for Dummies" book as well, drawn from Friedman's years of work as a reporter in Beirut during the Lebanese civil war.
I wouldn't worry to much about ignorance of the details here simply because I think they aren't significant. (At least that's how I excuse my ignorance ;-)
Everyone over there needs to learn one simple thing:
Forgiveness.
Simplistic? I don't think so. I like this definition of forgiveness:
Forgiveness is when you give up all hope for a better past.
That may be said tongue in cheek, but I think it's the kind of wisdom that applies profoundly to this mess. Come on folks - give up all hope for a better past. It won't change. Focus on tomorrow and how you can live together.
What's more, there are a number of folks over there who understand it, but sadly people are not paying attention to them and our so-called world leaders simply are not - not world leaders, or they would latch onto something real and workable and promote it.
A good start was made by peace activists from both sides - and they do exist,though the press hardly mentions them - when they developed a private Geneva Accord back in 2003. I don't know the specific merits of that plan and I don't underestimate how difficult this process is - but it is doable.
As I watch the latest stupidity unfold I feel a bit like that guy from "The Day the Earth Stood Still." I get to the point where I don't care who kills who - but if they are on the verge of doing it with nuclear weapons, it's time to put a hault to things. In the sci-fi flick the warning was simple. Take off the silly hats, find a way to live peacefully together, or we'll wipe you all out because you are becoming a threat to the rest of the galaxy. ;-)
After watching Munich (the movie) I started to think about Israel, because Israelis in the movie (specifically, the mother of the head terrorist) were saying "a place of our own to live among Jews." Well, that's really nice. I wish I had a place of my own to live among atheists. But I don't. And I'm going to grow up and accept that, and actively try to get along with people who think in vastly different ways from the way I think, and find the things we have in common, and respect the rest because I don't know everything.
I have trouble buying historical motivations, because we each are born and start fresh here. I don't feel any of the pain my ancestors felt. I am my own individual. And I think revenge is possibly the most childish thing a person can do.
In the world the way it is now, constantly shrinking because of technology and economy, I don't think it's reasonable for anybody to be a nationalist.
And our "world leaders" are definitely stuck in the thick of these absurd games. There is nobody with any vision.
Posted by: Maggie at July 18, 2006 12:23 PM