What do you think? What should the administration do about the situation with Israel and Lebanon?
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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It doesn’t matter what I think the administration should do… they won’t do it.
In the meantime, I should do everything I possibly can to get sane and responsible Democrats elected to every office I possibly can so we can stop this madness and get these people out of power.
What you said: get Democrats elected to power.
Now, that being said, let’s face it: Clinton was far from a neutral power broker in the negotiations of the late 1990s, but at least he was engaged. Actively.
The current fools? Well, they can’t anger their rapturous base, can they?
But I will tell you this: this situation has certainly made me think very carefully about the Democratic primary and who I will consider voting for. And in Maryland, well, that’s saying a lot.
You think the Democratic Party is going to rein in Israel?
You haven’t been paying attention.
I do pay attention; I don’t harbor any illusions. As I said above, Clinton was far from neutral. I don’t think the Dems are more likely to rein in Israel at all. What I do think is that they would at least be involved.
And involvement, discussion, is something sorely needed right now. That we’re not going to get with the ideologue idiot Bolton at the UN and the incompetent Rice in charge at State.
Actually, history has shown that Democrats and Republicans alike will allow Israel to pound its enemies (in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, et al) into a bloody pulp…and THEN the US will step in and broker a “cease-fire”. Actually, the political objectives of the government of Israel are almost always synonymous with those of the US, and in this case, they certainly are, as Bush desires an attack on Syria and Iran and is hoping to lure them into the fight in Lebanon.
But not until AFTER the government of Israel achieves its stated objective. If Gore were President right now, he’d be “deeply concerned” but he wouldn’t do anything. One thing I’ll say for the pro-Israeli lobby is that they’ve done a marvelous job of bipartisan lobbying. AIPAC (American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) has donated $39.5 million to 1,732 candidates between 1978 and 2004 and yet receiving unswerving loyalty in return. 59% of the AIPAC money went to Democratds and 41% to Republicans. Can you name the largest pro-Arab lobbying group? Me neither–because there isn’t one. Since 1988, all Arab/Muslim lobbying groups combined have contributed only $297,000.
It’s sad that politicians only listen to groups that give them money, but that’s the reality of the situation. American policy in the Middle East is the result of influence on the political process by Big Oil and AIPAC, not the national interest and certainly not any humanitarian principles.
Just think of the relationship between Israel and the United States as analogous to the relationship between Armando and Kos and you’ll have the proper mindset.
AIPAC certainly has undue influence, it’s true. The recent paper by Walt and Mearshimer underscored it, but the reaction to that paper served only further, IMO, to show exactly what they were talking about. The authors got slammed, predictably by AIPAC and their dependents, and suffered mightily for it.
And yes, AIPAC gives more to Democrats than to Republicans. A fact well seen here in Maryland.
What we must also remember, however, is the effect of the Christian Zionists/premillenialists have also on this so-called ‘debate.’ Those who would hasten the rapture by having an ‘ingathering’ within the original boundaries of Israel and Judea, from the river Nile to the river Euphrates, will brook absolutely no criticism whatsoever of Israeli policies, particularly those as related to the settler movements and right wing religious and Likud parties. Remember Pat Robertson’s statement that Sharon’s stroke was God’s punishment for removing “His people” from Gaza?
These folks are an important part of the Republican base. In many ways, they dictate policy in the current administration even more so than AIPAC. They donate, and they vote, and they are very vindictive to candidates they feel have betrayed them and thereby betrayed their God.
Here’s one of the other factors as far as Arab/Muslim lobbying groups go: which of the major parties are they going to lobby? As you point out, AIPAC has huge influence on the Democratic party; the Republican party has made huge scapegoats out of Arabs/Muslims and depends upon those who hate for its base. So what’s an Arab/Muslim lobbying group to do?
Meanwhile, I’m going to have to mull over that Armano/Kos thing….
I would go back and review what happened. Why were the soldiers kidnapped? What were their demands? Was there a recent event that triggered this?
I do know that if I were in the White House, I would have sent my Secretary of State into Israel as soon as the soldiers were kidnapped. I would have investigated what prompted this kidnapping and done everything in my power to try to get the kids back home and to prevent the violence from escalating.
What I definitely know is that I would have worked from day one in the WH to do everything in my power to secure peace.
Get the f**k out of Iraq as soon as possible.
Call Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and ask them what to do?
carter, NOT clinton – although, of course, clinton is a thousand times better than the current group in charge. it’s just that (on this issue) carter is a thousand times better than clinton.
speech from earlier this year:
http://www.cfr.org/publication/10024/peace_versus_democracy_in_palestine.html?breadcrumb=default
more here:
http://www.cartercenter.org/news/opeds3.htm
might make a good team of mediators.
But this presupposes a complete sea-change in US policy toward Israel . . . which is not going to happen, unfortunately.
Something about reaping what you sow?
not bloody likely!
Yes, but that’s a different question: what’s likely to happen in the current escalation of hostilities?
Short answer: nothing good.
is absolutely necessary and the only candidate is the USA. Unfortunately those at the helm are morons. Bush is talking about a pig roast and John Bolton is using this escalation in violence as an excuse to invade Iran. Talk about fuel on the fire.
The US government needs to seek out expertise in the country. It’s a big country so there is plenty of scholarship and objective expertise to assist them.
Please someone H E L P!
I find it interesting that you think America is the only nation that can effectively intervene. This plays into my position that there actually is something exceptional about America.
Exceptional in this case specifically, or just in general?
I think the US has a unique role to play in mediation, and an example of it’s singular or exceptional role was manifested in its sole veto of the UN resolution the other day.
FWIW, I do believe that the US has unique influence with Israel. And lack of obvious interaction in this situation is critical. Is there any other nation that could interact, and have influence, with Israel?
On the other hand, is there anyone who could interact with Hezbollah at all?
I think that in this case, the exceptionalism is represented by the fact that more than 15% of US Official Development Aid (ODA) is going to Israel. Is Israel a developing nation? Silly question.
This is a direct budget subsidy of an ally. Pull on the purse strings.
Forgot the quote/link:
…total US aid to Israel since 1973 has totallyed $240 billion and still counting.
This is for a nation of 7 million people!
This plays into my position that there actually is something exceptional about America.
If America is so exceptional, why is the administration:
7) just basically sticking its head in the sand while warmonering about Syria and Iran?
What is exceptional about those actions?
The only reason the world believes America is exceptional in this situation is that it has managed to intervene in Israeli affairs in the past by brokering deals. Is it still that exceptional when this administration stands by and does nothing but cheerleading while timidly telling the Israelis not to kill too many civilians?
…again.
What is “exceptional” about the United States is that it is the only real ally Israel has. Without the financial backing and military assistance of the United States, the State of Israel quite literally could not exist.
How much aid does the nation of Israel receive from the United States? This tiny nation of 7 million people has received over $240 billion in economic and military assistance from the US since 1973 (adjusted for inflation), and currently receives a package of about $2.7 billion a year ($700 million military aid and $2 billion in economic aid). Private pro-Israeli organizations inside the US have funded grants and bonds to Israel to the tune of about $60 billion. The US also “subsidizes” Israel by refusing certain business deals–for example, the pro-Israeli lobby forced the US to cancel a $40 billion sale of F-15 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. That lost sale, in effect, is a $40 billion “subsidy” of Israel’s defense.
In other words, Israel is so heavily dependent on the United States, its sole sugar daddy, that the US government could, if it had the political will, yank Israel’s leash short in 24 hours.
However, the pro-Israeli lobby is so strong within both the Democratic and the Republican parties that Israel being curbed is just NOT going to happen–until Israel achieves its stated goal in southern Lebanon, which is “crush” Hezbollah (more on that later).
Let’s look at another invasion of Lebanon by Israel–the invasion of Lebanon by Israel that began on 6 June 1982.
Israel justified that invasion
The Israelis kicked the living hell out of Lebanon during their invasion (an estimated 17,000 people were killed by the Israeli Defense Force, or IDF, and 675 Israeli soldiers died in the conflict) and shot down an estimated 80+ Syrian warplanes.
Those of you old enough to recall will remember that Palestinians fled to refugee camps as a result of the fighting, and there were massacres at the Sabra and Shattila refugee camps (carried out by the Lebanese Christian Phalangists, one of the groups struggling for control of Lebanon).
You will also recall that American Marines were sent into Lebanon as part of a peacekeeping force, but were withdrawn from the country by President Reagan (the original cut-and-runner) after a suicide bomber killed 241 American servicemen (most of them Marines) by ramming a truck bomb into their barracks in Beirut on 23 October 1983. (Actually, the Marines were still “deployed” in Lebanon, but moved offshore where they could not be targeted–and where they were not nearly as effective in their peacekeeping efforts as if they had been based inside Lebanon itself–so the “redeployment” was, in practical military terms, a “cut and run”.)
So how was the LAST crisis in Lebanon resolved? Or rather, ALMOST resolved? By the United States, although the peace agreement didn’t stick. Also, the suicide bombing of the American barracks in Beirut led to a withdrawal of international peacekeeping forces by April 1984.
Now, where did Hezbollah come from? Why, the Israelis themselves created it, you might say:
So Israel will crush Hezbollah (maybe) and it’ll be replaced by another organization more bloodthirsty than Hezbollah and far more intractable. Hm, pyrrhic victory, anyone?
…comment.
But the Middle East is a complicated, tangled place, and it’s not something you can deal with in a few sentences.
Hell, that was the short version…and yes, I wrote it realizing NOBODY would read the damned thing.
I know, I was just trying to get some “guilt reads”.
the USA is already intervening. it’s just not intervening in a good way.
The U.S. needs to tell both Israel and Lebanon that it respects each of them as asovereign nation and that if they wish to continue to engage in destructive behavior, we, of course, will acknowledge their prerogative to do so.
We should also tell them that if either of them wants any assistance from the U.S – economic, military, humanitarian — they have exactly 48 hours in which to implement a cease fire. If they fail to do so or if the cease fire is broken, all aid to them will withheld.
We should then acknowledge that our presence in the Middle East is a cause of contention and withdraw as soon as possible.
Since, however, the Bush administration has no interest in solving the matter, preferring to exploit it for their own purposes, clearly we can expect nothing constructive to happen.
I think that Israel is the one who is exploiting the U.S.’s stated goal of regime change in Iran. Israel wouldn’t be willing to risk war with Lebanon, Syria, and Iran unless it had the full backroom support of the U.S. So I see no legitimacy for the U.S. to act as a broker when it is an antagonist. This is what has been planned all along.
Well, maybe Israel is exploiting the U.S. or maybe it is the other way around. Most likely that having a happy little roll in the hay together.
I agree that it is all part of a plan.
And I agree the U.S. administration that is cannot act as a good faith broker. For one thing, our “antics” over the past several years make it laughable that we would be able to exert any moral authority over anyone.
I guess I was talking about a theoretical U.S. administration. Forgot for a moment there that I was part of the reality based community. : )
The first step: criticizing Israel’s overreach into blowing the shit out of Beirut.
I think once the Israelis recognize that they cannot act with impunity if we will call them on it, the process for building peace will speed up.
I agree.
Robert Fisk has a very good article out and it is posted up at the indispensable Information Clearing House right here, in yesterday’s top stories. Just scroll down.
I’m with Fisk. There is noting new in this latest foray. Israel has been doing this same sort of massive attack gig for nearly 60 years, and the results have failed every time to date.
Lots of folks will die for nothing except maybe a prisoner swap which will lead to a cease-fire.
What should we do? First, find out if Chimpy is getting sweaty, with a bulge in his pants about the possibility of instigating the “end times.” Yes, he is THAT goofy!
Second, if a sane “sacrificial goat” can be found for “diplomacy,” we should try to get the Israelis to talk, as what they are doing is no way in our best interests, especially with Iraq a volcano of unrest, and the Shias watching what we do and who we side with, and what we do to stop this insanity. Do I need to tell you all of the risks to our troops in that madhouse called Iraq? I didn’t think so.
Third, if diplomacy fails, withhold support funds until the Israelis start to feel the pips squeak. This gets their attention and is the main reason for AIPAC; to keep the cash flowing.
Fisk also has a front page article in Saturday’s Independent but it’s subscriber only so we’ll have to wait til it’s freed up for distribution.
We need to stop playing both sides against the other. We need to stop supporting both sides, period, unless there is a genuine commitment to peace.
Look. My heart and soul really go out in sympathy to the Jews in Israel. Life there is tenuous at best, the country in danger of disappearing in a heartbeat. I get that. I understand. But to so dehumanize the enemy is… is… positively American! In the worst way!!!! No, Israel! Bad Israel! Don’t do that!
And when I see Lebanon, I see years of CIA investment in that country, and fear we’re now getting some payback for that too. We need to get our hands out of everyone else’s pie and deal with our own pie, and figure out how to make better pies with the resources we already have, rather than constantly arming our neighbors so we can steal their pie-makings and ovens on a moment’s notice… Geez, where is all that pie talk coming from? Too much reading re the pie wars? Or am I craving Mrs. Callendar??
on an empty stomach!
LOL and good advice! 😉
Cut off all aid money to the region, (except give Iraq all the billions appropriated for our destruction of that country that have not yet been spent.
Withdraw our entire military presence on the ground from the entire region.
Stop sharing nuke technology with India.
The entire executive branch of our government should resign as soon posible, apologize to the world.
All promient members of the Bush regikme should offer themselves up for prosecution for their crimes against the Republic. They should seek indictments against Pat Roberts and Arlen Specter as well.
IMHO
Almost all are disgusted with the Bush administration’s non-response. They claim that Israel’s civilian government thinks it has to be tough. Eleanor said that blowing up the power plant in Gaza (where life is already miserable) made no sense since Israel paid for it. She used this as an example to demonstrate that Israel has gained nothing from these attacks.
Here is the terrible mess, the unavoidable quandary, that the lunatics in the Bush regime have createed for themselves.
For all their talk of respect for their Arab allies in the region, (Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, UAE, Saudi, Egypt, etc.), and all their crowing about progress in the region, (elections, Syriansout of Lebanon, etc.), now they are going to have to betray every one of these allies as part of their giving blind support to Israel’s attacks in Gaza and against Lebanon.
This is the madness of the Bush/Cheney/Neocon agenda. It is completely destructive an self-destructive at the same time. It can’t help but have the exact opposite efect of what they claim they desire; to promotemore war instead of less.
I personally have always said right from the beginning that the true goal of Bushco was perpetual war in the region so none of this really surprises me, butmaybe now enough other people will finally recognize this grand scam for what it is and start upon the path to repudiate publically the US agenda in it’s entirety.
I’d love to see the Russians or the Europeans tell Bush; *Get the fuck out of our country and don’t come back until you’ve stopped waging war!
Why they allow this dangerous and arrogant imbecile to even visit them, why they allow themselves to be seen with him or accord him status as an “equal” is a mystery beyond comprehension.
just kidding!
You are absolutely right but there is so much going on concerning what is termed the ‘back-door war.’ That possibly Bush & Co. want this devastation. It will enable them to proceed with their war plans. Look how they profited from the al qaeda attacks on NYC, PA and WA.
Of course they want this war! That’s been the plan from the beginning. Peace and stability for Iraq and the Middle East at large were never a part of the Cheney/Neocon agenda.
This was the foundational lie upon which all the rest of this disaster is based. Even those opposed to the Bush regime talk about how the mess isa resuilt of incompetence and mistakes being made.
Not so! The mess is deliberate, the chaos is intentional; the preferred result these lunatics desire. And as long as people in government refuse to stand up and say this openly it won’t matter if Dems sweep the Repubs out of power or not come ’06 or ’08. The travesty will continue.
AG
“What should the administration do about the situation with Israel and Lebanon?”
Booman…”this” is what it is DOING!!!
A friend of mine very succinctly summed up the whole act to me today. We were talking about how BushCo had failed to get an overwhelmingly strong positive reaction when they ran the tattered old WMD thing up the broken flagpole regarding Iran, and I suggested that this Israel attack is simply another way of starting the same process.
Fanning the flames just in time for the midterms.
The October Surprise starts a little early this year.
And he said “Yes. We are siccing our attack dog in the area on their trick poodle. Simply ramping up the provocation. Or at the very least giving the dog permission to attack. Creating yet ANOTHER new reality.”
And there it is.
“They” will do NOTHING. This is what they WANT.
“BREAKING!!! War in the Middle East!!! Don’t change horses in mid-scream!!!”
Etc. etc. etc. etc etc.
Just as it’s always been.
Business as usual.
Do not fall for the media talkytalktalk.
This IS Plan B.
Bet on it.
AG
P.S. Will it work?
6 to 5 it does.
The odds have fallen since their last run, the invasion of Iraq.
But they are still in their favor.
6 to 5 they get away with it again.
Michael Ledeen at The National Review is calling for a war swallowing the whole of the Arabian Peninsula. Iran, Syria, the works.
Israel’s latest invasion of Lebanon may very well be coordinated with Bush/Cheney’s Middle East “policy”.
That’s been the plan from the beginning, from even before the attacks of 9/11.
Gosh, I feel like Ross Perot…but here’s the deal…
Israel attacks Lebanon, hoping to draw Syria and Iran into the mess. Syria may be drawn in directly, Iran less directly, but both are tied in with Hezbollah.
Israel knocks the stuffings out of Lebanon and Syria and presents evidence to Bush that Iran is fostering international terrorism–which gives Bush an excuse to hit Iran with airstrikes and possibly a naval blockade.
Not only that, but notice that Israel attacked Lebanon as we are headed into the 2006 elections, with the Republicans fading a bit and with pressure mounting on Bush to come up with some sort of withdrawal scheme for our troops in Iraq.
Withdrawing the troops from Iraq now, with the IDF in the field against Lebanon, is unthinkable.
The chess pieces are still in motion on the Arabian Peninsula. Before all this is over, the United States and Israel will be at war simultaneously with Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Iraq, and Moslem insurgents will be striking back with terror bombs in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Dubai, Iraq, Israel, and Egypt.
Oh, and gas will be $4-$4.50 a gallon at the pump, further fattening the already obscene profits of Big Oil. That’s just a coincidence, I’m sure.
And of course Bush is being even-handed about the whole thing:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/14/world/main1804389.shtml
Precisely.
Right on the money.
And I DO mean money.
The decision was made many years ago by the neo-cons that the overall strategic goal was and must be control of the Arabian peninsula by any and all means necessary short of atomic war.(Which would blow up the REASON for that strategy…control of the oil). In fact, it seems to me that if driven to the wall, they would rather completely destroy ANY access to that oil than let powers that are hostile to the U.S. control it.
Everything else that is done by the U.S. and its allies/servant states is just tactics.
AG
In the backround… But with hands on triggers, the Abrahamic faiths do what they’ve done best since their inception. Take them out of the equation first.
Start off with eliminating the rabbis, ministers, priests, rapturists and imams who preach hatred; the same ones who highjacked those religions for personal gain and power, and you’ll have the problem 60% solved.
Stop all foreign aid to the whole region and enforce an embargo that will put EVERYBODY in that region in extreme discomfort until until all parties agree to negotiate fairly.
Eliminate AIPAC, a lobby that corrupts politicians in the USA with money that we US taxpayers give them.
and perhaps most important, administer all public goods in the region especially the water resources fairly and impartially, under an international commission.
It’s time that all the world’s nations got together to heal a sickness that has been festering since time immemorial. Cancer cannot heal itself; the patient as a whole has to decide to take action to heal the disease.
I have trouble with them. They rarely topple a government but always hurt innocent civilians. I read a book (title forgotten) written by an Iraqi woman about the effects of the embargo between the two Gulf Wars. Didn’t hurt Hussein et cie. very much but was devastating to the general population.
What do I think? I think the United States should:
a. announce that it is withdrawing all financial and military support for Israel until Israel ceases military operations in both Gaza and Lebanon; and
b. send Bill Clinton to negotiate a ceasefire, giving him authority to deal out real carrots and sticks to Hamas and Hezbollah.
I say that even though my sympathies are about 90 percent on the Israeli side compared to Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think Syria or Iran is the major player here. I think the major player here is Nasrallah of Hezbollah.
I have many Lebanese clients with families under fire. This is a terrible time.
I think that we should force the relevant leaders to spend several hours each day hosting and/or posting too cute animal pics in the Froggy Bottom Cafe.
by both sides. Unresolved issues can be sorted out after that.
But of course our administration wont do anything that reasonable
I’ve had a very long week and I am very tired and I am a bit tipsy, so I am going to speak my mind. I know that the history of Israel is complex and emotional. I don’t want to diminish that, but Israel was a very bad idea. It was wrong. It was as wrong as trying to make Yugoslavia out of five nations who hated one another. I simply do not accept displacing an entire people for religious purposes. It is just as ludicrous as dividing the US into JesusLand and the rest of us, as much as I like that idea.
The US should have accepted the Jews with open arms. But since I cannot ask for the dismantlement of Israel, I think we should respect Palestine and strongly sanction Israel. No more money, weapons, or aid until it finds a peaceful solution with Palestine. It is the only humane solution. No more walls, no more destroying homes and farms, and giving Palestinians full rights and the land they need to support themselves.
But, since we support Israel, we will continue to support and aid their own genocide of Arabs. It just makes me sick.
Sigh. It is a mess. If I could have my way, I would give up Israel and pull out of Iraq and offer the middle east economic incentives to work with the western world. If we hated what they became, we could always refuse to do business with them, but our current course of killing them will only do more harm than good.
First, God (apparently) promised the Holy Land to several different groups (Christians, Jews, and Moslems), who have been fighting over it for thousands of years.
Second, God put much of the lifeblood of the world’s economy (oil) in the adjacent countries, so that the fighting in the Holy Land threatens to destroy the world’s economy if the flow of oil is disrupted. Why God didn’t put the oil in a place that’s easier to reach–like under my house, or at least on property that I own–is beyond me. It seems if God was really interested in Intelligent Design, He would have distributed the world’s supply of petroleum more or less equally between the various continents, so that everybody could get what they needed.
It appears that this is all God’s fault. The Creator should have been more explicit in His instructions as to which people He intended to give the Holy Land. Everyone is laboring under the impression that God gave it to THEM. Now, unless God is insane (which is possible), He could promise the same land to everybody, could He?
Let us all say a prayer, asking God to make up His freakin’ mind and then reveal it–and CLEARLY for once. I need at least an angel heralding the news or a burning bush or SOMETHING with some no-room-for-misunderstanding CLEAR directions on WHO is supposed to get possession of the Holy Land.
With our luck, it’ll be the Scientologists.
LOL….That is exactly right. Everyone wants it and I think no one should have it. I’ve read some great SF whice deals with this impossible situation.
I don’t think the land belongs to anyone, I think it belongs to everyone. Christians, Jews, and Muslims all have valid claims to the land so it should be made “sacred” land and no one should be able to live there. All an go and pray, but none should be able to claim “rights”.
I think the Trickster God is looking more and more plausible. :>)
Declare the whole thing an international theme park.
Think of the possibilities.
Let Bobo Brooks design the social models for the region like he tries to do all the time in the US in his idiotic op-eds and books.
It is my hope that the US cease all overt and covert acts of aggression and hostility in the region, repatriate all operatives, and remove and/or destroy any and all weapons that are currently available for deployment by US proxy forces.
That will happen at the exact moment that penguins skate in hell.
San Diego?
Wow. I think Jeff at Rigorous Intuition pegged exactly what is going on – and this, with his head cold:
Damn if that isn’t the most sensical analysis I’ve heard yet.
And the Navy’s actions are reminiscent of four words over which the CIA fought the Pike Committee (the House version of the Church Committee). The CIA had detected increased security measures before Egypt attacked Israel. The reason they wanted that censored is they didn’t want their ally Israel to know that the US government knew of the pending attack and did nothing. But the truth is probably even more complicated. In a novel based on James Angleton, called Orchids for Mother, “Mother” (Angleton) learned of the pending attack and DID warn Israel, against the wishes of the CIA and the US Government. Perhaps there’s more truth in fiction than we know.
I wrote a couple of posts about ‘freedom on the march’ coming soon to an Iran near you today:
(sorry for the blog whoring, but they are relevant)
Did You Know America Has Just Been Attacked?
William Kristol Wants A Military Strike on Iran
Oh, whore away! And please add those links in comments at my blog – http://realhistoryarchives.blogspot.com/ – where I just wrote about this as well. Get the word out!
And quotes, give us quotes here. You have some great stuff there!
Just typing away in my little piece of the blogopshere. 🙂
I’d say it’s way past time to remind the Israeli government that it is not the 51st state.
What do you think the administration should do, Booman?
From CBC: link
From CNN: link
. . . because it assumes some kind of good intentions on their part.
Given the wingnut pundits calling for jihad against Iran, I’d say that Bush’s hands-off approach is very probably motivated by the insane hope that Syria and then Iran will be sucked into a confrontation.
Which would be weird because, of course, this sort of thing has never happened before, except for ‘Remember the Maine’ and Mexican border incursions and the Gulf of Tonkin and . . . .
I can’t help but wonder if this wasn’t initiated by an agent provocatuer as it plays into the neocon agenda in the region. As far as reigning in Israel, Let’s get real. We hold the purse-strings. We need to stop funding Israel unless they pull back to the 1967 borders and make a just peace with Palestine. They wouldn’t need to “defend themselves” if they weren’t antagonizing the region by crushing Palestinians and threatening thier neighbors.
Has any news anywhere reported anything about what Hizbollah claimed it’s specific motive was for engaging the Israeli soldiers near the border?
.
BEIRUT (ABC/AP) July 26 — Hezbollah had expected “the usual, limited response” from Israel after the two soldiers were seized by guerrillas … In the past, Israeli responses to Hezbollah actions included sending commandos into Lebanon, seizing Hezbollah officials and briefly targeting specific strongholds in southern Lebanon.
Komati said his group had anticipated negotiations to swap the Israeli soldiers for three Lebanese held in Israeli jails, with Germany acting as a mediator as it has in past prisoner exchanges.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY