Imagine a country that has blocked off all air, sea, and land access to another country. Now imagine that first country has killed hundreds, maimed/injured thousands, and maintains a military presence in a third of the second country. Lastly, imagine that first country has indiscriminately targeted all human beings in the second country, from children to elderly, from civilian to UN representative.
What would you honestly call this? An attempt to stomp out a militia? Or the systematic destruction of a country?
As anyone reading the news for the past month has heard, Israel has been carpet-bombing and has finally invaded Lebanon. A country with a barely functioning military. A recently praised country for its 'Cedar Revolution'. A country that had become a part of the Bush-neo-con vision for the Middle East - a functioning democracy.
Now many people say 'Israel has a right to defend itself'. Yes, a country that bloodily gave birth to itself, imposes itself militarily in the affairs of its neighbors (the 1956 Suez crisis, the 1978 invasion in Lebanon, the now "un"-occupied Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Golan Heights), has the unconditional support of the world's only military AND economic superpower, has the right to defend itself.
But in this case, what is it defending? The right to live free? Apparently only if you're Jewish. The right to live without fear? Apparently only if you're Jewish. The right for its citizens to live and work? Apparently only if you're Jewish.
Ehud Barak, recently on Fox News: "So the real profound consequence is that we should make clear that we have a solid entity called Israel. Within its border, there should be a solid Jewish majority for generations to come, and we should do it as to feel confident, be strong enough to hit whoever tries to attack us without any hesitation."
Apparently if you're Israeli and Arab, you're not going to be participating in a representative democracy.
Further on, he says "Now, the price is that you do not totally destroy them, and the right answer is that we should create a situation where the sovereign state of Lebanon will turn normal. Namely, do not allow a political party with members in the cabinet having their own active militia."
Now in a country that has suffered over $2 billion in damages, from airports to the death of legitimate military figures, how is 'normal' defined? Who will pay to rebuild Lebanon once again? It was in the process of normalizing itself post-Israeli security strip and post-Syrian domination. Thousands of Europeans and European dollars flowed into Lebanon after the Israeli withdrawal and the fall of Syrian dominance. With those persons removed from the country due to the attack perpetrated by Israel, and the damage of all that rebuilt infrastructure, who will rebuild?
Israel is creating its own Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan. Out of a country that was at a stage similar to North Ireland, wherein paramilitaries were being brought into the political process.
Instead of focusing on the demilitarization of a group, Israel has laid waste to a country that was more representative, more democratic, than many others.
