Israel to fully withdraw from Lebanon in days: MP

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Ceasefire won't hold? Hizbollah will keep shelling Israel?

Israel won't leave?

Israel to fully withdraw from Lebanon in days: MP

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-09-19T130026Z_01_L19913127_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST-LEBANON-WITHDRAWAL.xml


The fact that events can progress in a positive way at all should be enough to prove the stupidity in letting the conflict escalate in the first place. Granted, there are still intractable problems left to resolve - prisoners, land issues, continued assaults - but the fact that these two combating sides can pull back at all should make it glaringly obvious that these skirmishes, with all of the resulting slaughter, do nothing to advance the cause of anything, except the ambitions of those who just want more killing. This is an important point for our country to take note of, as we bore none of the burden or sacrifice for the violence which was encouraged by our government's refusal to call for an end until the bulk of the killings had taken place.

One meaningful intervention by Bush or his surrogates in the beginning of the escalation of the conflict could have saved hundreds of lives. We have to look to those who intend to lead us - with our support or without it - to explain what was gained by their sheparding of their followers into armed conflict against each other. We can see what the political effect has been, with no discernable change in administrations or in the direction of their foreign policy. There has been absolutely no sacrifice from those who pushed their subjects into battle against each other. No accountablility for the notions of a Iranian/Syrian nexus which somehow threatened. There is no accounting for the prisoners seized which Hizbollah claimed were so important to their defense against Israel.

The citizens and disciples who are subject to these 'leaders' and their whims of power need to do more than just line up behind those who they intend to lead them. They need to challenge these leaders to set courses of action which are guided by the citizen's desire and need for peace and stability rather than by some over arching ideology or manufactured manifesto.

To that end, our country should never again allow our leaders to encourage the escalation of violence, as they did in Lebanon, just to satisfy some imperious notion from the Executive of the manipulation of the region into a 'New Middle East' or any other nation-building crock. The withdrawl of troops by Israel should expose everyone who encouraged the violence to continue as the warmongers that they are; overtly or passively advocating wanton violence, which almost always brings about resisting violence until the cycle is interrupted.

Calls for a 'cease-fire NOW' should be more respected in the future. I imagine they will not be. But, they should in the face of the tragic farce that was played out by the leaders of Israel and Hizbollah at their follower's expense.


edit:sp

[Englander]

1. Has this happened yet?

How many troops are still in Lebanon?