Playing with numbers in the Middle East

[DancingBear]

How many is enough? Two hundred, three hundred, five thousand? Do you get more points for civilians? Ambulances? Observers?

The weapons, they say. They hide the weapons. The same despicable excuse this government used to “root out “terrorists” in Iraq. Nobody, save for “mega-ditto nation”, bought that bill of goods the first time around, but for some reason now it’s belly up to the bar, boys, the lies are on me. The weapons are in the basement, behind the day bed, under the rug. Every house could be an ammo dump all to itself, so it’s better to be dead than sorry. Too bad about those pesky civilians, but this is war, baby, and we have to defend ourselves. Those weapons have to be here somewhere, they say, bringing to mind another murderer who thought it cute to play the same game. Come out, come out, wherever you are…

The kill ratio is now almost 10:1, and the results are in. The weapons have not been found in the shattered arm of a three old, nor the rotting remains of her mother. They have not been found under the roof of an ambulance, nor in the remnants of what used to be somebody’s life. Mothers and fathers and nieces and cousins have been frozen in six feet of earth but nary a weapon gets lowered down with them. Flowers and tears, to my recollection, do not qualify. As a nation gets literally blown apart at the seams, the citizens crane their necks and point at the weapons. They have been found in the bellies of the bombers, but for some reason nobody cares to look there.

They send leaflets down just before the weapons, telling those with nowhere to go that they should go somewhere else. This, to them, constitutes fair warning, as if it matters. Then the bombs come, one after the other in a carpet bombing that reminds those of us old enough to recall of yet another “they hide amongst the populace” scenario that acted, as this one surely will, like a 24-hour recruitment poster. The more you kill, the more there are. As if by magic.

Still, the country who not too many years ago boasted of its ability to surgically strike at an opponent with pinpoint accuracy and with minimal casualties has decided that body count trumps all, and using the George W. Bush “welcome, new terrorists, we’re glad you’re here!” guidebook have set out to turn the entire Middle East into New Iraq.

It’ll work, too. Let’s just hope, for their sake, that someone doesn’t step into the fray and try and bring down the 10:1. If they do, the funeral directors will all be working overtime.

As long as, of course, they’re still alive.

[megatherium]

1. A seemingly unending supply of your missing weapons is being launched

into Israel every day.

[DancingBear]

2. And a seemingly unending supply of bombs are being dropped on Lebanon

400 dead.

Mostly civilians.

Congratulations.

[megatherium]

3. I don't support what the Israelis are doing in Lebanon.

I was just pointing out your essay was based on the illogical premise that the Hizbollah missiles are like the missing WMD in Iraq.

[walldude]

5. I think the OP was trying to say that the war is built on

false pretenses like the Iraq war. He/She just used the WMD's as a point of contention.

[megatherium]

6. The war was built on false pretenses only in that it had been planned

for a year or more, then begun in response to a fairly small provocation. But the underlying problem for Israel, that there was a large, armed and determined guerrilla force on its northern border, was what the war is about. Not just the missiles, not the immediate provocation.

In 2000, Israel met Hezbollah's original demand, by completely withdrawing from southern Lebanon. That this withdrawal was complete was certified by the UN. But Hezbollah immediately claimed the withdrawal was incomplete and maintained its presence on the border, even though the UN had called for Hezbollah's disarmament and withdrawal from the border. Hezbollah of course has as its ultimate goal the destruction of the Jewish state, and can be expected to continue a low-level war of terrorism (unlawful acts of low-grade war) against Israel. Evidently, Israel got frustrated and angry at broken promises and continued threats, and decided to take out Hezbollah at the first opportunity. Hezbollah staged an attack on the border, a clear act of war, providing the Israelis with the opportunity they were waiting for. Hezbollah was surprised at the strength of the Israeli response, but Israel's logic is that its enemies were starting to believe that Israel was becoming weak (lacking the will or means to damage their enemies).

Of course, what Israel is doing is disproportionate and destructive, and is costing it dearly diplomatically and morally. The Lebanese people never deserved this. The US should do whatever it can to compel Israel to stand down now.

[blonndee]

4. Kicked and recommended. Well said. nt