Jack Rosen, chairman of the American Jewish Congress, said Bush's statements reflect an unambiguous view of the situation. "He doesn't seem to allow his vision to be clouded in any way," said Rosen, a Democrat who has come to admire Bush's Middle East policy. "It follows suit. Israel is in the right. Hezbollah is in the wrong. Terrorists have to be eliminated, and he sees Israel fighting the war he would fight against terrorism."
Many Mideast experts warn that there is a dangerous consequence to this worldview. They believe that Israel, and the United States by extension, is risking serious trouble if it continues with the punishing air strikes that are producing mounting casualties. The history of the Middle East is replete with examples of the limits of military power, they say, noting how the Israeli campaign in Lebanon in the early 1980s helped create the conditions for the rise of Hezbollah.
I think what Jack Rosen is demonstrating by his comment is Bush's extreme simple-mindedness. He is only capable of seeing a black and white world view. Any shade of grey becomes way too complicated for him to appropriately comprehend. This is why he (and the rest of his administration) seem completely unable to learn from our country's mistakes (ie. Vietnam) in the past. He's sees nothing complicated about the situation, only "Israel Good, Hezbollah Bad." He's done the same thing in Iraq ("Me Good, Saddam Bad") in that toppling the regime there and creating huge unrest in the country has helped create conditions for the rise of Al Quieda and other insurgents within its borders.
Be that as it may, I can't possibly see any reason why this conflict should be escalating the way it is. As I am writing this, articles are coming across the wires exclaiming that Israel has burst past the Lebanese border and is now attacking and taking over border towns. What ever happened to diplomacy? To talking before conflict? Is this really an appropriate response to Hezbollah's kidnappings?
I'm so sick of reading about death tolls on the news. There are a lot of horrible, greedy, ignorant people in the world, but this is not the way to get rid of them.
2 comments:
I am in NOW WAY defending Israel. They are, oc course, adding to the suffering of the world in a way that brings their country no closer to any peace. However, there is a simple answer to your diplomacy question. It's impossible. There is no way to negotiate with a group that's only position is "your country should not exist." What can you offer them? "We'll let Palestine be independent and rule themselves." Their reponse: "Thank you. We will still bomb pizza parlors full of teeangers and kill as many of your innocent civilians as possible." I have absolutely no idea what a solution might be, but it's a little too easy to blame Israel. I didn't hear anyone defending Al Qaida when we started bombing them in Afghanistan.
Michael,
I agree with you. Finding an appropriate solution to what is going on over there is completely impossible. Israel is not the only one to blame; they are, of course, responding to what has happened to them . . . I just keep coming back to the whole "violence begets violence" idea. If the only way we (meaning the world) ever respond to violence and ignorance is to be violent and ignorant back, where does that leave any of us? And I hate that our president sits back and champions these responses; has the gall to say they will actually bring about peace! The same way our response in Afghanistan and Iraq has brought about peace?
I'm not blaming anyone, nor am I even remotely capable of seeing any kind of solution. I'm just frustrated that this seems to be the only way anyone knows how to communicate with each other in the Middle East.
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