Bending the Third Rail
Because We Should, We Can, We Do
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Just So You Know
All the newspapers are full of stories about the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebannon. The most noteworthy portion of these stories is that Hezbollah remains unaffected, in place, in power and is leading the relief efforts for civilians affected by the Israeli offensive:
The Post watches Hezbollah's relief effort in action and hears from an "informed source" (as opposed to the other kind) that Hezbollah "planned to spend $150 million, already provided by Iran, in coming days." (In her WP op-ed, Rice notes that the U.S. has committed a whopping $50 million.)

The NYT's rebuilding piece offers a wider picture and is today's must-read: Hezbollah men were canvassing neighborhoods, cataloging needs, and offering $10,000 straightaway to those who lost their homes. With the Lebanese government having ignored the Shiite south for decades, one Lebanese professor said, "Hezbollah's strength is the gross vacuum left by the state." Hezbollah, she said, isn't a state within a state, but rather "a state within a non-state." The upshot, concludes the Times, is that the "beneficiary of the destruction was most likely to be Hezbollah."
Like in Iraq, muscle flexing has again proven to be ineffective in fighting a citizen-backed movement. I know this isn't news to anyone reading this and many other blogs. But it continues to be astounding that many bright people, people in leadership positions, continue to believe that political problems need military solutions, and how effectively the western countries (the U.S. and Britain) are being outmaneuvered time and time again by groups such as al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah.

Added:

You know the irony of this? The money Hezbollah is handing out is from Iran ... petro dollars. Guess where these came from?
Written at 8:27 AM by Greyhair.
2 comments
2 Comments:
Blogger Lynne said...
They apparently haven't stopped to ponder why it is that groups like Hezbollah exist in the first place. "Terrorism" (and I am loathe to use that hackneyed word) doesn't crop up out of thin air. It is a response to an injustice of some sort. I am not siding with those who blow themselves and others up, merely pointing out that if the United States spent as much money and time and effort on helping people around the world we would not now find ourselves in the crosshairs. Our foreign aid is less than 1% of our GDP and almost half of that goes to Israel.
If I were a poor person in a war-torn country, my allegiance would go to whoever would do the most good for me. That is human nature. What we get when we instead spend our resources on subjugating people or propping up regimes that subjugate their people, is war—a situation where only the war profiteers win.
We could do so much better.

“No matter how big a nation is, it is no stronger that its weakest people, and as long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to hold him down, so it means you cannot soar as you might otherwise”—Marian Anderson
9:50 AM  
Blogger Greyhair said...
Amen Lynne.

Well said.
2:17 PM  
Post a Comment
<< Home