Why We Will Not Fight Your Fight

A perilous excursion into the distant past, starting seven whole weeks ago

Hezbollah, Hamas and Israel: Everything You Need To Know

By ALEXANDER COCKBURN

As the tv networks give unlimited airtime to Israel’s apologists, the message rolls out that no nation, least of all Israel, can permit bombardment or armed incursion across its borders without retaliation.

The guiding rule in this tsunami of drivel is that the viewers should be denied the slightest access to any historical context, or indeed to anything that happened prior to June 28, which was when the capture of an Israeli soldier and the killing of two others by Hamas hit the headlines, followed soon thereafter by an attack by a unit of Hezbollah’s fighters.

Memory is supposed to stop in its tracks at June 28, 2006.

Let’s go on a brief excursion into pre-history. I’m talking about June 20, 2006, when Israeli aircraft fired at least one missile at a car in an attempted extrajudicial assassination attempt on a road between Jabalya and Gaza City. The missile missed the car. Instead it killed three Palestinian children and wounded 15.

Back we go again to June 13, 2006. Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a van in another attempted extrajudicial assassination. The successive barrages killed nine innocent Palestinians.

Now we’re really in the dark ages, reaching far, far back to June 9, 2006, when Israel shelled a beach in Beit Lahiya killing 8 civilians and injuring 32.

That’s just a brief trip down Memory Lane, and we trip over the bodies of twenty dead and forty-seven wounded, all of them Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Israel regrets… But no! Israel doesn’t regret in the least. Most of the time it doesn’t even bother to pretend to regret. It says, “We reserve the right to slaughter Palestinians whenever we want. We reserve the right to assassinate their leaders, crush their homes, steal their water, tear out their olive groves, and when they try to resist we call them terrorists intent on wrecking the ‘peace process’”.

Now Israel says it wants to wipe out Hezbollah. It wishes no harm to the people of Lebanon, just so long as they’re not supporters of Hezbollah, or standing anywhere in the neighborhood of a person or a house or a car or a truck or a road or a bus or a field, or a power station or a port that might, in the mind of an Israeli commander or pilot, have something to do with Hezbollah. In any of those eventualities all bets are off. You or your wife or your mother or your baby get fried.

Israel regrets… But no! As noted above, it doesn’t regret in the least. Neither does George Bush, nor Condoleezza Rice nor John Bolton who is the moral savage who brings shame on his country each day that he sits as America’s ambassador (unconfirmed) at the UN and who has just told the world that a dead Israel civilian is worth a whole more in terms of moral outrage than a Lebanese one.

None of them regrets. They say Hezbollah is a cancer in the body of Lebanon. Sometimes, to kill the cancer, you end up killing the body. Or bodies. Bodies of babies. Lots of them. Go to the website fromisraeltolebanon.info and take a look. Then sign the petition on the site calling on the governments of the world to stop this barbarity.

You can say that Israel brought Hezbollah into the world. You can prove it too, though this too involves another frightening excursion into history.

This time we have to go far, almost unimaginably far, back into history. Back to 1982, before the dinosaurs, before CNN, before Fox TV, before O’Reilly and Limbaugh. But not before the neo-cons who at that time had already crawled from the primal slime and were doing exactly what they are doing now: advising an American president to give Israel the green light to “solve its security problems” by destroying Lebanon.

In 1982 Israel had a problem. Yasir Arafat, headquartered in Beirut, was making ready to announce that the PLO was prepared to sit down with Israel and embark on peaceful, good faith negotiations towards a two-state solution.

Israel didn’t want a two-state solution, which meant -- if UN resolutions were to be taken seriously -- a Palestinian state right next door, with water, and contiguous territory. So Israel decided chase the PLO right out of Lebanon. It announced that the Palestinian fighters had broken the year-long cease-fire by lobbing some shells into northern Israel.

Palestinians had done nothing of the sort. I remember this very well, because Brian Urquhart, at that time assistant secretary general of the United Nations, in charge of UN observers on Israel’s northern border, invited me to his office on the 38th floor of the UN hq in mid-Manhattan and showed me all the current reports from the zone. For over a year there’d been no shelling from north of the border. Israel was lying.

With or without a pretext Israel wanted to invade Lebanon. So it did, and rolled up to Beirut. It shelled Lebanese towns and villages and bombed them from the air. Sharon’s forces killed maybe 20,000 people, and let Lebanese Christians slaughter hundreds of Palestinian refugees in the camps of Sabra and Chatilla.

The killing got so bad that even Ronald Reagan awoke from his slumbers and called Tel Aviv to tell Israel to stop. Sharon gave the White House the finger by bombing Beirut at the precise times -- 2.42 and 3.38 -- of two UN resolutions calling for a peaceful settlement on the matter of Palestine.

When the dust settled over the rubble, Israel bunkered down several miles inside Lebanese sovereign territory, which it illegally occupied, in defiance of all UN resolutions, for years, supervising a brutal local militia and running its own version of Abu Graibh, the torture center at the prison of Al-Khiam.

Occupy a country, torture its citizens and in the end you face resistance. In Israel’s case it was Hezbollah, and in the end Hezbollah ran Israel out of Lebanon, which is why a lot of Lebanese regard Hezbollah not as terrorists but as courageous liberators.

The years roll by and Israel does its successful best to destroy all possibility of a viable two-state solution. It builds illegal settlements. It chops up Palestine with Jews-only roads. It collars all the water. It cordons off Jerusalem. It steals even more land by bisecting Palestinian territory with its “fence”. Anyone trying to organize resistance gets jailed, tortured, or blown up.

Sick of their terrible trials, Palestinians elect Hamas, whose leaders make it perfectly clear that they are ready to deal on the basis of the old two-state solution, which of course is the one thing Israel cannot endure. Israel doesn’t want any “peaceful solution” that gives the Palestinians anything more than a few trashed out acres surrounded with barbed wire and tanks, between the Israeli settlements whose goons can murder them pretty much at will.

So here we are, 24 years after Sharon did his best to destroy Lebanon in 1982, and his heirs are doing it all over again. Since they can’t endure the idea of any just settlement for Palestinians, it’s the only thing they know how to do. Call Lebanon a terror-haven and bomb it back to the stone age. Call Gaza a terror-haven and bomb its power plant, first stop on the journey back to the stone age. Bomb Damascus. Bomb Teheran.

Of course they won’t destroy Hezbollah. Every time they kill another Lebanese family, they multiply hatred of Israel and support for Hezbollah. They’ve even unified the parliament in Baghdad, which just voted unanimously -- Sunnis and Shi’ites and Kurds alike -- to deplore Israel’s conduct and to call for a ceasefire.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these little excursions into history, even though history is dangerous, which is why the US press gives it a wide birth. But even without the benefit of historical instruction, a majority of Americans in CNN’s instant poll –- about 55 per cent out of 800,000 as of midday, July 19 -- don’t like what Israel is up to.

Dislike is one thing, but at least in the short term it doesn’t help much. Israel’s 1982 attack on Lebanon grew unpopular in the US, after the first few days. But forcing the US to pressure Israel to settle the basic problem takes political courage, and virtually no US politician is prepared to buck the Israel lobby, however many families in Lebanon and Gaza may be sacrificed on the altar of such cowardice.

Time for some INTROSPECTION

This is what my mind says and agrees with:

I'm borrowing this comment, from Jamal's site, without asking for permission, from Sunday, July 16, 2006, .

"ghassan karam said...
Jamal,
I do not support or agree with the wholescale destruction of the country that the Israeli invasion is inflicting on innocent civilians. That the above is cruel, unjust and might be ultimately ineffective against its originally stated objective must NOT blind us from the seminal issue that if we the Lebanese, wish to have a non dysfunctional state then we have to stand up and lend our officially elected government support to take action against HA and to send the Lebanese army to the borders. It is crucially important that we recognize our failures and take responsibility for our actions or lack of actions in this case. This does not either justify or condone the Israeli aggression but it will seek a solution by addressing the essential issue that brought all of the current crisis about.

I see nothing wrong in condeming in no uncertain terms the HA violations of the blue line and yet at the same time taking a strong stand against the wanton destruction of Lebanon by the IDF. The above two issues are not separate as many seem to be saying. They are an organic whole and it would be totally unrealistic to condemn one side without addressing the other.

If you wish to help establish a strong and sovereign Lebanon, and I am sure you do, then we have to stop our denial of the implicit role that we have all played in creating the current situation. Yes Jamal, each of us has played an important role in setting the stage for the present situation because we have failed to live up to our responsibilities as citizens. We have accepted a status quo that we condemn privately but do nothing to change it publicly. We have abetted the creation of a state within a state and we have allowed the pols to coopt and steal a popular revolution. We are , each of us, part of the problem and the understandable emotional reaction when a country is being systematically destroyed in front of your eyes is only part of the story. Actually I submit that when we are going to operate under the assumption that only if the aggression will stop then all will be well is a dream, a mirage , and a dangerous illusion. It only shows that we are not ready to face the responsibility of building a democracy and it even suggests to me that maybe to have a functional state of Lebanon is not meant to be. It is up to us as it has always been to either move from one crisis to the other (1958, 1975-1991, 2005-present) or to once and for all establish a modern state on solid democratic principles. If it so happens that the legitimately elected government wishes to declare war then so be it but we should not allow a privately armed group to hold us hostage. We have agreed to be taken hostage and we have not resisted the hostage takers. We have failed ourselves and the future generations. We must remember our role in this crisis if we are to ever formulate a meaningful solution that addresses the root problem and not only its surface phenomenon.

6:21 PM "

And the Heart, the heart says a lot things...

Demand End for Offensive

Around 2,000 people marched in Israel's commercial capital of Tel Aviv on Sunday to demand an end to the punishing offensive against Lebanon that has left some 150 dead, organizers said.
"Yes to a prisoner exchange," chanted the demonstrators, referring to the key demand of Hizbullah that snatched two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid Wednesday, unleashing the Israeli offensive.

"Yes to peace," "Our children want to live," cried the mixed crowd of Jewish and Arab demonstrators.

The rally, organized by half a dozen Israeli pacifist groups, lasted around two hours before being dispersed by police.(AFP) (AP photo shows Israeli policemen arresting an Israeli left wing demonstrator in Tel Aviv)


Naharnet.com
Beirut, 17 Jul 06, 07:48

When will we bridge our differences?

There was a time I supported resolution 425. Today I support Resolution 1559. I want to see the complete disarmament of any and all militias within the borders of Lebanon, period.
Now, only if I had a government I can trust.
NOT IN MY & MY FAMILY'S NAME WILL I SUPPORT A WAR.

Vote for Pedro

I miss watching the games live. The World Cup is great, but it will never match my love for the game of Baseball. RED SOX Baseball.

Good old Albert

I liked this very much and thought I'd share it with my Lebanese pals.
"If A is a success in life, than A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut."

Albert Einstein

Mad TV - Apple's iPad

Mad TV has produced one of the raunchier iPod spoofs we've seen to date (meaning: probably not safe for work) in the form of an advertisement of, how shall we say, pads for women who 'think different'. The 'iPad' ad wins bonus points for coming complete with a spoof of the iPod silhouette ads and a mock voice-over of Bono.

I toot my vote

This the order I voted

1. Welcome to My Lebanese Dream
2. Rampurple
3. Beirut Spring
4. Ramzi's Blah Blah
5. Mysterious Eve

If you're not busy...

This is a friends project. She is leaving for Ireland (hopefully for not too long).

Do you see it?

It doesn’t look like much now, but it has potential, no?
Well look at it (if you need more convincing, you're welcome to my home). It is just sitting there, but I can hear it calling. It is calling to let us know that we need to tell our local government to build a Park with water fountains, hiking trails and some wildlife (tamed of course). It can be done, I don’t know who to ask or write to. Any Suggestions?

I would hate to see another friggin building get sprung.

Take a Chill Pillllll (prozac is your friend)

Believe me, I'm all about the positive energy and good vibes, but some people are bringing me down, down to Chinatown (very original, i know). Folks (not bloggers, eh maybe some), life is to damn short, stop taking yourselves so seriously. The fact that I'm blogging about this somehow feels like it defeats the purpose of something (according to Lao Tzu).

Moving right along.

Jazz on the radio. We only deserve couple of hours a week? Can't we (jazzists) all come together on this and fight the powers that be?

Nahr(river) Ibrahim. Not bad for a stream. Pics available for a reserved few (not really).

For those psychoanalysts out there, is this normal behavior (my nonchalantness) for someone who is going through a huge culture shock (again)?

Tayeb, please have the best week of your lives, and keep it to yourselves, because I really don't care. :)

Good Morning?

Tayeb(i like this word), I’m up in the morning about 6:30 doing my semi yoga/stretch routine that I have very recently picked-up (you know, to be more flexible for the ladies) and what I hear on the radio? Country Western. Travis Friggin Tritt. Eh Rouh Baa. How do you suppose one’s day should start with TT on the radio in LEBANON of all places. I mean isn’t it enough that we have to put up with Celine Dion on the french stations? I can put up with La Cosa Nostra running the country, but TT and Celine I shall not, period. This Revolution Has No NAME.

SUN Day Kenafibjeben

Tayeb:

My Lebanese street slang is definitely on the up and up. Yaani, I'm remembering phrases and words I haven't used for many many moons. Moving right along. With Delirious and Maldoror, I attended the latest blogger get-together, and of course, I brought some chairs and had a blast. Many thanks to Linalone for the invitation. It was a pleasure meeting some of the bloggers I have come to know this past year. Definitely looking forward to the next meet-up. Now, off to Sea Sweet for some Kenafi.

The Secrets Out

In the constant attempt for world governments to syphon off wealth from their own populace, the government of Lebanon has been secretly working on a formula to reduce expenditure, especially for their elederly. Apperantly, they have found a solution. The government of Lebanon has broken ground in establishing one of most stress filled enviornments for its citizenry that according to most current census, by the time an average Lebanese male and even female (at this point) reach ripe old years of their 50s and early 60s, it is pretty much guranteed that they will drop dead from heart failure.Yes, I've been in Lebanon for 5 days and already have learned to Bull Shit like one, or the ability may have resurfaced while being dormant for some years abroad. The one positive so far, for 50 bucks a month plus $300 for the modem, the speeds at which I can surf the net is not so bad for a 3rd world country. (sample size = 2 days)

I sincerely hope you will have a wonderful day, I know I will.

Basterd Child :)

friggin Jerk

Fish n’ Flush Aquarium Toilet

Just too bad that you have to turn your back to the aquarium in order to use the toilet properly.

This kit is a great starting point for nearly anyone. The Fishn'Flush Toilet Tank Aquarium Kit comes with only the highest quality components. Each part is carefully selected for it's performance, reputation, and ability to enhance the Fishn'Flush Toilet Tank Aquarium Kit that it accompanies. This kit is a great starting points for nearly any aquarist. All Fishn'Flush Toilet Tank Aquariums are low voltage and safe to assemble and enjoy.

Just add gravel, water & fish!

The Fishn'Flush Toilet Tank Aquarium Kit Includes:

* 1/4 thick wall injection molded Acrylic Aquarium with Base
* 1/4 thick wall injection molded Clear PVC toilet tank
* Top mounted push button flush mechanism with easy removable lid
* Custom Under Gravel Filter
* Air Pump
* 2 Nine inch Artificial Plants
* Basic Aquarium Guide
* LED Light Fixtures
* Water Conditioner
* Flush Valve
* Fill Valve

Note: Fits two bolt tank to bowl configurations with a 2 inch flush valve and a bottom mounted fill valve inlet.

Description

Dimensions
L x W x H
2.2 Gallon Aquarium Volume Fishn'Flush

19.5" x 8.5 " x 13.75 "

Item #

Description

List Price
FNF2500

2.5 Gallon Fishn'Flush Toilet Tank Aquarium Kit

$399.00

Damn, I knew it. I chose the wrong Profession.

You Should Be a Musician

You have a rare combinations of talents: an ear for music, nimble fingers, and the willpower to practice. You could master almost any instrument you choose to play (if you haven't already!)

What Sort of Artist Should You Be?

Next Lebanese Blogger Meetup

Let's meet at the Hooker Bar

Location = Ireland

Extra Optical Inch

Men's Grooming

y'all need to check out this site

By the way

I missed you my dear old blog, but I have nothing to complain about. No one or thing to praise. Actually that's not true. I'm enjoying the discussions taking place at LFB, and what different members bring to the table, might I add the real round table in our country by far. Hail to you all for you are perfect with all your flaws. :)