I’ve stayed away from commenting on the Middle East recently for the usual reason: People who know way more than I do are covering the heck out of it, and there’s no need to add my silly opinion to the din.
However, today’s headlines have touched a nerve, and I find myself unable to contain myself any longer.
The MSNBC article is headlined, “Unimaginable losses”, and it tells us about Lebanese PM Fuad Saniora’s moaning about how badly the fighting has torn southern Lebanon apart. His Honor went on to inform us Lebanon will seek compensation from Israel for the damage.
Fuad, baby. I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: If your country had asserted it’s sovereignty over southern Lebanon and had thrown out the de facto Hezbollah state, Israel would not be blowing stuff up there right now. However, retaining possession of the area was not important enough to you then. So, how do you now claim the need for compensation? The area basically did not belong to you, and you made no efforts to change that fact.
Sorry, dude. It’s too late. Hezbollah is firing missiles willy-nilly from what may or may not be Lebanese territory. They’ve been blasting away at all of northern Israel, regardless of whether they’re killing Jews or Arabs. This is not a tolerable situation for ANY nation-state. If you (the Lebanese govt) are not going to do anything about it, and clearly you are not, then Israel will have to do it themselves.
Believe me, I know Stephen Colbert-style “truthiness” is part of the job description for diplomats, but sometimes the BS just gets too thick to ignore.
No comments:
Post a Comment