Earth to Media: Stop Taking the Bush Admistration's Rhetoric at Face Value.
Syria and Iran didn't start this war. Hizbullah and Israel did.
First a timeline: 1) Hizbullah kidnaps two Israeli soldiers 2) Israel attacks Hizbullah 3) Hizbullah launches rocket attacks at Israel 4) Israel launches full scale attack on Lebanon
Why did this happen? Well, I'm no middle eastern expert (feel free Kossacks to fill in the blanks or correct me where I'm wrong), but unlike the media, I can use Google.
Hizbullah: Secretary General Nasrallah has pledged to their supporters that they will do anything they can to win the release of Lebanese prisoners in Israel, including kidnapping Israeli soldiers, a tactic that, in their eyes, has been successful in the past.
Israel: Prime Minister Olmert has pledged to his constituents that he will not negotiate with terrorists (who engage in actions like kidnapping or rocket attacks) because that only emboldens the influence of extremists and lessens the influence of moderates.
Is this too hard for the media to figure out?
Hizbullah, like it or not, has become a viable political party within Lebanon, and just like any poltical party, they pick issues that will engender support from their constituents. One of the issues they've picked is to do whatever they can (not excluding extremist measures) to work for the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israel. This is issue has come to the fore because generally when a war is over, the enemy then releases prisoners of war back to their home country. The supporters of Hizbullah, naturally take the fact that Israel is still holding Lebanese prisoners to support one of two theories: that Israel is not acting according to generally accepted standards of warfare, or that this war is not over. In any case, Hizbullah has followed through on something they've been threatening for a while, resorting to an extortive kidnapping of Israeli soldiers, and killing some Israeli soldiers in the process which can very rightly be construed as an act of war.
From February of 2005:
Hizbullah vows to continue its struggle to secure the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli jails
Defying growing international and domestic pressure to strip Hizbullah of its arms the militant Islamist Shia group pledged to "use all available means" to win the release of three Lebanese nationals still held by Israel. Hizbullah said its fighters would continue to defend Lebanon against Israel and any resettlement of Palestinian refugees in the country.
"What plans do you have to liberate the rest of the detainees in Israeli prisons?" Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayid Hassan Nasrallah openly asked the Lebanese opposition which has been pressing the group to renounce its armed struggle against Israel in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1559.
The September resolution demands troops withdraw from Lebanon and warns against continued intervention in Lebanese politics, provisions clearly directed at Syria, though the country is not mentioned by name.
Nasrallah's comments came as he addressed supporters on the first anniversary of the high-profile prisoner exchange deal that saw Israel swap 40 Arab and 400 Palestinian detainees in return for captured Israeli reserve Colonel Elhanan Tannenbaum and the release of the bodies of three Israeli soldiers.
"The Zionist enemy daily declares that Hizbullah has taken a strategic decision to capture Israeli soldiers. I confirm that all options are open," Nasrallah told a crowd that included several Lebanese officials.
Meanwhile, Israel has been embarking on a strategy of unilateral disengagement or land for peace for the last few years. A result of this is that they have watched as areas they once formerly militarily occupied, like Gaza and Southern Lebanon, have come under the control of terrorist organizations/political parties like Hamas and Hizbullah that have gained ever more political power and have become emboldened by the power they have gained. Naturally, Israel distrusts these organizations and has now chosen to take a punitive stance toward any extortive or terrorist actions they engage in instead of negotiating in response to terrorist actions or kidnappings. Israel's PM wants to encourage moderate elements in the neighboring territories and discourage extremist and terrorist elements, and the current military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon are how he is choosing to enact that strategy, disproprtionate as they may be.
From July 10, 2006
PM Olmert's 10.7.06 Remarks to the Foreign Press
From Al Arabia news channel. Mr. Prime Minister, my question is,
Khalid Mashal, from what we are hearing now, is backing a deal with Israel
concerning the kidnapped soldier. So in light of the fact that the military
operation is not achieving its aims; missiles are falling on the southern
side of Israel as well as there is nothing new regarding the soldier, so why
are you refusing very strongly to negotiate with Hamas or with anybody else,
like Israel did before with Hizbullah, for example through the Germans?
Thank you.
PM Olmert: Khalid Mashal is a terrorist with blood on his hands. He's not
a legitimate partner for anything. He's the head of an organization which
openly, publicly and officially calls for the liquidation of the State of
Israel, and therefore he is not a partner and he will not be a partner, and
I will not negotiate with Hamas. I repeat, I want it to be very clear. I
don't negotiate with Hamas, I did not negotiate with Hamas, and I will not
negotiate with Hamas. I will not release prisoners to trade off the
Corporal Gilad Shalit to Hamas. The idea that some people have that Hamas
can be a partner is an outright threat to the only chance that we have to
come to terms with moderate Palestinians that are opposed to terror. To
negotiate with Hamas today, to surrender to their demands to trade off
prisoners with Corporal Shalit means that you don't need more moderate guys
like Abu Mazen, who is opposed to terror, because at the end of the day, the
upper hand will always be that of the terrorists and the killers and those
who support violence and I think that this is bad advice, this is a bad
move. I will not take it, I will not negotiate with Hamas. I will
negotiate in the future with Abu Mazen if Abu Mazen will have the power to
exercise his authorities as the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority in the
Palestinian community.
None of this has all that much to do with Syria or Iran. But Bush, Bolton and the rest of the Republican Right Wing Noise Machine don't want to talk about what has actually happened, all they want to talk about is Syria and Iran. Why? Because they have been spending the last 4 years branding Syria and Iran as bogeymen, and the 2006 elections are right around the corner. I mean, how damn transparent does the Bush Administation have to be before the press will start to see what's going on? Karl Rove wants to stoke flames of war so that Republicans can once again attempt to paint Democrats as being weak on defense. Was 2002 that long ago?
All the media has to do is ask for proof. Syria had something to do with this? Where's the proof? Iran is behind all this? Where's the proof? There is none. The only thing we know is that Syria and Iran have given material support in the form of funds and weapons to Hizbullah and Hamas, which are now both democratically elected political parties. The United States has supported Israel, another democratically elected government, in much the same way. Should Iran and Syria be attempting to use their influence to get Hizbullah and Hamas to stop engaging in terrorism? You betcha. But if the U.S. is to ask that of Syria and Iran, shouldn't the U.S. in turn attempt to influence Israel to cease fire? It's not an easy question to answer, and certainly not one I would attempt to answer.
In the meantime, pinning all the blame on Syria and Iran is just a counterproductive distraction. What is needed is serious diplomacy and debate about the underlying issues that have led to this outbreak of war, not election year political posturing. Wake up, Media, you're getting played once again, and as a result many of the citizens of this country are being played right along with you.