Wednesday, July 26, 2006

How Israel Lost

Look, nobody denies that Israel has a right to protect themself. But Israel went from good guy to bad guy when they responded to a few idiot guerillas in the south of Lebanon by bombing EVERY SINGLE MAJOR TOWN AND CITY IN LEBANON (yes, *EVERY* town above 1,000 in population) including those in the mostly-Christian and Sunni North because a few hundred nutballs in the south of Lebanon kidnapped a couple of soldiers and fired off a few antique Russian rockets mounted on high-tech launching devices (sticks). Look at that map above. Israel has rained destruction on parts of Lebanon that are predominantly Christian and Sunni in order to "punish" them for something that people they don't like (the Shia) did in the south of Lebanon. In short, Israel was attacked by Afghanistan, and bombed Iraq in response.

Don't give me the BS that this was somehow "defending Israel". Hezbollah is gloating right now. They had a 17% approval rating in Lebanon and were well on their way to being snuffed out by the Lebanese in their own way, which did not, BTW, involve sending the Lebanese "army" (a lightly armed border patrol with maybe 20,000 "soldiers" max) to try to militarily defeat a force which had held off the second-most-powerful military in the world for over a decade (what utter nonsense -- if the region's most powerful army, Israel's, could not disarm Hezbollah militarily during the 1980's and 1990's, Lebanon's tiny "army" certainly couldn't). Lebanon's plan was to build a prosperous peaceful Lebanon and gradually marginalize the armed wing of Hezbollah until they looked like a bunch of stupid hicks in the south and were basically forced by community pressure to give up their arms, and it was working -- 17% approval rating, remember?

So what happens? Hezbollah figured the only way to retain any relevance in Lebanon was to provoke Israel in order to prove that Israel was a bunch of racists who literally believed that it was okay to kill 100 Arab women and children for every Israeli civilian killed. Mission fuckin' accomplished. Hezbollah now has a 100% approval rating in Lebanon, and Israel... well, Israel has lost, and just doesn't realize it yet. Because they did exactly what Hezbollah wanted them to do -- bomb Lebanon back into the 1980's when the country was rubble. Every single bridge. Every single airport. Every single port. All bombed. Every single town has had at least one bomb fall on it. People had been laughing at Hezbollah's racist anti-Jewish sentiments, where Hezbollah called Israeli Jews "a bunch of baby-killers who would like to exterminate the Arab race." They're not laughing anymore. Mission accomplished. Bombs falling on you tend to stop laughter. If you know you haven't done anything wrong, yet an Israeli bomb falls in your town... what conclusion could any rational man come to, other than that Israel hates you and would like to exterminate you? Whether it's true or not is irrelevant, that's what anybody is going to think in that situation. And then they'll flock to the one organization which has been saying that all along: Hezbollah. An organization that was dying, suddenly has thousands and thousands of new-found converts. Congratulations, Israel, you just single-handedly revitalized Hezbollah!

We all know how effective these tactics have been with the Palestinians. It seems, however, that the Israelis don't learn any better than the Decider in Chief. Like the Decider in Chief, their policy apparently is "Stay the Course", and if the course ain't workin'... well, the solution is to keep doin' it! Here's a clue: If something ain't workin... then *STOP DOING IT!*. This policy of punishing civilian populations for the actions of a few idiot guerillas isn't working, and gives credence to the idiot guerillas when they spout the nonsense that Jews are all haters who love exterminating Arabs because they hate all Arabs and Muslims. Maybe people would stop listening to that nonsense, if Israel quit playing into the idiot's hands and quit doing exactly what the armed wings of Hezbollah and Hamas want them to do?!

In short, Israel has lost. They lost because they played right into Hezbollah's hands and did exactly what Hezbollah wanted them to do. Prosperity is the enemy of violence. You and I don't go and kill crooked politicians in Washington because we are relatively prosperous and don't want to lose all our goodies. By destroying Lebanon's prosperity and making hundreds of thousands of new recruits for Hezbollah, Israel has assured that Hezbollah will be a thorn in their side for yet another decade or more.

But maybe that was the plan? Because peace... well, for politicians who have made their careers by saying "You are threatened, and I am the one who will lead you to safety", isn't peace the least desirable thing to have?

-- Badtux the Map Penguin

Comments:

Heh. Reality is that if what you're doin' ain't workin', do something else. Anything else. It doesn't matter what else, as long as it's different.

Dear Leader and the leadership of Israel, on the other hand, say "well, okay, it's not working. But the problem is just that we haven't done it hard enough or long enough!" and keep doing the same shit that ain't workin'.

If Israel really wanted to get rid of Hezbollah and Hamas, there's an easy way to do so: help establish peaceful and prosperous Palestinian and Lebanese states in the region. A fat and happy people don't do stupid things like fire rockets at civilians, because they're too busy luxuriating in their new double-wides drinkin' beer while watchin' wrasslin' on TV. (whoops, that's how the U.S. handled the KKK and its little habit of lynching minorities, my bad!). Hamas and Hezbollah get converts by offering food, shelter, and health care to those in need. Wow, what a concept -- win the hearts and minds of the people. Gosh, wonder where they could have ever gotten that idea? If Israel really wanted peace, that's what they would do too -- offer food, shelter, economic assistance and health care to those in need in the surrounding countries, even if Arab or Islamic.

But they don't. Why? I don't know. I don't know. It may be that their assistance is rejected by the Palestinians and Lebanese. Or they may have never even offered it. Anybody know?

-BT
# posted by BadTux : 26/7/06 12:15 PM  

I kinda thought the same when Israel managed to block the money rolling into the Palestinian territories. It looked like they wanted to create unrest.

Standard banana republic-style diplomacy: bray about wanting democracy in the region, then create conditions for turmoil when it doesn't work out the way you want.

What's next? MEAFTA?
# posted by Progressive Traditionalist : 27/7/06 2:53 AM  

Jeebus, I hate these fuckers.
# posted by K. Ron Silkwood : 27/7/06 9:40 AM  

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