Israel and Lebanon

All this for two men

Of course it's about more than just them though isn't it? Like a Franz Ferdinand, but on a smaller level, this has been brewing for quite some time.

I could start ranting right now about reactions, under reactions overreactions, extremeists, cowards and The U.S.

I could, but I won't. The Middle East isn't exactly something I'm very educated on so anything I say would be little more than opinion.

All I can say is I pity the civilians on both sides right now, but more so right now those in Lebanon. Reports are saying bridges to many different cities have been destroyed trapping civilians who want to leave and bloggers there have been claimimg there is little discrimination between military targets and civilian ones. Given the past record of different countries during war times I have little trouble believing that.

I'd like to think if such a situation existed in Canada and I ended up losing someone close to me, I would have the courage and respect for those that could be lost in the future not to take or support retaliatory action. How could I know my actions wouldn't result in the death of my neighbor's son or daughter when the bystanders of those I extracted revenge on came to take theirs on me?

Such responses on an individual level at least seem...cowardly to me, for either side involved.

Then again for a conflict that has been going on for the last half century,in one form or another, I suppose just saying turn the other cheek is most definitely far too simplistic. If it wasn’t this would have been done a long time ago.

On the way to work this morning Yukon Jack of 100.3 the Bear did his morning rant and I must say I think he characterized for the rest of the world not involved, directly or in a second party type way, the perspective anyone with their head not up their ass has been gaining in the last week or so. It's not directly dealing with the Israel and Lebanon situation but the messege is close enough.

Love Your Country

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Edit- And since we're already on the subject, a one Mr. Matthew Good made a post on all of this that I would strongly recommend reading. For anyone interested go here

...That said, I do think it important to point out that prior to all of this occurring, the Palestinian Parliament’s two primary forces were close to completing a plan that would have recognized Israel, an unprecedented step for those Hamas MP’s involved, and quite remarkable given the short period of time in which they’d been involved in government. Unfortunately, the process was derailed when members of a Palestinian militant group that included members of Hamas’ military wing used a tunnel that had been constructed from Gaza into Israel to attack an IDF outpost, leaving four dead (two on both sides) and an Israeli soldier in the hands of the militants. It should be noted that one does not control the other, nor are members of Parliament automatically privy to the plans of fringe cells within a group’s militant wing. Most militant groups operate with loose command structures primarily to safeguard against the collapse of their efforts should their command and control apparatus be eliminated...

...Since Israel entered Gaza, 40 Palestinian MP’s have been detained by Israel in an operation that was actually planned weeks prior to the abduction. While the actions of those Palestinian militants that carried out the raid must be universally condemned, so too should the fact that Israel, long hailed as the region’s only true democracy, was planning the illegal removal of members of a democratically elected foreign government.

Why can't I think of a title that cool?

As far as posts go, come back on the 27th. I should be less comatose by then.