Abandoned Forum

[nil]

Hezbollah, Israel trade attacks

Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon fired 10 rockets into northern Israel early Friday, damaging property as tit-for-tat bombings between the Islamic group and Israel continued, according to the Israel Defense Forces. IDF warplanes attacked 18 targets in Lebanon overnight after an Israeli official proclaimed a "major escalation" in the conflict.


Hezbollah first kidnapped 2 Israeli soliders, then Israel beat the #@$%% out of southern Beruit.

So what do you think about the conflict? Who is wrong? Who is right? Who is more wrong than the other? Any solution?

[Pimienta]

well hezbollah struck first so I must say they are according to my current knowledge of the war more at fault but I don't know what provoked them
if it was oppression or something like that then they shouldn't have been oppressed

but my onion has no more weight than a fruit fly so really I can't say

[nil]

No doubt, Hezbollah is at fault. But, like all political issues, things are more complicated than they look.

Here are some facts:
1) The country Israel bombed is call Lebanon.
2) Lebanon is north of Israel.
3) Lebanon is a democratic country (a real one, not a fruity one).
4) The current president of Lebanon is a nice guy (he's not related to Hezbollah and is pro-western).
5) Hezbollah only represents a very small part of the Lebanese government (they won 25 of the 128 seats through a fair election).
6) Hezbollah was and is a terrorist organization (they conduct genuine terrorism and kill real innocent people).
7) Besides terrorism, they also build hospitals, schools and organize charity for the poor and suppressed (those are real schools, real hospitals and real charity).
8, Their leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is consider to be clinically insane (by most sane people anyway).

So Israel is not only harming the 20% who voted for Hezbollah, but also the 80% who didn't vote for them (and probably hate them to the guts). Is it fair? Is it justified? Would it drive 80% of the sane people to join the 20% insane? How did the 20% became insane at the first place? Was history repeating itself?

[Astarte]

My sister-in-law is currently visiting her daughter and grandchildren in Lebanon. My cleaning lady's parents are also over there on holiday....

I've never actually known anyone who was in an active war situation before. I don't know anyone who is in Israel at the moment. The whole thing is horribly bizarre.

I think that westerners seriously underestimate the intense loathing that most middle-eastern people have, not only for the state of Israel, but also for Americans. They feel that America is run by the Israelis. Thanks to satellite TV, this belief is fuelled by a number of middle eastern broadcasting stations.

Just because only 20% of the population voted for Hezbollah, doesn't mean that they aren't greatly admired as a group. I think it is an error to judge another culture using your own culture's values and ethics as a yardstick. I read a quote recently that said, 'When Iraelis accidently kill civilians in the line of fire, they usually apologise and initiate an investigation, whereas when the Middle easterners kill civilians, they dance in the street.' And, do you know what? That's true.

[nil]

I do understand the deep loathing of the middle-eastern world towards US & Israel. I was in the Middle East right after the 9-11. I've seen the bloody posters on the street and the explicit news in the Arab TV and heard the rants of some Arab taxi drivers. And that was pre-Iraqi-war era. Right now, I've no doubt their hatred is beyond boiling.

I also understand why they have such feeling. I understand that Hezbollah wouldn't have existed if it were not for the 20 years occupation of Israel in southern Lebanon. But understanding is different from admiring.

If I were born in there, I might have done what they did (pick up a machine gun, throw a hand grenade). But I definitely wouldn't be proud of it, nor would I have danced on the street (especially when I'm not that good at dancing).

There are huge stupidity committed by both sides (the Arabs, the Israelis and those who thought Iraqi war was a great idea). It's especially easy for me to say because I don't need to suffer what they have suffered. But if you ask me what solution I've for the people in that area, I really won't have a clue. I'm so glad that I'm not one of those important world leaders.

[hamster]

Nothing ever changes. I'm reading Flavius Josephus' Wars of the Jews right now, and it's clear that the Jewish nation/people has been between a rock and a hard place for at least 2,000 years.

Option A: Fight back against your would-be annihilators. (Tried with dismal results in 70 A.D., 140 AD and with better results circa 1948 into the 1970s.)

Option B: Endure every sort of humiliation and outrage, make lots of concessions and trust that all will work out. (Tried with horrible results prior to WWII and in the 1990s.)

Israel is playing right into Hezbollah's hands, because terrorists don't have to account to anyone and only grow stronger amid chaos and carnage. Hezbollah was actually losing its potency until the recent turn of events.

But was Israel simply to sit around waiting on a global decision while its citizens were kidnapped and its own territory bombed? Would any nation do that?

[Astarte]

I think zero tolerance for terrorists is the right way to go.

We all carry on about bullying at school, but it also happens on a global scale. It needs to be stopped.