The Dusty Dog

The Blind Leading The Blind.........

As I wrote my last article, one thing that has become astoundingly clear is that I really know nothing about Hezbollah. I call them "street thugs" because I've heard that term used about them in the past. I "hate" them because they are committed to the destruction of the State of Israel, which is what I had previously read and heard.

One thing that has become astonishingly clear (for lack of a better word) is that we, as a presumably educated society, can no longer, if ever, take what we read and hear on face value. Things are not always what they seem. My attempts to maintain my ambivalence about this whole Israel/Hezbollah crisis has taught me that Israel is not always the good guys; not always the fair player. Have they ever been? I'm not so sure about anything, anymore.

I am trying to understand. I'm really trying.

In my efforts to understand, I came across this article, called Hizballah: A Primer. It seems to be very well written, and certainly gives what appears to be a fair approach to analyzing Hezbollah's history and mission. But, it also accuses Israel of very severe atrocities and violations of the Geneva Conventions. Did Israel really commit thse barbaric acts of rape and pillage? Did Israel really plant 300,000 land mines throughout southern Lebanon? I've never seen these reports before, and certainly I'd like to see verification of this. I guess I struggle with accepting Arab accounts of events, though generally have taken Israeli accounts on face value. I continue to be miserably confused. Is this borne of the fact that I am Jewish, and generally cannot support any group/government/movement that calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and of Jews. I certainly do not call for the destruction of Lebanon, the Palestinians, or Arabs, in general. I just want them to recognize Jews and Israel. Is that too much to ask of them? Apparently so.

But, this report refutes this claim of what I believed the Hezbollah to be. In fact, it dismisses the "Open Letter" to be old history and no longer relevant. Is this true? I dunno. I'm just trying to be fair and understand.

Of particular note in this report are these statements:

While it has many political opponents in Lebanon, Hizballah is very much of Lebanon -- a fact that Israel’s military campaign is highlighting.

A third element in the US insistence on labeling Hizballah a terrorist group is related to the notion that Hizballah’s raison d’etre is the destruction of Israel, or “occupied Palestine,” as per the party’s rhetoric. This perspective is supported by the 1985 Open Letter, which includes statements such as, “Israel’s final departure from Lebanon is a prelude to its final obliteration from existence and the liberation of venerable Jerusalem from the talons of occupation.”

“While Hizballah’s enmity for Israel is not to be dismissed, the simple fact is that it has been tacitly negotiating with Israel for years.” Hizballah’s indirect talks with Israel in 1996 and 2004 and their stated willingness to arrange a prisoner exchange today all indicate realism on the part of party leadership.

Since 2000, Lebanon has also been awaiting the delivery from Israel of the map for the locations of over 300,000 landmines the Israeli army planted in south Lebanon.

Israel’s initially stated goal of securing the release of the two captured soldiers has faded from Israeli discourse and given way to two additional stated goals: the disarmament or at least “degrading” of Hizballah’s militia, as well as its removal from south Lebanon. According to an article in the July 21 San Francisco Chronicle, “a senior Israeli army officer” had presented plans for an offensive with these goals to US and other diplomats over a year before Hizballah’s capture of the two soldiers. Though Israel is not in compliance with several UN resolutions, the Israeli army appears to be attempting singlehandedly -- though with US approval -- to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1559.

It is unclear how the aerial bombardment of infrastructure and the killing of Lebanese civilians can lead to any of these goals, especially as support for Hizballah and the Islamic Resistance appears to be increasing. Outrage at Israel’s actions trumps ideological disagreement with Hizballah for many Lebanese at this point, and as such, it is likely that support for the party will continue to grow.

This last statement is really the crux of why I believe Israel is blowing it here. What are they thinking? Why are they thinking this? What are they hoping to achieve? Or, is a real mission so muddied by the conflict now, that Israel is mired in a quagmire? I can't help but think that if Israel follows the path of the American neocons who support them, then they'll blindly follow them over the cliff into an abyss from which extrication is all but impossible. Does the Iraq quagmire ring any bells? It all saddens me so much.

posted by Dusty Dog at 8/05/2006