My last post prompted a number of great comments. It's always good to see people talking about these things because it means there is room for progress. I was planning on responding point by point to Dave Joch's comments, but instead I'll just address some of the concerns he made known. Below are some great links to learn more about the crisis and what's going on.
The Media: Whenever you see me refer to the "liberal media" you can know that my tongue is planted firmly in cheek. The MSM is a mouthpiece for elite interests. The "liberal" label of the media is mostly myth. See Eric Alterman's "What Liberal Media" Noam Chomsky Manufacturing Consent or Michael Parenti's Creating Democracy...oh and Amy Goodman's The Exception to the Rulers. Oh heck, and let's not forget Naomi Klein's No Logo. All of these are great books and will give you a solid understanding of how and why the mainstream media operates.
Kidnapping Policies: Nobody is arguing that kidnapping is a legitimate means of negotiation, Dave. What I am saying is that this has been going on for quite some time and that Israel's violent response is suspect. Israel has a long history of kidnapping Lebanese and Palestinians. Israel has 30% of the Hamas government captive--they kidnapped them. Another 30% is hiding; and the last remaining group isn't doing a whole lot. William Blum puts it succinctly in his recent Anti-Empire Report:
In the late 1990s, before Israel was evicted from southern Lebanon by Hezbollah, it was a common practice for Israel to abduct entirely innocent Lebanese. As a 1998 Amnesty International paper declared: "By Israel's own admission, Lebanese detainees are being held as 'bargaining chips'; they are not detained for their own actions but in exchange for Israeli soldiers missing in action or killed in Lebanon. Most have now spent 10 years in secret and isolated detention."[8]Amnesty International news release, 26 June 1998, AI INDEX: MDE 15/54/98
Again, nobody is saying it's right for anybody to do this. This is, however, one of the ways in which both sides have customarily used in order to negotiate deals. It's absurd for Israel to react the way it did this time, as if this was some wholy new phenomenon.
The three Israeli Hizbolah kidnapping deals can also be found in the Anti-Empire report with appropriate footnotes. Click the link above to learn more.
You again miss the point when you explain to me that two wrongs don't make a right. Let me make this loud and clear: I do not support terrorist tactics when they are employed by anyone. This is not about condoning one wrong in light of another wrong. It's understanding the severe imbalance of power in the region and acting accordingly. If you're hundred pound pit-bull attacks my five pound cat, who should we level pressure on to stop the attack?
Let's not forget we're talking about a couple soldiers being kidnapped, not killed, not murdered and tortured. Just kidnapped. And you think the wide-scale bombing of Lebanon is an appopriate response?
Perhaps I'm not clear enough but you have missed my points again and again. Nowwhere will you see me supporting terrorism. What I am saying is our government could quite easily force Israel to abide by the overwhelming International Consensus regarding the occupied territories, and push it to deal with its neighbors through diplomacy rather than force. The truth is there is only one nation that is a threat to Israel's existence, and that is the United States.
Let me finish with some good links for anyone who wants to learn more about the situation and what we can do to help. As always contact your local peace group, or better yet start one! Israel's Use of WMD's. Israeli WMD Programs
