“Worry About The West”
Victor Davis Hanson writes in Real Clear Politics that the real worry about the situation should not be about Israel. Rather it should be worry for the West itself.
There is a depressing pattern here. The sources for Western erroneous reports and faked pictures always seem to exaggerate the damage to Lebanon — but never to Israel.
Likewise, Western news agencies rarely list a precise number of Hezbollah losses, instead lumping them in with civilian fatalities. Does that mean that someone who launches a missile in Levis and sneakers is not a combatant?
In addition, the history and nature of Hezbollah do not matter to many in the West.
Knowingly or not, news outlets continue to spread Hezbollah's propaganda. One wonders if Westerners remember or know that, until Sept. 11, Hezbollah had killed more Americans than had any other terrorist organization.
Most ignore as well that Hezbollah precipitated the present crisis by kidnapping and killing Israeli soldiers, and launching missiles against Israel's cities.
In retaliation, the Israeli Defense Forces use precision bombs to target combatants and try to avoid civilian casualties (though the latter is nearly impossible against an enemy who doesn't wear uniforms and uses non-combatants as "human shields"). In contrast, every random missile launched by Hezbollah is intended to hit a civilian target.
On one side of this conflict is a true democracy that was attacked. On the other are terrorists who hijacked the sovereign government of Lebanon, instituted theocratic rule over a third of the country — and started a war.
Hezbollah, of course, has been enabled in large part thanks to Iranian petro-dollars and intimidation. But the nature of Hezbollah's patrons doesn't seem to matter to many Westerners, either.
Those now calling for "dialogue" with the "major players" ignore that Iran promises to wipe out Israel. The French foreign minister was quick to praise the regional role of theocratic Iran as "stabilizing."
This is the truly depressing pattern. A call for "dialog" with a terrorist militia. Talks with a terror-supporting and exporting theocracy. Negotiations with murderous thugs who would as soon kill you as look at you. And a lack of sufficient moral judgment to understand the difference between good and evil. We are in a dangerous place because of these twisted moral compasses. I have no doubt many of the people calling for dialog have the best intentions in the world for doing so.
And, sadly, they are paving a road because of those intentions. It will not be a pleasant road.
By Scott W. Somerville, Thursday, 10 August , 2006 @ 10:10 am
I’ve been pondering the Left’s response to Hizbollah for much of a month now, and I’ve finally concluded that they’re treating Israel like Terri Schiavo.
That’s the only way I can make sense of it. They act as if they’re just waiting for Israel to die, and they talk like they’re annoyed because the Israelis won’t go gracefully.