ISRAEL WALKS THE LINE IN LEBANON
I heard on the news last weekend that the liberal bloggers were curiously mum about the situation in Lebanon. The suggestion was that nobody wanted to touch that issue with a ten foot pole. I've asked a lot of my liberal friends in the past couple of years what they think about Israel and I've found that a lot of them feel ignorant about the situation. They can't tell who's right and wrong.

I'm a Jewish liberal who is generally moderate about Israel. I'm certainly no expert, and I've swallowed my share of propaganda just like everyone else. This entry will be different from my others. I offer an emotional response to the new crisis, based on broad strokes rather than details.

I keep hearing that Israel has a right to defend herself, and this should not be in dispute. The trouble Israel has had for 68 years is the dilemma that we all will have this century. What do you do against a suicide bomber?

You can't punish him. You can't take anything away from him. When he's that far gone, you really can't deter him. So you go after the weapons, you go after the masterminds, you go after the network, the infrastructure of terrorism. You try to find, and prove, where the money's coming from, what governments are giving shelter and support to the terrorists. And then you attack.

That's what Israel's been doing. Only the terrorists don't have hideouts and bases, they stay in apartment complexes. With families. With kids. So to kill them, you have to kill the kids. They're going to yell and scream about how heartless you are, but they're the ones that shielded themselves with human beings. All wars have collateral damage and as long as Israel targets known terrorists and not civilians, all's fair.

Yassir Arafat was known to send money to the families of suicide bombers. That may be where Israel got the idea to bulldoze their houses on an hour or two's notice. Again, it sounds heartless, but what do you do about a suicide bomber? Act like it didn't happen? Take something away posthumously; sounds as reasonable as anything can after a suicide bombing.

Israel pulled out of Lebanon six years ago and watched as Hezbollah got stronger and more influential. The Lebanese government split from Syria just recently but has remained weak in the face of the terrorist group that controls the south. Now Hezbollah leaders condemn Israel for having had a plan for their destruction all along. Well yeah, Hezbollah's dedicated to the eradication of Israel, wouldn't you have a plan?

Hezbollah went into Israel, killed some soldiers and captured two more. I don't use the word kidnap because they're soldiers and it's part of war. They've been firing missiles unprecedented distances over the border. Israel decided to hit hard and not to stop until the soldiers were returned. Fair enough, as long as no civilians are targeted.

I believe Israel has now crossed that line and I don't support what they've been doing in Lebanon.

Hezbollah deserves everything it gets, but now I see Israeli fighters bombing bridges and power stations, civilian infrastructure. They bombed the airport, stranding thousands. The air strikes have been so indiscriminate that they killed four UN peacekeepers. The article below tells of refugees being killed fleeing Tyre. It's got to stop.

I can see where Ehud Olmert is coming from. His predecessor pulled out of Gaza last year and it hasn't stopped violence from Hamas. Now they've attacked inside Israel and taken a prisoner. Not to be outdone, Hezbollah took two prisoners six years after Israel left, and they've threatened that the worst is yet to come. The peaceful way hasn't yielded results and if all goes according to plan, Hezbollah can be neutralized and their access to weapons cut off. For now.

But this is the Middle East and nothing ever goes according to plan. When civilians are killed, fighters are recruited. A new generation of terrorists are studying to be martyrs as we speak because they have no other hope. Beirut had hope; it was rebuilt, its economy was growing. It was a diverse cosmopolitan center, a tourist destination and now it's bombed.

We can fight the terrorists here, there, anywhere, but in the long run the only way to stop terrorism is to give hope. Economic development that leads to better lives is the most potent weapon against terror. Those kids who have nothing to do, whose fathers are dead, who learn from madmen must be given a choice. Until then peace has no chance.

Megan K. Stack's great story from Monday:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-solebanon24jul24,1,7034544.story

The photo is by Robert Gauthier from the LA Times.