Jeffrey Miller wrote:
> I really don't understand the policy Israel is
> currently enacting to control the violence - how does bombing a police
> station help the Palestinians control terrorism? How does killing their
> leadership help the Palestinians to exert leadership over dissident
> factions? How does continuing to use excessive force against an angry
> people engender anything other than more hatred and fear, leading to
> further acts of violence against the only targets they can attack and
> with the only means at their disposal? Could somebody explain it to
> me? Seriously, if I'm missing something, I would very much like to be
> informed..
>
> -jeffrey-
Interestingly, last night I watched a documentary on Lebanon and the rise of
Hezbollah, which focused fairly heavily on events surrounding the marine
base bombing and the hostages. The thrust of the show was that the size and
passion of Hezbollah and the independent terrorist cells, as well as the
anger and support of the people, was largely attributable to Israel's seige
of Beirut. The implication was that only a small percentage of the people
cared very much about the westerner's influence until the Israeli invasion,
but then all the Shi'ites were motivated by the death and destruction in
their city.
I can never hope to understand what motivates Middle Eastern people in their
disputes because nothing in my background, culture or experience compares to
theirs, but it seems pretty clear that the world has learnt nothing from
Lebanon, and will watch Palestine go through the same painful experiences
while they search for answers.
I do wonder, however, if perhaps Israel feels that the Palestinian police
and leadership are in fact not doing anything to stop the terrorism
(possibly aiding it), and so Israel feels they should be punished for their
failure to act??
For all we know, these could be just big kids with serious toys who can't
resist the urge to use them - testosterone gone rampant...
Russell Chapman
Brisbane Australia
