On Israel -- Why it needs our Support!

By popular demand I'm back. Okay, I'd be back anyways even if it wasn't for popular demand, but the people have spoken: more blogs! And since I am "The People's Blogger," who am I to deny the people what they cry out for.

Okay, seriously, I want to talk very briefly about Israel. Anyone reading this should be outraged at some of the negativity currently being directed towards Israel by some of America's allies. And yet again, this current conflict in the Middle East is an example where, in the name of political correctness, everyone wants to place Israel and Lebanon on equal footing. All it takes is a quick listen to some of the representatives of the Lebanese government as they make the rounds on the cable news shows to know -- this government is not necessarily the target of Israel's military actions - Hezbollah is - but, I don't think there's any pretense that the Lebanese government has ever done anything to actively put brakes on Hezbollah or other terror groups. Every time there is a conflict like this, the Arab nations get up in arms and blame Israel for instigating conflict, and a whole laundry list of grievances spanning 60 years is brought up ad nauseum. And YET, the Lebanese government in this case gets up in arms, and talks about everything EXCEPT the issue at hand - the kidnapped Israeli soldiers. These kidnappings were unprovoked and blatant acts of hostility. Israel had EVERY RIGHT to respond as they did - lord knows the US would do AT LEAST the same.

Now - let's look at the escalation of events - tell me if Israel and Lebanon are on equal footing.

1.) Israeli soldiers are kidnapped.
2.) Israel, in response, conducts air raids that take out key targets valuable to Hezbollah, with casualties in the SINGLE DIGITS despite how extensive these bombings were. Because, as always, Israel conducts all military operations with the utmost respect for civilian life and efficiency, NOT high death tolls, as their top priority.
3.) Northern Israel, highly populated and NOT accustomed to attacks, is hit with Hezbollah rockets that because of their cowardice, no group or government takes responsibility for, allowing Lebanon and Hezbollah to keep plausible deniability even though they are practically declaring war on Israel, enabling them to act shocked when they are then counterattacked.

On one hand, I feel like this conflict is almost inevitable and events are just following their logical course. On the other, of course, I hate to see any kind of conflict or to see the Israeli people, or any people for that matter, put in danger.

But Israel's hand has been forced, and it finds itself in a ridiculous position where they are painted as the bad guys by many nations, even though Israel operates on a totally different moral plateau as compared to its neighboring countries which each harbor numerous terrorist groups and each make it clear that they'd like nothing more than the destruction of Israel. I find it funny that the Lebanese government is playing the Israel-as-Palestinian-Oppressor card when Palestine is in total chaos right now due to the inability of its OWN GOVERNMENT to lead -a governement where the ruling political party is also an acknowledged terrorist organization in Hamas.

Israel is DROPPING FLYERS telling civilians to clear out of certain areas. Do you think Hezbollah gives a crap how many Israelis they kill? Only so far as it affects their ongoing, ridiculous PR battle to try to be seen as the sympathetic underdogs in this conflict. But the media, even the American media, is just so frustrating in terms of what compromises they make in the name of being PC. Every time I read an article about the conflict in the Middle East, the writer takes the time to point out ANY casualty caused by the Israeli military, even if indirectly, as if to say that the Israeli's are not necessarily on any moral high ground, because they too have caused casualties.

Now - Bush has gotta get off his ass and step up and act as a leader here. As much as Israel has a right to defend itself, these are delicate times politically, and even if Israel in the right, America has to make sure that they tread carefully, yet still fully support Israel in principle. Bush has done precious little to deal with the Hamas-controlled Palestinan government, and now he finds himself with an Arab world that is about to come unglued. On a larger scale, the whole thing kind of exposes the hypocracy of both the US and these Arab countries. We are hypocrites because we go to war in Iraq, not necessarily an immediate threat, but shy away from dealing with the larger issues that plague the Arab world when they don't fit our diplomatic interests. Remember the Axis of Evil? Didn't that include all terrorist organizations like Hezbollah? These guys are firing rockets into Haifa - as far as Americans should be concerned this is simply one step removed from attacking an American city. Not the same as an attack on America, to be sure, but a serious red flag. Of course we have to be diplomatic and not seek out conflict for the sake of conflict, but we have to take a stand at some point. Hezbollah is not very far removed ideologically from Al-Queda - it's all the same form of radical Islamic terror. These are our enemies.

And then, the thing is that so many look at this as an extension of the Israel-Palestine conflict. In reality, Palestine has always been more a tool of radical fundamentalists - a rallying point for the Hezbollahs and the Al-Quedas to drive their dogma of hate. But we can't separate one from the other. Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Al-Queda, Hammas - all nearly the same entity, working to manipulate the world into an anti-Israel stance, working to eliminate Israel, the one beacon of democracy and freedom, from a middle east that they would have be one giant Radical-Islam-controlled power. That is scary stuff - so what the hell are Russian and France doing CONDEMNING ISRAEL?!?! Honestly, those countries need to grow some balls and take stances baed on more than sheer greed.

Obviously, with the war in Iraq being such a draw-out mess, nobody wants the US to enter into another large-scale conflict. But through leadership and support of Israel, we have to point fingers and hold these nations accountable for supporting terrorism. Bush has a way of saying th wrong thing at the wrong time - "Bring 'em on." comes to mind ... But right now may indeed be the time for some strong language and unshakeable stances to be taken.

This is our fight too, that much is clear.