Monday, August 21, 2006

Harsh words

Developments always move slower than one would like. However, to return to a situation in which the war between Hizballah and the Israelis is even more likely to ignite than before July 12 is the worst possible outcome.

No doubt, Lebanese politicians engage Hizballah in very tough negotiations as I type up this entry. Only Zeus knows what the outcome of these negotiations will be. However, as I mentioned previously on this blog, only Hizballah can decide to disarm, because doing so forcibly would simply mean the end of Lebanon (either a through a cataclysmic civil war, or "another round" of Israeli strikes, only this time, nothing will hold them back - i.e. bye bye, Army, Downtown Beirut, Lebanese State).

A good analogy of the situation Hizballah finds itself in right now would be an authoritarian ruler being asked to abdicate for the sake of his country. In fact, let me take this analogy one step further and suggest that Lebanon is currently in the midst of what could be termed a "regime change," which began the second Syrian troops started leaving the country. Will Hizballah bow out? Will it put the wellbeing of Lebanon, and its constituents, before its agenda? If so, then at what price?

As for France, and its commitment regarding the UN force, my thoughts echo those expressed by editorials published by the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. The Journal wonders whether UN resolution 1701 is still alive,
Most U.N. resolutions don't have the shelf-life of a gallon of milk, which isn't always a bad thing. But in the case of resolution 1701 - the cease-fire agreement for Lebanon and Israel adopted unanimously this month by the Security Council - things seem to be going sour even faster than that. And that is cause for serious unease.
And the Times mocks Jacques Chirac mercilessly for his "contribution" to the implementation of 1701,
It would be tempting to laugh about France's paltry commitment of 200 additional peacekeepers for Lebanon, if it weren't so dangerous. After insisting for years that they be treated like a superpower, the French are behaving as if they have no responsibility for helping dig out of the Lebanon mess.
Of course, considering that Lebanese parties are still in the midst of negotiating the near and not-so-near future, the UN force and its mission could very well be leverage that would no longer exist once it is deployed.

However, I remain as impatient as ever. At a time when the international community, and the Arab world are supposed to convey a message of strength, determination and generosity, all I see is trepidation. But then again, how much do I really see?

19 comments:

Andrey said...

" Only Zeus knows ..." , you infidel ! :)

Lirun said...

what a waste..

if our region walks away without learning anything and all that happens is that people have to go and refill military coffers and stocks with hard earned taxes for more bloodshed and idiocy instead of statesmenship and diplomacy then i will be vastly disappointed..

we must move forward..

our region thirsts peace more than rain..

lirun
telaviv
www.emspeace.blogspot.com
drinking water can come from overseas.. peaceful living must be homegrown..

Lirun said...

mate

i dont know what the road to the end will look like.. all i know is that ultimately there is only one answer.. how many people have to die to get there - is an issue i cannot predict..

i hope it is as few as possible..

lirun
telaviv
www.emspeace.blogspot.com
delaying peace is absurd

Lirun said...

dimitry

i disagree.. the end situation has to be peace.. we cannot and will not kill eachother indefinitely.. we shall talk to eachother and we shall communicate and resolve issues.. no one is going anywhere.. so may as well start realising the facts on all sides..

no noise..

thank you for noticing.. look.. its hard to summarise so much in a nutshell but ill have a crack at it..

the tensions in israel and the palestinian territories vary.. they come in many shapes and sizes.. sometimes socially determined and other times politically and legally..

arab israelis are in a tough spot.. overly identifying with israel places them between a rock and hard place with the arabs in the territories and at the same time does not guaratee them equal rights.. however.. failing to align makes them seem unworthy for citizenship and reduces their justification to oppose injustice..

it also appears nevertheless that the arab israeli community selectively voices its concerns.. it does too little too align to mainstream israel but makes full use of the fourth pillar of our democracy (the media) to shout out about any inequality..

israel on the other hand is lazy with its arab sector.. it does too little to develop it and yet not enough to assure the proper rule of law.. if israel goes too far its considered harsh and insensitive but when israel takes a laissez faire approach then it is also criticised..

ultimately israel is very much a society that is busy defining the future of the jewish people so the agenda of the minorities is easily sidelined.. nevertheless.. ask any arab israeli if they would seek to leave and i doubt they would.. their freedoms are very extensive in comparison not only to arab country alternatives but also to the west and they enjoy a kind of parliamentary representation that you do not see in many other countries.. arab MPs of the israeli parliament speak against the state of israel in a fragmenting and dissecting manner and in many other western countries this would not be tolerated.. at all.. yet here we do tolerate for the fear of seeming unfair..

i have befriended arabs in the past and will gladly do so in the future.. some of our mixed towns.. haifa and akko etc have a track record of something thats spans between peaceful coexistence.. good neighbourly living and/or plain cold living side by side.. but the university of haifa has many arabs in it and i hav emet many who have progressed to high standing careers and success in business..

the palestinians in the territories now thats a tougher one..

i could write for days..

but i will say this..

personally as an individual i make an effort.. i want arabs to know that we are not just pricks with a difference.. the racial/religious card is raised very quickly across both sectors and i feel a need to demonstrate that it is not binding.. i seek ways to strike up mini conversations (at least) so that they can end with a smile..

i have not been to gaza or to any other major arab town in the territories.. i guess i am scared.. but also i dont want them to think of me as imperliast.. i do however frequently go to israeli arab towns to eat and buy stuff.. to encourage them to think of me as a compatriot rather than just the mainstream..

you know.. its such a small place.. suffering and abundance exist in very close proximity to eachother.. at the end of the day the rockets from the north or the south dont know our differences anyway..

i hope this kind of helps.. feel welcome to ask more specific questions ;)

wishing peace to us all

lirun
telaviv
www.emspeace.blogspot.com

Lirun said...

hey dimitry

that is exactly my point.. i do not know how exactly we will go about getting there.. whether or not there will be more battles or whether we will be blessed enough to see our future lifted into a peaceful era.. but i think it is possible..

i disagree that the leb government isnt doing squat to prevent it.. i think they are working within their constraints.. just as we are working within ours..

dude.. listen to the voices coming from the arab nations that surround us.. they have changed colour and tone.. surely together we are not that susceptible to the mischief of a single bunch of fools..

surely if we have the baility to prevail over hardship we also have the ability to prevail over blatant stupidity as we did inthe past..

lirun

Mr. Smarterthanyou said...

I think the key to this is the fact that the French cowards (I repeated myself) are backing out, again. You cannot trust the world community, and you cannot trust leftist governments.

Lirun said...

dimitry..

please let me know what the point is in speculation..

Mr. Smarterthanyou said...

True, what will happen is the UN forces will be human shields, the media will be complicit, and when Israel attacks the Hezbos again, some UN weenies will be hurt, and everyone will gang up on Israel (at least verbally).

Lirun said...

where can i buy a chrystal ball like yours.. i am so envious..

Mr. Smarterthanyou said...

lirun,
You are a 30 year old living in Israel and you don't see how I connected the dots?

If many Israeli voters are as dense as you, no wonder you guys keep voting in idiots who refuse to finish the job.

Lirun said...

i think you are simplifying us and our problems..

we are not just a bunch of short sighted deaf people ;)

but yes sometimes our actions seem to compromise our long term interests..

im not sure however how your proposed approaches bridge the shortcomings of what would otherwise seem to be nowism.. how do they address our long term needs and relations in the region.. how do they align with our amibition to integrate peacefully into the middle east..

to me they seem to suffer your nowist peeve

just my perspective mate

lirun
telaviv
www.emspeace.blogspot.com
possibly blinded by my desire for peace

Lirun said...

smarter than not quite sure what..

your insults dont flatter your intellect..

luckily not israelis think as i do.. luckily i live in a society that encouraged plurality of thought.. i thank my lucky stars that this is our nature because i am proud of the fact that our paths are tested by dissent..

i dont have anything else to add.. except that this blog has created a congenial forum for people to express their views on a matter that is important to them in a respectful fashion..

i hope that you can muster your obviously far superior intelligence to comply with the framework that we have established..

wishing you peace and a successful engineering career

lirun
telaviv
www.emspeace.blogspot.com
forever connecting dots on the road to peace ;)

Lirun said...

its late and my fingers arent cooperating with my thoughts..

good night

:)

Lirun said...

thought about it :)

i guess it boils down to personal strategy.. i like to think of myself as an effective individual.. i have a strong career and have always been very type A personality - ish notwithstanding my laidback approach..

when i was a kid my dad once saw me training for long jump.. he sidestepped the coach and took me aside and said "see those tall trees twenty metres away? aim for the treetops!"

i listened to my dad and sure enough i did not jump that high.. but i did considerably exceed the distance i had achieched until then..

two things i have learned from life is that (a) when you are serious about something good - people tend to contribute to your cause where and when you least expect it.. (b) passion can create a momentum that can prevail over many an obstacle..

if there was a clear cut easy and predictable path to peace i reckon we would be there now.. i have no doubt that we need to take and endure risks if we are to make the best of the opportunities before us.. the question is how resilient can we be..

you know - when you surf - it is rare that you can easily paddle all the way to a good break without a few eskimo rolls and without being knocked about by a few waves.. but you duck dive it and you keep on going.. because you know the bliss of riding a good wave and dropping into a green room..

there are greater outcomes to be achieved then a mere interim score in a HA pulpitation..

peace to you too man..

its a pleasure disagreeing with you.. you're a solid thought provoker..

lirun
telaviv
www.emspeace.blogspot.com
thinking is a good first step

Lirun said...

no noise - you are welcome..

aboutyour idea.. we did actually try such a thing in the thick of the war.. i negotiated with Dany and i sent our outcome to several news networks and half of my parliament..

they ignored me hehehe

but at least we tried..

i do however think organising some forum and publicising it and its outcome could be an excellent idea..

we should certainly give it some more thought..

lirun
telaviv
www.emspeace.blogspot.com

Lirun said...

dimitry.. i am curious as to your perspective.. where are you from.. how old are you..

Lirun said...

seeker

my thoughts exactly

Lirun said...

hey dimitry..

i dont want to be become my enemies either.. to me that is the greatest form of defeat..

wishing for peace

lirun
telaviv
www.emspeace.blogspot.com

Lirun said...

i'm going to keep my mouth deliberately shut on this one.. happy to discuss it offline..