Fire

When will we (or Israel) ever learn that “just kill all the bad guys” doesn’t work as a military strategy against guerillas? Israel has been a country almost 60 years, and Israel has always reacted with disproportionate force, and they’ve never gotten rid of Hezbollah or Hamas or any other guerrilla organization yet.

A definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Given that the Bush administration has been mostly silent regarding the outbreak of war in Lebanon, one can only assume that they approve of Israel’s reaction, and must believe that this time, for sure, the IDF will be able to wipe out Hezbollah.

Right now, there are at least three wildfires going on in the Middle East, none of which are under control: Afghanistan, Iraq, and Lebanon. I feel like we’re watching a slow-moving disaster getting ready to explode; my fear is those uncontained wildfires will merge into a conflagration. I’m getting these uneasy reminders of 1914, and the assassination of an archduke.

I know the Bush administration wanted to change the dynamic of the Middle East, but they’re like little boys playing with fire. It never was under their control, even when they thought it was. And it takes a funny view of the “sanctity of life” to think it’s all right to destroy innocent people as “collateral damage.”