On the Middle East conflict between Hezbollah and Israel

Some talking points amongst the din and clatter and shouting:

Hezbollah is a engaged in a violent struggle with Israel.

Israel is engaged in a viloent struggle with Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has not abided by UN Resolutions.

Israel has not abided by UN Resolutions.

The major issues (as I see them) are:

- The right of Israel to exist (adoption of the Partition Plan by the UN General Assembly on November 29, 1947.)

- The right of return (International Law and decreed by UN Resolution 237)

- The withdrawal to th 1967 borders with an end to the state of belligerency (decreed by UN Resolution 242)

- The sharing of Jerusalem (Decreed by UN Resolution 252 and others, such as 476)

- The exchange of prisoners.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_UN_resolutions_concerning_Israel

The nature of the conflict is clearly documented in the UN Resolutions in response to that conflict from the establishment of the State of Israel up until today.

The question is: Will the Arab states agree to stop their belligerency against the State of Israel if Israel agrees to and abides by a specific set of conditions in a two-state (Israel and Palestine) solution?

Amongst other acts, by building the wall and usurping land that would belong to Palestine under Resolution 242, Israel lays down a marker that it is unilaterally setting the conditions of the two-state solution ... and justifying it by pointing to the perpetual belligerency of those aligned against her.

Amongst other acts, by Iran and other Muslim states/groups saying Israel should not exist and or challenging the wall (amongst other issues such as the Sheba Farms land), they challenge Israel and her unilateral solution ... and perpetuate a state of belligerency against Israel.

This has all the earmarks of a tribal pissing contest based on who is the most violent so who must be the most feared.

Unless these issues are resolved peaceably, the conflict will continue ... a conflict Israel may have hoped to win via the transformation of the Middle East by military means a la the Neocon plan to remake Iraq as a western-style democracy ... which, by the way—in case anyone is paying attention—is failing miserably ... and could be why Israel may feel the need to prove that she is tougher than the USA when it comes to things like war.

So now that Israel and her ally (my country, the USA) have stirred up the hornets nest in the Middle East with their ill-conceived ventures (Iraq and Southern Lebanon), Israel wants the international community to bail them out ... when, as history shows, Israel does not have a good track record herself in abiding by the wishes of the international community.

It’s like Israel is pouring fuel on a fire close to a gasoline storage tank and calling up the fire department saying, “You better get over here and stop this fire before the storage tank blows up.” ... “No, we didn’t start it. The neighbors did, but it was so small we knew you wouldn’t come and put it out until it got bigger.”

Well, it ought to be clear to everyone involved that sooner or later this is could go nuclear (the gasoline storage tank blows up) if it is not resolved peaceably. It already is nuclear on our side (Israel and the USA) a la Kipling: “Whatever happens we have got/The Gatling gun and they have not.” [sic].

So why aren’t we (the USA) hard at work trying to resolve this peaceably while we still have the clout to do so? This is where the debacle in Iraq rears its ugly head. The billiant idiots devising the Project for the New American Century actually believed they could transform Iraq and thereby set in motion a transformation of the Middle East.

Now because the results of the Neocons’ blind ignorance and wishful thinking are that the region is tipping into a chaotic state and truly threatening to Israel, the Neocons are saying we have to escalate the conflict lest Israel lose. "Pour more fuel on the fire! Then the fire department will HAVE to respond."


Dah!

This conflict CANNOT be settled militarily.

We have to be more creative than that ... but the Neocons - Rapturists - Zionists (the NRZ’s) are yelling, “Bring it on!”

Is it any wonder that the world worries about us when we elect a president like GW?

In one respect the Armageddonists are right. That battle will cleanse the world ... trouble is, it’s the jellyfish who will have another go at, not the human race.