the write seems to lay a lot at the feet of Israel and the US ....  there’s plenty of blame to go around ....

in a sense the article is just another hand wringer ...

the current dilemma is ... how do we back off from a regional religious war in the Middle East when our current administration is so idealogically blind and utterly incompetent?

Chris Hedges has offered the most sober analysis of this situation I’ve read. I hope this column will appear as an Op-Ed piece in The NYTimes, LATimes, or Washington Post.

A follow-up to my own comment #13907.

As of Sunday, CNN has settled in on various permutations of the following phrase:

Iran’s proxy war is an attempt to divert G8 attention from its own nuclear ambitions.

Stay tuned…

Israel is the oppressor? I dont think they are the ones suicide bombing accross teh world.
First there was never a “palestine” state to occupy palestine never existed, it was land that was always controlled by “outsiders” the only nation that existed there was Israel.
By the time the British came to control that area they called it Palestine, by that time you had a jewish majority in Jerusalem and in the are of Palestine there was a arab/muslim majority but not an overwhelming one and there was/are “Jewish Palestinians”.
Its important to know that muslims in the area especially in the neighboring areas where always anti-semitic some even helped Hitler in his attempt to exterminate the Jews.  When in 1948 the Jews who where wanted nowhere where given this mostly uninhabitted desert to live in, they where immidetly attacked for no reaosn by neihgboring states during that time many Arab Palestinians fled (some where expelled) and where adviced by their muslim neighbors to leave Israel so they could come back once it was reconquered that never happened. Since then Israel has always been attacked first and in the 6 day war they finally decided to take land after they where attacked from all fronts, keeping land when you win a war especailly when attacked first has always happened. Anyway Israel returned Jordanian and Egypcian land since then they have signed peace agreements and have not had problem with these two countries.
Lebanon was one of the few democracies in the middle east and when they civil war broke out (1970’s) between the muslim fanatics ( mostly palestinian refugees) and the Lebanese people(Syria would also joinn in)thats when it all went bad for Lebanon, the muslim majority took control of the south they launched attackes into Israel leading to the 1st israeli invation, once Israel left attacks continued and they again invaded Lebanon, the second time they entered the newly formed tehorcay in Iran wanted to have a “force in that conflict” and they formed Hezbollah. Since that civil war the poor Lebanese people have been oppressed by a puppet govrnment who has let Hezbollah do what it wants, until recently when they expelled Syrian governments the government still refused to do anything about Hezbollah.
Now Israel retreats from Gaza and how are this received by the PLO and Iran, it is seen as a sign of weakness knowing that,Iran ok’d the first Hamas attack on Israel followed by the INCURSION of Hezbollah terrorist into Israel, it was done to test how Israel would respond, thankfully they responded like they should.
Iran wants to drag Israel into a bigger war and maybe drag in the USA, because as we have known for almost 30 years now Iran is the #1 sponsor of terror and is the “base” of the Islamist fuandamentalist who want to first destroy Israel (Jews) and then conquer the world for Islam.

As for the civilan casualteis the Israelis dont and havent targeted civilans on purpose unlike Hezbollah and Hamas, but in bombing it is obvious civilians will be killed.

Anyone supporting Hamas, hezbollah and Iran is insane and those not see the wider pecture and the threat these terrorist pose to the whole world.

I don’t have answers myself, and wish someone who could move the discussion forward had something better than if pigs could fly, and one side or the other. One thing I do believe, however, no make that two: our current leadership in America has no one of sufficient stature, gravitas, integrity, respect at statesmanship necessary to rise to the occasion, and Americans should recall the glass house in which we live.  We need problem solvers among our intelligensia and leadership, and win-lose is not a solution, insofar as I can see.  Chris Hedges has proven to be a thoughtful commentator on world events; here he stops short of the necessary “be specific.” I’d like to see what, other than a vague change of heart, will defuse the ticking time bomb (yes, I believe all we are seeing are the sparks of something much bigger if the bomb squad does not arrive in time).

To NABNYC # 13919:

Yours is indeed another sober piece of summary and analysis of the Middle East situation. It can serves as a wonderful supplementay material to the wonderful original article of Chris Hedges.

In fact your piece can serve as a working plan for a movement of liberation from the evil political military industrial complex, always allied, right or wrong, with evil Zionists and their Christian Zionist supporters.

It is indeed one of the most pardox situations that, in this land of so-called greatest bastion of freedom, where freedom is exported on top of tanks, and under the cover of weapons of mass destruction as well as weapons of mass deception, that we do not have the freedom to liberate our politicts and policies from the yoke of Zionism. I mean particularly that, as tax-payers we do not have the freedom to say “I do not want my money to go for the support of an evil scheme like the one Isreal represents.”

Some time ago, when I was more naive and politically moderate,I read a bumper-sticker saying, “Congress is an Israeli-occupied territory.” Though I was entertained at the time, I thought the sticker was expressing an exaggerated message. Little I knew that that sticker expressed an old time secret known only to the privileged few who knew these truths all the way.

Now after lately casting the one-thousand time veto against a Security Council condemning the Isreali violence in Gaza, the U.S. political eatablishment does’t care any more to hide whose intrests they are serving first; the people of the the United States or the Zionist movement.

In light of this, one fact must be emphasized in educating misled Americans is that the U.S. Government is the least organ in the world qualified to promote peace in the Middle East. How can one be so clearly partisan and prejuduced and be given the role of a moderator?!  In fact, the American government and Congress are part of the problem, and not the solution! I almost lost hope, and the little of it left is with a people-to-people movement that would bring some measure of sanity to goverments led by the likes of evil Bush, Blair, Sharon and lately Ehud Olmert.

regarding comment 13939
July, Does your rationale apply to all muslim and christian states as well?
You ask whether white supremacists are right to plan for a white society to draw a parallel with israel. Obviously you know nothing about israel.
You also write, “Israel is the terrorist engine of the world”. Interesting choice of words. If you exchange the word zionist for israel you are in complete agreement with the white supremacists!

Zionism not only is a danger to Palestinians and other Arabs in the Middle East but it has proven to be a threat to Jews both in the settler-state Israel and in the rest of the world.  How is it that an ideology that was born of Eastern Europe’s violent anti-Semitism turns out to be a threat to the very people that it was supposed to save?  The reason for this paradox is that Zionism, in its call for turning Palestine into a Jewish homeland,  makes Conquistadores out of Jews who immigrate to Palestine and Indians out of Palestinians,  the Holy Land’s indigenous people..  That’s a set-up for violence as no native anywhere is going to sit around quietly while uninvited outsiders move in and take over one’s land. 

Meaning that Palestinian resistance to the Jewish occupation was inevitable and that what’s happening to the Jewish settlers today could have been avoided had Zionists paid any attention to the lessons of earlier colonial misadventures, called off their conquest of Palestine and instead pursued negotiations with the Palestinian,  asking them “Is it possible that some of us European Jews could immigrate to your land, the exact number and status of these immigrants to be determined by you Palestinians?”

Alas, this approach was never tried.  Instead the Zionists opted for conquest and colonizing which has begot one war after another, until now it’s down to two wars at a time, one in Gaza, the other in Lebanon. 

But Zionism doesn’t endanger Israeli Jews only.  It also puts Jews elsewhere in the world at risk.  Last year’s bombing of a synagogue in Istanbul, for example and , more than a decade ago,  the bombing of the Jewish Federation building in Buenos Aires.   

How is it that there’s a spillover from the Jewish occupation of Palestine to other parts of the world.  Well, occupying someone else’s homeland is one of those acts of violence that “stokes the fear that is the driving force behind all messianic violent movements.”  And Israel sets-up every Jew as a potential target of the very messianic movements that its violence against the Palestinian people has generated when it claims that it represents world Jewry.  Never mind whether or not a Jew, say in America, has asked for this representation, gives a damn about Israel or is an advocate for the Palestinian cause.  Israel still claims to represents her/him?  It doesn’t of course, never has, but that claim together with the considerable support that many diaspora Jews actually give to the settler-state,  is enough to mark any Jew, anywhere, as a target for those who are enraged at Israel for the crimes it’s perpetrated against the Palestinian and Lebanese people. 

So after over a century of Zionist colonialism it’s quite clear that Zionism is not an ideology that has made the world safe for Jews.  Contrariwise,  it’s put Jews at great risk everywhere;  held accountable for whatever atrocities Israel commits.  Meanwhile the rest of the world, except for the USA,  has turned against Israel.  Which means that the moment that America switches sides, as it did twenty years ago during the Iraq-Iran war, it’ll be Israel against the world and woe onto anyone who’s considered to be a friend of that pariah settler-state

Fortunately, there is one way out and that’s for we the people to change the world.  But with this perpetual war on terror and global warming,  at most we have a century left (assuming that either Israel or the USA doesn’t nuke Iran &/or Syria &/or Gaza), so we best get started right away. .

Peace in the Middle East can only be achieved by the creation of a Palestinian state. Since the United States is bent on supporting Israel in all ways (politically, morally, financially etc.) peace will be only a talked and bantered about as a concept or idea. And not until Americans begin to exercise their right to vote in thier own country, the continuation of our domestic and international policies will be left to the politicians (not leaders) we either place in office or “get into” office. If the voting public does not represent more than 30 per cent at the voting booth, then I predict a social revolution, much like that of the 1960s which involved the protest against the Vietnam war, the civil rights movement and equal rights for women, to get the country back to the people.

In my memory of history, the zionist movement began in earnest around the time of WWI and was finally realized after WWII, after Hitler shocked the world with his treatment of the Jewish people of Europe. The U.S. and England went along with it for the simple reason that they did not want to try to absorb all of the Jews fleeing Europe and Russia.

There was quite a bit of anti-semitism in the U.S. back then, I know.

But before Israel was recognized as a state by the U.N. in 1948, there were quite a few terrorists on the Israeli side of things. Menachem Begin was one of them. He later went on to be PM and signed the peace treaty with Sadat of Egypt.

I have always been a supporter of Israel. But I was shocked and appalled by the pictures of Jenin and Palestinian refugee camps. I became even more horrified when peace activists were bulldozed and shot by Israeli forces. As the years have passed, the more I have learned, I can no longer say that I am a supporter of Israel.

That does not make me anti-semitic. Disagreeing with Israeli policies and behavior is very different from hating Jews, which I most certainly do not.

What, exactly, makes that tiny strip of land, at the other end of the Mediterranean, belong to Jewish people?

They believe that God gave it to them. What else would make a group of people be willing to move there, raise their children and live their lives amid suicide bombers and the rocket’s red glare, so to speak. People can do some very irrational things when they are religiously insane.

This is the 21st freakin’ Century, people. Does anyone really believe that God is a magnanimous real estate broker?

It really is all just too damn much. We are supposed to believe in seperation of Church and State. Why the hell, then, do we spend billions on supporting a religious state of any kind, and don’t tell me it is because Israel is a Domocracy. Since when has Geroge Bush shown any real interest in Democracy, other than as a buzzword.

Allowing religious fundamentalists to call the shots on the world stage is alot like giving the car keys to a three year old and saying, have fun? Maybe a better metaphore would be giving the asylum keys to the inmates.

Any government leader, who runs around the world, telling other world leaders that God told him whom to bomb, should be locked up, for their own good and everyone elee’s, because that is psychotic talk.

Try it out for yourself, go to a couple of your neighbors and tell them that God is telling you to bomb the guys three streets over. You will have cops at you door and be safely eating Haldol on a locked ward before you can say Jack Spratt.

But, we do nothing about our own doofus doing just that.

How the hell can the cristian right holler about how they are persecuted when they aren’t in a big old Macadamia Ranch? Because they, and all the other literalist, fundamentalist whackjobs in the world are batshit crazy and no one will be honest enough to say it.

I mean, you can get on TeeVee and say any goddamned nutty thing you want to, as long as you are religious and speaking as a religious person.

I think it is high time it stopped. These knotheads need to be confronted with the harm they are doing this country with their batshit crazy beliefs and their hateful behavior.

I can only hope that rational Muslims and Jews will do the same with their loons.

From #13922. I don’t know you Fadel Abdallah, but you know me? I am “whats wrong with the world”...have you been talking to my “Dad?”

Chris Hedges writes lies for money; he is as honest as Fox News.

Take it again Fadel, I lived, loved, and fought in the region.

I seen manly 14th-century brained Muslim men look women up and down and start beating them if their ankles shown. Women, Jews, Christians, it is written in the Qur’am, are 1/2 as valuable as a Muslim man. Its not so bad that the Qur’am states crazy crap as the Christian bible can get a little wacko…but Muslim freaks put their 14th century values on everybody. Ergo, the Jews and Christians must die. If a Muslim converts, its fatwa time for the blasphemer—death sentence.

Those fancy Syrian & Iranian missiles/rockets don’t work so well for Muslim terrorists as their aim is accurate—Israeli Arabs have been killed & an Egyptian merchant vessel was hit. Oh, the Bloody Borders of Islam!

Shalom

We.. from the west ARE most to blaim.

WE have always in history played with the rest of the World…LETS go out and just kill them ALL.
BANG BANG your dead…..TO hell with PEACE.

unless and until the consciousness of the peoples of the area evolves to the point where identifying as a human being sharing a planet is more important than identifying with a nation or religion or ethnic group, the chances of “peace” are slim indeed.

humans are plastic creatures, and it is easy to train them to hate and kill, and feel superior to other groups of humans - even when the reasons for doing so are irrational and not substantiated by evidence. have faith brothers and sisters - and don’t think too much. big fella up there does all that for us (pboh).

moving beyond ethnocentricity and theocracy is perfectly possible, but the nature of fundamental religions - islam especially at the moment - means that they terrorise their own followers (whether they are aware of it or not) with the eternal damnation clause, and change is actively discouraged - it’s a reactionary movement. the arabs do not want peace, or democracy, or reason - they’re not ready for it. they want destruction of israel and conversion/subjugation/death of the entire rest of the non-muslim world, especially when the oil runs out and the american military machine grinds to an embarrassing halt. to talk of peaceful co-existence is nonsense. and I wish Americans would stop beating on bush - they got what they wanted. he wants to stay in power (like most power/self centric politicians), and if he attempted to force the REAL changes necessary to effectively manage the transition to a post-oil world, he wouldn’t stay in office for another month let alone another term. He’s just doing his job - keeping all the suburban car-lovers of America happy in self-entitlement la-la land.

massive education to train in the use of reason and raising self-esteem would help everyone here, but that’s not about to happen in the whacky world of mohammed, or the cultural/moral desert that is america.

remember - in islam, there is only temporary ceasefire/truce for non-believers. wishing for some kind of sensible peace is just an illusion.

singling Israel out as the “aggressor” is just really blinkered.

wake up and smell the coffee - it’s that bitter smell we’d rather not think about. buckle up kids - it’s gonna get bumpy.

imho…

There’s a great war quote from Albert Einstein… a reporter asked him what kind of weapons would be used in the next World War, he said he didn’t know, but he knew what the weapons would be in the war AFTER that… sticks & stones!

As JFK said, “Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind!”

the midget bulling insecure israelis only dare to do what they do because they are backed up by big brother U.S.
if they prefer to lob bombs that kill and mame, so be it.  the same will befall them.  remember - life is a privelege, not a right. god has given us all the tools to do right.  it’s a matter of choice.

Does anyone think that the White Supremacists are right to plan for a purely white nation?  Why do we support Israel since they are attempting to create a purely Jewish state?  Israel is the terrorist engine of the world.

quote
Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that . . . I want to tell you something very clear: Don’t worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it. - Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, October 3, 2001, to Shimon Peres, as reported on Kol Yisrael radio.

Chris—I have referred to and taught college classes with your astonishing and compelling War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning, which has been eerily prescient in predicting the course of the war in Iraq, while having been written before the invasion.
While agreeing on many points, I think you oversimplify the situation in Israel a bit, but more, I think it important to eschew moral judgment, which only fuels the quarrel on both sides, and rather while seeking, as you often do, literature as solace—does not Yeats’ “Second Coming” seem appropriate, would like folks such as you to find the imagination for solutions equal to your comprehension of tragedy.  It would help.

There is little I would add to what Chris Hedges has written, but I offer as postscript a slice of William Wordsworth. Appropriately, I found it quoted by Robert Fisk in his wonderful new book “The Great War for Civilisation.”

…the Men who for their desperate ends
Had plucked up mercy by the roots, were glad
Of this new enemy. Tyrants, strong before
In wicked pleas, were ten times now
And thus beset with foes on every side,
The goaded Land waxed mad; the cries of few
Spread into madness of the many, blasts
From hell came sanctified like airs from heaven;

(From “The Prelude” 1805)

“it is the brutal American occupation that has bred the legions of extremists in Iraq”

errr, no. The Iranian revolution in 1979 brought a brutal theocracy to power that had at its center promoting the hegemony of Islam using terrorism. Saudi funding of Salafi schools and actors had well entrenched radical Kafirophobia well before the US went into Iraq or even 9/11. The extremeists in Iraq are following the pattern normalized by Yassir Arafat and suceeding as well in manipulating global attention.

Thank your for brilliantly describing the incredibly bleak situation. If only the world would listen.

Even Orthodox Jews say Israel is not Legitimate:

In the midst of all this furore I am struck by the message of http://www.nkusa.org/ (Orthodox Jews Against Zionism.) Seems that 1939-1945 certain Germans did horrible things to Jews and others they thought were bad people. Then, it seems that the U.S. & the U.K. in the new U.N. took land (Palestine) that was being lived in by Palestinians, and gave it to a group of Jewish people as their home, as a consolation. The givers had no ownership of this land, and no right to give it away. The people who lost this land were then, for half-a-century, treated by the Jewish people the same way they themselves had been treated by a certain bunch of Germans. Why is it OK to treat the Palestinians like the Germans did, but it`s not OK to treat the Jewish people that way? When the Palestinians fight to get their OWN land back, they`re called terrorists. When the Jewish people try to stop them, by killing them wholesale, that`s called national security. So it`s WWIII by and for an illegal state. Madness

Would the US gov’t, who for decades of both Democrat & Republican rule knowingly permitted the distribution of an extremely addictive genocidal product called “cigaretts” to the world, that clearly resulted in the deaths of hundreds of millions, hesitate to orchestrate any degree of violence necessary to maintain their position of power, previlege, and profit, for their sponsors, the elite of the ruling class? Be it in Iraq, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Columbia, Egypt, Guatemala, Chile, etc.

Please remember the bottom line is amoral. Anything that supports it is justified, anything that diminishes it is subject to extreme rendition.

People should understand by now that “religion, justice, security, liberty, freedom, morality, decency, democracy, the nation, & god” are just tools with which to manipulate the people of the world by the “rulers.”

How much would the DOD budget have to be cut to put a computer in every home in America so everyone could vote on every issue before the current “Congress”? Why is it that no one in gov’t advocates for a truly participatory democracy, that is clearly technologically possible and certainly as secure as voting machines used by the current election system?

You have a messy situation to begin with neither side holding all the right cards.
Added to this messy situation are the religious fanatics on both sides that can’t deal with a compromise as each falsely believe they are God’s chosen and ther is NO such animal.

Chris Hedges—thank you for such an excellent piece!  It is rare to see this sad issue so clearly addressed as you have done.  I look forward to hopefully reading more of your perspectives on TruthDig.

I am now reading the book “Jewish History, Jewish Religion-The Weight of Three Thousand Years,” by Israel Shahak, Foreword by Gore Vidal, and highly recommend it.  The history of Israel, its politics and ideology,  the Jewish attitude toward non-Jews, and more is explored…the book is written by a professor who is an Israeli Jew (who survived Nazi incarceration at Belsen Concentration Camp).  I am learning much from this excellent well-researched book about the history of Israel and Zionism, and do highly recomend it.

My opinion: I do not think America should continue to be involved in Israeli affairs or we, too, will be/will continue to be caught in the Middle Eastern “death spiral” Chris Hedges so articulately describes. But, in my opinion, a peaceful existence for America and our citizens is not what Bush and his gang seek…for it is continual war(s) which serve their political agenda. 

Hedges summarizes the sad state in the Middle East perfectly by saying, “As those under the boot of Israel or America lose all hope for justice, as they give up on peaceful recourses to ameliorate their plight, as they fall into despair, it throws them, by default, into the hands of extremists.”  Thus, more death in the Middle East due to clashing egos.

I found it interesting to read about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) at http://www.aipac.org/  which call itself “America’s Pro-Israel Lobby,” and to read about the billions of dollars America gives to Israel every year at http://www.wrmea.com/html/us_aid_to_israel.htm.  See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIPAC .  I also recommend reading Bush’s May 18, 2004 speech at the AIPAC Policy Conference at http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/bushaipac2004.html  (another propaganda filled Bush speech—interesting since he is addressing “America’s Pro-Israel Lobby”).

Israel is the number one recipient of American foreign aid; as it is, we as U.S. citizens, through the taxes we pay, are part of funding whatever Israel does—its occupation, and its use of military action.  Those matters are for Israel to decide and act upon, not for the US to fund (and thereby bear responsibility for in the eyes of the Arab world).

But as Hedges wrote, “The violence stokes the fear that is the driving force behind all messianic, violent movements—American, Jewish and Muslim. And since these groups have nothing to offer other than violence, they need fear to keep those around them compliant,” and it is such fear that our government (and some Christians) use to manipulate many in America to support Bush policies and to support US aid to Israel. 

Listening to others on talk shows discuss the situation regarding Israel and Lebanon, more than once I’ve heard those who identified themselves as Christians, spouting their fear of not coming to the aid of Israel—they fundamentally express their support of Israel—and support their argument not by analysis of the history or current situation but instead by quoting their Bible about being smitten if America doesn’t always help Israel…again, fear doing the choosing between right and wrong…fear the tool used by governments and religion to manipulate simple minded people into supporting their agendas…a person motivated by such religious fear doesn’t care about what is happening and how best to address the situation to limit loss of life, no they blindly let fear make their choice for them.

Bush, answering questions after his speech at the City Club of Cleveland quoted at http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49372 “But now that I’m on Iran, the threat to Iran, of course – the threat from Iran is, of course, their stated objective to destroy our strong ally Israel. That’s a threat, a serious threat. It’s a threat to world peace; it’s a threat, in essence, to a strong alliance. I made it clear, I’ll make it clear again, that we will use military might to protect our ally, Israel.” 

If Israel is threatened by any other nation or group, then it is the business of Israel to address the issue.  I disagree with America continuing to be involved in Israel’s battles.

I also recommend an interesting article entitled WHAT’S BEHIND THE ISRAEL AND HEZBOLLAH WAR? by Mark Skousen at http://www.freemarketnews.com/Analysis/167/5642/skousen.asp?wid=167&nid=5642 ...very informative piece.

Thank you Chris Hedges for this sober piece of analysis of the Middle East situation. You hit the nail on the head as to the causes of violence as a counter measure to the violence of the Israeli occupation in Palestine and the violence of the American occupation in Iraq.

Your piece is the final and ultimate analysis of the situation, and no one would be able to supersede it, or even come closer. Thus, I am suggesting that your piece should be made a must read assignment for the the stupid presidends, rulers and kings of the world, and most importantly to America’s new evil dictator G. Bush.

Your piece made me feel good, not only because it is the truth, but also because it gives me confort that, despite all the mess, hatred,and misinformation the world is plagued with, especially in America, where there is no excuse for ignorance, there are still some people who can think straight and have the moral courage to say the truth.

However, comments # 13871 (hotpotatomash) and # 18865 (William Trainor) are examples of what is wrong with America and what is wrong with the world. They are examples emphasizing that ignorance, hatred, misinformation and being brainwashed are no bless. Some of the things that these two pathetic, sick, bloodthirty savages said made me feel like throwing up.

It was the Bushes who sent Richard Perle in the Middle East in 2000 to sabotage Clinton’s peace process. This is the result of their actions.
    There was also that surreal moment in 2002 when Bush blamed Clinton for the unrest in the ME - because his peace efforts “raised expectations”

Remember what Yoda said to Luke Skywalker:

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

Remember it well. We are all human.

When we point the finger, 3 fingers are always pointing back at us.

There is a solution!  Somehow get those in control to force the Palistinians to stop attacking Israel.  In the past Israel has given up land and agreed to the Palistinian’s demands but each time a Palistinian or other terrorist group attacks them.  Israel is just defending itself with force which seems to be the only thing the other side understands.

i hope brainwashed americans wake up and say no to this war-for-oil government!!!

this stupid bush administration is making the world worse and worse…

1.  Time will tell whether this represents the pretext for the U.S. attack on Iran.  Seymour Hersh has written extensively about the U.S. ongoing plans to attack Iran.  Of course the Bush administration would manufacture some “incident” to justify the attack.  Mr. Hersh has also written that Bush has discussed the use of “tactical” nuclear weapons in Iran.  In other words, Bush is planning to launch a nuclear attack on Iran.

2.  Franz Fanon, in The Wretched of the Earth, wrote, in summary, that the former slaves or colonized people mirror the tactics which have been against them by the masters or colonizers.  In other words, as various (then African) people rose up to throw out the European colonists, and gain independence, the former slaves could be expected to be just as brutal towards the Europeans (and eventually towards each other) as the Europeans had been towards the slaves.  People mirror the behavior and violence that is inflicted on them.

3.  Israel’s extremely violent and brutal 50-year war against all non-Jewish people in the middle east has certainly contributed to, if not caused, the brutal anti-Israel and anti-U.S. organizations that we now call terrorists.  It is hard to imagine Hamas, Hezbollah, or al Queda existing with wide-spread support were it not for Israel’s 50-year war against everyone in the middle east.  (And, in a lot of ways, we can see the founders of Israel mirroring the brutality and violence used against Jews by the Nazi Germans). 

4.  Israel argues that all, most, or many non-Jewish people in the middle east hate all Jews, deny that Israel has a right to exist, and want to push them into the sea, or kill all of them.  Let’s assume that is true, whether for all, most, or at least a significant number of non-Jews in the middle east.  If that is true, it really doesn’t matter what the secret beliefs of the anti-Israel people are:  if they hate all Jews, or if they simply hate the fact that Israel has taken land that belongs to the Palestinians, and engaged in a 50-year war with many of their neighbors.

5.  Clearly the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish attitudes and violence have not been eliminated by Israel’s military attacks on others, have not been eliminated by imprisoning and often torturing their opponents, have not been eliminated by wars with other countries in the region, have not been eliminated by taking portions of other countries, have not been eliminated by killing, have not been eliminated by Israel’s acquisition of a significant nuclear arsenal, have not been eliminated by the U.S. giving Israel $3.0 billion per year, and have not been eliminated by Israel having by far the strongest military in the region.  Israel’s use of force and violence against others has not eliminated the anti-Jewish and anti-Israel beliefs of their neighbors.  Maybe the force and violence have created more hatred, but, at a minimum, they have not eliminated the anti-Israel attitudes.

6.  If 50 years of war, killing, and brutality have not solved the problem, what is the answer?
More of the same is not an answer, it is insanity.

7.  Should U.S. taxpayers be compelled, under threat of imprisonment, to subsidize the people of Israel from birth to death?  From the time any American begins working and paying taxes, until the date they die, they are compelled by the U.S. government to give money to people in Israel to subsidize their lives.  We are compelled to pay money because the Israelis choose to live in an area in which they are hated, and to spend enormous amounts of money on weapons and war every year. 

8.  This policy of forcing the U.S. citizens to work their entire lives to support people in Israel is without legal or political justification.  The U.S. did not slaughter the Jews of Europe - in fact, we fought against it.  If someone is to subsidize Israel, go ask the Germans to do it based upon their responsibility for the Holocaust. 

9.  An American citizen born in this country at any time after 1948 has a burden imposed on them at birth - like original sin - that obligates them, under penalty of imprisonment, to “tithe” to Israel every single year of their lives.  Again, what is the possible justification for this policy?  There is none.  Whatever one might have thought at some point in time, based upon inaccurate reporting of the circumstances under which Israel became a nation, recent historical disclosures make it apparent that Israel was born by stealing the Palestinian’s land, driving the Palestinians out, murdering them, then lying to the world about what was really going on.

10.  There is a saying among lawyers which applies to clients who are not paying their attorneys’ bills.  It is said that the client “Will fight to the last drop of their attorneys’ blood.”  When the client is not paying, they tend to be more belligerant and less likely to want to settle their dispute with their opponent.

11.  Israel will never even try to live in peace as long as the U.S. continues its unconditional support for everything they do. 

12.  The U.S. must commit to cutting off all support for Israel.  We must tell Israel, privately, what the deadline is.  They have until then to negotiate peace.  Whether they succeed or not, the U.S. will end all support on the deadline.  No more money, no more weapons.

13.  Isreal has had 50 years to figure out what might work to bring peace to their region.  Let them figure it out.  They do not need the U.S. to tell them how to get it done. 

14.  Let’s assume too much time has passed, and it is completely impossible for Israel to ever live in peace with their neighbors.  Or even assume their neighbors are completely at fault, but the result nonetheless is that Israel will never be able to live in peace.  Fine.  They can all move here.

15.  There are 5 million Jewish residents of Israel.  5 million people.  Less than the population of many of our big cities.  And for 5 million people, the U.S. is paying $3.0 billion per year, is participating in ongoing war, and is supporting a condition which may well lead to a nuclear war.  Let all 5 million move here.  We could absorb them without blinking an eye. 

16.  For those who argue that the Jewish residents of Israel must live in Israel because of their religious beliefs, I say best wishes to all of them, but not on my nickel.  I do not understand any justification for compelling U.S. taxpayers to support a religious-based community in some other part of the world, or within the U.S.  If someone is compelled by their religious views to do certain things, good luck to them but do not ask me for money to pay for it.

Over 30 years ago Israel was U.S.‘s satellite country. How’s about now ? The position has been changed drastically and Israel obviously becomes our big honcho. Anything Israel wants that means God wants. The U.S. hardly dare to be reluctant. This is the voice of plutocrats.

i feel as if i’m watching crazy people on the news and runing our goverment.
Let’s get this straight, Israel gets to bomb Lebanon’s airport and blocade it’s ports because Hezbolla rockets them from an area not under the goverments control?
Israel is helping democracy by killing people who have notheing to do with the kidnaping.
So, that means that Inda can bomb Pakastan because terrorists from there bombed Inda.
Afghanistan should atack Pakastan as well because they can’t control all thier terrority.

At last, an even handed appraisal of the current midlle-eastern crisis. Israeli extremists appear to have found their pretexts to unseat a fairly elected Palestinian gov’t, and to clean house in Lebanon.

But who is really behind this latest cycle of violence? And to what ultimate end? Perhaps we’re missing the larger picture here. Israel may not be the only country in search of a pretext. Let’s keep an ear to the ground for a sudden surge in the number of news ‘reports’ linking Hezbollah with Iran. This might well ‘turn out’ to be just the excuse Bush needs to point his warplanes at Tehran. Can you say “Nucular”?

The only valid comment in all I have read about the Israeli-Arab conflict is the one guaranteeing Israels pre 1967 borders. With the exception of east Jerusalem which MUST stay as part of israel to preserve religious sites and the Golan Heights for defense reasons I am sure 99% of Israelis would agree with the old borders.
However since 20% of pre 1967 Israel’s are arabs with COMPLETE religious freedom what would be so terrible to say that the new Palestine state must allow 10% Jews with COMPLETE religious freedom. After all when all these Jew haters talk about apartheid in Israel how can they say this when there are Muslim Arabs in the Knessett and the Israeli Supreme court? What is good for the goose is good for the gander!

I tried to read all the following comments—I could do it. Some of you don’t care who starts what, who attacks whom, and most (I bet) have never served in the Middle-East. Use “ignorant” for an insult, but not know Of all the carnage that happens to Israeli citizens (men,women,and children; Muslims, Christians, & Jews). I wish they could all live in peace, but there is hatrid on both sides. If Israel is attacked she must defend herself.

All those terrorists…err…Palestinian freedom fighters kill Jews and even Muslims that are friends with Jews or citizens of Israel. Bus Bombings, highway & house attacks, and knifings. Least not forget 100’s of daily rocket showers that attack the citizens of Israel.

Have you ever wondered why after 58 years there are still refugee camps in Arab lands? The other Arab governments don’t want these of mixed Semetic blood (speak Arab & are Muslim; Palestinians) mixing with their Arab populations (with exception of Jordan & Egypt)? The answer is that Palestinians are used for their claim to lands in Israel after they vacated in 1948 to kill Jews.

Christians/Jews are infidels that need wiped-out by Muslim fanatics for Allah. 

My ex-Marine buddies that would say none of you know the truth if you agree with Hamas, or Hizbolla.

This will all get very ‘interesting’ when the Shiites in southern Iraq start sniping on British and American soldiers - in sympathy with the Shiites/Hezbollah in south Lebanon.

What a clusterflop.

When the left wins, we need to send these corrupt religious freak hypocrites into the war zone.  They can preach on the battlefields.  They all need to lose their tax exemptions. Also I am sick of my money going to help Israel.  They are bully’s.  If I were in power, I would tell them to settle this thing or forget anymore help from us.  The U.S.A. could care less about Israel or anyone else.  And the same goes for Israel.  We are all using each other.  It’s all about power and money.  These hatefull people in power now will need to pay for this last at least 25 years.  We need them to pay soon.  They are getting old.  They may die before they get their punishment.

I fear that Bush refuses to aid in brokering a cease fire in the hopes that Syria or Iran will become openly involved.  Such involvement would provide the justification needed by Bush to expand the Iraqi conflict to the entire Middle East.

Quite Bold!  Mr. Hedges does not seek mere Moral Equivalence, he will settle for nothing less than branding the Israelis and Americans as the Oppressors in the Middle East.  I have to assume that Mt Hedges has managed to find, what the rest of us have searched fruitlessly for these many decades, reasonable and honorable Arab partners who are interested in talking peace.  He certainly could not be talking about those Arab leaders who in discussions with the American media speak of their desire for peace, and when addressing their own people speak of a bloodletting that sounds to my ears like a pogrom. And it was a nice touch by Mr. Hedges to align the Hizbollah terrorist leader Nasrallah with the Israeli PM Olmert. Just two leaders that need to talk.  One democratically elected, the other a gangster.

Thank you Chris Hedges!

This is indeed the ultimate authoritative article on analyzing and clearly describing the root causes of the Middle East crises! It should be made a must read for all the stupid leaders of the world, and most importantly this evil Bush who has brought humanity back to the Middle Ages of ignorance and savagery!

Our National Anthem (updated)

And the bombs bursting everywhere gave proof both night and day that our flag was still there.  And the star spangled banner forever shall wave, over a world that’s been incinerated and the ashes of all the dead.

too true. i would that the world cared to hear you. thank you for telling the truth in such concise terms. thank you many times.

What can one say?  Man’s inhumanity to man has raged since time began.  We now have the BIG bomb and I fear, in the end, it will be the answer to end all wars.

There is another answer but mankind is too dense, too ignorant to ever adhere to it.  That is to abolish all religions across the Earth.  Dig the vast grave and bury them.  It is the root of all evils, all violence and hatreds of man towards man.  No mere, worm-related man on two legs knows the key to our origin, where we came from nor where we shall go.  All the prayers sent skywards by any believers in this so-called high power are impotent and utterly ignorant.  If man is to live on this planet, he must come to terms with himself in relation to the differences of others.  Only then will he realize that simply stealing what is not his is intolerable under fair laws and regulations drawn up by none other than himself.

William Trainor,

Your ignorance is unbelievable.  The Jews commit more acts of terrorism everyday than Hamas and Hezbollah combined.  Since the occupation, Jewish soliders beat, harrass, arrest and kill innocent Palestinean civilians on a daily basis.  Chris Hedges comparison of South Africa apartheid is valid.  You, Mr. Trainor, on the other hand, have no idea how awful life is like in the settlements.  I’m tired of hearing congressman and pundits alike talking about how Israel is the bastion of democracy and a great ally in the Middle East.  Israel is nothing put a lucrative contract for our military contractors and an enourmous waste of our taxpayer money.  Yeah, I do blame the Jews for this problem.

Many on the so-called Christian right are actually hoping for a nuclear war in the Mideast.  They think it will be the biblical Armageddon, and that Jesus will come again, and that they will go up to heaven in the rapture while the rest of us receive our just punishment for not believing the things they do.

And these people have control of the Bush White House.

Hedges is one of the few who understands the conflict as a system in which the components really do need each other. If either side were only to change course, there would be nothing to “retaliate” against. In such a system, the good guys and bad guys are interchangeable, distinguishable only from the standpoint of the partisanship of the observer. Meanwhile, the U.S. stands aside, like a passive school teacher, letting two bullies fight it out.

“Israel is the oppressor in Gaza, the West Bank and now Lebanon. America is the oppressor in Iraq. And there can be no hope for a peaceful resolution to these conflicts until Iraqis are freed from American occupation and Palestinians are allowed to build a viable state. It is the distorting and dehumanizing effects of occupation that made possible the proliferation of extremist groups that, albeit on a smaller scale, simply hand back to the occupier some of their own medicine. The numbers, after all, make clear that most of the victims are Palestinian, Iraqi and now Lebanese civilians, although the numbers game can also obscure the fact that the murder of any innocent by any group is indefensible.”

oh for pete’s sake, how can someone who has spent considerable time in the middle east come up with this simplistic inaccurate non-sequitur nonsense? Chris, it is your responsibility to write more accurately, and side with reason, not with your misplaced sense of victimhood. All of the adult people involved over there share responsibility for promoting beliefs, values, cultures and religious dogma which have little in common with rationality, reason and constructive communication, and which make “peace” a facile and illusory concept. To glibly point fingers at Israel and the USA is frankly ridiculous - geopolitical power and military superiority is not the same as oppression. And we in the west who refuse to take responsibility for our OWN part in this (with regard to energy usage especially) are also implicated.

Rabid anti-semitism inherent in Islam and trumpeted by the caliphate fan club is pernicious war-mongering. Christian self-righteousness is equally damaging. The ravages caused by the vicious lies of fundamental religions are simply being played out here - although you are right - it is not helpful to ascribe equal amounts of moral blame. The invasion of the jews’ original homeland by everyone from the romans, persians, greeks, assyrians, babylonians, and more latterly and enduringly the moslems, is on record. I’m not sure in what way it can be said that jews are illegitimately occupying territories and being an oppressor? And it is they who have demonstratted willingness to recognise the Palestinian state, and the Palestinians who refuse to acknowledge the right of Israel to exist. As for Zionist conspiracy theories - purleeeze.

why can’t the poor downtrodden victims in Palestine just be allowed to wipe the Israel oppressors off the map as their democratically elected government wants? (spot the irony).

I personally grieve for every child and brainwashed adult caught up in this, but adopting weak positions as Chris has done above does NOTHING towards actually helping human beings to live with themselves and each other. Educating people to think based on reality and not scriptural nonsense does help however.

The best way to encourage bullying as a rule is to fail to offer a stout rebuttal to it - to show weakness. While I personally see no benevolent future based on religious irrationalities and dogma of any persuasion, it seems clear from 20th Century history that Israel’s main problems (apart from islam) are the results of it’s own overly appeasement to arab aggression - being too nice when decisiveness was required. It causes more problem in the long run.

Blaming sectarian violence on American occupation is an astounding fallacy. Palestine could build a viable state if they weren’t obsessed with destroying the one next to it. How can you be so shallow Chris - journalism and insight are not necessarily (though often seem) mutually exclusive.

I could go on and on (oops, I already have)

Chris - must try harder - we need better commentary from people in your position.

Israel has finally found a solution to the Palestinian problem. Destroy them. First Gaza, then the West Bank. Erretz Israel triumphant!!

If you think BushCo wants them to stop you are dreaming. This fits in well with their entire agenda for the Middle East.

What you are seeing is the real start of the great “Religious” War!!

Sit back and watch as the entire region goes up in flames and mushroom clouds. Because Uncle Sam is on the sidelines egging the players on!

But the Law of Unintended Consequences will kick in!! Never fear!

Who will win? The west will win the military agenda. It will lose the political agenda. Mark my words there will be only two sides to this. The West and Islam. Russia and China will be involved on the side of the West!! They have no real choice. Despite all their clever diplomacy they will get sucked in as will France.

It will end with nuclear holocaust, because that will be the only way to stop it.

What did you make of George Bush’s most recent performances as Commander and Chief, the Decider, and the War President of the United States?

Watch his face and body language. Didn’t he strike you as a mischievous little boy gleefully enjoying a scam he’d pulled off with great cleverness? Rove was the director, but Bush stood all alone on the stage, the great actor playing to the mob. Were you touched by his concern that Israel show restraint and make every effort to limit the loss of life?

Isn’t this exciting? Watching war on TV is much better than watching gladiators fight to the death in the coliseum. War has become the ultimate spectator sport. Are you not entertained?

Israeli aggression in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza is a win-win situation for Bush. No matter how it turns out , he can’t be blamed for widening the war. It wasn’t his fault, the Israelis did it. His hands are tied.

Watch Bush’s ratings climb, the 2006 election is in the bag.

chris, it helps if you just think of the 50,000 dead iraqis as one group and then think of that group as terrorists and/or rapists. also, the quicker you realize that islam is the enemy and that if we don’t kill them over there they will surely kill us peaceful law abiding citizens here the better off you will be.

i mean, have you already forgotten september 11th?  almost 3,000 americans perished. true, we have killed close to 20 times that many iraqis and its true that saddam had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks - but lets not forget that the vp had a dream that an agent for saddam met with one of the 9/11 hijackers which clearly justifies our actions.

and don’t forget we did the iraqis a favor.  we freed them from a dictator.  and now that he’s gone, iraqis do not have to worry about murder/death and rape.  in fact, it’s always sunny and the flowers are blooming and man the schools are just taking off and the kids love to learn.  it makes me feel like we did a good thing. i’m so proud. 

hopefully we can do the iranians a favor as well in the coming months.

The U.S. should immediately cut off ALL military aid, munitions and armaments to Israel until such time as Israel has withdrawn its military, its citizens and settlements from the occupied territory to within its 1967 borders. The wall must be removed.  In exchange the Arab world, the U.S. and the UN must guarantee Israel’s security within those 1967 borders

Chris Hedges is full of bull. Hamas the government of Gaza refused to stop the rocket attacks on Israel territories and cities. Hamas is an umbrella for many terrorist groups, and they don’t reign them. Hell, even after the attack and kidnapping of Israeli soldier(s). Hezbolla then attacks northern Israel with hundreds of rocket fired. they ambush an Israeli patrol killing 8 and kidnapping 2. Lebanon will not reign in the terrorists. All they had to do was to stop the rocket attacks and turn over the soldier—the P.A. refused. Now Lebanon has to disarm Hezbolla and return the other two soldiers.  I served in the Middle-East and have no sympathy for Palestinians terrorists and their cohorts for arms, money, and training—Iran & Syria. Hey but its easy to blame a Jew.

I think Israel is trying to arouse the Lebonese people against Hezbolah by saying: “see what the capture of our soldiers brings to you. Let Hezbolah know you are tired of their provocations.”                                   
Unfortunately, the message the Lebonese people are getting is that Israel is a bully and don’t care about hurting innocent civilians.  So, more martyrs are being created and like,  Chris Hedges says,  the anty keeps going up re violent responses. And what we have from the background of the Jews in Israel and the Palestinians is that neither group is willing to say “uncle.”  My heart cries for both.

As always, your authentic clear witness brings everything into focus. Thank you, Chris.

“The Bush administration never had any interest in helping to broker Middle Eastern peace agreements.”

I know I’m offering only glib opinion based on the most superficial knowledge of the current situation and the history of the Middle East, but, my position has always been MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.

I don’t think the US… or any other country, should be involved in these disputes/wars. It’s my understanding that the peoples indigenous to the Middle East have been at war with one another since the beginning of recorded history. By now, the aggressive attitude must almost be genetic.

I say “we” in the west stay completely out of it… and, I suggest, we WOULD have if it weren’t for the OIL. Let them act out their traditional hostilities as they always have. Better yet, have a huge UN force go through the entire region and confiscate any weapon more destructive than a SLING SHOT, then let ‘em at one another like children in a playpen. The stupidity of it all just might dawn on one side or the other eventually.

I just recently came accross this blog recently hosted by a Arab Anerican lady that is now involved in listing the blogs from Lebanon.  Check out her site.
Dove is the name of the site.
Blogging The Lebanese Crisis A sample of blogs covering the Lebanese crisis 2006, plus useful links: