Wednesday, August 16

RE: When frustration knocks the door...

This is an e-mail I got from a very close friend of mine concerning the blog I wrote on Middle East Crisis. I value his opionions a lot, though in some terms I don't agree with him as he doesn't with me. I guess that's the dynamic in our good friendship.

Email:
Hey, here's my reply to your entry in your blog. It's a bit too long to reply on the site so I decided to send it to you via email. Enjoy...


You pretty much nailed it by showing the flaws in both sides.

Regarding the current situation…

Israel has been through a lot. Does that give it the right to invade Lebanon as it did? I’m going to be brutally honest with you. What Israel has done so far is beyond anything that should have happened. Should Israel have invaded Lebanon to begin with? In 1998, the UN set a resolution (1559 I think it was) that directed Lebanon to get rid of Hezbollah…drive it out of the nation. In 2006, Hezbollah, the same people that have pitted Islam against much of the world (and I’m not saying just the west…I’m talking about every major conflict that Muslims are in), control a large part of Lebanon and have infiltrated the country both territorially and politically. In my view, Israel made the right decision to come in and attempt to take out the Hezbollah sites nearest to the Lebanon-Israel border. But that’s it. They shouldn’t have penetrated the country as they have done, and they MOST definitely should not have targeted Hezbollah where there was a civilian population. Some argue that Hezbollah is embedded in these civilian populations…how can you not target them- you’ll have casualties but that’s how it works unfortunately. Well I argue that Israel should have stopped weeks ago and let a multi-national task force to set up camp in Lebanon. This force, even consisting of forces from other Islamic countries, would then be responsible for stabilizing the Lebanese government and force Hezbollah out.

See, the problem is that the West is how it is and the Muslim extremists are how they are. It’s clear that neither can peacefully coexist. Who will budge? Well I can assure you that Americans will not elect anyone that even resembles Bush or his administration’s policies and actions. Now to the Muslim extremists…many people, including you, say they have to go. But no one is kicking them out, choking their financial and military support, but rather, hiding them. I know that external influence such as a UN task force in Lebanon is the last thing many Muslims want to see but I don’t see any other way of getting rid of organizations that terrorize people and make, like you said, a perfectly ok religion into something that people across many nations and religions have come to either fear or despise.

My anthropology professor once asked the class if they think war will always exist. My answer is yes, it will. It’s sort of like “without evil, there can be no good” but more complicated. People across the world will differ in how they live, the luxuries they have, and most importantly the access to resources they have. Some people will get pushed out, many nations divided, many nations dissolved, and worst of all (something that I think we can control), groups of people may even be driven out of existence. As long as there is a difference in access to resources, there will always be war. And it’s safe to say that not everyone will enjoy the same amenities throughout the world. People call it ugly, and it is. Are we above it? I don’t think so. We’d like to think that since we’re much more advanced than other life on this planet, that we don’t need to abide by the natural rules. I think otherwise…I guess we write history to not only show our flaws and mistakes and how to avoid some of them but also to show perseverance, strength and other good qualities in humans, how people have the power to change, and in general, how life is. This is because there are governing rules to life (in my opinion) that we cannot and will not circumvent. And these rules or laws will fuel actions such as wars for as long as we exist. I don’t think war ever comes or goes throughout time…it simply evolves. Its always there.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

after Bush got elected for the second time i read in an article by michael moore, that Bush has less popularity in USA required to win the position again, and yet he had been elected for the second time! he mentioned one line like this - "people outside USA, dont try to understand the psychology of americans. u simply wont understand." it meant more like they think one thing and does the complete opposite. he doesnt have the popularity because presidents like him should not supported morally. and he is elected once again because he is givin, the "Americans", the essence of power and superiority. and Bush cant be elected by the third time because of the Law, not because americans dont want him. and sure they will elect one Bush-like or more than Bush-like government each time. until the world faces a Third world war. and u r makin wars sound like legal, more than natural. just because americans are gettin more powerful by it. "Wars will be there." huh what are u? god? y dont u say, "we want everything." that will sound more like the Truth.

Anonymous said...

If you follow American politics (which from the sound of it, you don't), you'd understand that even Bush's own party is distancing itself from him...for good reason. Bush's popularity here is well...nonexistant. So when you say that 'Americans' will elect someone who gives them power- someone like Bush, you couldn't be more wrong.

As far as the war comment goes, I'm not saying that its something that we must accept. We always need to surpress tensions so that war doesn't errupt. But my answer was in response to someone who asked if war will always exist. Hisotry has shown us so far that it has and in my opinion, there's nothing to say that it won't. Does that mean war is acceptable...no, not in most cases. Regardless, the world and our lives (including yours)are shaped by war. On one side its gruesome and not something anyone would want to be in but on the other, it stops astrocities, gives nations more wealth (that im sure like a lot of people, you also bask in), and etc. So don't confuse that with my stance on the wars that are going on right now...I don't advocate them.

Anonymous said...

u made one thing clear about 'Americans'(which i explained before) - They Dont like Bush, But They Elected Him AS Their President. WOWEEE!!! I'm Glad i dont follow and understand such POLITICS and NEVER in my life i will want to.