The Blind Leading the Blind into disaster.
The inexperienced Mr. Ehud Olmert is Prime Minister of Israel since March 2006 and has deviated from his campaign promise to continue unilateral disengagement, which is a viable substitute for real peace, certainly preferable to the current situation. The attacks in Lebanon have shaken the duly elected government of Lebanon, which undermines the efforts of the USA to establish democracies in the region. The Israelis are using arms from the USA to decimate Lebanon, which is not what I can accept from a moral point of view.
An inexperienced Mr. Olmert has led Israel into a war that clearly is not the way to solve problems. Mr. Rumsfeld said that the conflict originates in the differences among systems. I find the coping mechanism the Israelis are using is not an acceptable solution to feuds. Calling for ‘annihilation’ will not work when you are small in numbers, even if you have superior weapons. It is a fool’s errand and people are getting killed over it. Disarmament is not an option, given the tactics employed by both sides.
Mr. Ahmadinejad is quoted in the press as calling for the death of Israel. If this is accurate, then he is impractical from a logical, moral point of view. Islam has a mechanism for tolerance of non-Islamic groups. I am not expert to discuss how but I suggest the procedure be researched. The Jews may have preceded the Hittites that I believe the Persians are but nobody knows for sure. I know that the Phoenicians, Babylonians, Hittites and Syrians have been living in that area for eons. The world needs diversity of cultures that encourages creativity when they meet. Creativity or War?
No less than the death of species is the death of cultures, but technological advancement need not be the death knell of major religions. Learning of God’s world is not prohibited but for the sins of man.
The world needs an immediate cease fire in the Middle East and I applaud the UN initiative. All involved parties need to agree, however. The conditions set down by each must be examined and addressed fairly. A settlement will not be imposed nor will unilateral disarmament be the solution. Technology is ubiquitous and no borders are safe. We must get along.
Thank you to the French and I do hope that a settlement in Iraq and Afganistan is reached the same way. Start working on it now talking to some of the same parties and see if the bloodshed can be halted.
I do believe that the oil companies with interests in the Middle East should pay some of the rebuilding costs and contribute to relief efforts, since they now have a plethora of money. Rebuild and reinvest and allow the financial centers to flower anew. Investment in research and development of energy sources is a world imperative.
