Wednesday, November 29, 2006
New Lebanon war?
Just a little heads-up. I talked to someone I consider a fairly reliable source who just returned from several weeks in Israel studying their counter-terrorism tactics and history. He says almost everybody there, especially in the military, expects there will be another military clash with Hezbollah in Lebanon by this coming summer. I hope not, but I wouldn't be surprised.
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At the beginning of this semester I was asked to follow an international conflict for one of my classes. I chose Lebanon/Israel. Since then I have started to focus solely on the conflict within Lebanon. So much so, that I forgot all about Israel. Especially recently, with the enormous protest in Beirut...Oh my goodness everything is such a mess over there...
It is a mess over there, it has been for at least decades (depending how far back you want to search for the roots of conflict) and it is likely to be for the foreseeable future. That's only one of the reasons I think it would be wise of the United States to pull back from its self-chosen role as ultimate fixer in the Middle East and adopt a more modest stance. Most of the Arab world sees the U.S. as Israel's constant friend, but it's not always true and Israelis don't always appreciate the U.S. either.
Does it seem totally off-the-wall for the U.S. to say, in effect, we'll be the honest broker of last resort if you need a place to meet when you're ready to cross the last t's and dot the final i's, but you folks will have to work out agreements for yourselves? You're the only ones who really know what you can live with, and it's a tad arrogant -- and endlessly messy -- for the U.S. to be creating roadmaps or dictating terms.
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