Yes, I knew it was only a matter of time. My friend Ara, has decided that it is Bush and Condi's fault that the opinion of the Arab world has shifted in favor of Hezbollah.
He's written me off but I am a friend to the end. I don't write anyone off, I keep at it. I shall try, even now, to shake off the BDS that is gripping him hard.
Here's a clue. Remember when the American public opinion started to shift against the Iraq War? It was when all reporting focused on the body count of our soldiers rather than anything else.
My guess is that the Arab opinion might have shifted when the reporting of the civilian Lebanese body count seemed to be outnumbering the Israeli one. Also, it isn't exactly good news when the U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan suggests that Israel killed U.N. observers on purpose.
Now, I'm not agreeing with any of that but I find it laughable that anyone can possibly blame Bush, Condi or the United States for any of this shit.
Blaming Bush for Arabs not liking Israel? Does that seem sane or reasonable to anyone?
I questioned your sanity when you suggested that the Democrats should say this:
Israel-Lebanon War: What Democrats Need To SayNot because it was bad, only because you thought for a second you would see the Democrats say something like that publicly. They are Democrats, not Republicans. Republicans can say that without losing their base but Democrats? Gimme a break, they are more scared of losing their base then Maliki is of losing his head and rightly so on both counts.
- * Israel has a right to self-defense and self-determination.
- * Hezbollah's war is Lebanon's war. As such, UN Resolution 1559 must be completely implemented including the disarming of all militias, most notably Hezbollah.
- * Egypt, Jordan, the Saudis (at least) should support the reconstruction of Lebanon. And support it in such a way as to make it impossible for Hezbollah to hijack the country into a impossible and bloody war again in the future.
- * Israel's war is NOT America's war. It is NOT the undercard to America vs. Iran.
- * This is NOT World War III.
That's what Democrats should say.
Related Posts (on one page):
- Reuters Admits Altering Beirut Photo
- Arab Opinion Turns to Support for Hezbollah: Blame Bush!
R.I.P. Steven Malcolm Anderson
The "money quote" for me is
I want to see the UN release those "violations from both sides". I doubt they will, just as the msm goes out of it's way to show the UN flag without showing the hizzbullah flag right next to it, many times higher and more visible than it.
Geez, what a dope.
Rhianna, suffice to say you've waded hip deep into some propaganda camouflaged by the fog of war. You don't know, can't know, what really happened, and neither do I, but I trust DPU could find some interesting info for your enlightenment if you asked nice, cuz there's a bunch out there.
I've got better things to do right now, but I'll check you later and see how your study group is doing. Don't forget to get your parent's to sign your permission slip for next week's field trip.
For instance, if “Arab opinion might have shifted when the reporting of the civilian Lebanese body count,” and Bush did nothing to dissuade Israel from killing Lebanese civilians, how can that not be somewhat Bush’s fault?
The Democratic base also wonders what the ME would look like if we’d kept our eye on the ball in Afghanistan and the West Bank, instead of launching an imperial war and occupation on a sovereign Muslim country. What if we had spent one tenth of the treasure on building institutions and infrastructure in Afghanistan that we will spend on the Iraq debacle? What would the Arab street think of us then and what effect might that have had on the zealots’ attempts to radicalize them. How would the Arab peoples have reacted to Hezbollah’s provocation and Israel’s response if Israel had made any honest attempt to help the Palestinians achieve a viable state?
We’ll never know what the world would look like had we had six years of adult leadership by people who understand something beside coercion and brute force but we do know that after three years of complete foreign policy control of Middle East policy by neoconservative ideologues, they and their White House enablers, as well as our ungrateful benefice in the ME, own whatever happens there.
Or not.
Fascinating nonetheless.
As I said, find a clue, Rhianna. You're hallucinating, I didn't say anything about Israeli propoganda. That's the shrieking voice in your alleged brain.
Interesting. So the better idea is to royally fuck up a really influential country?
Sorry. Of course, I meant democratize.
Then again, attempting democratic reform (which seems a little more difficult and complex than many originally thought) of this nature might well have been easier in a less influential region like Afghanistan, and the consequences of failure less severe than that which is occurring in Iraq.
Just a thought.
Like I said, we can actually hold two thoughts at the same time and, if you could read outside your one-dimensional, anti-Democratic, paint-by-numbers ideology, you would have noticed that I also mentioned the West Bank, i.e., Palestine. That could have been a pretty “influential” democratization had we helped it to succeed, don’t you think (oh, right)?
And I hope that you aren’t trying to peddle that “transforming the Middle East through democracy” kool-aid to me. Puppet governments and forward bases installed at the point of a gun and sold on lies about strategic security threats don’t quite match the rhetoric. But I’m sure it will taste fine to those who thirst for some rationalization for the hell they’ve helped to unleash.
I was feeling too mellow yesterday...
My sincerest apologies.
Sympathy about a year from now would be nice when I hit the half-century mark.