It was a candid moment. President George W. Bush and Prime
Minister Tony Blair were chatting over lunch at the Group of Eight summit in
St. Petersburg on Monday when a Russian microphone sitting in front of Bush was
unknowingly live. After almost three minutes of Bush/Blair uncut (we saw Bush
eating with his mouth open and found out he prefers Diet Coke), the focal point
of their conversation took a turn toward the Israel/Lebanon conflict.
Bush confided in Blair that getting Syria to intervene would
end the conflict immediately. "See, the irony is that what they need to do
is get Syria to get Hizbullah to stop doing this shit and it's over." And
how�s he going to do that? By threatening Syria I�m sure.
Hearing Bush tell it, one would think that the latest
bloodshed in the Middle East is the result of Hizbullah�s barbaric habits, not
Israel�s. But the entire reason Hizbullah even exists is because of Israel�s
invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
As Lebanon based writer Bilal El-Amine writes in the
forthcoming print edition of Left Turn, �An amalgam of political party, armed
resistance and social movement, Hizbullah (�Party of God�) was born of a
perfect storm that saw the convergence of several factors in the early 1980s:
1) the long-term changes inside the Shia community, described at length above,
2) the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, and 3) the 1982 Israeli invasion of
southern Lebanon. Although Iranian support was certainly critical to the
emergence of the party, the Israeli invasion appears to have been the decisive
factor.�
Hizbullah has remained a popular organization throughout
Lebanon and much of the Middle East. Putting resistance before radical Islamic
beliefs, Hizbullah has garnered great support from diverse sects in the region,
which is quite rare among radical Islamic movements. After fending off Israel�s
invasion of Southern Lebanon in the early 1980s, Hizbullah again grew in
popularity when Israel�s military aggression in April of 1996 resulted in the
massacre in the village of Qana where 108 innocent civilians were mutilated.
Bush�s off-the-cuff remark to Tony Blair in St. Petersburg
deliberately ignored the deep history of Hizbullah, which is deemed a terrorist
organization by the state of Israel and the US State Department. And lest you
forgot, it was Israel who first marched forces into Lebanon in the 1990s, not
the other way around. Hizbullah came about as a result of Israeli�s invasion.
Since then, Hizbullah has tightened their relationship with Palestine, which
likely has struck fear in the Israeli government. The latest chapter of this
saga came about when two Israeli soldiers were captured by Hizbullah inside
Israel last week. But of course only Israel has the right to defend themselves.
Israel has imprisoned thousands of Hamas and Hizbullah members.
Unfortunately, there aren�t any leading Democrats standing
up to Bush�s unapprised diplomacy. Senator Hillary Clinton says she�ll support
�whatever steps are necessary� for Israel to prevail. I wonder if she�ll
support another slaughter like that in Qana?
Rep. Nancy Pelosi took Clinton�s remarks a bit further,
clarifying the Democrats� position, �The House Democratic leadership strongly
condemns the seizure of Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah terrorists operating from
Lebanon . . . Israel has an inherent right to defend itself, and the United
States supports our ally."
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid also chimed in, �Hezbollah
must be dismantled, and all nations have an obligation to cease any and all
assistance to this terrorist organization. Israel has a right to live in peace
and security, and the United States will stand by our ally in this difficult
time."
One would expect such perverse language from the neocons,
but sadly the Democrats are just as heinous when it comes to supporting Israeli
aggression. How are these clowns going to end the war in Iraq if they continue
to support hostility that is only escalating the tension between the West and
Arab countries?
If the Bush administration and their Democratic enablers
were truly serious about ending the violence in the Middle East, the first
honest step would be for the US to cut off all funding to Israel. But I think
we are more likely to see Syria step in than for that to happen.
Joshua
Frank is the author of "Left Out! How Liberals Helped Reelect George W.
Bush" and edits www.brickburner.org.