Tuesday, August 15, 2006

The Drums of War

The ink is not yet dry on the cease-fire and the region is starting to worry about the next episode in the saga. Most Arabs I’ve spoken to, in the last couple of days, think that the US supported invasion of Lebanon was a preamble for the main event, in which the US attacks Iran. That it was meant to test the efficacy of the resistance fighters, as supported by Iran. Lebanon was just a pawn in the game, sacrificed early, in order to see the weapons that will be brought to bear in the real battle.

Many are preparing their families to move out of the region in anticipation of a spreading conflict. Many of them are trying to create liquidity and have stopped investing in the region. Real estate prices that climbed in double digits over the last few years are starting to show negative returns.

The house of cards upon which the region’s recovery was built is coming down. Lebanon was that card at the bottom of the house that has weakened the entire structure.

I am totally without words to express the frustration at seeing my government’s idiotic foreign policies around the world. The more I read history, the more I realize how we have made the bed we now have to sleep in. I do believe that we have reached a very dangerous point on the road. The path we are taking is going to lead to a larger Middle Eastern war that could bring in Europe, China and Russia on one or the other side. Is this what we want?

What Americans are forgetting, if they ever knew this, is that the point of ignition for the conflict is, and always was, the treatment of the Palestinians. If we really want to make a difference in the region and bring back stability we need to empower the Palestinians.

We give billions to Israel every year. If we could build schools and universities in Palestine, and give the Palestinian back his pride and dignity we could solve this issue in months. All the Palestinian wants is the right to live and work and be able to raise his family with dignity without being treated like an animal.

A new administration in Washington in two years time is not going to change things much unless our attitude changes with it. How can we do this? Perhaps Americans are getting tired of the constant war mongering exacerbated by the press in order to increase viewers and readership. I don’t see signs of this yet. People are willing to believe anything they read without doing any due diligence themselves.

The burden lies with us individually. It is our government. We can change things. I just hope we can change our course before we run aground on the dangerous shoals of Levant. We have elections coming up in a few months. Let us show our elected leaders that we won’t buy the BS we’ve been handed all along. Each one of us has to vote his conscience, not the party he’s used to. Both the Democrats and the Republicans are leading us in the wrong direction. Maybe its time for another party.

It’s our future and that of our children. We’re really messing it up. We all need to change the operating basis we’ve used for years if we really want to change conditions. If we don’t do anything, we lose. Our choice.

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