Other Casualties of War
While some citizens of Lebanon are not in direct danger of the war that is taking place, their livelihood is in jeopardy. Business has been so severely disrupted by the violence that they are forced to leave their jobs and abandon their once thriving businesses, and consequently their homes (not having any source of income), to live as refugees with family, friends, and strangers that will take them in, or live in poverty. Of course, if you're the type of person who isn't at all bothered by "collateral damage" in war then I wouldn't expect you to worry your pretty little head about people having to leave all that they know to escape poverty. You just go on with your mantra that war is good and necessary since that seems to help you sleep at night (in your own bed, in your own home, waking up to go to your job in the morning).
posted by Tootsie Farklepants at 10:23 AM
9 Comments:
Hi,
I think all rational people are concerned with casualties of war as well as colateral damage as presented in your essay. I think it is horrable. 100 per day in sectarian violence in Iraq. 100 a day!!! How messed up is that crap.
I see your point how your convinced that no matter what, war is not the answer. period. I respect that as I have in the past. I wish I could have that outlook on the rest of the world. That all they want to do is live peacefully. I just dont think alot of them do. I think a lot of them want to kill us, as they have since the 70's.
Some people think that the best way to protect their country is to get rid of the threat before the threat is real and on top of them. Preemptive action.
In the Israels case however,I think your not giving them proper credit for what they go through daily there. When everyone around you says you should not exist and should be wiped off the planet and you are constantly seeing civilians blown up on your buses what are you going to do? Sit and wait until they do wipe you off the map? Hezbolla hides in peoples homes, they are the original terroists. Next to Bin Ladens ilk they have killed the next most americans. Think back to all the hostages they took. A clergy man, Terry something or other from Britan who came to negotiate with them. All the americans they took as hostages in the 80's and 90's.
These are some pretty bad people and they are basically a terrorist state running with in a democratic state. The Cedars need to get these folks out and not offer them a place to base their operations or allow them to run for political office until they disarm their militia/terrorists.
I fear however, that the worst thing to happen may have happend, which lends credibility to every arguement against war you ever have made. And that is when this is all said and done, Hezbolla will arise as a hero in the arab world and pretty be unstopable.
This crap is just going to get worse and worse over the next 10 years. No matter who is running what country anywhere.Lets Just pray that the Iranians dont get a bomb and then start WW3 on a grand scale.
Hello stranger.
I think that the MAJORITY of the average citizens DO want to live peacefully. Just live their life like we do, raising their families, going to work, and appreciating what they have. I think it's a case of a few bad apples ruins the whole bunch thing ya got goin' on in your post.
I also think there is a difference between a percieved threat and a real threat as far as preemptive war is concerned.
I also have a hard time reconciling that it is okay for Isreal to indiscriminately bomb Lebanon and not distinguish Hezbollah from Lebonese, just because "everyone around you says you should not exist and should be wiped off the planet". Their actions are equally atrocious as Hezbollah's. I draw that conclusion on the amount of innocent lives being wiped out wholesale.
So much for Bush's claim that democratic nations do not attack other democratic nations. Although, to his credit, he didn't mention established democratic nations attacking fledgling democratic nations.
Its just such a mess. I want to see this all end, and everyone go back to living normally. I am afraid however that since 1998 we have been at war with a lot of people and really didnt catch on until it was too late then we may have tried to hard to get a hold of everything all at once. Ie: Iraq.
Personally, I think Prez Bush needs to get all these Muslum leaders from Iraq together and say "alright folks, ya got 6 month ( or whatever ) to get control of your people and your country or we are outta here and you all can just kill each other until you have no one left to kill". Good or bad, we freed these people from an evil dictator and they really dont seem to give a crap. All we did was take over as their target of angst. Which I think is totally wrong. But it bothers me that they are not getting their acts together and rebuilding their own damn country.
In Israel, I dont agree with your conclusion of indiscriminant bombing. I think the IDF targeted as best as they could where as the Hezbola's just toss rockets into populated areas just to purposefully kill civilians. There is a distinction there. BUT, Israel is not the USA. They dont have the skill our soldiers and air force folks have ( sans the soldiers who seem to want to use the service as an excuse to rape and murder ). Nor do they have the precise weapons we have.
I am not losing my will and remain committed to an aggressive policy, be it with Bush or Hillary or whomever in a few years. Cause, you know as I do. Whom ever comes next of which ever party is going to do whatever they think is right to protect us, and using the military is one of the big options leaders like to use. All of them do that.
I am however concerned. As I have been for a number of years. You know I am not anti-war, but I am not infavor of war. I would prefer other alternatives. I think we went to Iraq with good intentions and if we leave too early I think I lot of people are going to die and my and your kids will be going back in the future to start all over again. I think if we knew then what we know now, we wouldnt have gone into Iraq. I think we would have expanded the no fly zone and really wathced them closer. Or something.
Now we have an even bigger problem looming with Iran and pretty much no one in the world wants to do anything about it.
I wrote a piece almost 4 years ago for the LA Times on the Iranian Nuke scenario and it was actually published. Pretty long too. My point was that if they wanted to develope a bomb they could do it and hold the world hostage. Forget about nuking Israel, too many arab casualties. What they could do is put a nuke in the one of the major oil fields in Saudi Arabia and pretty much make their oil the only oil anyone in the world can buy for the next 20 years. You want to talk about the ULTIMATE control. No one could do anything about it. Cant attack a country that could retaliate with Nuclear weapons.
I dont know. i dont even know what I think anymore. Im concerned. Thats all I guess.
I just wrote a really nice response but was timed out. Never happend before. I dont feel like rewriting it now. I will do it later.
Basically, I just dont know anymore about anything. : (
aaah, it showed up. Cool.
You touched on something in your comment that sticks in my craw everytime I hear it. That would be...Intention.
>>>In Israel, I dont agree with your conclusion of indiscriminant bombing. I think the IDF targeted as best as they could where as the Hezbola's just toss rockets into populated areas just to purposefully kill civilians.~Jack<<
It matters not what the intention is/was when the outcome is equal. If I'm driving to the market and strike and kill a pedestrian along the way, does the fact that I didn't intend too make the pedestrian less dead?
No, but it surely means whether you will spend time in jail or not.
BUT, you are true to your beliefs that you dont care who dies, you dont want anyone to die. I just wish you would show a little anger at the hizbollas and hamases for what they did to start this and have done in the past. You seem to direct all your anger at the USA and Israel and not the real BAD people.
I assume you dont consider the US and Israel the bad ones here eh?
Where did I direct my anger at the US?
I also don't really believe in "good" and "bad" because those are quite subjective words. Depends on who's doing the labeling and what perspective they're coming from. What's good today can be bad tomorrow. Kinda like when Sadaam was our good buddy, all around swell ally up until he invaded Kuwait, then he was bad. How bad? Axis of evil, bad. Personally I think he was "bad" all along. It was just beneficial to us to consider him "good enough".
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. : )
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