An Open War

Is it too much to ask for one week of relative peace?

Given that I was on vacation this week I made a decision to just forget about the Headline news, let life slow down a bit, enjoy the wife and kids and all that. Surely, just one week free of Anderson Cooper exclusives and Fox News Alerts isn’t asking too much.

Apparently it was because by mid-week of paying only glancing attention to the news it was becoming apparent that the potential seeds of World War III were being sewn in the Middle East.

Ah, The Middle East. What a joyful bunch- so reasonable and reliable. We are all truly blessed that the practitioners of the planets three most popular forms of voodoo all claim one piece of land as their divine home. Aren’t we all so lucky that these forces have the God excuse to remain in perpetual war (sometimes cold, sometimes hot) with one another throughout the millennia? After all, the territorial disputes negotiated by mere mortals in other areas of the world just wouldn’t do for these folks since each of their non-existent Gods are looking down and judging the actions of their faithful.

It’s just wonderful, isn’t it?

That being said:
Israel is doing the right thing by coaxing the proxies of Iran and Syria (Hezbollah and Hamas) into an open war. Let’s face it- the diplomats have failed miserably in this region by continually brokering deals that leave these militant groups intact to continue to cause trouble during the several shaky truces and ceasefires brokered at the bargaining table.

The fact is that the Palestinians could have an enduring peace tomorrow if they wanted it!

Yes- there are plenty of nasty things that have taken pace on both sides over the modern era of this biblical conflict- and Yes- the Israeli side has its fair share of radicals. But unlike the Palestinians, the state of Israel has chosen to be guided by the principles of progress and enlightenment.

Israel holds itself to a world standard not shared by its enemies and has proven that they are good for their word when making agreements and signing multi-party treaties. The Iranian/Syrian contingent and their proxies, on the other hand, were long ago revealed to be a pack of charlatans and liars who negotiate to gain short-term leverage, only to find the first convenient excuse to toss out whatever treaties have been signed when it suits their goals and purposes.

The Israelis can be trusted to abide by an actual negotiated peace- their enemies cannot. Therefore it is right for Israel to make the decision to have an open war with Hezbollah because it allows them to state the complete destruction of that organization as the mission of the war.

They should wipe out Hezbollah, then do the same with Hamas- and challenge Iran and Syria to fight them directly or get out of the business of funding proxy militias to do their bidding visa vie Israel.

Diplomacy has failed.

Let’s hope war does a better job at securing a true and lasting peace.

My fingers are crossed.