Hezbollah sends a rocket into Israel, and because Hezbollah isn't its own country, Israel retaliates by attacking Lebanon. Just as the US battled Al Qaeda by attacking radicals in Afghanistan, so must Israel strike back against Iranian influence with its raids on Lebanon. It is a cycle of events that has and will continue to repeat itself – and one that leaves many asking this question:
What can Israel do? The conventional wisdom holds that any military action is counterproductive. The doves point out that the Israeli counteroffensive has boosted Hezbollah's standing in the Arab world.
Well, sure. But Hezbollah's prestige was also boosted by Israel's 2000 withdrawal from Lebanon . If aggressive Israeli actions boost Hezbollah, and conciliatory Israeli actions boost Hezbollah, then maybe Israel's actions aren't really the prime mover here.
The most sensical thing The Interloper has taught me is that the War on Terror is not one against any nation, but an ideology of hate. This is nothing new. Smarter men than me (yes, some do exist) have come up empty with a Mideast peace solution – a shortcoming likely do to the fact that logic can't win in a region dominated by hate and misinformation. I'm not necessarily pessimistic by nature (except my opinion that most people are idiots who will make bad decisions if given the chance), but how can this not end badly?
Perhaps a rosier outcome could be had if American forces weren't spread thin in Iraq (and elsewhere)…but I doubt it. Things are bad and they're going to get worse. A once optimistic and western-influenced Lebanon is on the verge of complete annihilation, and hate seems poised to carry the day for generations to come.
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