The warrior princess Condoleezza Rice began her trip to the Middle East so nonchalantly that it made everyone wonder what is really going on behind the scenes. It seems that she had been waiting until Israel completed the destruction of much of Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure, an assault which it initiated after receiving the green light from the U.S. administration. Ironically, after the murder of about 400 hundred people, mostly civilians, and billions of dollars in damage, she said a ceasefire is “urgent.” She also said she would not try to restore the status quo which existed before the ongoing conflict. "What we're seeing here, in a sense, is… the birth pangs of a new Middle East and, whatever we do, we have to be certain that we're pushing forward to the new Middle East, not going back to the old one." The actions of the Bush administration have shown that the attack on Lebanon and the Hezbollah resistance movement was premeditated. Otherwise, there would have been no justification for such an all-out offensive in response to the capture of two soldiers.
So far, Israel has lost over 20 soldiers in clashes with Hezbollah, while the two captured soldiers are thought to be safe and sound.
Thus, the two soldiers could have been exchanged for Lebanese nationals held prisoner in Israel, meaning there was no need for such criminal acts.
Israel and the U.S. have been seeking to find a way to diminish Hezbollah’s popularity among the Lebanese and other Arab nations, which it gained for its success in ending the twenty-two year occupation of south Lebanon; disarm the resistance based on UN Security Council Resolution 1559; and deploy NATO-led troops in south Lebanon, in line with the failed Greater Middle East Initiative.
To achieve these goals, Israel has resorted to the dirtiest tactics, bombing civilian targets and making life as unpleasant as possible for the Lebanese.
The world is appalled at the attacks on civilians, which are blatant violations of international law. It is the same dirty tactic which was used by Saddam Hussein in his war against Iran some two decades ago. How can the U.S. and Britain call Israel’s actions self-defense?
For all its bitterness, one positive point has come out of this war. It has left no doubt that the United States is an accomplice in Israel’s war crimes against the Lebanese people. The U.S. blocked the UN Security Council resolution condemning the attack on Lebanon and decided to speed up the delivery of precision-guided bombs to Israel, calling the attack a self-defense measure.
These events show that Israel and the U.S. have no qualms about committing the most heinous crimes in order to achieve their goal, which is a new Middle East, according to Rice.
Such miscalculations by the warrior princess and the other hawks in the U.S. administration led to the invasion of Iraq, which has resulted in scandals for Washington and hell for the Iraqi people.
However, these vicious acts will backfire and increase the animosity toward Israel and the United States in Arab nations in particular and the world in general.
