BACK FROM VACATION
July 31, 2006
by: jovial_cynic
by: jovial_cynic
I just got back from a family vacation in Western Montana. I had hoped that everything in the Middle East would have settled down by the time I got back, but no such luck.
Boo.
Anyhow, here's some fun facts about what's going on in Lebanon right now.
According to a report by the Christian Science Monitor:
The stakes are high for Hizbullah, but it seems it can count on an unprecedented swell of public support that cuts across sectarian lines.According to a poll released by the Beirut Center for Research and Information, 87 percent of Lebanese support Hizbullah's fight with Israel, a rise of 29 percent on a similar poll conducted in February. More striking, however, is the level of support for Hizbullah's resistance from non-Shiite communities. Eighty percent of Christians polled supported Hizbullah along with 80 percent of Druze and 89 percent of Sunnis. (emphasis mine)
80 percent of Lebanese Christians?! 89 percent of Sunnis?! How can this be?
Well, when you read that Israel's Justice Minister Haim Ramon ordered the Israeli army to flatten every village they encountered in Lebanon with air strikes, it starts to make sense.
Large numbers fled the south after the Israeli military dropped leaflets warning of attacks. Others have been unable to leave, often because they have not found the means. The Israelis have taken that to mean that they are therefore Hezbollah.
Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon announced on Israeli army radio Thursday that "all those in south Lebanon are terrorists who are related in some way to Hezbollah."
Since we have over 87% of the Lebanese population supporting Hezbollah (since they view them as freedom fighters), Israel's military objective seems to be to level all of Lebanon. With such a high rate of support, every Lebanese citizen effectively is Hezbollah. And since Israel is the one flattening villages and hospitals instead of building them (as we know Hezbollah has done), it's no mystery at all.
Boo.
Anyhow, here's some fun facts about what's going on in Lebanon right now.
According to a report by the Christian Science Monitor:
The stakes are high for Hizbullah, but it seems it can count on an unprecedented swell of public support that cuts across sectarian lines.According to a poll released by the Beirut Center for Research and Information, 87 percent of Lebanese support Hizbullah's fight with Israel, a rise of 29 percent on a similar poll conducted in February. More striking, however, is the level of support for Hizbullah's resistance from non-Shiite communities. Eighty percent of Christians polled supported Hizbullah along with 80 percent of Druze and 89 percent of Sunnis. (emphasis mine)
80 percent of Lebanese Christians?! 89 percent of Sunnis?! How can this be?
Well, when you read that Israel's Justice Minister Haim Ramon ordered the Israeli army to flatten every village they encountered in Lebanon with air strikes, it starts to make sense.
Large numbers fled the south after the Israeli military dropped leaflets warning of attacks. Others have been unable to leave, often because they have not found the means. The Israelis have taken that to mean that they are therefore Hezbollah.
Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon announced on Israeli army radio Thursday that "all those in south Lebanon are terrorists who are related in some way to Hezbollah."
Since we have over 87% of the Lebanese population supporting Hezbollah (since they view them as freedom fighters), Israel's military objective seems to be to level all of Lebanon. With such a high rate of support, every Lebanese citizen effectively is Hezbollah. And since Israel is the one flattening villages and hospitals instead of building them (as we know Hezbollah has done), it's no mystery at all.