Everything here in Jordan is fine, but if you scratch the surface ...
You will find that everyone is incensed over what is going on in Lebanon. My Iraqi friend was living in Beirut when the bombing started and it cost her $500 (5 or 6 times the usual rate) to drive back to Jordan ... fortunately the Jordanians let her in. She was living in the north of Beirut and said the bombing was incredible. I personally don't understand the U.S. response to this. Bush seems to think that this all started because of Hezbollah, as if they sprang up over night and there were not decades of unresolved problems that came before.
And where on earth does this idea come from that a negotiated settlement needs to occur before the bombing and conflict can stop. How bizarre. When you think of every school yard fight you've ever seen, have you ever witnessed one in which the teacher tries to settle the matter between two combatants while the fight is still going on?
The U.S. isn't impartial. It shouldn't pretend to be because it openly wants Israel to win ... but Israel never will win this way. Bombing villages like this and killing children is just making a whole new batch of people who hate them and want to fight against them.
Many people around here support Hezbollah, they don't think of it as a terrorist organization but as a resistance movement and I would dare say that a lot of people from surrounding countries are going to Lebanon to fight. I know of a host of peace activists that are planning activities in Lebanon as well.
It's also clear that the U.S. could stop this overnight if it wished. When Rice was in Israel, I heard a western news report say "Israel asks for another 10 to 14 days of bombing." So clearly they need permission to do this from the U.S. Which means, clearly, the U.S has the means to stop this on a dime if they wanted, but it refuses to. This only services to confirm to people in the Middle East that the U.S. is not the least impartial.
I've never been afraid in Jordan to say that I was American ... people are very welcoming here ... many even have friends or family in the U.S. But after this it does make me a bit nervous to tell people where I'm from. Perhaps its just my own shame as seeing my country behave this way, but maybe I will start telling people that ask that I'm from Canada! I used to do that in Iraq ... it's hard to believe that I have to start doing that here.
You will find that everyone is incensed over what is going on in Lebanon. My Iraqi friend was living in Beirut when the bombing started and it cost her $500 (5 or 6 times the usual rate) to drive back to Jordan ... fortunately the Jordanians let her in. She was living in the north of Beirut and said the bombing was incredible. I personally don't understand the U.S. response to this. Bush seems to think that this all started because of Hezbollah, as if they sprang up over night and there were not decades of unresolved problems that came before.
And where on earth does this idea come from that a negotiated settlement needs to occur before the bombing and conflict can stop. How bizarre. When you think of every school yard fight you've ever seen, have you ever witnessed one in which the teacher tries to settle the matter between two combatants while the fight is still going on?
The U.S. isn't impartial. It shouldn't pretend to be because it openly wants Israel to win ... but Israel never will win this way. Bombing villages like this and killing children is just making a whole new batch of people who hate them and want to fight against them.
Many people around here support Hezbollah, they don't think of it as a terrorist organization but as a resistance movement and I would dare say that a lot of people from surrounding countries are going to Lebanon to fight. I know of a host of peace activists that are planning activities in Lebanon as well.
It's also clear that the U.S. could stop this overnight if it wished. When Rice was in Israel, I heard a western news report say "Israel asks for another 10 to 14 days of bombing." So clearly they need permission to do this from the U.S. Which means, clearly, the U.S has the means to stop this on a dime if they wanted, but it refuses to. This only services to confirm to people in the Middle East that the U.S. is not the least impartial.
I've never been afraid in Jordan to say that I was American ... people are very welcoming here ... many even have friends or family in the U.S. But after this it does make me a bit nervous to tell people where I'm from. Perhaps its just my own shame as seeing my country behave this way, but maybe I will start telling people that ask that I'm from Canada! I used to do that in Iraq ... it's hard to believe that I have to start doing that here.
2 Comments:
Why dont you mention the fact that hebullah kidnapped 2 israeli solders.
I personally dont know much about the conflict. The israeli response seems severe but didnt hezbollah realize this would happen ????????
By
Anaheim Animal Care & Pet Hospital, at August 21, 2006 1:18 PM
EC is correct, but apparently these types of things have been going on along the Isreali/Lebanese border for awhile. In October 2000 there was a prisoner exchange between Hizbollah and Isreal of three Israeli soldiers (Benny Avraham, Adi Avitan and Omar Suwaeid) who were abducted by Hizbollah while on patrol near the Lebanese border. People have to remember that this conflict didn't spring up over night, this was just a new chapter and for the relatively small number of prisoners held by Hizbollah, the are hundreds more languishing in Israeli prisons.
By
Anna, at August 21, 2006 3:22 PM
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