10 dead in Israel, 9 soldiers

This is it boys, this is war:

The scene is very difficult. It can be described as a battlefield," said Shimon Abutbul, a rescue worker who was one of the first to arrive in the area. "There was a lot of blood."

"We saw difficult scenes in the days of this fighting. This is the worst I have seen," he said, adding that the rockets also hit cars.

A nearby forest burst into flames from the barrage and huge plumes of gray smoke rose into the air.

I hate to see routes. Unmatched competitions. Blowouts. On the sports field, it's not good for the losers, and it's worse for the winners. Overconfident. Cocky. Not playing for the love of the game, or even with the spirit to win. It's too easy when the teams aren't well matched.

That was my problem with this latest war. What is the civilian count up to? I'll buy that they all weren't deliberately targeted, but they are dead nonetheless, thanks to the actions of both teams.

But when soldiers are kidnapped or die, sure, they're somebody's children too. But they are players on the field. That's who we want to battle for supremacy over the land; killing children, women, and farmworkers = too easy. That's the terrorist's way.

Here, if they're going to resist, I'm glad the terrorists are targeting soldiers. I hope when the final score comes down, it's not such a blowout either. Will make it less convenient for either side to get overconfident and want to play this type of game again.

I also hope that no outside forces are brought in to play clean up. Obviously, everyone knows the dangers by now of stationing their own team's soldiers on the other side's land. Ideally, you don't want that to happen for long. Get in, do the limited and clearly defined job, get out. If you have to leave forces behind to clean up after yourself (and all this should be thought out before any troops invade), be prepared. It's a damn shame to go around thinking somebody else is going to do the heavy lifting in accomplishing your goals, and always be there to clean up after your messes. Maybe today's deaths will open some eyes. War can make one feel macho, but in the end, alone it does not bring peace. Sometimes, war brings more enemies, more fighting and destruction, more death, then if you had worked -- really seriously worked -- on finding a workable path out that can be undertaken by both teams. (Why compromise when you can route?) Violence should be used sparingly and effectively. Sounds trite, but amazing how many still choose not to see that. Technology over common sense, if you will. Overconfidence.

Don't listen to the cheerleaders; listen to your brains, hearts, and stomachs.
This invasion and aftermath will likely turn out as effective as the one begun in March 2003. I was talking negative back then too. Pooh-poohed the purple finger publicity that the insta-experts said "proved" victory. (gotta think long term, friends). Not surprised by the ongoing civil war -- when you destabilize a country...

Let's all wait and see how Lebanon turns out: will the bombings, destruction and invasion prove to help bring about peace in the region, or woud it have been better to go slow when the two soldiers were kidnapped, and take the non-easy route in supporting the Lebanese government and people working for better lives for themselves? In which way would Israel have been able to survive the longest, and on which path -- military or otherwise -- would the United States have retained some of its idealistic leadership in the world?
----------
Other ways of thinking...
Gideon Levy in Haaretz:

This miserable war in Lebanon, which is just getting more and more complicated for no reason at all, was born in Israel's greed for land. Not that Israel is fighting this time to conquer more land, not at all, but ending the occupation could have prevented this unnecessary war. If Israel had returned the Golan Heights and signed a peace treaty with Syria in a timely fashion, presumably this war would not have broken out.

Peace with Syria would have guaranteed peace with Lebanon and peace with both would have prevented Hezbollah from fortifying on Israel's northern border. Peace with Syria would have also isolated Iran, Israel's true, dangerous enemy, and cut off Hezbollah from one of the two sources of its weapons and funding. It's so simple, and so removed from conventional Israeli thinking, which is subject to brainwashing.

For years, Israel has waged war against the Palestinians with the main motive of insistence on keeping the occupied territories. If not for the settlement enterprise, Israel would have long since retreated from the occupied territories and the struggle's engine would have been significant neutralized. Not that a non-occupying Israel would have turned into the darling of the Arab world, but the destructive fire aimed at Israel would have significantly lessened, and those who continued to fight Israel would have found themselves isolated.

The war against the Palestinians is therefore unequivocally a territorial war, a war for the settlements. In other words, in the West Bank and Gaza, people were killed and are getting killed because of our greed for land. From Golda Meir to Ehud Olmert, the lie has held that the war with the Palestinians is an existential one for survival imposed on Israel when it is actually a war for real estate, one dunam after another, that does not belong to us. ...

Read the whole thing,
or go paint your fingers and practice your cheers.