Thursday, December 23, 2010

My Safety Requires Your Surrender

Danger: when I am prevented from hitting you. For example, allowing women to defend themselves endangers muggers. Similarly, some countries cannot be allowed to defend themselves.


According to Haaretz, U.S. Representative Steve Rothman has urged France to rethink its plans to sell anti-tank missiles to Lebanon, stipulating that the volatile situation in that country meant that it would put Israel into "grave danger."

If the Lebanese armed forces obtained anti-tank missiles, then they might actually choose to defend Lebanon the next time Israel decides to invade. Alternatively, those weapons might end up in the hands of Hezbollah, which will surely defend Lebanon the next time Israel invades. Of course, Israel could still destroy Lebanese infrastructure at will from its jet bombers and litter the land with white phosphorus terror weapons, like those that still maim Lebanese children as the result of Israel’s 2006 invasion, but if it could not drive its tanks through Lebanon, Israel would be put in “grave danger.”

Well, yes, this U.S. congressional spokesperson for the Israeli expansionist right wing has a point. After all, the best Israel could manage in 2006 was a draw – it provoked the flood north of a million or so Lebanese refugees, ravaged the land and wrecked civilian infrastructure, but Hezbollah was able to hold on and claim credit for stopping the regional superpower in its tank tracks. So giving Lebanon the means to defend itself would endanger…well, obviously not “Israel” but at least the expansionist plans of the right wing. After all, how seriously is Iran going to take Israeli threats if even tiny Lebanon starts defending itself? The whole house of cards would start to shake.


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