Lebanon's Engagement Narrative.
We as a country must address the Mideast war that is raging from an engaged point of view. Isolationism after Word War One led directly towards the accelerated rise of state fascists. These catalysts were borne of polar opposites across the spectrum of post industrialized cronies. It was evident that a state of engagement was the only way to deal with problems that accompany development. Thus determinism is weighed in matters of exchange, both parties in matters must have their needs met or at least considered and integrated within any accord met.
Growth can metasticize unchecked, we've seen the record marks hailed by venture interests collapse under its ambitious speculation when the reality it shapes incites reactionary terror. The gains and advance of technology, along unprecedented pace, takes repeated body blows from the dual pronged burnback that manifests.
Across a broad base of scale economies there is record disenfranchisement and inequity. Items that must be(and usually are) addressed at peacetime now languish as collective empowerment is rendered quaint. This produces counter developmental sentiment that adheres to traditional old model cultural doctrines and still does assimilate within the new interconnected model of value exchange.
That is the second prong, a new movement inside the ranks of the established that sees opportunism in playing the same previous held bias and norms against other such schools of belief and institutions. These young, affluent, upward moving, mobile profiles form the teeth of terror that can work across the awareness of long perceived assumptions. Yet they can easily move within the spheres of influence whose ideals and underpinning they claim, and shed them at a moment's notice when it best suits their appetite.
This background simply helps establish the narrative our world community must encounter to win the interests of a better tomorrow. We've seen little coordinated progress within the hot point of scale geopolitical economies in the Mideast. This is where the strongest hands of each interested party play, and each with the most loss of capital. Human capital, spiritual capital, and of course the base mores of our world economy find key elements within this crucible. Myrrh and anger are the cup which is being partaken of. The baptism of bloodletting makes for more such moments in other regions of the world community.
Within such context does Prof.Juan Cole develop conversations, his Informed Comment often highlights the realities our world must now deal with. A reply that could pertain to each of the threads he has currently placed at the site is as follows:
"The Newt Gingrich formula for casualties magnifies casualties in Israel on a comparative scale with USA population. Every eight people to him equals the equivalent of 500 Americans.
Well, Lebanon has comparative scales of populace as well. Over forty people killed would equal 2,500 people.
So think of Lebanon having undergone a 9-11 worth of deaths for its defense of soil against a contractor and retaliation afterwards when Israel went full scale reactionary.
Gingrich and his fuzzy math... Meat the Press and Timmeh.
MR. GINGRICH:" No. I mean, I think it is explicitly wrong and I think Senator Biden and I are basically in agreement on this. It is explicitly wrong to bring pressure on the victim. I mean, Israel did everything it could to withdraw from south Lebanon, and the result was terrorist missiles. Israel withdrew from Gaza, creating an opportunity for a self-governing Palestinian people to create a place of prosperity, and theyÂve created a place of terror. And I think for us to now sayÂimagine that was Miami. Imagine Miami had missiles being fired at it every day. Remember that when Israel loses eight people because of the difference in population, itÂs the equivalent of losing almost 500 Americans. Imagine we woke up this morning and 500 Americans were dead in Miami from missiles fired from Cuba. Do you think any American would say, ÂNow, we should have proportionate response. We shouldnÂt overreactÂ? No. We would say, ÂGet rid of the missiles. And, and John F. Kennedy, a Democrat who understood the importance of power in the world, was prepared to go to nuclear war to stop missiles from being in Cuba.
I donÂt, I donÂt think that, that any realistic
As for the replies in you site, can you confirm if the soldiers were captured in Israel?
Were the rockets launched in retaliation to bombings done after the soldiers' capture?"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13839698/page/2/
What is this of eight casualties, I only heard of two soldiers kidnapped. Have they padded the casualty total to craft a victimization narrative?
The total killed has changed, the location has been changed three times, I could have sworn the original report was a border 'patrol' that was over the border in Lebanon.
I'll apologize if wrong about the soldiers' location...
The timeline seems to be have been blurred. The specifics and chronology are at issue. The google function sends such a mix of events and blurs the time distinction.
Again the other post I sent it was noting how a biographer on cspan went into the Kennedy archives that England housed. She found a wealth of information and one of Kennedy's most trusted advisers was from there. His time in England while father was Ambassador in 1938 gave him a wealth of insight to someone whose politics were the opposite of his family philosophy.
He saw Winston Churchill's directive to make statements and reach accord as a starting point as a key.
Doing so in this instance would help shape the Mideast but if we only side with one country then it will lead to mistakes down the road. Alienating one side of the conflict will simply harbor resent. Lebanon could be Afghanistan on steroids."
Latest Lebanese casualty figures (info from major Italian daily "La Repubblica", Rome:
http://www.repubblica.it/2006/07/dirette/sezioni/esteri/mediorient/18luglio/index.html - item timelined 17.00 hours)
240 deaths in Lebanon due to Israel's bombings so far.
Breakdown:
- 212 civilians
- 23 Lebanese Army soldiers
- 5 (five) Hizbollah militants.
"In addition to Lebanese citizens, the civilian deathtoll includes 7 CanBrazilianBrasilians, 2 Kuwaitis and a Jordanian.
Immense damage to Lebanon's infrastructures:ports, airports, major highways and hundreds of buildings."
Tha would be almost 500 Canadians, 370 Brazilians, 120 Kuwaitis, and 60 Jordanians killed as collateral effect.
In addition, one must take into account the numbers of our world population, one person in four is of Muslim faith, so the Gingrich per capita multiplier manifests much more resent towards the side given the freest hand in this matter. Both sides are targeting people who are of not of strategic or tactical value outside of creating retaliatory victim narratives or reverse spin. There's no other reason to go after them thjustifiede justifed. If the supposed narrative applies towards them, it should apply towards both sides.
Since religious belief flavors most opinions in favor of either side in total, let us examine some of the possible words that could determine asatisfactorytsifactory to that set of values.
Luthertin luther King Jr. spoke briefly in Birmingham, having been stabbed, about the bold approach towards enemies in forgiveness and love. Matthewrs matthew Chapter Five in the speech and applies it in modern terms towards hate crimes.
"...basic content is the same, new insights and new experiences naturally make for new illustrations.
So I want to turn your attention to this subject: "Loving Your Enemies." It's so basic to me because it is a part of my basic philosophical and theological orientation the whole idea of love, the whole philosophy of love. In the fifth chapter of the gospel as recorded by Saint Matthew, we read these very arresting words flowing from the lips of our Lord and Master: "Ye have heard that it has been said, "Thou shall love thy neighbor,thinhate thine enemy." But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven."
Certainly these are great words, words lifted to cosmic proportions."
The context of the sermon on the mount was one of instruction. Christ toured the region teaching, and numbers of people followed beyond the ability of a building to hold them. Fittingly he relied upon the environment to host such throngs, outside the scope of one particular institution or denomination, a body of many varied backgrounds.
In today's terms the scope of such would be the body that most governments find agreed principals with in the UN. Unfortunately its own internals allow disinterested groups to block any such dialog in real terms. The Security Council has within its design impeding roadblocks towards consensus.
So we must broaden the scope of the sermon, of King's inspiredo inspried by it, towards the context of its instruction. The Chapter before backgrounds the travels of Christ leading towards the fifth chapter. He brought many with him along the way, its symbolism is of heightened importance towards today's regional conflicts.
"19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, ... and he healed them.25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan."
Syria, the land of his mother's birth, is explicitly mentioned. This design so includes its sentiment with that of the traditional great symbols of faith within the Holy Land, judea,Jerusalem, Jordan all follow.
Also the call was to leave the father and the profession and life's trade towards a greater purpose. Both sides must cede some key points to find agreement. Leave the suppositions and instructions of the father, with respect towards such but in new and tolerant accord.
Remember, much of the world is watching. To call for a ceasefire and an end to violence is the fiGeopoliticallyolitically, we see other reasons emerge. The post peak OPEC interests see both a putsch for fiscal gain and divergence from their owntacticsl tactiics take precedence over any supposed loyalties. Tribalism takes on different meanings as a result, in terms of subjective value.
America has already helped set the table for such actions, pressuring Syria out then moving in upon their former partner. Such a move isolates the land from much of the Mediterranean sphere. This is done to a country that was one of first supporters on 9-11 and just thereafter.
Israel continues its real time apartheid under the modicum of monotheism. Plurality is the design of true democracy and should essentially be a fundamental tenet of Abrahmaic faith. As stated above, we're all sons of Beruit, we're all sons of Jerusalem. All within the world community, to establish tiered society based on differences is to dilute the potential of all societies.
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