newprotest.org: FROM THE OTHER SIDE

FROM THE OTHER SIDE

July 18, 2006
by: jovial_cynic
I've been reading some blogs written by Palestinians and Lebanese who are either in the areas torn apart by Israeli bombs or from the region (you can't get both sides of a story without hearing from both sides, after all), and a surprising bit of information came out.

Western media has put a lot of emphasis on Iran and Syria as being potential threats to Israel and the US in the current struggle. The general notion is that "they're all arabs over there," so they'll all stick together and fight against Israel and against America. Such statements reflect a great deal of ignorance that the West has about the Middle East.

Here's a quote I picked up from a comment by Tony Sayegh:

I think that now we see the contrast between resistance movements (in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon) and the regimes, as never before. Why is Syria, with at least 50 times the resources and geographic area compared to Hezbollah, is not pursuing asymmetric war to liberate its own occupied Golan Heights? The answer, of course, is because it is a regime that only cares about staying in power and not liberation. The same goes for Iran.

It's key to note the language. For Palestinian civilians (again, always the victims in war), Hamas and Hezbollah are freedom fighters. They see Israel as an oppressive regime, bent on crushing their lives. They're the ones who's schools, homes, and hospitals are being bombed. Also note the language used to describe Iran and Syria -- "a regime that only cares about staying in power and not liberation." Iran and Syria are viewed as nations that talk about crushing Israel, but only for the sake of politics. Iran and Syria actually have nothing to gain by attacking Israel, and in fact have very much to lose. A "freedom fighter," by definition has nothing to lose, for they have lost everything already.

That's not to say that strapping a bomb on oneself and getting onto a bus with civilians is justified -- hardly the case. It is wicked and evil, and should be condemed by everybody. However, just as the West has seen images of Palestinian children wearing mock-suicide bombs in protest against Israel, consider the images found here. Yes, those are Israeli children signing their names and messages on bombs that are going to be dropped onto Lebanon... onto innocent Lebanese men, women, and children.

There are no good guys.
np category: politics
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COMMENTS for FROM THE OTHER SIDE


Luke said:
Pretty bleak picture but it does give me hope that things won't escalate to levels many believe it will. But then again things have to get worse before they get better...
July 18, 2006


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