In the face of dismay among world leaders for our apparent block of a cease-fire in Lebanon, White House spokesman Tony Snow said that the US would “push back,” probably meaning that President Bush is prepared to declare “Your mother wears combat boots” to those who criticize us.
It’s always risky to appear to be critical of Israel. But criticism isn’t necessarily anti-Semitic. Most of the world believes that Israel’s reaction to the kidnapping of two of its soldiers by Hezbollah was excessive. Certainly the deaths of many innocent civilians bears that out.
It’s not hard to understand Israel’s point of view, when so many of its neighbors would be happy to wipe it from the face of the earth. But this is where leadership comes in. And only the US can provide that leadership. It’s been missing for almost six years thanks to the Bush administration. An effective foreign policy would persuade both sides that the existence of the other is inevitable, and the only solution is to set aside hatred and coexist peacefully. I’m no statesman, so I don’t know what would be persuasive. All I know is that it can’t be done militarily. It’s failed in the past and it will continue to fail. Right or wrong, force only inspires more hatred and more revenge.
The hatred is spilling over too. Yesterday in Seattle, a Muslim-American shot six people in the offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, killing one. Before pulling the trigger, he announced his hatred of Jews. This hatred is apt to spread: with the culture of revenge so familiar to both Muslims and Jews, it may set off a wave of hate killing.
It all must end. But it won’t as long as Bush and Company inhabit the White House. No one in the administration has the diplomatic skills or goals to help achieve a lasting peace in the Middle East. So far its policies have only served to inflame an already volatile region. Americans can’t sit here and worry more about high gas prices without realizing that an unstable Middle East helps push those prices up. And contrary to their plan, the administration’s strategy there has only made the region more unstable.
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