Fighting continues in Gaza, with Palestinian civilians taking a heavy toll. Neither side wants to talk cease-fire - the Israel military is slowly but surely gaining ground and Hamas continues to defiantly fire missiles into Israel. Both talk about the innocent civilians, but the sad truth of the matter is that neither side really cares about innocent civilians, because if they did a cease fire would be in effect.
Both sides are committed to achieving their goals. Israel, to insure their country will never be threatened from Gaza again and Hamas, showing the world that they will not be dictated to by their enemy.
For both to achieve their goals, the Palestinian citizens of Gaza have to pay the price. As all too often is the case, when zealots and radicals meet, innocents pay the price.
I do not understand why the United Nations has not gotten off its butt and sent in a peace keeping force, that will actually keep the the peace and hold both sides accountable to the agreement made in 2007. The peace keepers should have the right to take the necessary action to enforce the peace.
Okay, I know that our own beloved country is one of the reasons no peace keepers have been sent. George W believes Hamas is guilty because of their rocket attacks on Israel and I agree. I believe that as soon as Hamas broke the peace agreement, UN peace keepers should have entered Gaza and sealed the smuggling tunnels, arrest the Hamas militants responsible for the violations and allowed life to continue as normal as possible.
Of course that did not happen. The world had to wait until the situation escalated out of control and then were forced into calling for a cease fire.
The United Nations is a good idea in theory, but it has allowed itself to become so bogged down with politics, diplomacy and keeping face, that it has failed as an institution for international peace. To be effective, the UN has to be pro-active, anticipate the problem and act. Coming in after the fact will always be too little too late.
If the UN had sent peace keepers in six months ago, there would be no need for the massive relief effort that will be needed once the Israeli troops return home.
Death and destruction could have been avoided if the UN had acted quickly and effectively.
That's my opinion. Now, maybe I am hoping for too much from the UN, maybe I am a dreamer and not a realist, at least in this situation.
What should the UN do? How should they act? When should they step into a crisis?
Let your voices be heard.
Its Common Sense!
Showing posts with label Palestine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Palestine. Show all posts
Monday, January 5, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Middle East Strategy
As the fighting continues between Israel and Hamas over the Gaza Strip I have been reading and listening to various commentaries on the crisis and have noted that this current crisis could have far more reaching effects than I originally thought.
Several commentators are of the opinion that Iran is behind the current Hamas rocket attacks on Israel and that soon Hezbollah will begin attacking from Lebanon, forcing Israel to fight on two fronts. More disturbing are concerns that both Hamas and Hezbollah are going to increase their activities against the Egyptian government, with the intention of hopefully collapsing that government and putting Egypt in the position where a theocracy could take power, much like that currently in Iran. With two strong theocracies at the northern and southern ends of the Middle East, the spread of Islam Fundamentalism could spread rapidly into Jordan, Syria, and once the USA withdrawals, into Iraq.
That would leave Saudi Arabia - which I believe is headed for a civil war within the the next five years -, Lebanon - which could go anyway at anytime - and Israel - fighting opposition on all sides.
When viewed in this light it is obvious that peace in the Middle East is highly unlikely, especially with extremist from both sides calling the shots. Since I do not see radicals being replaced by moderates anytime in the near future, I fear that the USA is going to be sucked into providing aid in one form or other for decades to come in the Middle East.
We as a country are going to need to seriously decide just how large a commitment we can make, what we can afford, and what good we can actually make.
It is sad to admit that many of our commitments in that region are oil based, not human based.
True, we have supported Israel for decades, but how much of that commitment is based on the fact that we need an ally where we can base troops if things get out of hand in Saudi Arabia and Iraq?
I mention our oil based commitments because of the violence currently taking place in Uganda and the Congo. Hundreds are dying, but no troops are being sent because the atrocities are not being committed by "terrorists" just crazed rebels. And of course there is no financial gain to be made, no natural resources the USA needs are being threatened, so we will sit back and watch things play out.
As 2008 comes to a close it is sad to see that the world continues to be run by greed and terror, rather than love and concern. When will people be willing to make a commitment for the good of all, rather than their own personal good?
If you reflex on the teachings of all of the major religions, the key to all of them is good works, peace and freedom to worship. Too bad that none of the nations who supposedly embrace these religious traditions actually practice what they preach.
Starting with 2009, we the people need to do what we can to force our governmental officials to live up to a code of honor and justice for all. We have to have the courage to speak out against injustice and call people to task when they fail in their duties to serve the people of our country. No longer can we afford to sit back and grumble among ourselves, we need to make our voices heard.
We will have to be patient, not get discouraged, and realize that some change will probably not happen within our life time. However, if we can inspire others by our example, one day we can be assured that this country will be ruled, if not perfectly, with a goal of commitment to the common good, rather than the individual.
Its Common Sense!
Several commentators are of the opinion that Iran is behind the current Hamas rocket attacks on Israel and that soon Hezbollah will begin attacking from Lebanon, forcing Israel to fight on two fronts. More disturbing are concerns that both Hamas and Hezbollah are going to increase their activities against the Egyptian government, with the intention of hopefully collapsing that government and putting Egypt in the position where a theocracy could take power, much like that currently in Iran. With two strong theocracies at the northern and southern ends of the Middle East, the spread of Islam Fundamentalism could spread rapidly into Jordan, Syria, and once the USA withdrawals, into Iraq.
That would leave Saudi Arabia - which I believe is headed for a civil war within the the next five years -, Lebanon - which could go anyway at anytime - and Israel - fighting opposition on all sides.
When viewed in this light it is obvious that peace in the Middle East is highly unlikely, especially with extremist from both sides calling the shots. Since I do not see radicals being replaced by moderates anytime in the near future, I fear that the USA is going to be sucked into providing aid in one form or other for decades to come in the Middle East.
We as a country are going to need to seriously decide just how large a commitment we can make, what we can afford, and what good we can actually make.
It is sad to admit that many of our commitments in that region are oil based, not human based.
True, we have supported Israel for decades, but how much of that commitment is based on the fact that we need an ally where we can base troops if things get out of hand in Saudi Arabia and Iraq?
I mention our oil based commitments because of the violence currently taking place in Uganda and the Congo. Hundreds are dying, but no troops are being sent because the atrocities are not being committed by "terrorists" just crazed rebels. And of course there is no financial gain to be made, no natural resources the USA needs are being threatened, so we will sit back and watch things play out.
As 2008 comes to a close it is sad to see that the world continues to be run by greed and terror, rather than love and concern. When will people be willing to make a commitment for the good of all, rather than their own personal good?
If you reflex on the teachings of all of the major religions, the key to all of them is good works, peace and freedom to worship. Too bad that none of the nations who supposedly embrace these religious traditions actually practice what they preach.
Starting with 2009, we the people need to do what we can to force our governmental officials to live up to a code of honor and justice for all. We have to have the courage to speak out against injustice and call people to task when they fail in their duties to serve the people of our country. No longer can we afford to sit back and grumble among ourselves, we need to make our voices heard.
We will have to be patient, not get discouraged, and realize that some change will probably not happen within our life time. However, if we can inspire others by our example, one day we can be assured that this country will be ruled, if not perfectly, with a goal of commitment to the common good, rather than the individual.
Its Common Sense!
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