FIRST DIARY: the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, Assumptions, and my Grandmother
Hi DailyKos.. I've been snooping around here for a bit, commented a few times, and this is my first diary, and first real attempt to distill what I have read, heard, and seen about the situation in the Middle East.
I have become increasingly grateful to my grandmother for teaching me a little ditty about assumptions. Having botched some household chore, I tried to explain myself with "I guess I just assumed..."
She cut me off right there, fixing me with a look of mock concern.
"Haven't you heard about assumptions?"
I told her I had not...
"When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me."
Not the headiest, most philosophical stuff, but a lot of wisdom isn't. Assumptions are terrible things, and are responsible for racism, classism, and a host of other isms that beat back progress and spit on the values we (Americans? decent people anywhere, I guess) hold dear. Assumptions keep the best (wo)man from being hired for the job, from getting the raise, and from winning an election. They fuel more hatred than religion or belief systems inherently do themselves. The less assumptions someone makes, the better a person they are-- because if you don't assume, you either Know, or you Don't, and if you Don't, you can be aware of it.
As I see it1 the issue of a ceasefire, or lack of one, is this: the presence of armed Islamist groups in Israel's surrounding regions -- groups who hold a primary objective of the absolute elimination of any Zionist state -- pose a very real danger to Israel. Israelis should not have to live in fear, and it is clear that they have some responsability to address this issue as long as extreme factions continue to, through physical destruction and often of civilian targets, push for that goal.
1(and it's hard as hell to try to see any sort of big picture with international relations, I'm finding more and more. there's definitely a lot of truth to "the more I learn, the more I realize how dumb I am"-type thinking)
On the opposite end of this unfortunately hair-triggered scale is the price of taking the fight to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The death toll continues to rise, and tempers will flare across the region in response to horrific events like the Qana strike. It is incredibly hard to justify the killing of innocent civilians, and with each dead child the weight of its actions falls a little heavier on Israel's shoulders.
It is clear that Israel believes that "taking care of things" in the region to ensure its future safety is the top priority. It is also clear that the US is allowing this line to be held, as we continue to supply one of the largest fighting forces in the world. The conclusion that has been reached is that groups such as Hezbollah are just too dangerous to be allowed to exist in their current, armed state given their close proximity to Israel.
my question is...
How many assumptions (about Hezbollah, etc) are being made by Israel, the United States, and any other body that is not calling for an immediate and total cease-fire? (lets be honest-- it is a dearth of this sentiment in places like the US that allows for conflict to continue) If the answer to that is zero... OK, great, and that means that Israel more or less is forced to use the best methods at its disposal (read: bombs) to root out and destroy Hezbollah, and my overall view shifts to the despicability of the Islamist group and tactics of hiding in schools, churches and hospitals. If the answer to my question is some, then I want to know what they are. And I want them to stop. I know my grandma would, too.
In summary, I guess: to what extent are our policies towards the middle east right now influenced by what we assume instead of what we know.