Sunday, July 16, 2006

The Anguish of Lebanon, Part II

Last night CBS news aired a short video clip (0:48) of a young Lebanese Shia mother blaming Hizbollah for her family's sufferring and asking why the two soldiers can't simply be returned to Israel. She was immediately interrupted by an older male (a relative? "Walid Abdullah") who (1) asked what she thought she was doing, and (2) reiterated his opposition to Israel and Israel's supporters.

Note that in the previous post lebop admitted that Lebanon, although a seemingly free country, is nevertheless a terror state at the very top. I do not think the young mother paid for her outburst with her life or the life of anyone in her family. A week ago I wouldn't have been so sure about that. The difference is that the Hezbollah gang seems to be hiding now. But until more Lebanese find some guts or the Israelis invade, I think we will continue to see the Lebanese reflexively mouth support for Hizbollah.

To my fellow Americans: don't feel superior about this. Many Americans went through exactly the same swings of emotion during our Civil War, as states and communities alternated between Confederate and Union control. (See the movie Shenandoah, or read the book Crescent City.) And the sufferrings of Americans who vacillated between Loyalist and Revolution during our War of Independence are even less remembered in the U.S. today.

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