Terrorism is terrorism

About one year ago President Bush proudly pointed to Lebanon as a democratic wedge in the Middle East. Today, he quietly watches while Israel demolishes Lebanon’s cities and infrastructure as punishment for allowing Hezbollah to exist in southern Lebanon. Never mind that the democratically elected government of Lebanon does not have the wherewithal to do anything at all about Hezbollah’s military presence. Instead of taking on Hezbollah directly on the ground, Israel has chosen to terrorize the civilian population of Lebanon in hopes that this will turn the Lebanese against the Hezbollah terrorists. Let there be no question about it, randomly bombing infrastructure and civilians in Beirut and other Lebanon towns and cities to achieve political and military aims is terrorism. I am deeply disappointed in the leadership of Israel in stooping to such means. The pictures I see are reminiscent of Imperial Japan’s air raids on the virtually defenseless population of northern China just before World War II. Not only is Israel’s policy of terrorizing civilian populations wrong, it is counterproductive. In the Middle East, memories of hurt last a long time, often hundreds of years. Shia and Sunni Muslims still kill each other in revenge over the death of a Shia leader in the first millennium. If Europeans and Americans, like me, are saddened and outraged by this violation of a militarily weak population , can you imagine the rage in the Arab population in Israel’s neighborhood By its disproportionate reaction to the capture or abduction of two Israeli soldiers, Israel is insuring the hostility of its Arab neighbors into the foreseeable (or unforeseeable) future. I don’t understand how President Bush can stand by and let the administration’s touted “democratic wedge” in the Middle East be destroyed like this. Michael G. Busche Sparta