The War Archetype Rising in Phoenician Land

As the world watches …A human tragedy is unfolding in Lebanon
Blogging from the abyss of a human mind torn between multitude of identities: Lebanese/American/World citizen….what would I give now to let go of one of these identities, they are tearing me apart. Imagine a part of you leaving Lebanon to come to safety and another part staying, shivering scared, angry and in despair with no way out. Who stayed? A Father of 3 children who’s source of income is gone; a little girl grieving for her dead father; a school teacher, college student, shopkeeper, a nun, an Imam, a priest….

This is the thirteenth day of the destruction of my beautiful homeland Lebanon. I kept staring at the picture of a little boy dismembered by the Israeli bombs in Southern Lebanon. A 4 year old lying in the rebels with no one around him to grieve over him or hug his body. A pretty 5 year old girl lost one of her precious blue eyes, her stare is soul chattering, it pierces the depth of the world consciousness. Wake up world!

A deja-vu in the Middle East…now it is Israelis who committed that murder, Yesterday Hezbollah committed the crime against an Israeli. Iraqis committed that crime against Iraqis, American soldiers against Iraqis, insurgents against Americans, suicide bomber against young Israelis…Christian against Muslim, Muslim against Jew, Jew against Christian and Muslim, and Muslim against Muslim…Ha! What humans can do in the name of so-called religion and God, Yahweh and Allah…in the name of Arab Nation, Jewish State and Shiite state…
Arab tourists left Lebanon the first 2 days of the attack. Americans, Canadians, Europeans, Sri Lankis, Philippinos, Indians are evacuating as I write these words. My family and loved ones in Lebanon are scared. Why is everybody leaving? Are we back to the 1975? Are these human’s lives more valuable than our lives? Does a passport give you the right to live or die?
It is hard to navigate this Middle Eastern ferocious Minautor’s labyrinth: Israel-Lebanon-Palestine-Syria-Iran-Hezbollah, Hamas…
It did start with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the inability of the Arab world to stand together and influence the peace process. But now it is here again in Lebanon, the country that suffered most from the Palestinian conflict and the country that is used as a scapegoat for the uncanny incompetence of the Arab world. I count the Lebanese governments in.

Now we’re here…amidst the old ugly smell of death and destruction.

"Get rid of Hezbollah?" I hope that by now the world watched enough CNN to get the sense that Hezbollah is not a terrorist group they can eliminate like a bad headache. Didn’t the USA try to ‘get rid’ of Al-Qaeda? Of Saddam? Hezbollah is an ideology and a social structure that is used by Iran as a proxy to balance the power in the region. So let’s establish this fact: Hezbollah, “The Party of God” is an organization ideologically and financially supported by Iran, that filled a religio-socio-economic gap for a large segment of the Shia population in Lebanon. This organization won the hearts of its civilian members through social services-hospitals, schools, picking up trash etc…Its military faction uses terrorist tactics to negotiate with Israel. Try to ‘get rid’ of that…
Same old, same old…The old war paradigm is an unhealthy one, deadly and costly, with the kind of shortsightedness that keeps misery going in the world!

Let’s establish one thing here: Israel, a sovereign democratic country, had the high-moral grounds on July 12th and could have gathered the whole world around it even Lebanese and Arab support. The Blood of the Lebanese children killed by Israel now and the horrible damage to the Lebanese infrastructure is creating a wider gap between Israel and Lebanon, and a stronger battle cry for the extremists. And Israel, Hezbollah, the Arabs who dumped the so called ‘Arab Cause’ on Lebanon, Syria, Iran, the weak Lebanese Leaders and the Western world should pay the price for such atrocities.
How dare Israel destroy Lebanon’s infrastructure and kill 375 souls and displace more than half a million Lebanese? I understand that Israel should defend its sovereignty and protect the Israeli citizens. But didn’t Israel learn that use of force and power alone is not protecting its other borders?

And Hezbollah!!!

Who put you in charge of Lebanon and who asked you to act on our behalf??? When over 70% of the population wants you to disarm like the rest of the Lebanese militias?

I understand and commend the services that Hezbollah provided to the disenfranchised Shia that were forgotten by the Lebanese government and kept weak by their corrupt leaders. As Lebanon has had its share of notoriously corrupt leaders from all sects and affiliations.

How dare Hezbollah sacrifice Lebanon for their own agenda??? They are sacrificing their followers first, innocent Shia children, women and elderly…as well as innocent Lebanese struggling to make ends meet...They have no moral qualms hiding heavy armament in a basement of a building housing several families and businesses.