I apologize for focusing on the Middle East today.  It’s just that I’ve read so much nonsense from those who believe Israel is right and everyone else is wrong, so I had to say something.  Twice.  Well, now three times.  Get over it.

For today at least, this will be the last item up for bid on the issue.

Let me explain why I feel so strongly about this.  For many years before his death, I had a very close friend who emigrated from Lebanon.  He came to the U.S. and made a rather successful life for himself.  He married, had two wonderful kids, had a very successful business right here in Dallas, and was a true American.  We worked together, spent a lot of time together, and he even helped me learn Arabic.  He was a great friend and it was a tremendous loss when a major car accident took his life.

It was from him that I learned a great deal about the other side of the Middle East equation.  Growing up in America meant I already got all the pro-Israeli propaganda I could stand.  My familiarity with why Israel must always be right grew tempered by hearing from my friend the legitimate, not-related-to-the-destruction-of-Israel concerns that he and his fellow Arabs shared.  It was not a Muslim thing (he, in fact, was Episcopalian).  It was not founded on hatred of Israel or Jews (I can remember many times when he supported Israel’s actions and decisions in the region).

Contrary to popular belief, he helped me understand there was a great deal of common sense in the area, most of which unfortunately was held by those not in power.  When his family came to America to visit, they too shared his views.  I was surprised to learn from them and through him that progressive ideas were not entirely unheard of in Arab countries.

Despite this, they also helped me to see both sides had legitimate concerns.  Sure, few would deny the grudges held by Arabs regarding the Zionist use of terrorism against the British and Palestinians as part of the formation of Israel.  Seeing their Palestinian brothers subjugated and living in despair was clearly the major concern, and I could see plainly that the dislike of Israel grew as that situation continued.

Again, it was my friendship with him that exposed me to quite a bit of Arab thinking and opinion, and that in turn allowed me to see there really are two sides in the argument.  Thankfully, he also vehemently disagreed with the use of terrorism as a means to communicate their concerns.  He often would say such actions did nothing to help identify and address the real problems, and in fact he was rather upset that it had the opposite effect.

I provide that brief summary to help qualify my point of view on the Middle East crisis (by crisis, I mean the ongoing problem and not just the violent quid pro quo happening right now between Israel and Hezb’Allah).

So let me close with an excerpt from this article [via John Lynch].  It is a sentiment I have shared before.

All parties involved are to blame for this frightful mess: The Palestinians and Hezbollah for provoking Israel, and Israel for its continuing brutal repression of Palestinians and assassinating their leaders. But most at blame is the Bush administration whose catastrophically misguided Mideast policies have fed this crisis.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict lies at the heart of Mideast troubles, and is the primary generator for anti-Western violence known as terrorism. It is a weary truism that no nation can bring about Mideast peace except for the United States.

But the Bush administration has been too obsessed by its losing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to pay attention to the Levant. U.S. Mideast policy is dominated by neoconservatives and Protestant fundamentalists aligned with Israel’s expansionist right wing, leaving would-be peacemakers in Israel and the Arab World out in the cold.

The White House has given Israel a very public green light to go on pounding Lebanon. What deja vu. In 1982, the Reagan administration also gave Israel’s Ariel Sharon a green light to invade Lebanon. The result was 15 years of mayhem, the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, and Hezbollah.

Israel and its enemies will eventually talk. It’s only a question of how many civilians on both sides will die before this happens.