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On the Israel war against Lebanon:
Why this war? The Israeli war against Lebanon has continued unabated for the past 10 days leaving hundreds killed and hundreds of thousands homeless. Apparently the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by the Hezbollah in the south of Lebanon has prompted such a “disproportionate“ reaction on the part of the Israelis. The extend of the Israeli government’s aggression has evoked strong condemnations not only by the Lebanese people as the immediate victims of this war but also by the ordinary people all over the world. In contrast the so called “International Community” shamelessly sides with Israel and condones her actions. Apart from the US which has always backed the Israeli’s state fascism to other members of the G8 countries, the UN and Kofi Anan and the European Union and Xavier Solana have all endorsed the Israel’s horrific assault and its atrocities against the people of Lebanon in the name of the “right to self-defence”. Considering all these hypocrisies it is high time that the humanity too exercises its right to “self defence” and denigrates the so called “International community”
Why this war? Why now? The official world media in line with their paymasters in the “international community” are hard at work to convince people that in this war the state of Israel are not at fault and it is merely responding to the Hezbollah’s attacks. The Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel and the exploitation of this situation by the Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic is a fact, or to be more precise, a part of the reality of the war and the current crisis. To assume that the kidnapping of the two Israeli soldiers is the cause of the war is far from the truth. For Israel the Hezbollah’s attack was just an excuse. Previously Hezbollah had launched similar attacks against both the army and civilian population but never had encountered such a heavy response. Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic were fully aware that such an attack on the eve of the G8 gathering will invoke a heavy handed reprisal by the Israeli government and by doing so reminded the G8 countries of their capacity to create yet another crisis in the region. Israel embraced this development and found an opportunity to flex its military mussel to realign the balance of power in the region, something that in this juncture was desperately needed. For Israel the Hezbollah’s attack was just an excuse. Previously Hezbollah had launched similar attacks against both the army and civilian population but never had encountered such a heavy response. Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic were fully aware that such an attack on the eve of the G8 gathering will invoke a heavy handed reprisal by the Israeli government and by doing so reminded the G8 countries of their capacity to create yet another crisis in the region. Israel embraced this development and found an opportunity to flex its military mussel to realign the balance of power in the region, something that in this juncture was desperately needed.
The events of the past three years, advances of the Political Islam in the region and the bleak position of the US in Iraq were developments that had acted to the detriment of Israel. The success of Hamas in Palestine was a massive blow against Israel. And as far as the state of Israel is concerned the emergence of the Islamists in Iraq, the growing influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Iraq and the growing influence of Hezbollah in Lebanon despite the withdrawal of the Syrian forces were all comparatively more important factors for Israel than the success of Hamas in Palestine.
With the loss of Sharon, the tough military figure of the Israeli politics, the state of Israel was in desperate need of an opportunity to re-exert its military might and regain its superior position in the region. Ahud Olmert’s government exploited Hezbollah’s attack and embarked on a full military campaign against Lebanon. With this war, Israel pursues, simultaneously, two separates objectives: First to redefine the balance of power in Lebanon to its own advantage by pressurising the Lebanese government to disarm the Hezbollah and implement the UN resolution 1559. Secondly it aims to put pressure on the US and Europe to adopt a harder line against Iran and the current crisis. However, the reality on the ground will not unfold according to the wishes of Israel. Just as the US war against Iraq lead to reincarnation of political Islam, the Israeli military aggression against Lebanon will further re-enforce the position of Hezbollah as a key player in political environment of Lebanon. Exploitation of the situation by the Islamic Republic The Islamic Republic will undoubtedly, through fanning such crisis in the region, seeks to exploit the situation to its own advantage. War, crises and despair are conducive conditions for the survival this regime and political Islam in the region. It was not surprising to see an official of the Islamic Republic, by pointing to the Israeli offensive against Lebanon, trying to provoke the Turkish government to intervene militarily in Iraqi Kurdistan. This was a further sign of the intention of the Islamic Republic to exploit the current chaotic situation in the region to its own advantage. Today the Islamic Republic enjoys a greater influence and potential in inciting crisis. The hands of the Islamic Republic can now be easily traced to Baghdad, Basra, Najaf and inside the present government in Iraq. The Islamic Republic can easily provoke crises through Hamas and Hezbollah in Palestine and Lebanon. The US and its allies are faced with such a reality whatever they plan to do.
The military might and aggression has, since the coming to power of the new conservatives in the US and Sharon in Israel, been central to the strategies of both countries. Such a strategy not only by-passes any political solution to the current crisis in the Middle East and the Palestinian issue but also creates and adds new crises to the old ones. This strategy has so far succeeded in throwing away the Oslo agreement of 1999 for the establishment of a Palestinian state and has made the “Road Map” that envisaged the establishment of a Palestine state by 2005 redundant. Such a militaristic strategy is doomed in this time and age. The consequences of such a strategy feed and breeds the Islamists and nationalists currents. Such a strategy only leads to prolonged and futile rounds of wars. The bloody war in Iraq is a good example of the consequence of such a strategy. The war against Lebanon could well lead to another Iraq. And the attack on Iran whether by Israel or America will have much more devastating consequences for the people of the region and the world. We in the Hekmatist Party will never stop from repeating these facts. People of the region and the world will now, more than any other time, need to be aware of what the US and its ally, Israel, have in store for them This war must stop immediately! To end this vicious circle, the people have no option but to mobilise their own alternative based on advancing their own independent demands and interests. Further to calling for an immediate end to the Israeli aggression against Lebanon we need to emphasis on a more permanent solution: Withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the occupied territories and the establishment of a non-ethnic and a non-religious Palestinian state; the ousting of the Islamic Republic by the people of Iran and finally support for the separation of state from religion and ethnicity in the region including Israel. These demands are the only realistic way to move out of the existing crisis and new ones and the only chance of securing a permanent peace in the region and a lasting peace between the people of the region and the rest of the world.
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