You can bomb them into pieces, but you can’t bomb into peace...

The comments following pieces in America newspapers regarding the Israeli war on Lebanon and Palestine Occupied Territories are flowing and the sentiment is to be expected - Lebanon deserves it, Israel has the right to defend itself, etc. Yes Israel has the right to defend itself, but from whom and when is the response cross the line. One comment in the San Francisco Chronicle explains American naiveté . First the comment after a piece titled "Bombe surprise" under the The Ross Report blog:

Lebanon gets what da deserve.

Check out the videos released by the IDF that clearly show 1) that missles were being fired from near the building that got leveled, then 2) where a drone plane tracked the rocket launcher vehicle as it pulled into an underground garage where the building that got struck. Bye, bye, rocket launcher!!!

Where's the outrage by the arabs and muslims about all of the innocent Isreali civilians getting their homes rocketed (muslims, christians, and jews)??? It is interesting how both muslims, christians, and jews within Isreal all support the retaliation in Lebanon.

Where is the outrage by the arabs and muslims around the world that Hezbollah Islamic Fascists are using their own civilians as human shields.

Only Hezbollah's Islamic Fascists are responsible for the carnage taking place in Lebanon. It should only stop when the Lebanize people rise up and disarm all of the private militas in Lebanon. You can't have a private militia speaking for a country.

Take off your blinders and turn off Al Jazera and stop becoming a sinking ship of fools.

I just needed to respond to this one (using the name peacetrain). We need to understand the whole picture before we rush tojudgmentt. (Excuse my correcting of some of this person's typos - I do realize he/she is hot about the topic):

The name explains in all, I guess. The ignorant statement that "Lebanon gets what da deserve" (it deserves?) in fact sums up everything here for you. You miss the point entirely. Lebanon has no control over the Hizbollah guerrillas. Its government is weak and is pleading for help. This is the real news. The US sits idly by while innocent people are obliterated, displaced and humiliated. So stop criticizing those with "blinders" and take a look at yourself and which propaganda you subscribe to. Your assumptions that everyone who disagrees with what they "see" on Israeli or American TV falls in line with Aljazeera is foolish and dangerous. Hezbollah has no right to kill innocent Israelis and in turn, Israel's disproportioned response is unconscionable. There are many claims that they have the best military and intelligence 2nd only to the US - why do they have to level whole apartment complexes to kill one guerilla fighter who "supposed" have a missile "stored" there? Why not go in with this highly skilled unit and take them out, minimizing the death of innocents? Israel's hard-line government's response is unfounded. Why not let the innocents leave without bombing them?

The Lebanese people do not want this and are unfortunate and tragic pawns in this Mid-East mess. To call them "Islamic fascists" again shows that you do not understand the complexities of the history of this region. These people are not fascists - this term belongs to European and American governments. Arabs and Israelis have had conflict for much, much longer than we can fathom in our naïve minds. The US is the baby on the block and if we are to think that we can solve this conflict and keep the peace makes us the "sinking ship of fools."

When will Israel be held up to follow the rules like every other state? When will the United States stop playing tribute to a state that never compromises and wants to "win the peace?" Is it really possible that Arabs will live in peace with their Israeli neighbors, if we give them a chance? These are questions that need to be addressed.

You can bomb them into pieces, but you can't bomb into peace... Michael Franti