Or, Can Anybody Help Me Clear This Up?
It seems to me that a lot of people blame all the tension in the Middle East on the Israel-Palestine conflict. The spin on that particular ball seems to be, if only the U.S. would throw Israel to the wolves already, tempers in the region would cool, neighboring states would graciously agree to sit down at the negotiating table and sincerely discuss real reform, and--most importantly--the "Arab Street" would no longer be driven to terror attacks out of frustration with the Imperial injustice of it all.
So isn't it just a little bit strange that what's pissing off the Street these days isn't the Israeli occupation of Palestine (or even the U.S. occupation of Iraq), but the Syrian occupation of Lebanon?
Can anybody tell me when was the last time the people of Lebanon took to the streets of Beirut to protest Israeli or U.S. policy?
Could it really be the case that what will make the Lebanese happy isn't the Palestinification of Israel, but the Iraqification of Lebanon?
On a related note, when the U.S. leaves Iraq in the hands of a capable, sovreign, democratically-elected Iraqi government, and Syria is still in Lebanon, will all you naysayers finally shut the fuck up? (Hint: Probably not. But a man can dream, can't he?)