The Continuing Mid-East Crisis

Item 1: As the story continues to unfold in the middle east, it seems that all the talking heads on the boob-tube want to constantly remind us that Israel has every right to use whatever force they deem necessary to defend themselves. I totally agree that Israelis have a right to defend themselves, but they don't have a right to use excessive force against the Palestinian and Lebanese people. It is a recognized crime to deliberately target civilian resources and infrastructure and that's exactly what Israel has done. In my opinion, Israel needs to take their case to the United Nations and seek assistance in resolving these issues.

Item 2: I've lost count of how many times during the discussion in articles and news stories Iran and Syria have been accused of giving financial aid, orchestrating attacks, having soldiers in Lebanon, providing missiles as well as launching them--the accusations go on and on ad infinitum. What is missing from the discussion is actual proof. While watching FOXNews, they had on the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations. I don't remember who it was interviewing him (I think it was Greta Van Susteren) but he was asked about Iranian and Syrian involvement in this conflict, and he responded that Israel was certain of it. Asked how sure, he replied that he was 100 percent sure. He was asked for proof and he basically said that they had absolute proof.

I don't know about you, but I require more proof than the "trust me" assurances they're giving now. The last person who said that lead us into a war in Iraq that proved the assurances given were less than accurate. No, my friend, I'm not going to settle for "trust me". Not when there's so much at stake. They're going to have to prove it to me and every other person they want to make a party to their problem. Let's see their evidence so that all of us who are going to get stuck with paying the bill with our lives and treasures can make the same assessments they've made. For example, this AP article states:

Israel warned of massive retaliation after the Haifa attack, and accused Iran and Syria of providing the weaponry used in it. Israeli military officials said four of the missiles were the Iranian-made Fajr-3, with a 22-mile range and 200-pound payload, and far more advanced than the Katyusha rockets the guerrillas rained on northern Israel in previous attacks.

Show us the "Made in Iran" tags on the missile pieces they've picked up or the evidence they have showing weapons moving through Syria into Hezbollah's hands. Show us how they think Hezbollah is being funded by Iran and re-supplied by Syria. Let's see the evidence.

Item 3: I wanted to make the following point on the subject of weapons that are being used in Lebanon by Hezbollah against Israel. Just because Hezbollah has weapons does not mean Iran gave them freely. Weapons are bought and sold all the time everyday all across this planet. If the situation were reversed, Hezbollah would probably be purchasing their munitions from the U.S. The single fact that Hezbollah or Hamas have munitions purchased from Iran doesn't make a strong enough case to start World War IV. This argument makes as much sense as me raising the concern that Israel is using F-16's and Apache helicopters against Lebanon. You can't fight a war without weapons, so don't be surprised if your enemy doesn't shop at the same supplier as you. If anything, I would be more alarmed if they both showed up with the same weaponry.