Nothing seems to provoke a bully more than when his would-be opponent refuses to fight.
In the world’s largest playground, the western hemisphere’s favourite bully is at it again. There is a battle currently taking place between heavily armed, well trained Israeli soldiers and stone wielding Palestinian residents. Not surprisingly, the latter party is losing. As of Sunday, the vast majority of the 83 people killed were Palestinians.
Along with flexing its military might, the Israeli government is displaying its impeccable morality and judgment in times of crisis by paying no regard to whether its victims are armed, whether they’re women or whether they’re 12-year-old boys huddled in a corner with their father (I trust we’ve all seen the footage).
The reaction, or lack thereof, of the western powers is almost as appalling. It’s a convenient situation for the Americans that Milosevic has been deposed; it gives them a sufficient distraction so they don’t need to face up to the actions of their favourite terrorist state.
It is quite apparent the Israelis want a fight. They are the definite aggressors this time. Their government is talking tough, demanding Palestinian submission. In the boldest move of antagonistic behaviour to date, three Lebanese citizens were killed while protesting Israel’s actions. They were killed by Israeli soldiers on Lebanese soil. This is a direct breach of Lebanese sovereignty.
In countries across the Arab world, protesters are out in the millions (500,000 people in the Moroccan capital of Rabat alone) calling for action. Their governments however, seem to be a bit more reasonable for the time being. Aside from the relatively insignificant nation of Yemen, no one has yet to call for warfare.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek even criticized the Yemeni call to arms saying, "We should be serious about what we say, because declaring war is not simple. We should try to find a way to salvage the deteriorating situation. War does not solve the problem."
Similar sentiments came from Damascus where Syrian Foreign Minister, Farouq Shara, was quoted as saying, "No one of us wants to launch a war. We said that repeatedly. We are not seeking war. [The Israelis] are seeking war as it seems from their statements."
Such maturity and level-headed responses are a welcome change in the Middle Eastern arena. By refusing to fight, all countries involved are letting the world see the blind aggression being employed by Israel. Like a child bully raging because no one will fight, the latest Zionist temper tantrum has the world watching, shaking their heads at this pathetic display of political immaturity.