Israel needs wisdom not bombs

Second of two parts

Since July 12, Israel has dropped the equivalent of a Hiroshima bomb on Lebanon. The number of dead is around 400 in Lebanon, the majority of them civilians. Forty people have been killed in Israel by Hezbollah rockets. Four United Nations peacekeepers were killed recently in what the U.N. secretary-general called “a deliberate Israeli attack.”

Four days before that, the Israeli army reported “the successful elimination” of Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, by targeting his bunker with a 50,000-pound bomb and promised the “rest of the terrorists” the same fate. In what has become a media war par excellence, Nasrallah went on Al-Jazeera a few hours later. He made sure to point out to his interviewer that he even had time to trim his beard that day.

Israel believes it needs to exterminate the terrorists before they are able to exterminate Israel. America continues a bravado position, encouraging Israel to continue “the war on terrorism” on America’s behalf.

What does “terrorism” mean? Over the last few years, we have defined terrorism as the violent action of any group of people to inflict harm on civilians so that their government would implement a policy different from its current position. That’s how we characterized the acts of the people who took American hostages in Beirut and Tehran, the 9-11 attacks, and the attacks by Palestinian militants in Israel. These attacks inflicted harm on civilians and on our civil society so that the United States or Israeli government would change its policy.

Back to Lebanon: In September 2004, the U.N. Security Council issued U.N. resolution 1559. That resolution asked the Lebanese government to exercise it sovereignty over South Lebanon. Arabic translation: Hezbollah has to forget its goal of liberating the thousands of Arab prisoners in Israel, liberating Lebanese land still occupied and disarm. The current Lebanese government, a pro western one and always praised by our American officials, was working slowly to implement the plan. After all, even Kofi Annan, hardly a Hezbollah sympathizer, noted that this can’t be done by force, but by negotiation.

The Israeli army has a different point of view. “We don’t negotiate with terrorists.” But we can bomb the Lebanese government into subordination. The destruction of Beirut airport, churches, bridges, ambulances does not, and never will, affect the military capabilities of Hezbollah. Israel knows that. The point was to inflict enough “pressure” on the government and the Lebanese people who don’t support Hezbollah (currently a minority) to implement resolution 1559.

Can you go back three paragraphs and read the definition of terrorism again?

Living in Maine taught me a lot about fighting terrorism. Trying to kill the terrorists is like mowing down dandelions hoping they never come back. Homeowners know better. The Israeli army should take note of that, but if we’re too gullible to give them advice, why don’t we open the Iraq war book and read the Zarquawi chapter?

Shortly after the invasion of Iraq, violence started immediately, as militants wanted to dispel the words of the “Mission Accomplished” banner. Wait until we capture those 52 people on that infamous deck of cards, said the administration. It didn’t work. Killing Saddam’s sons would be a turning point. Not exactly! Maybe capturing Saddam will calm it down.

Hardly! Well let’s chase Zarquawi and kill him. That surely will work. Since his death last month Iraq averaged 100 dead people a day, by far surpassing any previous record, not really a sign of a terrorist movement “in its final throes.” (Sorry, Mr. Vice President.)

It is sad that the Israeli politicians are picky about reading history. If it is not in the Talmud or about the Holocaust they don’t pay enough attention. Their position always reminded me of the guy who lived in a nice house with beautiful view from his kitchen window. However, there was a swamp in his back yard and mosquitoes came up by the thousands.

He could not live “safely and securely” in his own home. He tried every weapon from his Home Depot to no avail. They kept coming. Finally, a wise man came and pointed the swamp to him. They worked together on drying it, took care of the “root cause of the problem,” and the mosquitoes never came back.

Instead, The New York Times reported that the administration is hurriedly sending more laser guided smart bombs to Israel. Aside from the thought that these bombs could somehow make their way into ambulances, hospitals, U.N. peacekeepers, and other “collateral damage” items, is that really the only way to support Israel’s right to self defense?

How about the Lebanese government? How about the Lebanese civilians who are hiding in churches and the innocent people fleeing in vans, targeted everyday? And how about the Israeli civilians and politicians who are increasingly weary that this is not an Israeli-Lebanese war anymore, but a proxy American-Iranian war?

Terrorism is not a syndrome that plagues the Middle East. It’s a symptom of a problem, not the root cause. Condi Rice is in a position to offer both sides a cure. Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Lebanese Sheb’aa farms, surrendering the maps of

the landmines it left in Lebanon, and releasing Arab prisoners. Hezbollah in return would release Israeli prisoners and disarm.

Then immediate steps are taken for a fair and comprehensive peace based on applicable U.N. resolutions 194, 242 and 338. After all Americans and Israeli can’t be picky about what U.N. resolution should be implemented and which should be forgotten. In Rome, Rice sadly showed how our administration never misses an opportunity

to miss an opportunity.

Israel does not need smart bombs. They need a smart wise man.

Wassim Mazraany, M.D., of Hampden, is a surgeon at Eastern Maine Medical Center and Sebasticook Valley Hospital. He is a native of Lebanon. His wife, Monica Nelson, a native of Hamilton, N.Y., and 3-year-old daughter Ameera recently returned to the United States after being trapped for nine days in Houla, Lebanon, a half mile from the Israeli border during the violence.