A Right Way to Help Israel

This is the New York Times editorial today: A Right Way to Help Israel

First let’s just agree that the Times gets it right by saying that America gains nothing, and risks losing a lot, by staying on the sidelines. George Bush long ago decided to avoid getting involved in the Israeli/Palestinian dispute. A decision that by all accounts astonished Colin Powell who ran the State Department back then. The decision was made after no discussion and on the basis of a few minutes of observation of the mess in the Palestinian camps. Bush is reputed to have said that having one side beat up the other sometimes “clarifies things”. So his sit back and let Israel devestate Lebanon policy is meely a continuation of the attitude he formed back in 2001.

And it’s wrong. In fact it’s incredibly stupid. By allowing the Israelis to exact revenge on a scale way out of proportion to the original “crime” Bush lays down a precedent: he says that proportion is of no consequence. Al Qaeda no doubt will note that. As will Hamas and Hezbollah. The bush policy is also dumb. Every day for two weeks now the average “arab on the street” has seen Israel pound, maim, and mutilate in a biblical orgy of revenge. And the US has aided and abetted by making sure there was no quick call for a ceasefire, and by sending more bombs. America has declared unequivocally that it sides with Israel against any and all Arabs.

And this makes the US safer how? This unrelenting bias towards Israel is in our interests, how? They send us just how much oil?