Our war

Paul Woodward:

The average American might be woefully uninformed about international affairs, but the latest CNN poll indicates that most Americans, even when their view of the world comes through a distorted lens, still have reasonable judgement. 65% polled think that America should stay out of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, 57% say they have more sympathy with Israel, and 4% sympathize with Hezbollah. That's a far more complex picture than Hillary Clinton's blunt assertion that all Americans stand united behind Israel. Hezbollah might in fact be heartened to learn that currently they apparently have a higher level of support in the United States than Ralph Nader had in the 2000 presidential election! Moreover, had the pollsters asked a more appropriate question -- who do you sympathize with more: the Israelis or the Lebanese? -- I have little doubt that as an expression of simple humanity, most Americans (at least those with access to balanced reporting) would express sympathy for the principal victims of the current violence: the people of Lebanon.

Having said that, the fact that almost two-thirds of Americans think that the U.S. should stay out of the conflict suggests a gross lack of awareness about America's influence in this war. Washington's loose hold on the reins is mistakenly being interpreted as the posture of a passive bystander. In fact, under relentless pressure from the Israel lobby, the administration has provided the Israeli government with unequivocal support. U.S. opposition to a ceasefire and its use of an Orwellian expression -- "premature peace" -- makes it clear that this war is America's just as much as Israel's. According to the Financial Times, U.S. support probably even extends to sharing intelligence on targets. As Israel's principal military backer, providing coordinates on where to aim the munitions, the U.S. can by no stretch of the imagination be regarded as staying out of the conflict! Indeed, this is an Israeli war where as much of the strategic thinking seems to be done on K Street as it is inside Israel. Olmert and his backers may have turned over all the tactical decisions to the generals, but this is a war being drafted in English just as much as Hebrew.

Worth a reminder. Follow the links in the original for further documentation.

Along similar lines, Norman Solomon adds:

After getting out of Lebanon, writer June Rugh told Reuters on Tuesday: "As an American, I'm embarrassed and ashamed. My administration is letting it happen [by giving] tacit permission for Israel to destroy a country." The news service quoted another American evacuee, Andrew Muha, who had been in southern Lebanon. He said: "It's a travesty. There's a million homeless in Lebanon and the intense amount of bombing has brought an entire country to its knees."

Embarrassing. Shameful. A travesty. Those kinds of words begin to describe the alliance between the United States and Israel. Here are a few more: Government criminality. High-tech terror. Mass murder from the skies. The kind of premeditated action that the U.S. representative in Nuremberg at the International Conference on Military Trials -- Supreme Court Justice Robert L. Jackson -- was talking about on August 12, 1945, when he declared that "no grievances or policies will justify resort to aggressive war. It is utterly renounced and condemned as an instrument of policy."

The United States and Israel. Right now, it's the most dangerous alliance in the world.