Left Fifth Column

Poor, Defenseless...Israel???

The right wing has made much of the fact that the entire world with few exceptions is opposed to the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon. True, without the United States' veto, the resolution calling for a ceasefire would have passed, and true, the United States is one of two nations to veto every resolution calling for an end to the occupation of Palestine and the building of a wall along the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Yes, Israel does not have many countries on its side when it comes to these matters.

But really, is it fair to characterized Israel as being constantly under threat of annihilation from the Arab states? Israel has nuclear weapons at Dimona and it doesn't want anyone to know. Ask Mordechai Vanunu, who spent 18 years in an Israeli prison for revealing that secret. Now, it's not so much a secret anymore as Simply Something One Mustn't Talk About, probably because it would prompt a dialogue over why Iran is being scolded for its enrichment of uranium, while Israel isn't.

In addition to having a nice nuclear arsenal, Israel also recieves four billion dollars per year in aid from the United States, as well as missiles and the odd bunch of F-16s. The Israeli Defense Force is one of the best, most ruthless armies in the world, and its intelligence agency (Mossad) is unparalleled.

So let's go through that again: Unconditional US veto on any issue regarding Israeli military operations, even when such actions violate international law (Yes, bulldozing homes is collective punishment, and that is a war crime); $4 billion/year in aid; Made-in-the-USA missiles and F-16s (to be fair, other countries are the recipients of such largesse as well. Pakistan comes to mind.). Defenseless? No.

posted by Cypher @ 5:31 PM