The Violence Must End

I have been following the blog of a man in Lebanon who has been reporting on the violence in Lebanon from the inside. Yesterday, he had to flee his home and seek refuge in Jordan after a friend of his was killed in an attack and his postings will most likely cease. His site provides an interesting view on what his happening and the power of individual journalism. He had honestly hoped to not have to leave his home to the bombs but the violence finally became too much for him to bear.

Regardless of who started what, when, where and why, the violence must end. The continued bombing of civilians will not solve anything. If there was ever a perfect example of how violence only begets other violence, this is it. Israel's attacks, much like the American occupation of Iraq, is giving the terrorist organizations the fodder they need to recruit new members. They fear that the West and Israel will not stop until the Arab population has been wiped off the land or is destroyed to the point of living only in poverty, and actions like this prove their point.

Nations must come together to find a solution to the Middle East conflict once and for all. If we don’t it will only continue to escalate and more innocent lives will be lost. Eventually the battle will outgrow the borders of these three Nations and violence will escalate worldwide.

We have to understand why the Arab world fights, and why it has the concerns that it does. As westerners, particularly Americans, we know very little about this region of the world other than extremist violence. We are not taught about why the Arab people fight and how the world is seen from their point of view. If Vietnam taught us nothing, then it should have taught us to understand why people fight, if we don’t bother to understand that, then the battle is already lost.