Middle East

Yet another hot day, but it's even hotter in the Middle East, both figuratively and literally speaking. It makes me both angry and frustrated how things never seem to get any better there. Oh, women finally got to vote in Kuwait, and Dubai and Abu Dhabi are having a ball, but the rest.....

I suppose that when you live in that kind of atmosphere, with constant anguish, struggle, war, oppression and depression, it becomes less and less possible to act with calm, wisdom and moderation. Hezbollah, what are they doing? Is it Israel they are after, or do they want Lebanon to fall apart, so that their Syrian friends yet again can gain control of the poor country, with a nod of approval from Iran. There is nothing noble or worthy in Hezbollah's actions. I fail to see why this ugly power struggle and cynicism should be applauded by so many intellectuals and other westerners.

And Israel, what are they doing? Do they also want Lebanon to fall apart? Might it not be a better idea to work with the Lebanese army in hunting down Hezbollah, instead of running amok on Lebanese soil. Granted, the Lebanese army, or regime, isn't particularly powerful, especially not in the South, but that is no cause to strike at them, but to support them.

But at the same time, I can't help but feel that anything that stir things up is a good thing, since the status quo of endless hostility is in nobody's favour. If the war on Iraq had been planned with any intelligence and if sufficient number of soldiers had been deployed, maybe the invasion in 2003 would have been a good thing, the push to really change things for the better. But alas, the situation in Iraq seems to be getting worse by the hour.

So what now? Well, I try to be optimistic, but I can't see how things might improve. If perhaps more pressure could be put upon the dictators to allow more freedom, and more debate, and if more moderate Islamist thinkers, writers, and leaders where to be given more space and air time, then maybe things might get better. But will this be done? Perhaps something like an earthquake in Iran, which doesn't kill civilians, but only destroy their nuclear facilities, is needed. Maybe man is not man enough for the task of solving the Middle East crisis. Unfortunately, nature can't be forced to do it either.