Last week, it seemed that everyone was obsessed with the North Korean missile launches. I've pretty much decided that dealing with the erratic North Koreans requires extraordinary diplomatic finesse, and that W, by playing along with the Korean-American hardliners' wishes and pissing North Korea off, blew it. If North Korea decides to go to war, either against South Korea or the United States, I will hold the right-wing Korean-American community at least partly responsible.
Now, it's been eclipsed by what appears to be a full-scale war between Israel and Lebanon. Israel's hardline politics of recent years is unacceptable, especially in light of its human rights abuses in Palestine. The blatant pro-Israel position taken by the neocons and the Christian community is unjustifiable, as the Israeli response in this war has gone beyond what's acceptable. Of course, I do not see the Muslim side in a good light either, as the likes of Hezbollah, Hamas, al-Qaeda, and even legitimate national governments are continually supporting acts of terrorism and barbarism throughout the world. I've heard more than a few remarks that this may mark the beginning of World War III.
Of course, the neocons may have triggered Israel into fighting this war, in order to drum up support for their own planned war against Iran. Hezbollah is funded by Iran, after all. And the more wars, the better for the neocon contractors, as the high oil prices and sweetheart contracts will mean more profits for the likes of Exxon-Mobil and Halliburton.
With the end of the Cold War, the world was a much more hopeful place as this millennium had dawned. But with madmen like W in power in key locations around the world, this looks far more dangerous than Cold War ever was. After all, these conflicts are fueled by religion, which is far more explosive than the ideology clash which fueled the Cold War.
BBC
