The situation in Lebanon is harrowing and I can’t believe western politicians, notably Bush and Blair, have ‘progressed’ from their stance of lack of involvement to sitting back and allowing it to happen for another week by blocking all attempts for a ceasefire as reported in the Guardian’s special report.

Some quotes from today’s report:

The US is giving Israel a window of a week to inflict maximum damage on Hizbullah before weighing in behind international calls for a ceasefire in Lebanon, according to British, European and Israeli sources.

The Bush administration, backed by Britain, has blocked efforts for an immediate halt to the fighting initiated at the UN security council, the G8 summit in St Petersburg and the European foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels.

Israeli airstrikes killed 31 yesterday, including a family of nine in Aitaroun. More than 230 civilians in Lebanon have been killed in the past week.

An Israeli man was killed by a Hizbullah rocket in Nahariya in northern Israel, bringing the total of Israeli civilian deaths to 13. The army said 50 missiles were fired yesterday at northern Israel, injuring at least 14 people.

You can read more here of what life is like in Beirut from Zena el-Khalil.

I don’t know about you, but does not this seem more than barbaric. Our country is allowing the killings of innocent civilians who have no power to do anything. Killing 230 innocent civilians is not going to bring Hizbullah to justice. It is not going to breed understanding.

But it will be successful.
It will succeed in breeding more misunderstanding.
It will succeed in breeding more hate.
It will succeed in the shedding of more tears.
It will succeed in the shedding of more blood.

Who will ask Israel to stop this slaughter?
Will anyone be brought to justice for these crimes?
Will Bush or Blair ever call for ceasefire?
Is it acceptable to sit back and watch while 230 innocent people are murdered?

And we thought we lived in a civilized country!
We thought we lived in a country that valued humans rights.
We thought we protected the innocent and created and peace.
We thought ….. we cared!

Instead…

we create orphans and widows
we create a numbness towards the sanctity of life
we create pain and suffering
we create fear in the hearts of Lebanese children as they hear the bombs
we create fear in th hearts of our children as they watch the TV in tears

Edward Burke (1729-97) was right back in the 1700’s:

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.