Hi Bala,
Today's paper quotes the Israeli PM saying that the UN peace keeping armed forces in Southern Lebanon are just a bunch of retirees, and that they are ready to stop the war provided the UN can recruit some real soldiers ready for army, combat and battle. This does raise lots of questions on the capability of the UN to enforce peace among the warring nations. The mayhem may be happening in Lebanon, but people all over the world are not only condemning Israel, but raising questions on the existence of UN, and the double-sided takes of US & UK. Bush & Blair may be the leaders of the 2 most powerful countries of the world, but their ignorance in certain matters is mind-numbingly shocking. Yesterday's newspaper carried an article which said that Blair made a speech citing that Kashmir was a part of Islamic Terrorism and publicly linked it to the continuing conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan & West Asia. Lots of criticisms have been raised against Tony Blair's statement, with even the Former Foreign Secretary of Britain Malcolm Rifkind saying that the Kashmir Issue is a regional dispute between India and Pakistan and it was "silly" for Blair to portray it as a sign of extremist Islamic war.
Such high-handed ignorance is not going to make matters any easier to solve. World affairs and peace is deteriorating day by day. The world is even not sure whether Hezbollah is, in fact, a terrorist organisation with very few coutries actually giving it a status of a terrorist organisation and even fewer adopting a stand of declaring only the External Wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. I am not aware of India's stand on Hezbollah. I agree with the US professor's views that such attacks are only going to make Lebanese people hate Israel even more and further fuel the fire. Hezbollah, if a terrorist organisation, is not going to have any difficulties in recruiting more people for its 'cause'.
What is required currently, besides an immediate cease-fire, is:
1. Greater clarity in world affairs to be exercised by the politicians and governments, especially those who have a greater say.
2. An immediate action on the UN, do the very countries that brought it into existence, intend it to remain a puppet and nothing more? Of course its dominated by a few countries, but the other emerging countries who very soon are going to have an equally competent status may even think of establishing a separate entity on the lines of the UN and that is going to help divide the world further. Look at Asia, so many regional trading blocs, The ASEAN, SAARC, SAFTA etc etc. With no unity, this continent is left far far behind.
The World is divided as ever, be it the Israel-Lebanon conflict or any other. And it is divided because there seems to be more ignorance than knowledge. General public have no means of gaining greater clarity except from the media or what the government says. So where does a person go for the truth? Where does one get true unbiased knowledge? What does one do to help, beside raising his/her voice on forums or by signing mass letters? There is no concrete way... to make the World Leaders listen.
Today's paper quotes the Israeli PM saying that the UN peace keeping armed forces in Southern Lebanon are just a bunch of retirees, and that they are ready to stop the war provided the UN can recruit some real soldiers ready for army, combat and battle. This does raise lots of questions on the capability of the UN to enforce peace among the warring nations. The mayhem may be happening in Lebanon, but people all over the world are not only condemning Israel, but raising questions on the existence of UN, and the double-sided takes of US & UK. Bush & Blair may be the leaders of the 2 most powerful countries of the world, but their ignorance in certain matters is mind-numbingly shocking. Yesterday's newspaper carried an article which said that Blair made a speech citing that Kashmir was a part of Islamic Terrorism and publicly linked it to the continuing conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan & West Asia. Lots of criticisms have been raised against Tony Blair's statement, with even the Former Foreign Secretary of Britain Malcolm Rifkind saying that the Kashmir Issue is a regional dispute between India and Pakistan and it was "silly" for Blair to portray it as a sign of extremist Islamic war.
Such high-handed ignorance is not going to make matters any easier to solve. World affairs and peace is deteriorating day by day. The world is even not sure whether Hezbollah is, in fact, a terrorist organisation with very few coutries actually giving it a status of a terrorist organisation and even fewer adopting a stand of declaring only the External Wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. I am not aware of India's stand on Hezbollah. I agree with the US professor's views that such attacks are only going to make Lebanese people hate Israel even more and further fuel the fire. Hezbollah, if a terrorist organisation, is not going to have any difficulties in recruiting more people for its 'cause'.
What is required currently, besides an immediate cease-fire, is:
1. Greater clarity in world affairs to be exercised by the politicians and governments, especially those who have a greater say.
2. An immediate action on the UN, do the very countries that brought it into existence, intend it to remain a puppet and nothing more? Of course its dominated by a few countries, but the other emerging countries who very soon are going to have an equally competent status may even think of establishing a separate entity on the lines of the UN and that is going to help divide the world further. Look at Asia, so many regional trading blocs, The ASEAN, SAARC, SAFTA etc etc. With no unity, this continent is left far far behind.
The World is divided as ever, be it the Israel-Lebanon conflict or any other. And it is divided because there seems to be more ignorance than knowledge. General public have no means of gaining greater clarity except from the media or what the government says. So where does a person go for the truth? Where does one get true unbiased knowledge? What does one do to help, beside raising his/her voice on forums or by signing mass letters? There is no concrete way... to make the World Leaders listen.