Understanding the new war in Lebanon

What new war? This is not a new war by any stretch of the imagination. It is a war that has been going on for many, many years. It may change participants, now and then, but the underlying cause has been there since Jesus was born, Mohamed became the Prophet of Allah, and the Israelis were allowed to occupy Jerusalem.

This is an area of the world that has been in turmoil for well over 2000 years. Granted, Lebanon managed to stay out of a good portion of the conflicts raging around it, at least until Israel came along. But that is, for the most part, because Lebanon has been used by all sides, of all the conflicts as a sort of "neutral" ground. Not that battles and skirmishes haven't been fought there, but they were not full-scale wars until recently.

Then, as I said, came the creation of the Jewish state of Israel, and the displacement of the Palestinian people. As you can imagine, the Palestinians resisted being moved off of what they considered their land. And so, when they had no choice, they settled again in an area close to the one they had just lost. But they have continued to fight to get back what they see as rightfully theirs. Can anyone blame them?

It is a shame that this conflict is being used as a rallying point and reason for a much broader conflict between Israel and its allies, mainly the United States. Islam, however, is a religion that promotes brotherhood and unity between all Islamic nations. And, as such, terrorist organizations, and other political entities in the region have called for the destruction of Israel. Of course, they realize that they cannot hope to defeat Israel while the U.S. continues to support them, so America has also become a target for those seeking to widen the conflict.

I greatly fear that peace in the region will never become a reality. At least not until mankind comes to find that armed conflict, and killing, is not the answer we seem to think it is; or until a greater enemy comes along to threaten all of humanity. It may be interesting to see if that alliance would last once the threat was eliminated, though.

Learn more about this author, Steven Gadberry.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Perspectives on the new war in Lebanon?
We want to hear your view. Write now!