Maybe Sharon and Arafat did make it to Heaven...

...if this is what replaces them.

From MSNBC.com:

"MARJAYOUN, Lebanon - Hezbollah militants captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid Wednesday and dozens of Israeli troops crossed the frontier with warplanes, tanks and gunboats to hunt for the captives.

Israeli jets struck deep into southern Lebanon, blasting bridges and Hezbollah positions and killing two civilians, Lebanese security officials said...At least six Israeli soldiers were killed in the Hezbollah attack and Israeli response, the Lebanese officials said. The Israeli army confirmed casualties among its troops."

If you've been following the pages of Word Of The People for the last week or so, you'll notice that I haven't made too many postings in regards to the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held by Hamas since June 25. I wasn't ignoring the story, but figured that this was nothing but a part of the endless cycle of violence in the region that inflates and deflates with the sound of air leaving peoples' bodies for the last time. It feels sometimes that when the Middle East is mentioned it is like a football game, where the body count is the score: December 17th, Iraq vs US, 21-7. November 21st, Hamas vs Israel 7-3 and so on. For the most part I like to concentrate this blog on topics that in some way profoundly change the field of play, and even then I like to focus on events that seem to move the situation in a positive direction. Last time Hamas was brought up (ironically enough, it was only days before Shalit was captured) it looked as if there might have been some sort of acknowledgement by Hamas of Israel's existence. Sadly, that opportunity has come and gone through the hostility of Hamas, and the hot tempers of the Israelis.

Oh and now this just in:

"GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Sharply escalating its military campaign, Israel dropped a quarter-ton bomb on a Gaza home Wednesday in a failed attempt to assassinate top Hamas fugitives. Nine members of the same family were killed, including seven children." (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13165159/)

See what I mean?

The addition of Hezbollah seems well choreographed, and beyond both organizations denial of collusion, this seems to be a massive ploy to attack Israel, and the Syrians, who fund Hezbollah, have very limited time before they come into Israeli sights. I usually believe that all people can be reasoned with, but these Islamic fundamentalists groups seem fanatical and irrational. Add that to the fact that they have now become part of the political system, and multiply that by the fact that the US, which used to be a leading ref in these disagreements, are now more than happy to let them all have a go at it to distract us from our shoddy war in Iraq (and a nice Hamas/ Hezbollah/ Israel war also helps their underline case that Islamic countries need policing and enforcement from Western countries) and what we have on our hands is a recipe for FUBAR. My solution? In the short run, every one else should step outta the way and let Israel deal with it. 1) It would distract insurgents in Iraq, and maybe even pull some of them out. 2) Israel will defeat its opponents in the region. Hamas, Syria, Hezbollah, and a host of imams won't be able to pray that fact away. If they really do want a fight, and no one is willing to reason, then give them the no-holds barred steel cage match they want. (And yes, I do feel sorry for their civilians, just as I felt sorry for the victims of Saddam, but a sad truth is that adding other forces to a hostile situation will only escalate the casualty count). 3) When Israel stands victorious, then we can let the lame ducks of the UN in to mediate the truce, with full cooperation of the US (This is of course, if we (the US that is) really want this thing to end).

Unfortunately even in my best dreams I can't see how this mess won't escalate again eventually. In fact, I really don't know what the hell I'm talking about. I've never seen so many people who are willing to drown themselves so they can cross a river to kill someone else. I think at this point the best plan for the rest of the world is to tie a boundary around the zone and let them, ironically, fight it out in peace.

But what the hell do I know? I just write a blog.