On War and Peace

When taking a walk or driving on the road anywhere in America, one wonders if we are truly at war. The streets are clean, white-washed, with the hum of street-sweepers trotting by once or twice a week; almost like robotic drones picking up our refuse without raising a sweat. Children and teenagers run about the sidewalks laughing with iPods plugged into one ear and cellphones glued to the other, occasionally resembling a cyborg depending on how many wires toggle from their ears...

Talk to any random person anywhere in America and within two minutes of discussion, you call tell that war is pretty far from their minds. They worry over credit card bills; where are they going to dine?; what movies are they going to watch?; should they buy a used BMW or a new one?...

There are no evidences of war. No bomb shelters. No blasted buildings. Aside from airports and high security areas, we don't even see heavily armed men patrolling the streets. No blackouts along the coasts. No rationing of food. Everything appears remarkably as though it's peacetime with laughter and convivalities spilling out from every corner of every street.

We are swimming in the apex of wealth never before seen in history. Not even Rome enjoyed the power, influence and wealth that we now wield across the whole world... and we seem to think this will last forever.

For now, the war is somewhere "over there", we say to ourselves, where some poor sot volunteered to be shot at out of an outmoded notion of patriotic duty. We say we support our soldiers, and it also patriotic to protest the war, even if vitriolic protesting will kill and undermine our troops in the field.

But, hey, that's his fault, we say secretly.

Nobody forced him to join the army.

What, then, are we to make of this statement from the President of Iran following the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon?

Ahmadinejad:
“God's promises have come true… On one side, it's corrupt powers of the criminal U.S. and Britain and the Zionists ... with modern bombs and planes. And on the other side is a group of pious youth relying on God.

I just want to tell them (US, UK, & Israel) that they shouldn't think that, with the cease-fire, everything is finished. I want to announce this year, as a representative of my country and those who had a part and participated in this aggressive attack and prevented the happening of the cease-fire and they are actually participants to the aggression of Zionists, and they should be punished.

…But I want to tell you that the Iranians are a courageous and noble nation, and they will not accept force from anybody. I say that they should do what they have to do and we do what we do. And we will announce when we want to say, as we agreed, in time, and according to what we have promised, we will announce what we have to say. But I want to say that our intention, our fundamental purpose is to protect the rights of our country. And no one has rights to prevent us from this. And no one can stop the development of our nation.

…if you are interested to have interaction, good relations with Iran, you should recognize the rights of this country, and you should also bow down to the dignity and to the nobility of our people. And if you don't do that, our people, the nation of Iran will make you do that."
What, then, are we to make of this statement from the President of Syria?

Assad:
"The Lebanese national resistance is a necessity in as much as it is natural and legal… its legality comes from the fact that Israeli aggression hasn't stopped since 2000”

“Their 'New Middle East', based on subjugation and humiliation, and denial of rights and identity, has turned into an illusion,"

"It is evident that after six years of this (U.S.) administration that there is no peace and there will be none in the foreseeable future,

“…We tell them (Israelis) that after tasting humiliation in the latest battles, your weapons are not going to protect you _ not your planes, or missiles, or even your nuclear bombs ... The future generations in the Arab world will find a way to defeat Israel."

Are we to ignore these threats and go back to sleep, hoping that the world does not mean what it says? Are we so willfully blind that when death and war knocks on our door, we delude ourselves and proceed on with dinner?

Perhaps we will wake up and confront this threat as a people. Or perhaps we will receive the Mideast's most expensive export onto our shores; the kind that doesn't come with a snooze button...