Tuesday, July 18, 2006
US Bishops speak out on the Mideast (yawn)
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement today calling for a Ceasefire And An End To The Cycle Of Violence In The Middle East; Urge Greater Leadership From United States To Secure Peace
“The chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ international policy committee said in a statement today that provocative acts of violence by extreme factions of Hamas and Hezbollah, along with disproportionate military responses from Israel, undermine efforts to create a just two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and endanger the vulnerable democracy in Lebanon.”
It is little more than the usual tripe and vacuous platitudes we have become accustomed to reading from the Conference as they continue to try and achieve some sort of relevancy on issues outside of Church teachings (which this is not). Statements such as “[t]he extreme armed factions of Hamas and Hezbollah” tell me that Bishop Thomas G. Wenski (the Chairman) is incapable of looking at the parties decisively – describing them as “extreme armed factions” makes it sound as if they are some out-of-control splinter groups instead of the very essence of Hamas and Hezbollah. Bishop Wenski should not feel the need to lump Israel’s reaction to those groups’ terrorist actions as an equivalent of them just to be perceived as even-handed and impartial.
Because it’s the U.S. Conference, the Chairman drags the US in:
“Our Conference calls upon the United States to exert greater leadership with all parties to the conflicts and to work more intensively and multilaterally to end the provocations and violence, to secure a ceasefire, to restrain Israel, to move toward negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians to bring about security for Israel and a viable state for the Palestinians, and to ensure the independence of Lebanon.”
Again, I have to wonder if the good Bishop and his committee have been paying attention. The U.S. has been a constant in the Israel/Palestinian talks – Arafat practically had his own room at the White House during the Clinton years. The results speak for themselves. The only threat to Lebanon independence is from Hezbollah. Finally, you don’t get much more multilateral than the UN and so far I’m not seeing any benefit to their ongoing presence in southern Lebanon.
Oh and just for the record and lest there be any doubt: As with many issues, these Catholic bishops are NOT speaking for me in this instance.
“The chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ international policy committee said in a statement today that provocative acts of violence by extreme factions of Hamas and Hezbollah, along with disproportionate military responses from Israel, undermine efforts to create a just two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and endanger the vulnerable democracy in Lebanon.”
It is little more than the usual tripe and vacuous platitudes we have become accustomed to reading from the Conference as they continue to try and achieve some sort of relevancy on issues outside of Church teachings (which this is not). Statements such as “[t]he extreme armed factions of Hamas and Hezbollah” tell me that Bishop Thomas G. Wenski (the Chairman) is incapable of looking at the parties decisively – describing them as “extreme armed factions” makes it sound as if they are some out-of-control splinter groups instead of the very essence of Hamas and Hezbollah. Bishop Wenski should not feel the need to lump Israel’s reaction to those groups’ terrorist actions as an equivalent of them just to be perceived as even-handed and impartial.
Because it’s the U.S. Conference, the Chairman drags the US in:
“Our Conference calls upon the United States to exert greater leadership with all parties to the conflicts and to work more intensively and multilaterally to end the provocations and violence, to secure a ceasefire, to restrain Israel, to move toward negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians to bring about security for Israel and a viable state for the Palestinians, and to ensure the independence of Lebanon.”
Again, I have to wonder if the good Bishop and his committee have been paying attention. The U.S. has been a constant in the Israel/Palestinian talks – Arafat practically had his own room at the White House during the Clinton years. The results speak for themselves. The only threat to Lebanon independence is from Hezbollah. Finally, you don’t get much more multilateral than the UN and so far I’m not seeing any benefit to their ongoing presence in southern Lebanon.
Oh and just for the record and lest there be any doubt: As with many issues, these Catholic bishops are NOT speaking for me in this instance.
Comments:
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You are correct that the threat to Lebanon's independence comes primarly from Hezbollah (at least now that Syria no longer stations troops in the country.) But you are mistaken if you think that the airstrikes on Beiruit and other parts of Lebanon will do anything to sustain that independence as well.
fair enough - my point is simply that Israel is not a threat to Lebanon independence. Take out Hezbollah and I think Lebanon finds a very friendly and receptive Israel ready to be a friend
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