Collateral Damage

Regular readers of this blog will have noted that I am a strong supporter of Israel. This position is based upon what I perceive to be wise foreign policy and not merely a knee-jerk support of my fellow Jews.

In fact, it's somewhat difficult for me to maintain my pro-Israeli stance as I am politically liberal and decidedly left-wing, yet the American liberal left wing is notably pro-Palestinian. It's our conservative right wing with which my views on Israel have the most in common. This is a terribly distressing turn of events for me, though I'm happy to say this odd harmony appears to be limited to matters Israeli.

Yet none the less, during the past two months I have posted a number of times in support of Israel's policies and prosecution of the war with Hezbollah.

To attempt to balance the karmic scales a little bit, here's a bit of news that I am extraordinarily unhappy to tell you about: following a strategy of colossal short-sightedness, Israeli planes attacked a Lebanese power plant on the Mediterranean coast last July, resulting in a massive oil spill.

This is a regional ecological disaster of stunning proportions; an estimated 15,000 tonnes of oil have spread along the Lebanese coast in a swath more than 137 kilometers long. The slick has fouled beaches and destroyed fish and waterfowl habitats, resulting in a cleanup effort that will take more than a year to accomplish.

Overall, I think it's safe to say the power plant was a target whose value intact far surpassed its value destroyed.

Fucking Israelis.