[lit-ideas] Lebanon: It's about annexation
- From: Omar Kusturica <omarkusto@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2006 08:22:03 -0700 (PDT)
Officially, Israel's ground invasion of Lebanon is an
act of self-defense against Hezbollah's threat, aimed
at creating a security buffer zone until the arrival
of a "multinational force with an enforcement
capability". But increasingly, as the initial goal of
a narrow strip of only a few kilometers has now been
extended up to the Litani River deep in Lebanon, the
real motives behind Israel's invasion are becoming
crystal-clear.
It's about (de facto) annexation, stupid. This is a
war to annex a major chunk of Lebanese territory
without necessarily saying so, under the pretext of
security buffer and deterrence against future attacks
on Israel.
Already, since the Six Day War, Israel has annexed the
Sheba Farms, considered part of the Syrian Golan
Heights, although the
government of Lebanon has long complained that the
25-square-kilometer area was a part of Lebanon. Now
the Israeli army is sweeping the area south of the
Litani River as a temporary occupation.
"We have no intention of extending our operation more
than 70 kilometers north of our borders with Lebanon,"
stated Lieutenant-Colonel Hemi Lini on the Lebanese
border on July 17, one week after the war's outbreak.
This would put Israel, assuming for a moment that the
Israel Defense Forces' operations prove ultimately
successful, in control of the Litani River, thus
fulfilling Israel's founding fathers' dream,
stretching back to Chaim Weizmann, head of the World
Zionist Organization, who in 1919 declared the river
"essential to the future of the Jewish national home".
Consequently, contrary to the pro-Israel pundits'
reassurances that this war is not about occupation,
all the tangible signs indicate the exact opposite,
ie, the distinct possibility of a "war of acreage"
whereby Israel would expand its territory, acquire a
new strategic depth, and simultaneously address its
chronic water shortage by exploiting the Litani.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HH05Ak01.html
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