May I comment on Keith Bettinger's letter entitled Israel a bully thanks to Uncle Sam . As a Malaysian, I sympathise with the predicament of Bettinger and his family in Beirut, but it is common knowledge that Hezbollah is not exactly a 'radical fringe group' as Bettinger suggested in his letter, but an army with sophisticated rockets at its disposal, a force that dwarfs the pro- Syrian Lebanese army itself.
Both Hezbollah and the Lebanese army are quite well-armed and outfitted mainly by Iran and Syria respectively. Besides, it is also common knowledge, particularly among the peace-loving Lebanese, that Hezbollah candidates have been shoe-horned into the Lebanese government in the elections that followed Syria's withdrawal.
It is also common knowledge, but understandably not a popular sentiment in Malaysia, that Hezbollah and Hamas are perpetrators of suicide bombings and hostage-taking in the area and are proxies of Iran and Syria who are financing them in keeping Israel on the boil.
Simply put, the terror in Lebanon and Gaza 'appears' to be caused by Israel but it is actually instigated by Hezbollah and Hamas with the backing of Iran and Syria. It is about time the Malaysian government sets aside popular sentiment and tell Hezbollah and Hamas in no uncertain terms to stop this comedy of errors and refrain from attacking Israel who would usually respond with disproportionate force. They should come to a truce with Israel with the Middle East peace plan in the equation.
In the current fracas, Hamas and Hezbollah misread the tea leaves again.
When Hamas should have been concentrating on running the already fragile Palestinian government while helping President Abbas start the stalled peace plan with Israel, they instead kept their militant faction stoking the fire ever since they won the elections. In the process, they kidnaped an Israeli soldier to muster a prisoner exchange and perhaps gain some relevance for their recent mandate over the PLO. Unfortunately they miscalculated the Israeli response of corralling the whole government, not to mention obliterating vital infrastructure which rendered most of Gaza without water and electricity.
Then Hezbollah in Lebanon exacerbated the situation by riding the wave. Besides launching rockets at Haifa, they kidnaped two Israeli soldiers, perhaps to muster another prisoner exchange. Unfortunately, they, too, miscalculated the exacting Israeli response which has now put the Lebanese, Syrian and not to mention the Iranian governments in jeopardy.
Hezbollah and Hamas must be told that their patrons are indeed in jeopardy because, despite the rhetoric to the contrary, it is well-known that their armies combined are no match for Israel's military might.
Therefore, Malaysia should be realistic about the simmering situation in the area and refrain from engaging popular sentiments. While rightfully condemning Israel for attacking Gaza and Lebanon with disproportionate force, it should take a stand in encouraging Hamas and Hezbollah to immediately seek a truce with Israel and surrender the kidnaped soldiers in order to avert the suffering of the common people there.
