Today, Israel broke the UN cease fire agreement with a helicopter raid into northern Lebanon - along with fighter jets bombing the area. Why mention this? Because it fits the pattern over the many years. If Hezbolah retaliates, then the corporate media will scream 'terrorism'. Right now the Lebanonese are left alone to protest. Israel practices provocation on a calculated scale as a matter of policy. It then plays the victim when attacked back. I repeat - Israel broke the cease fire it agreed to - and the criticism is muted.

Ariel Sharon inspired the creation of Hezbolah in 1982 with his full invasion of Lebanon. Since then they have existed to defend Lebanon - and are not a terrorism group. They stay in Lebanon and resist Israeli invasions - successfully. They did this again today with the raid. We should be respectful - not supportive - of Hezbolah as they are a group that came into being for good reasons. And they respect the laws of warfare and international law better than does Israel. We Americans need to be open minded to the facts if we want to stop our blind rush down the road to perdition under Bush. And next to our invasion of Iraq, our blind support of every Israeli military strike is leading us down this road.