Supposed Nasrallah victory [Archives:2006/999/Letters to the Editor]

By: S. A. Abdul Wahab
Sana'a, Yemen
[email protected]
It was ironic to see Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah give a victory speech in Beirut amid the city's ruins and destruction by Israel. So Hezbollah is claiming this as a great victory – a victory for what, may we ask? How much territory did they conquer? How many Israeli troops did they kill?

Israel succeeded in killing hundreds of Lebanese citizens and Hezbollah fighters – at least 10 times more than Hezbollah. Israel captured hundreds of square miles of Lebanese territory, as compared to zero Israeli territory captured by Hezbollah. Israel's vast destruction of Lebanon and Hezbollah's infrastructure overshadows any destruction of Israel. The only thing Hezbollah achieved was firing hundreds of rockets hidden behind civilian homes and from under deep concrete tunnels like cowards.

It seems the Muslim world, especially us Arabs, is living in a constant state of denial of reality. We're living in our fantasy world of illusions and dreams. Accepting a problem is the first step toward its solution. Unless and until we begin facing reality and rejecting denial, we can't begin to solve our many problems. The Western world as well as the Eastern world (China, Japan, etc) are leaving us far behind. Our escape into religious fascism and fundamentalism must end if we're to progress; otherwise, there's no hope for any of us.
——
[archive-e:999-v:14-y:2006-d:2006-11-16-p:letters]