The Israeli-Hamas-Gaza Mess: One We Need To Keep Out Of

The Israeli-Hamas conflict/war that erupted over the New Year is just another battle in a long line of battles that have taken place in that region over the last several decades. If I understand things correctly, this current situation started with Hamas firing rockets into southern Israel, and the Israelis are retaliating in an attempt to shut down the tunnels and areas that Hamas is using to move its weaponry.

I have to admit, though, when I first heard of trouble in this area, my brain immediately shut down. It seems that for several decades there have been problems in this region, and I think I have become deaf to hearing about them. In fact, I am not even sure any more what these people have been fighting about over all these years because the reasons seem to change. Is it a simple dispute over whom the land belongs to? Is it a religious conflict due to intolerance of the faith of all the inhabitants in the area? Is it simply a long fueled hatred between people whose ancestors and theirs before them for centuries have never seen eye-to-eye? Someone told me long ago that the conflict between Arab and Israeli began centuries ago over disputes about land and water.

The truth is, anytime I try to find information on this subject, it is hard to find anything that isn’t slanted or biased one way or the other. And it seems when this matter comes up for discussion on Internet forums, usually verbal flame wars erupt. Clearly this is a hot button issue with no simple answers, maybe because over the years the issues that these people fight over are constantly changing.

One thing is for certain, this is another case where the United Nations shows that it is ineffective, with what appears to be no action on their part to do anything to broker a peace with the current situation. My fear is that Iran will use this situation as the excuse to involve themselves in this conflict, and we know that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had once said he’s like to wipe the Israelis off the map.

This whole situation can grow into a huge mess if handled poorly. My opinion is that right now, this is a mess we need to stay out of – and so should every other country. I am saddened that innocent people – on both sides – are being killed by this current conflict, but I do not think that anyone, other than UN military, should be moving in and helping at this point in time. This could only be like throwing gasoline on a flame. I hope cooler heads will somehow prevail, although I won’t hold my breath.

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The United Nations – Still Relevant?

When I was in the eighth grade in 1969, my class took a trip to New York City. The city was not in the best shape at the time, but we saw some memorable sights like the Statue of Liberty, The Empire State Building, and the construction of the World Trade Center. But one place that had an amazingly peaceful atmosphere was the United Nations General Assembly Hall. The predominant color was a mild green, and the size of the cavernous room almost made for a cathedral-like environment. I was in awe. At the time, I thought that the UN was this place where worldly good was done, where officials protected and defended the people of the world who possibly could not protect themselves. As I grew older, I realized that I was just romanticizing what the UN stood for.

The United Nations was established in 1945, as a vehicle for world nations to avert war and to exchange dialog on their respective issues. Their focus is on peacekeeping and humanitarian issues. While the United Nations headquarters is in New York City, it’s considered international territory. There are other satellite locations in Geneva, Vienna, The Hague, and many others.

What I find disappointing is that it seems all the UN does now is talk, and this has been their method of operation for a long time. They talk and discuss and pontificate about world matters, and then do nothing. Genocide took place in Iraq, yet the UN refused to take significant action in the matter. Sadly, the US then went to war in Iraq, but not for the right reasons. The UN should have stepped in earlier, along with other countries, to stop the murders. And now, we see the same type situation – possibly worse – in areas of Africa such as Darfur. I don’t see the UN stepping in with any military initiatives to stop the senseless killing and starving of people in Africa. The UN also seemed slow to act in forcing any issue of aid to the people in Myanmar who were catastrophically affected by the recent typhoon.

If the UN can’t take any kind of aggressive action against what are clearly heinous crimes against humanity, then my opinion is that they are nothing but a group of ineffective, bloviating officials. If they were run like a business, they would have been out of business long ago for not living up to its mission and not taking care of its “customers” – people around the world.

It may be time for the UN to rethink its existence – or to find a way to reinvent itself so it can become what it aspires to be – peacekeepers and humanitarians.

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