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July 17, 2006
Confused Americans for Truth - A Parable for the Lebanon War
Imagine, if you will, that the Arizona National Guard crossed into Mexico, kidnapped a policeman, and shot up a bunch of civilians. No one would be surprised if Mexico considered that an act of war and responded accordingly.
The reason the Arizona National Guard doesn't do this is that Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gives the President of the United States authority over all militia. A State cannot invade a foreign country without the approval of the Federal government.
Lebanon is a fledgling democracy, and some pundits are arguing that a terrorist attack on Israel from within Lebanon is evidence that the Rove Doctrine is failing. But in fact, it's evidence that democracy is not enough: you also need a constitution.
Hezbollah is not a bunch of gun nuts buying war-surplus grenades. It's an army with operational missiles. An independent army operating inside a nation's borders effectively nullifies liberty regardless of who gets the most votes. The United States Constitution doesn't allow it. It's possible that Article 65 of the Lebanese Constitution-- which gives control of the military to the Council of Ministers-- implements the same principle, but prior to February 2006, the governing authority in Lebanon was not the Lebanese Constitution but rather the Syrian army. It's not clear what the Constitution means any more.
So, one could argue that by destroying Hezbollah, Israel is removing an obstacle between the Lebanese government and the implementation of real democracy.
There is, however, one additional problem: Lebanon's government is based on a confessional system in which political power is allocated to specific religious groups. Twenty-one percent of the legislature is allocated to Shi'ites even though they comprise 41% of the population. It's a far cry from the goal of one citizen one vote. Perhaps this is why the Council of Ministers feels unable to disarm the terrorist army in its midst.
Israel has no such restraints. They also have no illusions about Hezbollah's power, which is why one of the conditions for a cease-fire is to put the Lebanese Army along their common border.
Hezbollah is not going to allow that, so Hezbollah is going to keep fighting. And that means votes, laws, and constitutions can't do anything to stop this war. Democracy can't work under those conditions. The other fledgling democracies of the world should keep that in mind, and make sure they don't let the same thing happen to them.
Respectfully submitted,
Ferdinand T. Cat
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# At Mon 11:25 PM | Permalink | Trackback URI | Comments (0) | More Confused Americans for Truth | Tags: conservative democracy Hizbollah illegal immigration Israel Karl Rove terrorism War and Peace
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