Causes and conditions

Israeli war damages are being estimated at about $1 billion for actual damage as well as lost tourism and lost economic productivity due to lost work days. By contrast the Lebanese damages are $7 billion just for physical damages alone, thus making the comparison somewhat less than even.

But that's not the most interesting part.

From the NYT piece:

Israel will also pay about $11 million to compensate the injured and the families of those killed in the attacks, according to Yediot Aharonot. The government has also allocated about $1.4 million to repair damaged schools before the school year begins in two weeks.

The special budget includes money for psychological counseling of children suffering symptoms of stress from the 34 days of fighting. Some children spent much of that time in crowded bomb shelters.

I wonder how many Israelis have stopped to ask themselves if Lebanese schools will be similarly reimbursed and repaired... whether Lebanese children will be similarly counseled.

Surely no rational being can glibly go thru life thinking that uneducated, psychologically damaged children being raised in the aftermath of a war over which they nor their parents had any real control will somehow magically grow up to be productive, well-adjusted adults who are equipped with the mental strength to reject extremist recruiters... Can they?

Seriously. This strikes me as something to be filed under Stunningly Obvious, no? Yet how many of you sincerely believe that those Lebanese children will be similarly taken care of? Or that any of their parents were similarly taken care of after the 1982 invasion and ensuing death and destruction?

Ironically, the circumstantial evidence seems to indicate that Hezbollah most likely came far and away closer to fulfilling these types of needs among afflicted Lebanese civilians after the 1982 Israeli war in Lebanon. And now the Lebanese people are supposed to do "the smart thing" and turn their backs on Hezbollah?

The Lebanese love their children too, Mr. Olmert. Instead of demagoguing why don't you try being realistic for a change?