If Canada decided that it needed to occupy Washington, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota to insure its military security in North America, what do you think would happen? Canada could surely make a case for such action. The United States has an infamous imperialist history; it has been known to take unilateral military action; and it so economically dominates the Americas that the concept sovereignty in the Western Hemisphere is really a joke. So Canada just might have an argument for creating a buffer zone between itself and the United States.

But if Canada ever tried to actually execute such an occupation, don't you know that the United States would hand down one of the severest thrashings it has ever delivered to any of its enemies. And the United States would be fully justified under international law to do so. Even basic common sense and fair play suggest that it is inappropriate to take the property of another, based on fears of what hypothetically might happen.

So why then does the world sit idly by while Israel occupies and lays waste to Lebanon? Surely United Nations Security Council Resolution 425 is clear enough with reference to the illegality of Israeli occupation in and aggression against Lebanon.

The reason for the silence is because Israel and its closest ally, the United States, are cut from the same imperialist fabric. The United States had no qualms in its genocidal drive against Native Americans. If you want to talk about ethnic cleansing and the true planned eradication of a people, look no further than U.S. history from the 1600s to the early 1900s. Following the United States' lead, Israel continues to use its own version of "Manifest Destiny" to stall in its negotiations with Palestine, illegally occupy Jerusalem, illegally occupy South Lebanon and illegally use military force in the region.

What then does Israel expect? When you walk the earth with impudent disregard for justice and the rights of your fellow human beings, you invest in the inevitability that conflict will, one day, visit your doorstep. And Israel has shown utter disregard for the sovereignty and the rights of Lebanese civilians for too long.

Hizbullah is not a terrorist organization. Even the United States recognizes this. It is an organization whose express purpose is the liberation of occupied Lebanese lands. And as long as Israel and is proxy, the SLA, continues their activities there, Israel can expect to meet with military resistance.

Is it unfortunate that Israeli citizen have had to flee from northern Israel? Yes. But there is no comparison to be made between the discomfort of a handful of Israeli citizens who chose to live near a legitimate war zone and the death and destruction being endured by Lebanese citizens who have no choice in the matter.

Oh, and as for the media, it would be nice if they for once portrayed the reality of the situation. So enough with the images of Israelis cowering in well-stocked bomb-shelters. They don't deserve coverage when young Lebanese children lie in hospital wards with injuries resulting from indiscriminate Israeli air raids.