Reply #110: I don't think that most DUers who post in opposition to Isreal's actions

[JudyM]

necessarily think it doesn't have a right to exist, but instead that it is the main cause of problems in the region. They view its actions as imperialist and oppressive rather than as defensive. They feel that Israel is denying civil rights to its 'subjects' and so is the Bad Guy, rather than seeing the whole picture. Israel's bombing of Lebanon seemed too broad-brush and thereby furthered an impression that it has not consistently acted on the ethical high road. So I get where they're coming from in a general sense but they sure do see it as one-sided, with apparently no understanding - or even outright rejection - of Israel's challenges in living in an area whose populations are anti-semitic, and that perplexes me. I tend to see Lebanon as a poorly-executed effort to dismantle a growing threat armed by Iran and Syria.