July 21, 2006
THE MORE STATES THE BETTER:
Count Ethnic Divisions, Not Bombs, to Tell if a Nation Will Recover From War (AUSTAN GOOLSBEE, 7/20/06, NY Times)
WITH repeated Shiite and Sunni killings in Iraq, the Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israel, Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Gaza, the assaults by the Taliban and counterassaults by American forces in Afghanistan, and a train bombing in India, it has been quite a fortnight for at least two of the horsemen of the apocalypse — war and death.With little prospect of a quick resolution to most of these conflicts, perhaps it is worth looking at the long-run prospects for these nations once the wars actually end (assuming that they do end, of course).
The good news is that history suggests that the destruction of war has no lasting impact on economic prospects. The bad news is that most of these countries, especially Iraq, are filled with ethnic divisions and civil discord. The evidence shows that these problems, unlike bombs, cause lasting damage to the prospects for a nation’s economy, even if they do not boil over into civil war.
There's nothing real about these states to begin with--they're just creations of colonial powers. The quicker they devolve into their constituent and coherent parts the better. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 21, 2006 1:14 PM
Israel has bombed every single bridge in and out of South Lebanon. It has bombed bridges in and around Beirut's Shiite neighbourhoods.
It has shelled all the ports up and down Lebanon's coastline, by gunship and airplanes, incapacitating them all and rocking the city of Beirut in the process.
It has taken out all the main arteries in and out of Lebanon.
Beirut's lighthouse was also hit. Its primary wheat silo was bombed.
Wherever there have been fuel reservoirs of significance, they, too, have been shelled. And every time one of those is hit, it invariably explodes with a vengeance — the fuel and the blast creating a black, thick, burning plume of smoke that engulfs large swathes of land. With little people power or enough water to put out the infernos, they keep going, roaring for hours on end.
Israel has bombed the key runways of Beirut's newly built International Airport — on several occasions.
It has wiped certain Shiite villages almost clear off the map. It has targeted innocent civilians fleeing the villages they were told to flee by the Israeli army.
More than 200 people have died in a span of a few days and countless others are wounded and dying in hospital beds throughout the south and southern suburbs of Beirut.
What is Israel accomplishing by crippling Lebanon; all of it and everyone?
Does Israel really hope to free its soldiers by doing this?
Rhadarani: You're right. War by half measures is barbarism. Israel should nuke them and be done with it.
Posted by: John Resnick at July 21, 2006 2:26 PMSounds kind of stupid for Hezbollah to have started the war in the first place, huh?
Posted by: David Cohen at July 21, 2006 2:30 PMCan't make a comment aobut Wal-Mart.
Posted by: Sandy P at July 21, 2006 2:31 PMHave to agree with comments above. Israel is being far too nuanced. Bomb the **** out of them now and then bomb them again. They're very slow learners.
Posted by: erp at July 21, 2006 2:40 PMDoesn't Israel hope to convince folks that taking Israelis hostage is an act of war?
Posted by: oj at July 21, 2006 2:45 PMAccording to CNN and Reuters the Israelli boming has been extremely precise thus far, killing only children, the elderly, and pregnant women.
Posted by: Earl Sutherland at July 21, 2006 2:49 PMAnd fluffy baby ducks. IDF is especially good at killing them.
Posted by: Dreadnoughts at July 21, 2006 3:26 PMDon't forget the baby seals. Each IDF soldier is issued 3 baby seals prior to each mission so that they can club them to death as soon as they reach a group of children.
Posted by: Pepys at July 21, 2006 4:47 PMNote: All the comment links to posts after this one are broken as of 2:23 pm Pacific time.
Posted by: PapayaSF at July 21, 2006 5:23 PMThe Other Brother is switching servers today, so things are a tad sketchy....
Posted by: oj at July 21, 2006 5:27 PMPizzas all around for the IDF.
Posted by: Sandy P at July 21, 2006 5:58 PMMeanwhile, we collectively raise a cyber toast to the Other Brother for bravely battling the electron demons on our behalf. CHEERS!
Posted by: John Resnick at July 21, 2006 6:28 PM