Secondly, who kidnapped whose soldiers? It sure wasn't Israel. And who started firing rockets into Israel from Lebanon? You guessed it - Hezbollah. So, does this not give Israel the right to strike back? Let's face it, there is no way the Lebanese government, their police, or their military could not identify the exact spots from which these rockets are being fired and take them out. Israel therefore has the right to hit any target in Lebanon where they suspect Hezbollah terrorists are hiding.

In 1967, Israel was attacked by Arab, and Muslim countries.

Yes, they fought back and captured portions of these countries as a buffer zone to protect Israel from future attacks. It worked fine for awhile, until the Palestinians started demanding their own state. Israel agreed they should have their own state, and has pulled out of some of the occupied areas. All they ask is to be left alone. But no, Hamas and Hezbollah still declare they will wipe Israel from the face of the earth.

Insurgents are civilians. They are not legally recognised government armies. They hide among the civilian population, then yell to high heaven if civilians are killed in counter operations.

Do we remember World War II, when Germany bombed England and others to start the war? England retaliated by launching massive bombing operations on German cities. Thousands of civilians were killed, as happens in any war.

Yes, Israel should do all possible to limit civilian deaths, but they are fighting a war they did not start, and civilians will die, especially if the enemy puts the civilians in the line of fire.

Charlie Brown

Chon Buri

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'High-spirited' Lebanese will rebuild Beirut once again

In the good old days, Beirut was my favourite international stopover and the perfectly situated Phoenicia Hotel my favourite hassle-free Mediterranean getaway.

In this once-upon-a-time Epicurean stronghold, Christians and Arabs co-existed and thrived in peaceful harmony. Now, after several wars imposed by outside forces, attempts have once again been made to senselessly destroy the infrastructure of this fabulous city.

I feel confident however that the proud and always resilient, high-spirited Lebanese people will rebuild their country, with the help of the global community, and the noble phoenix will rise from the ashes, renewed as the most precious crowning jewel in the Middle East.

Dr Charles Frederickson

Bangkok

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Iran and Syria must be held accountable for area's troubles

Re: "Attacks on Palestine and Lebanon belie Israel's desired image as the 'innocent side'", Letters, July 18.

The Ambassador of Iran to Thailand should know that his country along with Syria are the cause of the problems in the Middle East. The ambassador states that Israel has been exerting tremendous military pressure on Lebanon. True, and it is time to hold Syria and Iran accountable for their actions. I am watching and hoping that Iran and Syria will feel the overwhelming military power that they deserve. Sadly some have to learn the hard way.

Bill Cymbalsky

Bangkok

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Thaksin has exceeded the 135 day limit as a caretaker PM

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra dissolved the House on February 24. The caretaker status of the government has reached and passed 135 days, the limit specified in Constitution articles 215, 116, 159 and 202. Any action and process by the caretaker government after the 135th day is unconstitutional. The caretakers must resign and return their compensation back to the government.

Surasak Piputtana

Bangkok

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'Reconciliation' talk is just another of the premier's tricks

Thaksin was playing the same old tricks again when he called for reconciliation to put an end to the current political deadlock. He started all the trouble, but instead of ending it himself he put the blame on his opponents supposedly for the sake of national interests. He claimed he was concerned with saving our economy and defending our democracy, which he said, is being undermined by unconstitutional elements. Above all, he said that he wanted to pave the way to a new general election, which he is 100-per-cent certain will result in another landslide victory with his impregnable base of votes in the vast countryside.

If we are to achieve national reconciliation, we must not let him off this time. We must have him utter the name of the "charismatic person" he maliciously referred to.

We must hold him responsible for his letters to state leaders, in which he brazenly distorted the ongoing political crisis in our country. We must stop him from making use of state resources to organise grassroots activities to serve his dirty schemes. Let's just ask and have a close look at what he is up to at the moment at Dhammakaya Temple, where more than 80,000 members of local administrative bodies were called in to rally at taxpayers' expense!

We must not be taken in by Thaksin's deceitful empty talk about reconciliation.

Abee

Bangkok

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Media assassins must learn to respect fellow 'life travellers'

The relative world seems always to be competitive, in opposition. You know, survival of the fittest, win-win, me first. A clear example of this is the world of competitive athletics and politics. Popular weapons in both of these competitive worlds are words - harmful speech that seeks to destroy the opposition.

In the recent World Cup competition two star players were red carded out of a match because of their reaction to insulting or derogatory words spoken in anger by an opposing player. Arguably, their reaction caused each of their respective teams the opportunity of winning the World Cup.

In both Thailand and the United States an arsenals of words, distortions, innuendoes, insults and of course, outright lies, will be built up for the speeches to be delivered during the upcoming elections.

As a senior citizen, I have lived long enough to witness the mischief, dirty tricks, rumours, and selective demeaning of candidates by both political US camps over the decades. However, in my memory, nothing compares to the shameful outright vitriol expressed by various segments of today's Republican Party towards anyone expressing an opposing viewpoint.

I think it safe to say we have all had a run at being a "big mouths" as adolescents, but most of us, often after a painful lesson, grew out of it, learned both the interconnectedness with our fellow life travellers and the respect due them.

 It is obvious to me that many engaged in political life, even though they are fellow travellers, have yet to realise this or even want to.

 The actions of Wayne Rooney and Zinedine Zidane are in the past - they both will move on. For political propagandists and media assassins, the harmful speech they concoct will remain with them forever.

Mr Bill

Bangkok

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No need to choose between soi dogs or 'stray' people

Re: "Caring for less fortunate people must take priority over concerns for animals", Letters, July 12.

First of all, I am a she and not a he as John Arnone wrote in his letter. Secondly, helping dogs and other street animals is not a trade-off to helping humanity. For instance, I am in the field of human rights where my work involves fighting for the rights of underprivileged individuals in society. And yes, the human rights field has helped to make a difference in the lives of many disadvantaged people. However, my interests outside of my profession also include ways to help street animals that are helpless and vulnerable. Thereby, I certainly feel, along with many others who have been involved in helping stray animals, that you can simultaneously care about both humanity and animals.

And I obviously do not share Arnone's views that one has to first solve the problems of what you referred to as "stray humans" in the streets such as drug-addicts, mentally challenged persons and trafficked women and children before we can start to establish programmes to help stray dogs. We do not expect society to ignore the plights of disadvantaged individuals for now because other problems, such as politics and the economy, may need to be stabilised first.

Also, I fail to see how the United States government's efforts to control the problems of smoking and narcotics use that Arnone mentioned in his letter is relevant to helping dogs. From my personal experiences and observations, dogs are more willing to be helped than drug users and smokers.

As to your advice on how I should put my money where my mouth is by feeding stray animals on a daily basis and taking the ill ones to a veterinarian in order to set a good example for others instead of writing to a newspaper about this issue, I am stunned that someone like you who has written 15 letters to The Nation this year alone (yes I counted them in the archives section in the newspaper's website) has the audacity to make that suggestion. Also John, you obviously do not know enough about me to make a judgement about how I am trying to seek the assistance of others so that I can become the chairperson of some committee to help dogs.

I suggest that you stick to talking about celebrities that you seem to know a lot about and mentioned in your letter, such as Angelina Jolie and Bill Gates, rather than directing your letters to people who are completely unknown to you.

Amreen Choudhury

Bangkok  

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