Hezbollah actions risk fuelling wider Middle East conflict

Hezbollah actions risk fuelling wider conflict in Middle East

Mike Kelly is right on the mark with his reminder that the UNSC Resolution 1701, which purportedly ended the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war, required Hezbollah to retreat to the north of the Litani River, with the first 30km of Lebanon to be patrolled by a special force called UN Interim Force In Lebanon (“Law is clear: Israel has every right to hit back at Hezbollah”, 23/9). As of early September, UNIFIL had more than 10,000 personnel, including navy deployments from France, Germany and Bangladesh, with corvettes and frigates. Some 49 countries deploy a range of military personnel, including mechanised units, engineers and commandos. With its substantial deployment of personnel, UNIFIL and the UN itself have stood idly by and watched as Hezbollah reoccupied southern Lebanon, turning it into an armed fortress similar to Gaza, except that weapons are not smuggled into the area but openly transported from Iran via Syria. The Lebanese government has proven powerless against the Iran-backed terrorist organisation, which is now threaded into the fabric of the country.

Hezbollah has created terrorist enclaves within Lebanon into which the ineffective Lebanese army cannot go. What is the response of the UN General Assembly? Endless anti-Israel resolutions passed by the Arab “non-aligned” bloc. Unless Hezbollah stands down, Israel may need to go to war in Lebanon, an unlikely prospect at this time. But prospects for peace seem non-existent. Does anyone expect a UN resolution calling for a Hezbollah withdrawal to the Litani River?

Michael Neustein, Bondi, NSW

Controlling debate

The best way to counter misinformation is to have a good BS radar that has been developed through education, life experience and close observation of those who would persuade us that black can also be white (“Misinformation bill seeks to control the public discourse”, 23/9). When education required frequent visits to the library to consult reference books or the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the facts were unchallenged. But critical thinking is the key to uncovering the scams. The main questions to ask when people try to persuade us that they know best is what qualifications do they have and does it make sense. These days the answers are usually “none” and “no”.

David Bidstrup, Plympton Park, SA

Bad diplomacy

Just when I thought we were reaching the end of the government’s out-of-control public spending on pet causes ahead of the next federal election, I woke up to the news that this government spent over $350,000 last year flying a First Nations Peoples Ambassador to places such as the US, Switzerland, Vanuatu and Dubai to name a few.

When I last checked, we had professional ambassadors based in each of these countries to represent all Australians. Obviously, Anthony Albanese still hasn’t gotten over the rejection of the voice. The new First Nations Peoples Ambassador will prove to be equally, if not more, divisive. Let’s see what impact it has at the ballot box.

Christopher Doogan, Malua Bay, NSW

If Peter Dutton wins government at the election, he has pledged to abolish the First Nations Peoples Ambassador position, and to de-fund the counter-productive activism apparent within the Environmental Defenders Office. Last year, on the voice referendum night, Dutton and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price stood in front of one flag to speak, recognising that when the majority of voters said no in the referendum, we also meant no more separatism.

Mandy Macmillan, Singleton, NSW

Blind pursuit

Nick Cater calls to account the twisted logic of groups purporting to protect the environment that turn a blind eye to the damage being caused to our habitat by blind pursuit of futile and logistically impossible net-zero goals (“Conservation groups fall silent as renewable chimera wreaks havoc”, 23/9). One must ask why the life-sustaining trace gas, carbon dioxide, is so vilified when it is governed by a climate that mankind cannot control regardless of how many coal-fired power stations are closed down.

John McRobert, Indooroopilly, Qld

When facts change

It’s not necessary to echo Alexander Downer’s characterisation of Paul Keating and Gareth Evans to agree with his main point (“Labor elders now just weak ‘appeasers’ on AUKUS”, 23/9). Following the Cold War, the Hawke-Keating government’s focus on regional diplomacy was laudatory. And China proved a viable partner. But circumstances have changed since then, with Xi Jinping’s manifestly expansionist China not the China of three decades ago. As John Maynard Keynes is credited with saying: “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?”

Ian Le Page, Ivanhoe East, Vic