Where Else in the World . . .

. . . could this happen but the Middle East, or more precisely Israel's Middle East. Perhaps we're all a bit sleepy or used to this behaviour but it's really quite shocking. Israel deserves the title of most provocative state in history. Not even the Americans would stick their necks out this much. I guess the British Empire deserves some consideration for the award but in the twenty first century this action is without equal.

So as we know, Israel has now invaded the Gaza Strip to rescue one of its soldiers that a gang of bold Palestinians had snatched from inside Israeli territory; amazing that with the power that Israel can project anywhere in the Middle East they can't stop a bunch of guys with a shovel and some Kalashnikovs. Following the standard formula of an eye for an eye, they proceeded to send in the army to destroy bridges and knock out almost all the power and electricity to Gaza's 1.3 million people. When a few extremists act, everyone must suffer; sounds logical right?

Oh what tribulations you should expect dear Palestinians if this soldier winds up dead! That one life is worth much more than 1.3 million. Never forget that.

Today Israeli fighters invaded Syrian air space and flew low over one of President Bashar Assad's palaces (what's with these Arab leaders and palaces?). Apparently he was home and probably got the message. This act basically puts to shame any notion of self-defense for Arab states in the Middle East. Imagine how the Americans would react if Canada flew fighters down to Washington and buzzed the White House. I guess this is more an example of the reverse; we'd probably thank them for visiting.

What's next? I would expect some flights over Lebanon just to remind Hizbullah who's in charge, maybe a mini-invasion and we all know that Israel has those Iranian nuclear facilities in its crosshairs. It's really quite unbelievable behaviour.

And all these millions upon millions of Arabs, and especially their states, that surround Israel are powerless to prevent this adventuring. If they raise a finger, or shoot back, they might find themselves obliterated at the bottom of a radioactive crater. Is it any wonder that frustrated young Arab men and women line up to join the ranks of Al Qaeda and similar organizations?