Should Hezbollah be blamed for sparking the latest violence in the region or Israel for excessive use of force?

All these acts of violence against civilians in Lebanon forces more Muslims in middle east into believing Bin Laden's assertion that the West considers Muslim lives cheap and expendable. This would make them see in a way that three kidnapped Israeli soldiers and several dozen dead Israelis are worth infinitely more to the West than the thousands of Muslims held for years in Israel's prisons, the hundreds already killed in Lebanon, and the eradication of Lebanon's modern infrastructure.

Noticing the numbers of Israeli bombs that have fallen on Lebanese homes, roads, bridges, ports, broadcasting towers, it overshadows Israel's strikes on the offices and rocket launchers of Hezbollah guerrillas, whose capture of two Israeli soldiers triggered the attacks.

Iran can be blamed for so-called promoting instability throughout the region like supporting Hezbollah militias, but is it Hezbollah that is using U.S.-built F-16s, with precision-guided bombs, and 155-mm artillery pieces to cause death and destruction on Lebanon?

This week-old Israeli-Hezbollah conflict is likely to increase the chances of U.S. military action against Iran. This is the beginning of what was a very similar process in the period, between terrorist attacks against New York and the Pentagon and the Iraq war. When neo-cons led the formation of the public opinion after the 11th September attacks that war with Iraq was a necessary part of remaking the Middle East to prevent future 9/11s, it is very possible that a similar consensus to war with Iraq could develop over the next few years, if not the next few months, about the necessity to confront Iran.

It could be expected the worst when word came that Hezbollah had killed eight Israeli soldiers near the border and seized two more. Everyone knew that Israeli revenge would be severe. The only question was whether Israel would confine itself to attacks on Hezbollah, or if it would hold Lebanon responsible and launch attacks across the board. Israel chose the latter course. The situation puts the Lebanese government and military in a very hard position. The government simply cannot control Hezbollah. It cannot take it on politically because of its support among Lebanon's Shiite Muslim population.
While Israeli military officials reported that Hezbollah fighters fired more than 100 rockets into northern Israel Thursday in response due to attacks to Lebanon's infrastructures, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered his army to continue its operations in Lebanon. So No immediate end to the fighting appeared in sight.
It's hard to imagine Lebanese people picking either side, even as they watch their highways, airports and villages being bombed, while groups of Arab tourists escape to Damascus, taking with them the tourism money Lebanon counts on to survive. Besides disliking the Israeli policies in occupied Palestine and its bloody history in Lebanon it makes it harder for them to choose sides between Israel or Hezbollah .It seems that Lebanese people are paying for the Hezbollah's sins.

Politics simplified:

This little boy goes up to his dad and asks, "what is politics?" The dad says, "Well son, let me try to explain it to you this way...I'm the breadwinner of the family so lets call me... "Capitalism."

Your Mom, she's the administrator of the household so we'll call her "Government." We're here to take YOUR needs, son, so we'll call you "The People." The nanny, well, she works hard all day for very little money so we'll call her "The working class."

And your baby brother.... well we'll call him "the future." Now think about that and see if it makes sense.

So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what his father has said. Later that night he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has soiled his diaper.

So the little boy goes into his parent's room and finds his mother sound asleep. Not wanting to wake her he goes to the nanny's room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed.

The next morning the boy says to his father, "Dad I think I understand the concept of politics now."

The father says "good son, now in your own words tell me what you think politics is all about."

The little boy replies, "Well while Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, the Government is sound asleep: the People are being ignored, and the Future is in deep shit.