Israel has struggled to find a name for its most recent conflict with Lebanon, says sean thomas |
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It seems an arcane, peculiar and even pointless argument. But it is vexing the Israeli government mightily.
What should be the official name for last year's conflict between the Jewish state and Hezbollah, in south Lebanon? So important is the debate, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has appointed a government commission, which this week reached a conclusion.
For some Israelis, simply calling it a 'war' is difficult. Because if the Israelis call it a war, they are admitting that Hezbollah somehow represents the Lebanese state - as only sovereign states can, theoretically, fight wars.
Yet this argument hasn't worked. Because the brutal facts don't fit.
Thousands died in last summer's hostilities, tens of thousands were made homeless, millions took shelter from the ceaseless shells, bombs, bullets, and |
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| Some in Israel would like to win or at least spin the conflict by giving it a pointed title |
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missiles. It was a war.
Therefore, like all wars, it must be named. And this is where the argument gets heated. History is written by the victors, and some in Israel would like to win or at least spin the conflict by giving it a pointed title.
One proposal was the 'War of the Hostages', underlining the fact, as Israel sees it, that the conflict was kicked off by Hezbollah's kidnapping of an Israeli soldier (whose fate is still unknown).
Yet this idea didn't appeal to the commission. Similarly unpopular was another suggestion: the 'War of the Peace Shield'. Perhaps the desperate clumsiness of the phrase was a problem here. The official title for the 1992 war with Lebanon was the 'War of the Peace of the Galilee' - and that never caught on.
In the end, the commission has bowed to simple logic. Last summer's fighting will henceforth be known as the 'Second Lebanon War'. Israeli officials strenuously deny that this name, in itself, pre-supposes more Lebanese wars to come. 
FIRST POSTED MARCH 23, 2007
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