TSBerger2 writes:

750 Lebonese (mostly civilians) have been killed, while 51 Israelis (mostly non-civilians) have been killed. So, the ratio of Lebonese killed to Israelis killed is 17:1!

First: "mostly non civilians" my ass.

Second: 750/51 = 14.705.

Third: this ratio is only valid if you accept the incredibly stupid supposition that the only Israeli deaths that count are the deaths that occurred since Israel started fighting back. Never mind that Hezbollah has been conducting terrorist campaigns ever since the UN-sanctioned withdrawal of 2000. How many Israelis have been killed since 2000? Here's a ballpark estimate: you don't give a shit . You only care about Arab deaths.

So, anyway, even if I were to accept your malarkey, why don't you show me the news report that states at least 26 of the Israelis killed have been non civilians? Because that would be more than half, which would prove your claim that "mostly non-civilians" have been killed. But, I guess I can't expect you to be able to do simple math.

All of these vitriolic pro-Israeli letter writers would do well to take their (clearly coordinated) campaign elsewhere. I direct this not towards the thoughtful responses that raise questions about Prothereo’s article – which we can discuss like adults - but rather towards those who have clearly been sent to the Salon site by a third party for the purpose of writing ill-conceived tirades that invariably end in accusations of anti-Semitism.

Perhaps you all did not get the memo – we engage in rational discussion here, not hyperbolic name-calling and emotional rants.

It's just so boring. Couldn't you at least be more subtle about the talking points that are regurgitated over and over again?

It's so hard to tell what is really going on in this situation, but that is mainly because the terrorists want it that way. The confusion breeds fear, and it disunites anyone who would fight against them. It's a tactic, and it's working well for them. Sad to say, deception is an accepted and highly developed part of the culture in this region.

If the Lebanese really wanted it, their country could be just as well off as Israel. And as for Palestine, the only people responsible for the "humiliation" of the Palestinians are themselves. They have been given so many chances to have their own land and government, and they repeatedly blow it. The reality of the situation is that they don't invest in their futures by valuing their children and instilling in them the confidence they need in order to function in the modern world. Instead of a real education, they are taught Koranic mumbo jumbo and that the Jews are the reason for all their suffering. Forget personal responsibility. If you're unhappy, blame a Jew. What sort of parents would be so irresponsible to their children? The same sort who send them to blow themselves up in exchange for a few thousand dollars. It's a modern-day version of sacrificing children to Molech.

The key to this dilemma is education. I would hop on a plane tomorrow and devote my life to teaching these manipulated children if I could be guaranteed that some maniac wouldn't blow me up for doing so. Unfortunately, right now these people are crazy and if we try to appease them, it could end up like the Nazis all over again, except more dangerous because of the intense religious fanaticism. You can't trust them.

With all that said, I do agree that Israel is causing incalculable harm to Lebanon. Iran is the real source of the problem, and they get to sit back and relax while the Lebanese suffer for Iran's insanity. In fact, they are making a terrific profit right now due to the even higher price of oil that this conflict has caused. On the other hand, the Lebanese were very foolish for harboring Hezbollah and now they are paying the price. What were they thinking? They did this to themselves.

So now the solution is to stop the fighting and deploy a multinational force along the Lebanese border south of the Litani River.

What a good idea. First, we need a name for them. How about something catchy like, United Nations Interim Force in Lebabon, UNIFIL for short. Yeah, that works. Now, we can put them on the roadsides in Lebanon to ensure the safe passage of missles from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah bases in civilian areas.

Here's another idea: The UNIFIL forces can take their naps during the over-the-border shelling of Israel by Hezbollah, and wake up in time to record the bad Israelis responding. As a finale they could even watch the invasion by Hezbollah of Israel and wave the victors and their 2 Israeli captive back safely to their enclaves.

Okay, seriously, it hasn't worked for the past 6 years, so why should it work now? It isn't surprising Israel doesn't trust the 'peacekeeping' forces; UNIFIL has been watching Hezbollah move anywhere from 11,000 to 13,000 missles into the area, in violation of just what UNIFIL was there for, to supervise the DIS-armament.

But maybe their orders left off the DIS part. And now perhaps the U.N. Interim Forces in Lebanon should take their share of the responsibility for this war. 'Peacekeepers' indeed!

But I would like to respond to the letter by smallpkgs which has been so quickly praised. You say that "any organization that initiates stealth attacks on purely civilian targets with rockets, is morally bankrupt terrorism". Can you honestly defend Isreal by your own standards? Are Isreali policies any different than that of morally bankrupt terrorism? You use dropping of leaflets as a defense for Isreali strikes or the fact that Hezbollah exists within civilian populations, however never do you question what is terrorism; the manner of death and motivation of death seems petty in light of actual death. Or would you prefer to just call Isreal moral terrorists? In the end you are all the same.

You said it so well yourself, Mr. Prothero: "no civilians left in Tyre" or elsewhere in the south of Lebanon. So confusing, that there are no more civilians in town, only Hezbollah cronies; but when they are hit, those Hezbollah supporters are only civilians. I understand that their affiliation to the party stops when they got hurt. Pity! They loose a lot of money this way, as I heard that Hezzbollah pays out handsomely.

When I was in Lebanon myself, I was invited in houses, in the south and in Beyrouth. I did not pass only on the roads with a fixer, I visited there, went in, asked and listened. And I saw and heard.

I saw old ones sleeping on stacks of missiles or ammunition boxes with a simple mattress between them and the boxes. I saw children using ammunition boxes (full of ammo!) as playing stools or tables. I saw a woman cooking on a box with grenades in it - she was using a small fuel stove which did not look too stable! Boy, was I afraid there! This I saw not in one house, farm or hovel. In every house I happened to visit, the scene was the same, except at the "palace" of a guy obvioulsy very rich: no ammo there at all to see (good drinks and cold watermelon do not count as ammo, do they? Perhaps the Turkinsh Delights we had?). Of course, I did not visit every house where I happened to be, but this was the general habit, as I heard. Yes, they were civilians, of sorts. They wore no uniforms, that is.

Though I do not know of a peasant in France who would sleep on a box full of machine gun rounds. Do you? I do not know even of one Basque ETA who would stock rockets in their own living room. Do you?

You have a nice emotional style, Mr. Prothero, but you do not see and do not report properly. You do not see the inside story, only what your Iraki fixer showed you. Do you know Arabic at all?

As to the Qana bombing. I found it so moving to see this mother yelling her pain after her children were killed. I found it so cosy that she took cover and slept in another house, leaving her children unattended during a whole night of terror. This is so comforting to know that she will be able to have more children whom she can then leave to the tender mercy of fighters, so motherly. I just hope that she is now rich and can drink herself to stupor over her dead brood - if indeed they were hers.

I do not understand why a building hit at 02:00 AM suddenly collapsed at 08:00, just in time for the TV crew to have good light. TNT burns quicker than that and I doubt that the Israelis use a 6 hours fuse with their airborne bombs. But when I do not understand, Mr. Prothero, I do not go around telling color stories about polite - but frightening (why? does a bearded New Yorker frightens you?) - bearded Hezbollah "civilians". And if you think that the Hezbollah are not able to mount such a horrible scene, killing their own, please recall the furor about the A-Dura child. Another "Israeli" victim, killed by his fellow Muslim brothers. But we did not know that at first, of course.