So many carrots

But where is the stick? Last I checked Hizbullah are part of the Lebanese parliament, since this is Lebanon, I’m assuming it was Lebanese citizens who voted them in and not Brazilians, perhaps I’m wrong. If there is no punishment for their support of Hizbullah, then how can we expect them to cut the terrorists loose?

Donors gathered at a meeting in Stockholm on Thursday have pledged at least $940 million (734 million euros) in immediate aid for war-torn Lebanon, almost doubling the targeted amount. Swedish organizers had originally said they hoped to raise $500 million dollars (392 million euros).

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora had spelled out his country's plight to those in attendance, saying the Israeli bombing wiped out "15 years of postwar development" in a month of fighting with Hezbollah militants.

If you had just arrived here from Mars, you’d think that Hizbullah, just turned up in Lebanon a few weeks ago and started having a go at some Jewish war mongers.

"Lebanon, which only seven weeks ago was full of hope and promise, has been torn to shreds by destruction, displacement, dispossession, desolation and death," Siniora told the conference, saying his country had suffered direct infrastructure damage and indirect damage due to loss of tourism amounting to billions of dollars.

I wonder if any money has been raised to compensate the Israelis, last I checked the rockets did not fall harmlessly into the sea. I would also be surprised if travel agents report an unusually high number of tourists heading to the north of Israel. What about their loss of income, damage to their property, their lives, does anybody care. I suppose since they worked hard and busted their guts out to make something of themselves, they don't deserve any help.

US State Department aid Randall Tobias told the gathering that US President George W. Bush had pledged $230 million (180 million euros) in aid for Lebanon. Germany has promised to contribute 22 million euros.

Some western countries expressed worries that money going to Lebanon could end up in the hands of Hezbollah. Siniora played down any involvement of the militant group in the rebuilding process.

"All will be channeled through the government," Siniora said at the conference. "The idea that it will be siphoned one way or another to Hezbollah is a fallacy."

Rest assured, tax payers, who are actually funding all these juicy carrots, the idea that your money will never pass into Hizbullah hands is a fallacy.

The UN's deputy secretary, Mark Malloch Brown, had said international support would help the central government and warned that withholding support could have serious consequences.

"If we, the international community, fail in supporting Lebanon now, we fail not just the brave Lebanese people but also their national aspiration for a stable, strong and democratic government," he told the conference participants.

What is this fool talking about? Have we progressed into a stage of aggressive charity now, feed me, give me money, build my house, or else!!

Earlier Siniora was waffling on about hope and promise, economy and all that. They have to figure out that peace and prosperity are not free, they are fragile, once you have them you have to preserve them with strength, sacrifice and hard work, and that does not include allowing a terrorist organisation to run free in your midst.

Perhaps the ‘serious consequences’ he is talking about, might be that the Lebanese may figure out the price that must be paid for prosperity and freedom. They might get off their bums and kick the terrorists out and may one day achieve prosperity on their own steam. Then they won’t need the UN and leftists with clipboards insisting, it’s the Jews, America and you don’t have to work for anything.