War On Daddy's Dime - By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN NYT (I know, I know..Friedman)

[applegrove]

War On Daddy's Dime
New York Times

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: August 18, 2006

"I'm not sure yet who's the winner in the war between Hezbollah and Israel, but I know who's the big loser: Iran's taxpayers. What a bunch of suckers.

Isn't it obvious? As soon as the reckless war he started was over, Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, declared that Hezbollah would begin paying out cash to the thousands of Lebanese families whose homes were destroyed. ''We will pay compensation, a certain amount of money for every family to rent for one year, plus buy furniture for those whose homes were totally destroyed,'' said Nasrallah. ''These number 15,000.''

Nasrallah also vowed that his organization would help rebuild damaged houses and businesses, promising those affected that they will ''not need to ask anyone for money or wait in queues'' to get relief funds. To paraphrase the All-State commercial, ''You're in good hands with Hezbollah.''

But wait -- where will Hezbollah get some of the $3 billion-plus needed to rebuild Lebanon? Last time I checked, Hezbollah did not have any companies listed on the Nasdaq. The organization doesn't manufacture anything. It doesn't tax its followers. The answer, of course, is that Iran will dip into its oil income and ship cash to Nasrallah, so that he will not have to face the wrath of Lebanese for starting a war that reaped nothing but destruction.

.... SNIP"

http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=FB0B13FE3E5A0C7B8DDDA10894DE404482

[Jackpine Radical]

1. War on Daddy's Dime--as opposed, I guess, to the Bush approach,

which s war on our grandchildren's dime.

[applegrove]

2. Says some stuff about price of oil and how that subsidizes terrorists.

Wow! He's back on coffee instead of Kool-Aid.

[Warpy]

3. Couple of things wrong here

It can be argued that Israel started the war. Hezbollah was just engaged in petty harassment until Israel started to bomb. Israel turned it into all out warfare.

Second, it's doubtful whether Hezbollah is being entirely funded by Iran. It's always been supported by multiple charities thoughout the Islamic parts of the world, mostly for the humanitarian work it does. Friedman's glee is misplaced, as it usually is.

Anyway, isn't that better than fighting wars of convenience on your children's dime?

[applegrove]

4. I liked the part where he points out the money going to Hizbollah comes

from Americans buying oil. People have been saying that for years.. and finally..well golly gee.. it is sinking into the words of Bush supporters.

[Warpy]

5. Yes, that was definitely a breakthrough admission

but it's mostly the far east and Europe who do the buying from the Middle East. The US gets a large proportion of its imported oil from Pemex and Canada. The Arab oil is a small percentage of the overall oil use.

[glitch]

6. Daddy's Dime vs Wife's Daddy's Dime? Fedex him some clean underwear.

Sorry, sometimes a snark is mandatory.

[bhikkhu]

7. easy for NYT to promise Hizbolla 3bn from Iran

I have not heard of any willingness or enthusiasm on the part of Iranian government to part with the money. My understanding is that such funds are gathered much as we finance things such as Katrina rebuilding - from private moneys. I could be wrong, however, being no expert.