Angry in the Great White North

Borys Wrzesnewskyj needs to learn to think before he speaks:

Wrzesnewskyj said Israel has wrought "utter devastation" on Lebanon in response to two Israeli soldiers being kidnapped by Hezbollah militants.

The damage he saw in the southern towns of Qana, Bint Jbeil and Aytaroun was "far removed" from a measured response, he added. Bits of clothing, toys and thousands of other personal articles litter the streets alongside the remnants of hundreds of collapsed apartment buildings.

Qana was the scene of the deadliest single incident of the war, a July 30 Israeli missile attack that destroyed a building where civilians had been hiding. The attack killed 28 people.

Aytaroun was where eight Canadians, all members of one extended family, were killed at the beginning of the conflict when their house was hit in an Israeli air strike.

Wrzesnewskyj said Canada might want to consider rebuilding this town as a goodwill gesture to its Lebanese-Canadian community.

Put aside that Hezbollah made these towns into targets by placing missile launchers on top of the apartment buildings. Put aside that the Lebanese civilians were made into human shields by Hezbollah's tactics.

How does Wrzesnewskyj think this is going to play out? Hezbollah is crawling all over southern Lebanon, handing out buckets of money provided by Iran, rebuilding and repairing the damage.

The Lebanese are grateful, not acknowledging that the devastation occurred only because of Hezbollah. Hezbollah propaganda and the threat of Hezbollah retaliation makes certain that the truth is not spoken.

Is Hezbollah going to allow Canadian firms and Canadian workers to move into the area? Do you think any Canadians would go?

Hezbollah will, through the control of the Lebanese government, demand that Canadian money and equipment be shipped in. There Hezbollah will take ownership of it all. No doubt some reconstruction will take place -- it serves Hezbollah's interests -- but Canada will not get any credit. So much for goodwill.

But then how much of the money and material will go to Hezbollah? Money for weapons, of course. But even the construction equipment. That shiny new Canadian-supplied bulldozer will be very helpful in building a new underground bunker for Hezbollah terrorists, to be located in the centre of rebuilt Aytaroun.

Doesn't Wrzesnewskyj get it? While Hezbollah is there, and while it is armed and outguns everyone else, everything that is done in southern Lebanon will be done to suit Hezbollah's interests and advance Hezbollah's goals. The only goodwill gesture that will matter is to disarm and disband Hezbollah.

Wrzesnewskyj's idea is likely to help Hezbollah, and not the Lebanese. But then maybe that doesn't bother him all too much.