In response to the extraordinary terrorism unleashed on civilians in Lebanon and Palestine by the Israeli state, this essay by Kathleen Christison cuts right to the bone:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14042.htm

Knowing that she's going to see an avalanche of hate mail, I wrote her a note of support:

Dear Kathy,

Thank you for forceful, cogent and eloquent statement on the horrific destruction unleashed on innocent Palestinians and Lebanese. We are so awash in ludicrous pro-Israeli propaganda in this country that even a straightforward presentation of the essential facts (and their moral implications) is startling.

Of course, ultimately, none of this Israeli madness and violence is possible without American funding, armaments, and international patronage.

I’m certain that you will be inundated with healthy portions of venomous hate mail, and I want to voice my support for your intellectual honesty. While American politicians and the corporate media--almost without exception--rush to support any and all Israeli behavior, no matter how blatantly illegal and barbaric, I find it highly ironic that some of our most principled discussion of the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy comes from ex-CIA analysts! (The CIA is an agency that I do not normally place up there in the ethical firmament with Gandhi, Bertrand Russell, and Martin Luther King.)

On the other hand, it is also ironic and noteworthy that our current ‘president’ showcases himself as an intellectual and moral pygmy while sharing the international stage with a certain ex-KGB agent. The world is truly topsy-turvy, I suppose.