There must be a reasonable solution for the Middle East.

The U.S. government and media want to present Hezbollah, Syria and Iran as the aggressors and solely to blame in the current Arab-Israel conflict. To believe this is to be ill-informed. Israel must share an equal amount of the blame. I have Israeli friends, but this does not mean I support the Israeli government or that all Israelis believe their government is taking appropriate action.

While living in Lebanon, I saw the fighting and witnessed the atrocities committed against innocent civilians.

One Israeli talking head recently said that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency was harboring terrorists. This is incorrect. It is easy to blame the U.N. in today’s war on terrorism, but we cannot throw false accusations or blindly believe without hearing both sides of the story.

The Palestinians want their country back. Who can blame them?

No, I do not support terrorism nor do I support nations attacking innocent people. The point is, before we judge a people, we should get all of the facts.

Terrorism and blind aggression are not solutions.

The giving away of Palestine on Nov. 29, 1947, was also not a solution.

Imagine how Americans would react if the U.N. came to the United States and said it needed a home for whomever, and required the U.S. to provide land for the settlement. That is what happened to the Palestinians.

“Medinal Israel” came into existence at midnight on May 14-15, 1948, by the giving away of Palestine. The justification was the Holocaust.

The U.N. also stated that the Jews were exiled from the land of Israel centuries prior to 1947. It is impossible to know who was right or wrong centuries ago. Trying to rectify century-old problems will do nothing but create bigger problems.

The U.N. further erred by stating in the same resolution that the state of Israel would be open for immigration to Jews from all countries. There was not unlimited space to accept all persons who chose to immigrate. What were Jews going to do when their newly acquired land became overpopulated?

The stupidity in the Mid-East must end and reasonable solutions must be explored. I have seen dead bodies in the street; I have seen dead children covered in flies and maggots. I attended school while sitting under my desk because it was too dangerous to sit in the chair, and I have seen people bombed out of their homes because of their religion.

I do not support terrorism. But, a rational – not rash – solution must be found before the slaughter gets worse. We must begin looking with an impartial mind and figure out how to stop the slaughter of innocent people.

Robert E. Fellner of Auburn lived in Lebanon and visited Israel whle his father worked in the Defense Attach Office in Beirut, while his mother worked for the United Nation Relief and Works Agency. He is retired from the U.S. Army.