Construction Worker Terrorists?

Cold-blooded killers or engineering nerds? Jihad of Construction volunteers interview a family whose home was damaged by Israeli bombs last summer.

Here's another farcical US move in the so-called "War on Terror." The US Treasury has just listed the Hizballah construction organization "Jihad of Construction" as a terrorist group. I've written in the past for TIME about how Jihad of Construction engineers promised to reimburse all Lebanese whose property was damaged in last summer's war with Israel. Turns out that they are having trouble carrying through on their promises, and reconstruction is lagging in Lebanon. But c'mon, terrorists? These guys carry T-sqaures and clipboards, not Katyushas and Kalishnikovs!

True, Jihad of Construction is a wing of Hizballah, and its duties could include building the occasional bunker, but which definitely include building schools, hospitals, homes and the like.

So do they help make Hizballah popular? Of course. But the real reason Hizballah is popular is because Israel invaded Lebanon in 1984 and Hizballah drove them out in 2000. Has Hizballah continued to do nasty awful things to Israel? You bet. Has Israel done the same? Count the dead children from last summer's war. Do both countries suffer as a result? Look around: It's called a cycle of violence! It's called the Middle East!

The evil of violence directed at civilians is real and deserves condemnation whenever it occurs. Calling the actions of one side "terrorism" doesn't stop this, especially when it limits our ability to isolate those who just want to kill from those with legitimate grievances. In the past, the American government has been capable of making such distinctions -- inviting Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein to the White House while shunning the Irish Republican Army -- and no one worries about Catholics bombing London anymore. So why is the US incapable of such a balanced, clear-eyed view of the Middle East? Maybe because here, unlike in Ireland, we're part of the problem.

--Andrew Lee Butters/Beirut