As was said a few minutes ago, I believe the government is being very clear about the issue of a ceasefire. It was stated publicly twice before, and then once again now in this addendum to the motion. I think it's very clear how the government feels and how the minister feels about the future.
I want to talk a little about having a balanced approach. The real question is, why should we have a balanced approach? We have troops committed in Afghanistan to a war on terrorism. There's little difference between being a terrorist and hiding amongst the civilian population and shooting rockets into another country. I believe we have an obligation to face international terrorism head-on and not to consider it on a balanced approach basis with other types of conflicts and concerns.
We have a situation with the Hezbollah. From earlier comments, it is considered a cancer from within. It has some 12,000 rockets that are hidden throughout Lebanon. They say they're activated or stored in garages. They're small, portable, and they can move in and around the civilian population. How do you deal with something like that? Hiding within the civilian population itself and shooting rockets will draw fire to that rocket location. Somebody said earlier that there are technologies that can track where the rockets are coming from. That's where they're sending their smart weapons.
The other issue that was mentioned is where these Israeli smart weapons are coming from. Well, where are these Hezbollah rockets coming from? It's certainly not the Hezbollah community itself making them. So you have another international extent to the situation that makes it hugely complicated. The circumstances where you've actively called for a ceasefire, but you have one side that does not want it or has not responded to it, is another complication to the overall affect.
First and foremost, I would ask why we should have a balanced decision on terrorism. We have acknowledged that we are in a war on terrorism. I think we have a responsibility to face that head-on. If the two parties do come together and a ceasefire is arranged, of course we want the killing to stop and of course we want this issue to end.
This is a tragedy of immense proportions. I can only think back to your comment about your family and discussions I have had with some Lebanese who had family and friends over there. My wife said it's only by the grace of God that our two daughters aren't travelling in Europe someplace. I know what we would think. We would fear for their safety too.
Of course we're concerned, and of course we have compassion for this situation. But I believe we have to approach this on the basis that we have an unusual circumstance here. You have a terrorist organization fully embedded within a country, and it's very difficult to delineate the boundaries. It is an unusual circumstance that is not using the rules of traditional warfare. It has to be approached from that aspect.