Some of you will appreciate Gary Kamiya’s essay “The Israel Rules” in Salon.
You probably heard that the Israeli Defense Force shelled a UN school in the Gaza strip, killing 30 people and injuring 55. The UN says all the casualties were civilians, not Hamas. The IDF says mortars were being fired from the school. The UN says the schools were sheltering civilians. According to Little Green Footballs, terrorists were using the schools as a weapons dump. Juan Cole has a video of a young Palestinian woman confronting Israeli troops who were firing on children.
Even if the IDF were correct, something the Right accepts unquestioningly because the IDF never, ever lies like their enemies do, then Israel would only be responding to Hamas’ war crime by committing another war crime. You can’t get to the moral high ground – let alone win a COIN operation – by allowing the rules of war to be set by barbarians, something that the intellectually and morally bankrupt Right never seems to acknowledge.
The Right’s argument is that Hamas started the violence, so everything Israel does is justified. Basically, it’s the “Jimmy did it first” level of morality; bankrupt, indeed. We’re also way past the point that “who started what” means anything. We’re in chicken and egg territory. Hamas and the IDF are feeding off each other, partners in the same dance.
“We’re in chicken and egg territory. Hamas and the IDF are feeding off each other, partners in the same dance.”
Yup.
The UN has to send in a Cyprus-style force and separate the belligerents. They’re still in Cyprus after over 30 years, but there hasn’t been any shooting from either side for as long as I can remember and isn’t that better than what’s going on in Gaza?
The Gary Kamiye article is a must read!
I just saw a commercial on MSNBC. I could not believe my eyes. It is for some Zionist charitable fund, the commercial shows rockets hitting an Israeli town; the explosion is so obviously fake it is laughable. How in the hell are these bastards allowed to advertise their genocide on our public airwaves? Isn’t this state sponsored terror, don’t we have laws about donating money to terrorist organizations? Our government really needs to stop giving this aphartied nation any more aid. We need to cut them off, then they will either make peace with their neighbors, or…………………
It seems as if our foreiegn policy over the last 40 to 60+ years has centered on Israel. During the Cold War this made some sense. Does it now? I don’t know. Do I support Israel? For the most part, I do. But not when it does things like this. This attack makes me anti-Israel.
This Mobius Strip of violence has to end sometime. The question is when?
There are those that argue that the Israeli’s, by getting rid of Hamas, will open up the door to negotiation with the Palestinian Authority.
All I knows is, you won’t kill all of the Hamas members, so that hatred will always be bubbling underneath any peace efforts.
Thankfully, this is for greater minds than mine… ‘A Canadian Reader’ has an interesting suggestion. But, I pity the UN if this is the solution…
And we believe the UN (or rather UNRWA, whose sole reason for being is to perpetuate the “refugee” status of Palestinians for the next 60 years or until Israel is destroyed, whichever comes first) because…why, exactly?
Oh, right, because they were so loud in condemning the YEARS of rocket attacks on civilian targets in southern Israel, particularly when Hamas repeatedly broke the “truce” that expired in December.
Not.
And the idea of a “Cyprus-style” UN force going in and “separating the belligerents” is too risible for words. What, Swedes and Nigerians in blue helmets are going to stop Hamas from bombarding Sderot, Ashdod, Ashkelon and Be’ersheva? That’s like hoping Cynthia McKinney and the good ship “Dignity” will be able to stop the conflict by playing tag with the Israeli Navy.
I think of the Palestinian – Israeli conflict as being like one of those bitter divorces where each party will tell you endlessly chapter and verse about how they had to do all of those nasty things because the other spouse started it, and any discussion will rapidly devolve into an argument about who was more wrong back in 1967 or 48 or 32 or 1854 or 1187. All hands are blood stained, all sides are wrong, and they badly need some outside counseling.
As far as the “Right” is concerned this attack is Obama’s fault.
Israel is “testing” him, they would not have “tested” McCain. (Or Caribou Barby for that matter, that Israeli flag in her office is proof of her expertise in the Middle East. Israel would not want to mess with her.)
Obama is at fault for remaining silent on the attack, but he would of course be wrong if he made any public statement too.
This will be our reality for the next 4 years, 8 years if we are lucky.
And we believe the UN (or rather UNRWA, whose sole reason for being is to perpetuate the “refugee†status of Palestinians for the next 60 years or until Israel is destroyed, whichever comes first) because…why, exactly?
Why believe anybody? You’re the one who has chosen a side. You’re the one who has decided to accept one side of the propaganda war and reject the other.
I choose neither side. Everybody’s wrong. I assume all claims are lies until I see evidence otherwise.
And the idea of a “Cyprus-style†UN force going in and “separating the belligerents†is too risible for words.
And what Israel is doing isn’t? Israel may gain a short-term advantage — doubtful, but possible — but in the long run Israel is, in effect, shooting itself in the foot. If you don’t see that, you’re an idiot.
As far as the “Right†is concerned this attack is Obama’s fault.
Y’know, I honestly don’t care what they think any more.
I guess everyone missed this story: EXCLUSIVE-Gaza headmaster was Islamic Jihad “rocket-maker”
Re #12 — I guess waif missed the point.
(What is it about righties and low reading comprehension levels? Why can they not actually READ A BLOG POST and COMPREHEND WHAT IS SAYS?)
I see I’m linked on Little Green Footballs, which means the mouth-breathers will come here and post insulting comments that have nothing to do with what I actually wrote. I’m shutting down comments to this post.