Israel Shows Who's The Boss
I am organically inclined to support Israel in its reaction to the kidnapping of their soldier. Israel is a modern, Western, democratic country making important scientific contributions to the world having transformed a parched desert into a lush garden of progress. The Palestinians, on the other hand, are (to me) a mob of screeming meemies, incapable of governing themselves and destined to be a drain on others' resources. So when Israel decided to confront the situation directly, I was right with them. But even I have to ask whether the Israeli response might be, oh, just a tad disproportionate?
Meanwhile, Arab voices are reacting to the incursion, as summarized in this WaPo article.
Meanwhile, Arab voices are reacting to the incursion, as summarized in this WaPo article.
Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood Movement, the kingdom's largest and most powerful opposition group, said Israel "reached the door of Syria for the sake of one soldier, while Arabs, Muslims and the free world remain silent on the arrest of 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children."
Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, called Israel's Gaza incursion and buzzing of Assad's house an "unprecedented blackmailing threat." Noting that Gaza residents were without electricity because Israel bombed the coastal strip's main power plant, he asked in an editorial posted on the Internet: "Is the life of the captive soldier worth the suffering of all of those people?"What this really highlights is how nearly impervious Israel is to any meaningful threat from its neighbors. There are no credible restraints on Israel's military options, and she is free to react with impunity to any provocation. It is a triumph of American policy, which since 1967 has been to defend Israel's right to exist. Israel is now more secure from its neighbors than we - everday, thousands of people swarm across our borders, some of them criminals who kill Americans, yet we haven't bombed a single Mexican power plant in response. Israel is secure - when formulating policy in the Mideast, we should start from there.
posted by ziel | 6/29/2006 08:06:00 AM
7 Comments:
Absolutely correct. That country doesn't play around. Neither does Russia. I can almost guarantee that the guys who killed the Russian diplomats will be dead soon, or wish they were. Putin has the right idea on how to deal with these people. America always plays nice with our enemies and where does it get us? Everybody still hates the US no matter what we do, so me might as well be feared. Never happen though with the likes that are are supposed leaders. A shame really.
Really puts Gitmo in perspective, too. We are total pussies.
I tip my hat to Israel. A country knows where she stands when she deals with her. She does not apologize for existing.
Hating the neo-con agenda does not mean you dislike Israel. Ive encountered this in some chat areas. On the contrary, I want her do fairly decide her borders, build a wall around herself (a big concrete one) and go about her business with the implicit understanding that anyone who breaches her security will be dealt with fiercely by her and her allies. Pre-emitive wars on percieved enemies are not the way to do this.
The way to do this if for the USA to lead the way to alternative energy research into solar, wind, waves, hydroelectric, natural gas, shale oil, nuclear, geothermal (huge possiblilities there), clean coal processes (as patented recently by a Vanderbilt University professor---no greenhouse gases emiteed at all), hydrogen, electic cars, zero point energy, and helium 3 energy that is available in Moon dust.
God left us ways to have electricity without pumping oil out of the deserts in the middle east. We are smarter than this problem. But we have to rid the Republican party of the Corporate-whores first. The Dems will never do this. Hell, I didnt even mention some of the other, far-out energy sources Ive heard of ............photosyntheitic hydrogen, lighting bolts on metal lightning rods, magnetic fields, etc......
Miles Hendon
Playing nice wth our enemies - after they surrendered, anyhow and sometimes before - how has that worked, over the long haul, compared with the recommended policy of 'oderint dum metuant' ?
Look at the record, anonymous moron. We're the most powerful country in the world and we didn't get there by systematically pissing off everyone on earth - nor will we keep that position if
continue to try to do so.
I can give you plenty of historical examples in which American policies containing a significant amount of justice and magnanimity have paid off handsomely. Of course you've never heard of any of them, but then you're a damned fool.
We can admire Israel's toughness all we want, but nowadays their situation is so secure that their toughness has evolved into out-and-out bullying - and no one admires a bully. With their wall, once in a blue moon some terrorist is going to make it through and kill a few people - will Israel find it necessary to cripple the Palestinian 'state' each and every time?
Hey gcochran,
Don't just name call, give me the historical examples you speak of. When and where?
Appomattox. The Coastwatchers in the Solomons. Hoppe and his centrifuges. The actions of the Latin allies of Rome after Cannae.
Canyon de Chelley, half rations, and code-talkers.
Germany in Belgium in WWI. Germany in the Ukraine in WWII.
Nato and the Warsaw Pact.
Juan Pujol (alias Garbo).
Persian imperial policy versus Assyrian.
Cortex and the Aztec Empire.
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