I’m a simple guy. I follow the rules, pay my taxes, and spend alot 
of time educating myself on all manner of issues. Then of course I come here and give my very opinionated opinion of these issues.
The issue I have been reading about today is the Israeli / Palestinian seemingly endless conflict. Actually, I have been following this issue for many years, but the past few days has me thinking about it once again.
While surfing some internet sites today I came across this headline… “Hamas Calls For Martyrdom After…blah, blah, blah”. If you know me, you know that the “blah, blah, blah” part was an edit by me. Knowing the history of this endless conflict I’m starting to wonder if I have a too simplistic view of what’s happening, and what I think should happen. Anyway, I would like to ask a very simple question related to the latest actions taken by the Israeli’s and then ask you to give your opinion. I’m very curious to see where this thread goes.
Question: If you were a country, and a semi-legal entity bombarded you over the last 12 months with over 3,000 rockets… what would you do?
Assuming I had the means to do so, I would do what any responsible national leader would, or should do: Take what ever action is necessary to protect the citizens of my country from any further attacks.
By that, I mean employing overwhelming military power that would render the enemy incapable of carrying out any further attacks against me by utterly destroying his ability to do so.
I would bomb them back to the Stone Age.
That is a good question.
OrangeNeckInNY,
“I would bomb them back to the Stone Age.”
Only problem is, they are pretty much already there.
-Dave
What would I do? Pretty much what Israel’s doing. And I’m so glad they finally are. I pray they are triumphant.
IMHO Israel is protecting itself. They have suffered so many attacks and they’ve had enough. Israel is looking ahead and assumes they will receive no support from BHO when he’s coronated on Jan 20. I saw this morning that a ground attack is imminent. Now they’ve bombed dozens of Hamas targets.
Would I do the same if I were in Israel’s position. YES. Godspeed to Israel.
Yeah, I’d probably do what Israel has done, especially because those people who’ve been sending rockets across the border at me continue to refuse to accept the existence of the state of Israel and have sworn to wipe me off the map of the Middle East.
Having said that, I also believe that:
(1) Israel is also engaged in its rather typical “overkill” avenging mode that goes far beyond the biblical “eye for an eye.” In so doing, Israel is perpetuating the Middle East’s unending cycle of attack-revenge-attack-revenge.
(2) The timing of this attack by Israel is interesting. Israel is not taking any chances with the incoming Obama administration. Israel is defining the perimeters of O’s MidEast policy by presenting him with a hot-potato “fait accompli” even before he is sworn in on Jan. 20. Actually, I’ve read predictions that Israel will do even worse in the interim before Bush leaves office and the O team comes on–which is that Israel will take out Iran’s nuclear facilities.
All this, plus the powder-keg situation between India & Pakistan, plus the meltdown of the global economy, sure is ominous. The 2012 end times people no longer seem so tinfoil-hat!
Eowyn,
In this particular case, I don’t think going after Hamas and it’s power structure is overkill.
I’m hoping that someday the Palestinians will realize that their worst enemy are the ones that they support, their own leaders.
I do agree that the Israeli’s timing was to do what had to be done prior to Obama becoming president. They fully understand that Obama cannot be trusted in foriegn affairs and know that until the day that Bush is out of office, they at least will have his support. After that, it’s a crap shoot!
Gio-
Lars,
How about a good answer?
Gio-
I can’t agree with the concept of overkill either. It seems to me that they are working to accomplish all they possibly can before Jan. 20th, and it seems they are being careful and selective of their targets.
I think of it less as an ‘eye for eye’ agenda, and more as survival mode.
The USS Liberty. Kind of explains a lot. Israel attacked a US war ship 41 years ago. The attack was not a mistake and everything was covered up. Israel is not really the ally the media makes them out to be. They control the media in the middle east. They control Palestine. Israel has committed crimes against US and the Muslims and yet, we send them 6 million dollars a day. There are over 650 UN sanctions against Israel, none against Palestine.
Here’s a link that just tells ya the basics: http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/
IMO if the USA backed as far away from Israel as possible the Muslims wouldn’t see us as their enemy. Why are we in the middle east? Because of Saddam Hussein or because we are Israel’s lap dog?
Jackie3; You offer no resolution to the problem, just some facts with the omission of other relivent facts. Are you of the opinion that Isreal should not exist or at least, be four percent of it’s current size? If the total elimination of Isreal is your accepted solution, where do you stand on the Muslim belief that Spain must be returned to an Arab state?
IMHO, we’re in the middle east because it’s the right thing to do. It may not always be done the right way, but most of the world is against Israel, and I don’t want our nation to be against her too.
On the subject of “overkill,” here’s what retired public defender Jay Gaskill has to say:
“Once again, Hamas, that profoundly anti-American, anti-Western, anti-Israel, anti-Semitic group of bloody minded terrorists posing as the legitimate Palestinian government, has launched rocket attacks on the Israeli population.
Finally, Israel ’s elite-minded Olmert government has reacted with common sense and significant force. And predictably, a chorus of European elites has complained that Israel [is] not using proportionate force….
The notion of a “proportional” response to an insult, a tort, of other assault is juridical in origin. The notion is appropriate only in the context of a fully controlled “rule-consequences” system in which the sovereign can afford a measured “justice” response and even mercy within the context of condition of overall public safety.
To apply this civilized dispute resolution model to the problem of controlling nihilistic, hyper-aggressive terrorists is analogous to treating a known virulent biological pathogen with the lowest level antibiotics until sepsis sets in.”
For Gaskill’s entire blog, go to http://jaygaskill.com/blog3/2008/12/
Eowyn,
Gaskill is right, but… Until the Palestinians realize that their very own leadership is what keeps them poor and angry, I see no end to this moronic dispute.
The Israeli’s have shown time, and time again, that they want peace with their neighbors. They have bent over backwards many times, and what do they get in return, terror and death. If the Palestinians want to become part of the civilized world and want a better life for their children, I suggest they strap on some suicide bombs to every single one of their leaders, remotely set them off in a field and then start rebuilding their legacy from scratch.
One of the big reasons why I support president Bush 110% in Iraq is… he is changing the paradigm of a culture of fear and violence. The people of Iraq are learning, although slowly, that freedom is an incredible thing. By the grace of God, maybe this will spread to others in the area. I’m counting on the people of Iran to embrace this next, but they will have to have one hell of a revolution to get rid of their own power structure. Egypt and Jordan have come to realize this notion in a rather controlled manner, but at least they no longer call for the destruction of a legal and legitimate country, or the death of all Jews.
I’m also hoping that Israel takes this opportunity to do whatever it takes to dismantle Hamas. It must be done now before Obama becomes POTUS. I need not explain why.
Gio-
I guess I would do as Isreal is doing and as any other country would do and is obligated to do.. I would protect my country and the people in it til they lay me in the ground… Same as most of us would do today if pushed by the Left far enough…
Gosh Jackie3…you sound just like the majority of the talking heads, here and overseas…let alone the UN.
For Iran’s Pajamahead you would be the cats meow.
Sad.
I’m sick of the USS Liberty being used as an excuse from critters who obviously despise the Jews/Israel.
There is plenty of reading on that subject, plenty of various doc’s that have made since then, you may want to try looking at some of those.