No blank check for Israel. But the right to defend one’s self. There are innocent Palestinians and Israelis who should not pay the price for Hamas or Netanyahu.
No blank check for Israel. But the right to defend one’s self. There are innocent Palestinians and Israelis who should not pay the price for Hamas or Netanyahu.
Hamas doesn’t give a shxt about the Palestinians; they are just power hungry crazies. Netanyahu doesn’t give a shxt about Israelis, just himself... he is a crook.
The world for the most part is being run by greed and crooks. Our beautiful democracy is being raped while we watch. It is sad to the point of maddening.
It is almost surreal. Here we are, watching the destroyers of our democracy (Jordan, Gaetz, Scalise, Trump et al.) go about their task of dismantling our democracy, and we are powerless to do anything about it presently.
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on." Pres. G.W. Bush, White House Correspondents' Dinner, 3-31-2001
Attacks and deprivations enacted on both Israeli and Palestinian civilians go beyond the pale. CBC News (Canadian Broadcast Corporation; freely available on many smart tvs) has been providing reasonably balanced coverage. Footage of injured children and infants from both Israeli and Palestinian populations are nearly unbearable to view. Meanwhile terrorists continue pushing beyond actions any civilized people would find acceptable. They need to be dealt with, but can the "innocents" be spared as much as possible?
'As Israel wages war in Gaza over Hamas' terror, one Palestinian tells CBS News, "They're wiping us out"
'Metula, northern Israel — Israel is warning of a "prolonged" war in Gaza as it prepares to launch a ground invasion of the densely populated Palestinian territory. If ordered by the country's leaders, it would be Israel's first ground offensive in Gaza in almost a decade, but its aerial attacks have already been relentless for six days, and the grim reality for the roughly 2.3 million people trapped in the region is becoming clear.'
'Many of those paying the ultimate price for the brutal weekend terror attack on Israel by Gaza's Hamas rulers are the youngest Palestinians. Hospitals and clinics struggling to keep their lights on since Israel imposed a complete blockade, cutting electricity supplies to the Palestinian enclave, are full of tiny bodies covered in blood and exhausted doctors trying desperately to save their lives.'
'Israel says it's targeting Hamas militants and command centers and that several of the group's leaders have already been killed. But as Israel vows to wipe Hamas out completely, many, including experts at the United Nations who have accused Israel of answering Hamas' war crimes with its own, are asking at what cost.'
'Officials in Gaza said the death toll in the besieged Palestinian territory had surged past 1,300 on Thursday, just six days into Israel's retaliatory attacks. On nearly every street in the 25-mile-long strip of land there have been scenes of anguish as rescue workers gather the remains of the dead.' (CBSNEWS) See link below.
Israel has cut Food, Fuel, Electricity AND WATER off from Gaza. Dr. Richardson left water out of her report today. She knows that without water, in five days, everyone in Gaza is dead. This was reported four times on NPR yesterday (that is my reference, the FM radio). I was working back in my woods listening.
FIVE days from now, Gaza will be one massive grave of former Palestinians with the smell just starting to waft over to Israel.
Are all of the people living in Gaza terrorists? Not even close. Most were just randomly born there and would be happy to move anywhere else than the hell of Gaza strip.
So, while everyone appears to worry about atrocities against the Israeli population, we are standing by, sound asleep, while a massive atrocity is being promulgated on Gaza.
No water for five days and everyone is dead in Gaza Fern.
Apparently, since we, the USA, thought it was OK to bomb and kill civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq, even though NONE of the people in those countries had anything to do with flying airplanes into the twin towers, we also think it is OK to exterminate more than a million people in Gaza. Almost ALL of whom had nothing to do with the atrocities that recently occurred in Israel.
As usual, I agree with you Mike. Too many innocents. I don't have the answers or some brilliant way for bloodshed to be avoided. This will be like Carthage.
But I do know that if I had been one of those Israeli peacenicks living on a kibbutz near Gaza - one of the many who were trying to find ways to establish peace and harmony with Palestinians...and my family had been slaughtered...my wife, my child, my mother...would I have had the restraint I had been preaching for years before that? It's quite likely that this peacenick would find a weapon and join the invasion of Gaza and kill everything in my path.
That being said, I think the world should join together and scream "STOP NOW". All of you, just stop. But it won't happen. There will be no end to this until Hamas and Hezbollah are eradicated. They are puppets of Iran and Russia.
One of the smartest observers of the international scene is Diane Francis:
Stabilizing your own territory and protecting your people is one thing, but revenge is another. Especially when your people have little or no ways of protecting themselves. Throwing rocks won’t do it…
Hamas is dedicated to the complete and total elimination of all things Israel. Their stated goal is to KILL and/or remove all Jews from Israel. Hamas cannot continue to exist anymore than ISIS. There will never be any chance for peace in this region as long as Hamas exists. Hamas must be replaced with the PLA or some other governing Palestinian organization that wants the best for it's people.
Hamas has received billions from Qatar and they used that money to make rockets instead of funding healthcare and education.
The horror of what is happening to the innocents in Gaza is beyond awful. It is bone shaking horrible. But just as the Germans and the Japanese of WWII suffered for their support of evil murderous leaders...so will the people of Gaza for not rising up and eschewing the insane and vicious acts of their "government".
And after the decimation and after the complete capitulation of Gaza...maybe, just maybe Israel will finally do what they should have done years ago. Embrace the Palestinians as fellow travelers - fellow descendants of the same humans. Give them full citizenship or their own state. Hamas is a horror. But what could we expect when we put two million people in a cage and deprive them of water? Food. The freedom to travel. The right to raise their children in a healthy way.
This is Netanyahu's mess. And he will be recorded as the most evil and stupid leader in the history of the region. He is the Donald Trump of the Middle East.
Eradicating Hamas is not revenge. It is essential. But they wouldn't exist if Israel had countered Iran by saying: "Wait, these are our people, our neighbors!" Too late now.
In fairness, Mike, I have not heard anyone say it’s OK to kill 1M people in Gaza. Everyone I’ve heard recognizes this is all Hamas—that’s who needs to be wiped out. The victims here are Israeli and Palestinian people just trying to live their lives.
Hamas has dictated the terms of this war and Israel is in full reaction terrorist mode itself. The situation in Gaza is beyond hell and must be walked back with the urgent urging of the US and EU. Precision is called for to root out Hamas and bring hostages to safety. The suffering of innocent, trapped Palestinians will not heal the victims (all Israelis) of Hamas’ attack. Imagining the suffering of all these fellow PEOPLE brings illness to us all.
Who is insisting or even asking Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, the leader of an opposition party to stop killing innocent civilians in Gaza, to turn the electricity and water back on, create a corridor out of Gaza for the Palestinians to get to safety? WHO? As though the Israel government doesn't know what it's doing!
Yes, I agree about the UN and, perhaps, Blinken and Biden, but no indication that such discussions, if happening, have moved the Israeli government. The cycle of hatred and the determination for retaliation may be as hard as chromium. Does the Israeli government want anything less than the annihilation of Gaza?
Egypt has closed the corridors for escape, the same pathways that enabled hundreds to flee to Turkey just before last weekend. Yet that gets no notice. Hamas planned for all of this and has booby-trapped much of Gaza so more Israelis will die. This could all end if the hostages were returned. But they are pawns. And most likely murdered already. And - when, exactly, have combatants in a war been tasked with offering sustenance to their enemies?
MLM, this is not my experience. For some of the more far gone ones, Hamas = all Palestinians to them. Nor do they say that Israel is wrong to obliterate the Gaza strip.
I understand there are, shall we say, less well-educated people who think Hamas = Palestinians or that it's OK to bomb Gaza into next month. I have simply been fortunate not to run into any of them.
Its all about Hamas. Innocent people dying because a terrorist group leads Gaza. But here’s the thing, Hamas cares not for its citizens in the short term. They don’t care how many die. Its goal is to incite Israeli leaders to take off all gloves, violate the rules of war and commit sufficient atrocities on Gaza so as to appease the survivors of the terrorist attack as the world reacts to an inhumane Israeli response with disgust
“We finally solved the Hamas problem, so what if a million humans got in the way? Collateral damage. BTW, the Supreme Court of Israel no longer can out me in prison. Long live my Democracy”, quote attributed to an anonymous Israeli leader
I am horrified by this as well, and do not like that President Biden has not called for restraint, but rather sent an aircraft carrier to the area. Admittedly the carrier is likely intended to caution against a larger war.
A better-than-status-quo solution to the areas problems is long overdue. That is on all involved. Nobody will win, be happy, etc. That is how it always works out = the human condition.
Additionally, Hamas was elected by the Palestinians at one point, other forces are using Palestinans for their own gain, neither the US, nor the US people, think exterminating a million people in Gaza is OK. Like the US, Israel has the right to defend itself and its existence.
I do not know why a mixed Israel hasn't evolved, I simply don't remember all the facts over 50 years - but that is how it must evolve. After one generation people move on to a new normal.
Massive areas of Gaza have been literally reduced to dust. Apart from innocent children and adults, isn't it likely that the hostages were in some of those now destroyed buildings?
Thanks Molly for this comment! I wrote the following articles the other day and wanted to get feedback!
The first article is about how: ever since the Israel incident, a large majority of Americans have been turned into blood thirsty individuals fueled by rage and emotion that no one is thinking critically - and they’re proud of it with statements such as “this is no time to think critically, we need to strike!”
So in this article, I compare the majorly events of WWI, WWII, and 9/11 to show how similar events turned Americans from peace loving into war mongering individuals overnight:
In the second article, I try to bring everyone’s humanity back because while we’re caught up by the attack and Israel (and purposely choosing to ignore logic and reason under the guise of “emotional justice” (ps: I address the raping of women and children as well)), at the end of the day, more innocent lives will be lost and those lives fall on everyone who’s supported this “retaliation”
Like 9/11, this horror was designed as the trigger mechanism for a chain reaction.
The effectiveness of that chain reaction depends on the shocked overreaction of the victim and allies. Extreme brutality is not only a product of Gazan rage and frustration, kept white hot by constant propaganda, it is deliberate, calculated to produce and maximize a desired long-term effect.
This assault is in effect a strategic weapon, its success depends on the reactions of the victim.
In the light of this purpose, the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld reaction to 9/11, the so-called War on Terror, spread and perpetuated terror and chaos via such aberrations as the long-term occupation of Afghanistan and the Second Gulf War, ensuring the success of Al-Qaida's action beyond its planners' wildest dreams.
This vile strategic weapon calls for the cold, skilfull response of the bomb disposal squad, controlled explosions to deactivate the warmongers' device, not indiscriminate "bomb 'em all back into the stone age" vengeance.
Unfortunately, today's chain reaction bomb was well-designed by able and utterly ruthless planners who will have protected themselves while sacrificing their own people, the innocent alongside the guilty. On the one hand, using captured hostages, on the other, using Gazan civilians as human shields... and martyrs, whether willing or not.
I would be delighted if the above view could be demolished... but I just don't see that.
*
It is horrible to look into such minds, staring straight into hell.
But... to defeat an enemy, is not such cold observation necessary?
The aim: to stop evil in its tracks... instead of perpetuating it. Now, all we can do is watch what is done.
Watch what is done... This feature especially: the exploitation for political gain of bloodlust baying for vengeance. Not just in Israel where Netanyahu's saber-rattling threats aim at Teheran. (One is bound to suspect that he cannot stand having been outsmarted by despised Palestinians and wants to blame a bigger bogeyman.) In America, elsewhere in Palestine, throughout the Middle East and the Muslim world... Throw the dogs of war a bone and improve your weakening fingerhold on power...
Semantics question, Peter. Has the "Second Gulf War" replaced "Global War on Terrorism" in the naming of the names? I'm curious, because semantics are important.
The only term I recall from 2001 was "the war on terror", which -- of course -- made little sense. The "Global War on Terrorism" may be pompous but the words are more or less understandable. George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq and all that followed (and is continuing) were a key feature of that Global War, a "war" that has multiplied and reinforced the international terrorism it was supposed to suppress. In particular, the invasion of Iraq has strengthened regional power Iran's corrupt theocratic regime and empowered the Iranian military-industrial complex. No comment on various forms of hubristic Saudi craziness or on the worldwide development of State-directed or sponsored terrorism.
All you have to do is read the headlines of the New York Times after 9/11. They became war mongers!! The hell with the facts.
Yelling rape gets people even more wanting to kill the offender. How do they know there was rape? Or in desperation to keep the Hamas attack on the front page did they jin up this? Do I feel manipulated? Of course.
YES a blank check for Israel and a blank check for Ukraine. We are facing a world similar to 1939 and it is time for the US and be the backbone for democracy in the world. If it means more taxes, more tanks, fewer cars, restrictions on gas, etc., then so be it. We are at war with chaos around the world and we need a wartime point of view. Re-activate the draft. Send US troops to Ukraine. As Roosevelt said, “The US is the armory for democracy.”
Israel is the mother of Hamas and taught it everything it knows. It is pointless to argue over who's right and who's wrong. It is worse than pointless to encourage further violence but that is the long-standing U.S. policy that Biden is blindly continuing. That is where the American people may have some leverage: changing the inflammatory U.S. policy. But politicians, including Biden, believe that killing innocents in the Middle East is a vote winner.
"But politicians, including Biden, believe that killing innocents in the Middle East is a vote winner."
It is beyond my understanding that, although PBS and NPR are reporting, all day yesterday, that WATER, fuel, food and electricity have been cut off...
NOBODY is calling that out as a pending mass death atrocity against a bunch of people who had nothing to do with Hamas foray into Israel.
NitWitYahoo is just trying to redeem his useless self by creating innocent dead bodies.
Sort of like George W. Bush, who, like NitWitYahoo, had ignored the threat from Al Qaeda provided him by the CIA, tried to redeem himself by creating innocent dead bodies in Afghanistan.
Apparently, killing innocent people is a time tested way for a politician to become popular. It certainly worked for Adolph Hitler.
NitWitYahoo is just following the George W. Bush philosophy.
Create innocent dead bodies in exchange for votes from the ignorant and hateful masses in the hopes that nobody will notice that it is NitWitYahoo's poor leadership and poor oversight that allowed such a massively successful attack on his country.
Murder and war are always wrong. I feel the feelings you have about the loss of innocent lives. But here is some harsh truth you and I agree on. Americans allowed Bush/Cheney to slaughter. Americans elected Donald Trump. Which started the ball rolling on Ukraine. Americans suffer to this day for these insane decisions.
And Palestinians allowed Hamas to rule. Even though a majority of them wanted peace and a decent life - they did not rebel and choose a peace loving government.
The brutality of all this is wrong beyond words. But when a military group like Hamas bases its very existence on the annihilation of an entire nation, please tell me how you would react. What if the leaders of NYC said that the entire state of Vermont must be exterminated. I suspect even Bernie would put on a uniform.
It should all stop and all the bad guys should be singled out for justice. Innocents should be protected. Hard to do when the evil ones use their children and mothers as shields.
I feel everything you are feeling. But it might be a bit ivory tower to tell Israel how to deal with assassins.
You called Bibi what he is. Biden has no choice but to support Israel, despite Bibi’s evil actions. Hopefully he will be held accountable for his part in this. But no one will do it while the country’s heart is burning. It’s why we let W/Dickie taint our country with their evil.
Israel does need need US help to obliterate the Gaza strip. Those people are completely dependent on Israel for everything. Their living conditions are cramped and impoverished. Israel could have started with cutting off gas, water, electricity, food.
The bombing and continued destruction of Gaza has doomed the lives of the hostages. If Gaza has no water, the hostages will have no water.
If the population is living in terror and misery, so are the hostages. Why would Hamas negotiate anything for them....It's over; they won't be "going home". After decades of insults and misery for Palestinians with no effective relief, Hamas pulled off this incredible humiliating and atrocious act. The goal of Hamas was to create this exact result: cause more anti-semitism throughout the world.
The world leaders who support Israel are now thinking and feeling something completely different.
No blank check for Israel. But the right to defend one’s self. There are innocent Palestinians and Israelis who should not pay the price for Hamas or Netanyahu.
Hamas doesn’t give a shxt about the Palestinians; they are just power hungry crazies. Netanyahu doesn’t give a shxt about Israelis, just himself... he is a crook.
The world for the most part is being run by greed and crooks. Our beautiful democracy is being raped while we watch. It is sad to the point of maddening.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are winning.
It is almost surreal. Here we are, watching the destroyers of our democracy (Jordan, Gaetz, Scalise, Trump et al.) go about their task of dismantling our democracy, and we are powerless to do anything about it presently.
And they’ll likely be re-elected! That’s what astonishes me!
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on." Pres. G.W. Bush, White House Correspondents' Dinner, 3-31-2001
He said that? Wow. Sadly, he did.
Attacks and deprivations enacted on both Israeli and Palestinian civilians go beyond the pale. CBC News (Canadian Broadcast Corporation; freely available on many smart tvs) has been providing reasonably balanced coverage. Footage of injured children and infants from both Israeli and Palestinian populations are nearly unbearable to view. Meanwhile terrorists continue pushing beyond actions any civilized people would find acceptable. They need to be dealt with, but can the "innocents" be spared as much as possible?
Read the Atlantic article
Thanks! Will look it up.
'As Israel wages war in Gaza over Hamas' terror, one Palestinian tells CBS News, "They're wiping us out"
'Metula, northern Israel — Israel is warning of a "prolonged" war in Gaza as it prepares to launch a ground invasion of the densely populated Palestinian territory. If ordered by the country's leaders, it would be Israel's first ground offensive in Gaza in almost a decade, but its aerial attacks have already been relentless for six days, and the grim reality for the roughly 2.3 million people trapped in the region is becoming clear.'
'Many of those paying the ultimate price for the brutal weekend terror attack on Israel by Gaza's Hamas rulers are the youngest Palestinians. Hospitals and clinics struggling to keep their lights on since Israel imposed a complete blockade, cutting electricity supplies to the Palestinian enclave, are full of tiny bodies covered in blood and exhausted doctors trying desperately to save their lives.'
'Israel says it's targeting Hamas militants and command centers and that several of the group's leaders have already been killed. But as Israel vows to wipe Hamas out completely, many, including experts at the United Nations who have accused Israel of answering Hamas' war crimes with its own, are asking at what cost.'
'Officials in Gaza said the death toll in the besieged Palestinian territory had surged past 1,300 on Thursday, just six days into Israel's retaliatory attacks. On nearly every street in the 25-mile-long strip of land there have been scenes of anguish as rescue workers gather the remains of the dead.' (CBSNEWS) See link below.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-war-hamas-gaza-airstrikes-blockade-palestinian-suffering/
Thank you Fern.
Israel has cut Food, Fuel, Electricity AND WATER off from Gaza. Dr. Richardson left water out of her report today. She knows that without water, in five days, everyone in Gaza is dead. This was reported four times on NPR yesterday (that is my reference, the FM radio). I was working back in my woods listening.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/gaza-cut-off-from-food-water-and-fuel-as-israels-punishing-bombardment-continues#:~:text=The%20entire%20Gaza%20Strip%20is,each%20other%20however%20they%20can.
FIVE days from now, Gaza will be one massive grave of former Palestinians with the smell just starting to waft over to Israel.
Are all of the people living in Gaza terrorists? Not even close. Most were just randomly born there and would be happy to move anywhere else than the hell of Gaza strip.
So, while everyone appears to worry about atrocities against the Israeli population, we are standing by, sound asleep, while a massive atrocity is being promulgated on Gaza.
No water for five days and everyone is dead in Gaza Fern.
Apparently, since we, the USA, thought it was OK to bomb and kill civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq, even though NONE of the people in those countries had anything to do with flying airplanes into the twin towers, we also think it is OK to exterminate more than a million people in Gaza. Almost ALL of whom had nothing to do with the atrocities that recently occurred in Israel.
Amurca. Gotta love it.
As usual, I agree with you Mike. Too many innocents. I don't have the answers or some brilliant way for bloodshed to be avoided. This will be like Carthage.
But I do know that if I had been one of those Israeli peacenicks living on a kibbutz near Gaza - one of the many who were trying to find ways to establish peace and harmony with Palestinians...and my family had been slaughtered...my wife, my child, my mother...would I have had the restraint I had been preaching for years before that? It's quite likely that this peacenick would find a weapon and join the invasion of Gaza and kill everything in my path.
That being said, I think the world should join together and scream "STOP NOW". All of you, just stop. But it won't happen. There will be no end to this until Hamas and Hezbollah are eradicated. They are puppets of Iran and Russia.
One of the smartest observers of the international scene is Diane Francis:
https://dianefrancis.substack.com/p/israel-iran-and-russia
Stabilizing your own territory and protecting your people is one thing, but revenge is another. Especially when your people have little or no ways of protecting themselves. Throwing rocks won’t do it…
Hamas is dedicated to the complete and total elimination of all things Israel. Their stated goal is to KILL and/or remove all Jews from Israel. Hamas cannot continue to exist anymore than ISIS. There will never be any chance for peace in this region as long as Hamas exists. Hamas must be replaced with the PLA or some other governing Palestinian organization that wants the best for it's people.
Hamas has received billions from Qatar and they used that money to make rockets instead of funding healthcare and education.
The horror of what is happening to the innocents in Gaza is beyond awful. It is bone shaking horrible. But just as the Germans and the Japanese of WWII suffered for their support of evil murderous leaders...so will the people of Gaza for not rising up and eschewing the insane and vicious acts of their "government".
And after the decimation and after the complete capitulation of Gaza...maybe, just maybe Israel will finally do what they should have done years ago. Embrace the Palestinians as fellow travelers - fellow descendants of the same humans. Give them full citizenship or their own state. Hamas is a horror. But what could we expect when we put two million people in a cage and deprive them of water? Food. The freedom to travel. The right to raise their children in a healthy way.
This is Netanyahu's mess. And he will be recorded as the most evil and stupid leader in the history of the region. He is the Donald Trump of the Middle East.
Eradicating Hamas is not revenge. It is essential. But they wouldn't exist if Israel had countered Iran by saying: "Wait, these are our people, our neighbors!" Too late now.
"This is Netanyahu's mess."
Yes it its. But, he is causing a lot of bad outcomes.
Agree on all Bill. Restraint is needed, but, as you say, if you and I had been there and our friends slaughtered, how restrained would we be?
I hope some.
Killing more just makes more dead. IT doesn’t bring a single person back from the dead.
In fairness, Mike, I have not heard anyone say it’s OK to kill 1M people in Gaza. Everyone I’ve heard recognizes this is all Hamas—that’s who needs to be wiped out. The victims here are Israeli and Palestinian people just trying to live their lives.
Hamas has dictated the terms of this war and Israel is in full reaction terrorist mode itself. The situation in Gaza is beyond hell and must be walked back with the urgent urging of the US and EU. Precision is called for to root out Hamas and bring hostages to safety. The suffering of innocent, trapped Palestinians will not heal the victims (all Israelis) of Hamas’ attack. Imagining the suffering of all these fellow PEOPLE brings illness to us all.
Who is insisting or even asking Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, the leader of an opposition party to stop killing innocent civilians in Gaza, to turn the electricity and water back on, create a corridor out of Gaza for the Palestinians to get to safety? WHO? As though the Israel government doesn't know what it's doing!
I like to think that the UN is doing that in public and Antony Blinken is doing that in private.
Yes, I agree about the UN and, perhaps, Blinken and Biden, but no indication that such discussions, if happening, have moved the Israeli government. The cycle of hatred and the determination for retaliation may be as hard as chromium. Does the Israeli government want anything less than the annihilation of Gaza?
Egypt has closed the corridors for escape, the same pathways that enabled hundreds to flee to Turkey just before last weekend. Yet that gets no notice. Hamas planned for all of this and has booby-trapped much of Gaza so more Israelis will die. This could all end if the hostages were returned. But they are pawns. And most likely murdered already. And - when, exactly, have combatants in a war been tasked with offering sustenance to their enemies?
MLM, this is not my experience. For some of the more far gone ones, Hamas = all Palestinians to them. Nor do they say that Israel is wrong to obliterate the Gaza strip.
I understand there are, shall we say, less well-educated people who think Hamas = Palestinians or that it's OK to bomb Gaza into next month. I have simply been fortunate not to run into any of them.
Its all about Hamas. Innocent people dying because a terrorist group leads Gaza. But here’s the thing, Hamas cares not for its citizens in the short term. They don’t care how many die. Its goal is to incite Israeli leaders to take off all gloves, violate the rules of war and commit sufficient atrocities on Gaza so as to appease the survivors of the terrorist attack as the world reacts to an inhumane Israeli response with disgust
“We finally solved the Hamas problem, so what if a million humans got in the way? Collateral damage. BTW, the Supreme Court of Israel no longer can out me in prison. Long live my Democracy”, quote attributed to an anonymous Israeli leader
Netanyahu is an egotistical crook, who only cares for himself.
And his American Cousin
Water has been cut off MLMinET.
How long can a person go without water?
There are 2 million people without water.
Mass torture
Mass murder!
I am horrified by this as well, and do not like that President Biden has not called for restraint, but rather sent an aircraft carrier to the area. Admittedly the carrier is likely intended to caution against a larger war.
He has, in fact, called for restraint.
A better-than-status-quo solution to the areas problems is long overdue. That is on all involved. Nobody will win, be happy, etc. That is how it always works out = the human condition.
Additionally, Hamas was elected by the Palestinians at one point, other forces are using Palestinans for their own gain, neither the US, nor the US people, think exterminating a million people in Gaza is OK. Like the US, Israel has the right to defend itself and its existence.
I do not know why a mixed Israel hasn't evolved, I simply don't remember all the facts over 50 years - but that is how it must evolve. After one generation people move on to a new normal.
Massive areas of Gaza have been literally reduced to dust. Apart from innocent children and adults, isn't it likely that the hostages were in some of those now destroyed buildings?
Thanks Molly for this comment! I wrote the following articles the other day and wanted to get feedback!
The first article is about how: ever since the Israel incident, a large majority of Americans have been turned into blood thirsty individuals fueled by rage and emotion that no one is thinking critically - and they’re proud of it with statements such as “this is no time to think critically, we need to strike!”
So in this article, I compare the majorly events of WWI, WWII, and 9/11 to show how similar events turned Americans from peace loving into war mongering individuals overnight:
How Wars Are Let To Happen:
https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/how-wars-happen-or-how-theyre-let
In the second article, I try to bring everyone’s humanity back because while we’re caught up by the attack and Israel (and purposely choosing to ignore logic and reason under the guise of “emotional justice” (ps: I address the raping of women and children as well)), at the end of the day, more innocent lives will be lost and those lives fall on everyone who’s supported this “retaliation”
You Can Support This or You Can Stop This:
https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/this-was-sad-to-read-and-i-hope-it
please let me hear your thoughts!
Like 9/11, this horror was designed as the trigger mechanism for a chain reaction.
The effectiveness of that chain reaction depends on the shocked overreaction of the victim and allies. Extreme brutality is not only a product of Gazan rage and frustration, kept white hot by constant propaganda, it is deliberate, calculated to produce and maximize a desired long-term effect.
This assault is in effect a strategic weapon, its success depends on the reactions of the victim.
In the light of this purpose, the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld reaction to 9/11, the so-called War on Terror, spread and perpetuated terror and chaos via such aberrations as the long-term occupation of Afghanistan and the Second Gulf War, ensuring the success of Al-Qaida's action beyond its planners' wildest dreams.
This vile strategic weapon calls for the cold, skilfull response of the bomb disposal squad, controlled explosions to deactivate the warmongers' device, not indiscriminate "bomb 'em all back into the stone age" vengeance.
Unfortunately, today's chain reaction bomb was well-designed by able and utterly ruthless planners who will have protected themselves while sacrificing their own people, the innocent alongside the guilty. On the one hand, using captured hostages, on the other, using Gazan civilians as human shields... and martyrs, whether willing or not.
I would be delighted if the above view could be demolished... but I just don't see that.
*
It is horrible to look into such minds, staring straight into hell.
But... to defeat an enemy, is not such cold observation necessary?
The aim: to stop evil in its tracks... instead of perpetuating it. Now, all we can do is watch what is done.
Should have learned our lesson with the W/Dickie debacle
Watch what is done... This feature especially: the exploitation for political gain of bloodlust baying for vengeance. Not just in Israel where Netanyahu's saber-rattling threats aim at Teheran. (One is bound to suspect that he cannot stand having been outsmarted by despised Palestinians and wants to blame a bigger bogeyman.) In America, elsewhere in Palestine, throughout the Middle East and the Muslim world... Throw the dogs of war a bone and improve your weakening fingerhold on power...
Semantics question, Peter. Has the "Second Gulf War" replaced "Global War on Terrorism" in the naming of the names? I'm curious, because semantics are important.
Quick response, Ally.
The only term I recall from 2001 was "the war on terror", which -- of course -- made little sense. The "Global War on Terrorism" may be pompous but the words are more or less understandable. George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq and all that followed (and is continuing) were a key feature of that Global War, a "war" that has multiplied and reinforced the international terrorism it was supposed to suppress. In particular, the invasion of Iraq has strengthened regional power Iran's corrupt theocratic regime and empowered the Iranian military-industrial complex. No comment on various forms of hubristic Saudi craziness or on the worldwide development of State-directed or sponsored terrorism.
I ran off to the internet for info:
Per the awarding of service medals:
Gulf War I (Roughly encompassing Desert Storm) and its aftermath.
Gulf War II was also tagged as the Iraq War and set as between 2003-2011
Global War on Terrorism went from 9/11/01 to 9/2022 and encompasses most of what is called colloquially “The Sandbox”
9/22 meaning Sept 22 or 2022? Thanks, Ally.
Fixed
All you have to do is read the headlines of the New York Times after 9/11. They became war mongers!! The hell with the facts.
Yelling rape gets people even more wanting to kill the offender. How do they know there was rape? Or in desperation to keep the Hamas attack on the front page did they jin up this? Do I feel manipulated? Of course.
YES a blank check for Israel and a blank check for Ukraine. We are facing a world similar to 1939 and it is time for the US and be the backbone for democracy in the world. If it means more taxes, more tanks, fewer cars, restrictions on gas, etc., then so be it. We are at war with chaos around the world and we need a wartime point of view. Re-activate the draft. Send US troops to Ukraine. As Roosevelt said, “The US is the armory for democracy.”
Are you willing to be drafted?
yes
Israel is the mother of Hamas and taught it everything it knows. It is pointless to argue over who's right and who's wrong. It is worse than pointless to encourage further violence but that is the long-standing U.S. policy that Biden is blindly continuing. That is where the American people may have some leverage: changing the inflammatory U.S. policy. But politicians, including Biden, believe that killing innocents in the Middle East is a vote winner.
I disagree
Me too!
"But politicians, including Biden, believe that killing innocents in the Middle East is a vote winner."
It is beyond my understanding that, although PBS and NPR are reporting, all day yesterday, that WATER, fuel, food and electricity have been cut off...
NOBODY is calling that out as a pending mass death atrocity against a bunch of people who had nothing to do with Hamas foray into Israel.
NitWitYahoo is just trying to redeem his useless self by creating innocent dead bodies.
Sort of like George W. Bush, who, like NitWitYahoo, had ignored the threat from Al Qaeda provided him by the CIA, tried to redeem himself by creating innocent dead bodies in Afghanistan.
Apparently, killing innocent people is a time tested way for a politician to become popular. It certainly worked for Adolph Hitler.
NitWitYahoo is just following the George W. Bush philosophy.
Create innocent dead bodies in exchange for votes from the ignorant and hateful masses in the hopes that nobody will notice that it is NitWitYahoo's poor leadership and poor oversight that allowed such a massively successful attack on his country.
Murder and war are always wrong. I feel the feelings you have about the loss of innocent lives. But here is some harsh truth you and I agree on. Americans allowed Bush/Cheney to slaughter. Americans elected Donald Trump. Which started the ball rolling on Ukraine. Americans suffer to this day for these insane decisions.
And Palestinians allowed Hamas to rule. Even though a majority of them wanted peace and a decent life - they did not rebel and choose a peace loving government.
The brutality of all this is wrong beyond words. But when a military group like Hamas bases its very existence on the annihilation of an entire nation, please tell me how you would react. What if the leaders of NYC said that the entire state of Vermont must be exterminated. I suspect even Bernie would put on a uniform.
It should all stop and all the bad guys should be singled out for justice. Innocents should be protected. Hard to do when the evil ones use their children and mothers as shields.
I feel everything you are feeling. But it might be a bit ivory tower to tell Israel how to deal with assassins.
Murder is always wrong....yes.
You called Bibi what he is. Biden has no choice but to support Israel, despite Bibi’s evil actions. Hopefully he will be held accountable for his part in this. But no one will do it while the country’s heart is burning. It’s why we let W/Dickie taint our country with their evil.
Biden does have a choice. There are many different ways to ‘support’ Israel.
Israel does need need US help to obliterate the Gaza strip. Those people are completely dependent on Israel for everything. Their living conditions are cramped and impoverished. Israel could have started with cutting off gas, water, electricity, food.
The bombing and continued destruction of Gaza has doomed the lives of the hostages. If Gaza has no water, the hostages will have no water.
If the population is living in terror and misery, so are the hostages. Why would Hamas negotiate anything for them....It's over; they won't be "going home". After decades of insults and misery for Palestinians with no effective relief, Hamas pulled off this incredible humiliating and atrocious act. The goal of Hamas was to create this exact result: cause more anti-semitism throughout the world.
The world leaders who support Israel are now thinking and feeling something completely different.
‘Those people’.
Yeah, let’s start by committing war crimes…. Then go on to other war crimes.
You do realize that ‘thinking and feeling something different about Israel’ and coupling that with ‘anti-semitism’ is a logical fallacy.
Lies about beheading babies (or in the case of Iraq/Kuwait, lies about killing babies in incubators) sure can make people lose their minds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA3ZANV2A4o
Netanyahu is a criminal and will protect only himself.
Like someone else we know.
This argument makes no sense to me.
I also disagree.
Amen!
Bizarre moment, indeed. ‘Just like 9/11’.
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/people-have-a-serious-case-of-911
Very much like 9/11. The "peasants" invade OUR space and cause terrible death and destruction. We react ....and cause terrible death and destruction.