The Jews will not go quietly again — Page 2

Exactly - part of their strategy is the have civilian casualties to play up how evil Israel is for killing innocents. It is a calculated determination to use civilian deaths to advance their agenda.


And again Jimny -what would you have Israel do? The the bombs come and not respond or try and prevent further attacks?

Updated On: 7/31/06 at 01:19 PM

I'm sure you know the article you linked went on to say this:

In Beirut yesterday, as he toured areas devastated by Israeli air strikes, he called the campaign "a violation of humanitarian law".

Today he repeated that the devastation caused by the Israeli bombardment of Beirut was "truly horrific", and said he was "surprised" after seeing the level of destruction first-hand.

Mr Egeland said his message to the Israelis would be similar to the one he made repeatedly in Lebanon.

"We need a cessation of hostilities because this is a war where the civilians are paying the price."

Asked if he believed Israel would heed his call he said: "Yes, I think they will listen".

---

So what would you have Israel do?

Please provide a viable alternative.


And, a friend just sent me this:

Regardless of your feelings about the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians and Arab neighbors, even if you believe there is more culpability on Israel 's part for whatever reason, the following two sentences really say it all:

If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.

If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel.

Updated On: 7/31/06 at 01:53 PM

"...does israel have a right to exist, jim?"

It does, as do the people who are being written off as purely unfortunate "collateral damage".

I'm sorry but I will never be convinced that this is OK, no matter who started it. The world should not stand by and do nothing.

I don't see how our country's stance helps us in our President's expressed desire to "win the hearts and minds of the Arab world". Most of the world wants a cease fire so that relief workers can go in and the civilians can be moved out. Our country's refusal to go along with said cease fire will only breed more hatred and more fighting, more images of dead civilians and this endless war will continue until the end of time.

---

How about going in with ground forces rather than attacking from the air? More soldiers than civilians would die but as someone said, that's war. Killing hundreds of civilians from the air with the hope of also killing a few Hezbollah leaders is not the answer either.

---

Jimny - you seem to be looking at the Hezbollah as people who are of sane mind -- people who are rational and think like we do. This could not be further from the truth. Americans and Israelis will not, will never, send kamikaze fighters in to do their dirty work. American and Israeli forces would never hide behind civilians.

If you were a small kid on the playground who wanted to play in your little corner, but was constantly getting picked on by someone much bigger who wanted the entire field, and one day that big kid came and broke your nose then went to hide behind some other kids, wagging his tongue, taunting you saying "Nah Nah, you wouldn't hurt innocent people, would you?" , do you think your rage might not be just enough that you would go in and start swinging, hoping not to hurt anyone, but if someone were in the way by the fault of the bully not being willing to stand up on his own that those innocent injuries wouldn't be worth it? If you did nothing, wouldn't the bully come back for another punch tomorrow? The small kid did nothing to provoke the attack, but inaction against dirty tactics results in nothing more than a repeat of same.

It's not a perfect analogy, but that's basically what's happening.

Of course no one wants innocent lives to be lost, but if you had a relative in the WTC on 9/11, and we learned another attack was imminent, wouldn't a few innocent lives on the enemy's side be worth the price of saving the innocent lives on our side to stop the aggressors?

---

YWIW - are you talking to me? I'm not advocating an invasion - but I don't advocate sitting and whimpering either.

---

That's what I thought - sorry - I was a little confused :)

---

BTW - it is not 100% clear that the building in Qana was destroyed solely by an Israeli missle - it apparently did not collapse until 7 hours after it was hit, leading some to believe that there were Hezbollah munitions in the structure that were triggered when the first bomb hit:

"While the entire Israeli political echelon expressed regret for the results of the strike, Air Force Chief of Staff Brig.-Gen. Amir Eshel said Sunday night that the three-story building had been struck by the missiles a little after midnight and that it only collapsed seven hours later, at close to 7 a.m.

Eshel refrained from specifying what had caused the structure to collapse seven hours after it was hit, but senior IAF officers said Sunday night that the explosion could have been caused by an unexploded missile or by a Hizbullah-planted explosive device.

"It could be that there was something in the building that caused the explosion," Eshel said.

Eshel said that close to 150 Katyusha rockets had been fired from the Lebanese village over the past 20 days. Hizbullah had hidden rocket launchers, Eshel said, in civilian buildings in the village. Video footage he presented at a press conference in Tel Aviv Sunday night showed rocket launchers being driven into the village following attacks on northern Israel."
'Kana collapse was hours after attack'

Updated On: 7/31/06 at 03:02 PM

Jimmy--you are possessed of a deeply caring soul, but as a miliary strategist, I don't think you would be successful.

Going in with ground forces would obviously not work, nor would it solve the problem.

I hope you weren't suggesting it sarcastically, knowing that it would end in more slaughter, on both sides.

---

Updated On: 7/31/06 at 03:37 PM

I guess I grew up in a diffent time. Those were the days. What happened?

---

Updated On: 7/31/06 at 03:52 PM

Wow. Just wow. Hope no one ever tries to take your milk money, Jim.

---