When will Isreal and its leaders realise that 'an eye for an eye' ends with a world full of blind and angry people ? or at least a middle east full of people blinded by hatred and driven by vengance. missile kills 10 in busy street
The isreali government should be above petty tit-for-tat reprisals against palestinian civilians, but it continues to slaughter palestinians by the dozen every week.
The increase in isreali violence has directly lead to an increase in terrorist activity at a time when European and UK diplomats were able to get a cease-fire from some of the key terrorist organisations in palestine.
Despite a draft letter from several Palestinian organisations stating they were prepared to give up violence, Isreal continued military action against palestine in flagrent disregard of UN resolutions and the advice of the western world.
Perhaps the west should look closely at this other regime that flouts more UN resolutions than iraq and is a key factor in middle eastern problems.
Palestinian leaders have promised peace before, only to be negated by the extremists that don't fall in line with their leaders (and financed by terrorists and the Iraqi regime).
I have strong hopes for the country of Palestine, but as long as they have the corrupt and extreme few that will undermine any peace initiatives, Isreal has a right to defend itself.
Jason
PS: I sincerely doubt that Isreal has broken MORE UN resolutions than Iraq. Besides, we're seeing just how uneffective those resolutions are with Iraq's refusal to comply without reprecussions.
s/uneffective/ineffective
Purdy on 2002-10-08T13:18:11
I had effective in there, but slapped the 'un' prefix in at the end; didn't think the sarcasm of my last sentence would be self-evident.Re:More like Israeli self-defense
TeeJay on 2002-10-08T15:11:50
firstly Iraq has broken 12 UN resolutions, Isreal has broken 35.Thats pretty damning in itself.
Secondly you can't hold a country responsable for the actions of a few. This means that the country and any peace process is held hostage by terrorists and undermines the ability of those in power to control terrorism as it shows those in the streets that violence over-rules diplomacy.
Finally isreal has desteroyed palestines economic and security infrastructure - how the fuck is the PLO going to crack down on suicide bombers and hammas when it is under siege by tanks?
Isreal has the right to defend itself - but it chooses to lash out at civilians and refugees rather than allow the UN to come in, and it deliberately avoids peace by undermining every attempt by palestine, the arab nations and the EU to bring about peace.
Shooting missiles into streets and apartment blocks is no more self-defence than flying a plane into a crowded building.
12? 35?
Purdy on 2002-10-08T17:01:03
Where are you getting those numbers?Iraq was told to stop developing weapons of mass destruction... They didn't
Iraq was told to allow unfettered inspections to ensure they were complying... They didn't
Even with your numbers, the flagrant dismissal of these simple edicts demands that we do something about it.
I'm reminded of the agreement that Germany had to comply with at the end of World War I for military deconstruction. Hitler soon after defied that agreement, building up the military and unleasing World War II upon the world. With today's weapons of mass destruction, I'm not willing to wait around for a smoking gun.
We're looking at a cause & effect situation here, with Iraq's regime causing terrorism in the streets of the Middle East.
It doesn't make sense that Israel (or any country
... well, unless you're Iraq ;)) would be deliberately avoiding peace and instead going around killing civilians/refugees. Israel gave the PLO a chance to crack down on the terrorists. When you hear Arafat giving a two-faced representation for Palestine (telling Palestinians in Arabic that suicide bombing is ok), it's fair to judge a country in that case and start taking matters into your own hands. I refuse to believe, though, that Israel is deliberately targetting civilians/refugees. Jason
Re:12? 35?
link on 2002-10-08T21:21:18
Take a look at http://www.un.org/documents/scres.htm if you really want to go count them yourself. Not really unexpected that israel has ignored more un resolution than iraq really thought,I mean israel has been ignoring the un and general international opinion for 3 or 4 times longer than iraq.Re:12? 35?
TeeJay on 2002-10-09T07:51:20
It does make sense that isreal would deliberately avoid a peace treaty - it doesn't want to give up land, give up the finanical stranglehold on palestine that boosts its own economy and finally there is a large minority of isrealis and jews around the world that wish for palestine to be entirely emptied of palestinians and settled because 'it is the promised land'.If you want cause and effect you will see that Isreal bought war and terror onto itself by its own actions regardless of Iraq. Iraq can provides financial support to those who lose a family member in terror attacks (by both sides) and condones the use of violence. Isreal on the other hand ensures that diplomacy and peace come second to violence and ensure that there will always be a ready supply of those who have nothing in life but their hatred of isreal.
Jason, Isreal is one of the worst offendors in the list of those condemned by the UN. After the african and baltic genocides, Isreal has and continues to perpetrate genocide - covering its tracks by refusing access to the UN and the Red cross and even sinking american navy ships to hide its dirty secrets.
Isreal doesn't want anybody to know its dirty secrets but it has so many that it is impossible to hide even if you can no longer receive CNN in isreal or watch any US News without it being rewritten to remove anything that might spoil the US/Isreal special relationship.
Isreal makes South Africa and its Apartheid look positively quaint. Who needs racism when you have etbnic hatred, genocide and the US ensuring that the UN and EU are powerless to interfere.
