<font size="2"I never thought I would live to see the day that Israel would become the international equivalent of Wile E. Coyote, but that day has come. If Israel signs on to the UN Resolution they are lighting the fuse on the dynamite that will subsequently explode in their hand. This
resolution marks a major victory for Hizbullah. Unfortunately for Israel, there appears no other viable course of action.
Israel cannot defeat Hizbullah without paying a price in
blood and treasure that it cannot sustain politically.
In fact, Israel runs a real risk of damaging its military effectiveness because of the significant casualties among its officer corps. Unlike the American Army, the Israelis rely on officers rather than non-commissioned officers to lead their units.
You don’t grow these boys on trees. It appears they are
suffering a dispropotionate amount of the casualties that Hizbullah is inflicting on the DF.
Let’s start with the text of the <!–
D(["mb","UN Security Council Resolution:
n
n
OP8 and the Future
n
""OP8. Calls for Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent nceasefire and a long-term solution based on the following principles and nelements:
n
— full respect for the Blue Line by both parties;
— nsecurity arrangements to prevent the resumption of hostilities, including the nestablishment between the Blue Line and the nLitani river of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons nother than those of the government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL as authorized in nparagraph 11, deployed in this area;
— full implementation of the relevant nprovisions of the Taif Accords, and of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), nthat require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that, pursuant to the Lebanese cabinet decision nof July 27, 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than nthat of the Lebanese state;
— no foreign forces in Lebanon without the consent of its government; n
— no sales or supply of arms and related materiel to Lebanon except as authorized by its government; n
— provision to the United Nations of all remaining maps of land nmines in Lebanon in Israel’s possession. UN Resolution 1701
n
Pat Lang offers the following keen analysis and identifies ncritical unanswered questions at his blog, Sic Semper nTyrannis:
n
n
“,1]
);
//–>UN Security Council Resolution:
OP8 and the Future
“”OP8. Calls for Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent
ceasefire and a long-term solution based on the following principles and
elements:
— full respect for the Blue Line by both parties;
—
security arrangements to prevent the resumption of hostilities, including the
establishment between the Blue Line and the
Litani river of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons
other than those of the government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL as authorized in
paragraph 11, deployed in this area;
— full implementation of the relevant
provisions of the Taif Accords, and of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006),
that require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that, pursuant to the Lebanese cabinet decision
of July 27, 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than
that of the Lebanese state;
— no foreign forces in Lebanon without the consent of its government;
— no sales or supply of arms and related materiel to Lebanon except as authorized by its government;
— provision to the United Nations of all remaining maps of land
mines in Lebanon in Israel’s possession. UN Resolution 1701
Pat Lang offers the following keen analysis and identifies
critical unanswered questions at his blog, Sic Semper
Tyrannis:
<!–
D(["mb","![]()
1- "Between the Blue Line and n the Litani River." The Litani closely approaches the panhandle of Israel n in the area of Metulla. The river then extends north away from n Israel. What are the n boundaries of the "buffer zone" in that area since the n language of the resolution does not describe them?
n
2- Since Hizbullah is a legal political party in Lebanon n with representation in parliament and ministers in the government, n What is to prevent the integration n of Hizbullah forces into the Lebanese government security forces? n If that occurs then the provisions of OP8 will be fulfilled with n regard to the exclusivity of the possession of armed forces by the Lebanese n government.
n
3- In the event of the integration of Hizbullah forces n into those of Lebanon, then re-supply of those forces from outside Lebanon n will not violate the relevant portion of OP8.
n
It should be remembered that Hizbullah and its Shia n political ally "Amal" control a bloc of seats in the Lebanese parliament n amounting to 35 seats out of 128. Democracy in naction.
n
Israel and its supporters in the United States must come to ngrips with a stark and uncomfortable fact–Hizbullah is not going to be ndisarmed, it is not going to disappear, and, in all likelihood, it will be an nimportant political player for years to come. Hizbullah in the last four nweeks has accomplished what no Arab or Muslim Army has ever done–they have nfought Israel to a standstill. That fact is already resonating throughout nthe Muslim world. The Arabs in particular, who have lived with the shame nof not being able to defeat Israel in previous engagements now has a new nchampion. Hizbullah is the Army and Nasrallah its face. Beep, nbeep.”,1]
);
//–>
1- “Between the Blue Line and
the Litani River.” The Litani closely approaches the panhandle of Israel
in the area of Metulla. The river then extends north away from
Israel. What are the
boundaries of the “buffer zone” in that area since the
language of the resolution does not describe them?
2- Since Hizbullah is a legal political party in Lebanon
with representation in parliament and ministers in the government,
What is to prevent the integration
of Hizbullah forces into the Lebanese government security forces?
If that occurs then the provisions of OP8 will be fulfilled with
regard to the exclusivity of the possession of armed forces by the Lebanese
government.
3- In the event of the integration of Hizbullah forces
into those of Lebanon, then re-supply of those forces from outside Lebanon
will not violate the relevant portion of OP8.
It should be remembered that Hizbullah and its Shia
political ally “Amal” control a bloc of seats in the Lebanese parliament
amounting to 35 seats out of 128. Democracy in
action.
Israel and its supporters in the United States must come to
grips with a stark and uncomfortable fact–Hizbullah is not going to be
disarmed, it is not going to disappear, and, in all likelihood, it will be an
important political player for years to come. Hizbullah in the last four
weeks has accomplished what no Arab or Muslim Army has ever done–they have
fought Israel to a standstill. That fact is already resonating throughout
the Muslim world. The Arabs in particular, who have lived with the shame
of not being able to defeat Israel in previous engagements now has a new
champion. Hizbullah is the Army and Nasrallah its face. Beep,
beep.<!–
D(["mb","
It’s unbelievable to me that people think that it’s possible to defeat a guerrilla/irregular force with a bombing campaign and an occupation army. I’m very sorry to see the loss of so much life on all sides, but this debacle might hopefully have the positive effect of pushing the Israeli’s to the peace process bargaining table in a meaningful way.
Well I beg to differ. If Israel signs on to this UN resolution I would say they have done quite well.
Looking at the UN resolution draft as it is presented it clearly emphasizes;
Just after the kidnapping of the two Israeli soldiers, Hezbollah stated that there was no other way of getting them back than by releasing the Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli prisons. Now Hezbollah has accepted the terms of the UN resolution, what happened to the tough talk?
If Hezbollah has won anything, besides scoring some points in the propaganda war, it is no more than a Pyrrhic victory.
Hezbollah’s military capability has surely been crumbled, huge parts of South-Lebanon have been destroyed and nothing has been gained in their efforts to free Lebanese prisoners from Israeli prisons. The UN has only in general terms put forward an appeal to the parties to find a solution to the prisoner problem while they clearly have stated that the two kidnapped Israelis have to be released unconditionally.
Concerning the losses on the Israeli side, I can only say that when you are going to war you have to expect losses no matter what and especially when you are using ground forces. The official number of Israeli casualties is 92 dead soldiers, including those that were killed in the rocket attack inside Israel a relatively low number of casualties when you take into account that the war has been going on for more than a month.
The UN resolution also clearly states that the Lebanese army are to take control over South-Lebanon and prevent other parties than the Lebanese army from getting weapon supplies. A new UNIFIL force are to be deployed in the buffer zone in South-Lebanon between the Blue line and the Litani river together with the Lebanese army and help the Lebanese army to implement the UN resolution 1559, which calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, see article 3.
If Hezbollah is integrated into the Lebanese army this would be since as a step forward for the Israelis, because it means that they now can relate to a regular army instead of a militia and that is what most armies wants, including the Israel and the IDF. What remains to be seen is of course whether the Lebanese government will implement the UN resolution, but anyhow the Israelis now have a UN document to refer to in case of renewed hostilities.
I agree. One has to wonder where this author gets off on declaring a Hezbollah victory??? I would have to feel pretty good about my military situation if I was Israel, or what am my missing?? Oh Israel had some small number of casualties in a war! What a shock. Meanwhile they control most of southern Lebanon, and now can deal from a position of strength in any new peace deal. Not so bad, and getting to this position of strength in the bargaining part of the equation was one of the major objectives all along with the establishment of a scorched earth buffer zone a secondary possible objective!! I’d say mission accomplished quite well, and I think Hezbollah will think hard before doing this again if ever!
They said they were going to destroy Hezbollah. They have not. Hezbollah are still in south Lebanon. Israel is taking ever higher casualties in South Lebanon. israel cannot afford to stay in south Lebanon as it is losing too many men and its armor is particularly vulnerable. Israel has failed to stop rocket attacks. After one month they have achieved little.
The ceasefire if it holds will see Hezbollah still in south Lebanon. That is where the members of the movement live. No doubt as speculated by many and in line with most national reconciliation projects the Hezbolah fighters and equipment will be absorbed into the Lebanese army as complete dsicret units. Of course if Israel comes over the border again Hezbollah will continue to fight in their preferred methods. The Lebanese army is currently 50% plus Shia and very sympathetic to Hezbollah, so Hezbollah will see no problem there. Hezbollah are still in the governemtn and so face no problem there. The UN force is under chapter 6 which limits any action they can take, so no problem there.
The question is why did Israel accept such a humiliating deal? It may be that with weakening public support at home and with double digit daily deaths of its military togehter with the increasing destruction of is armor while its only “Success” was the bombing campaign that only ever hit kids, things just got untenable. This is the first time Israel has lost so badly. Going from saying they were going to destroy Hezbollah in days to having to accept the Hezbollah victory parade through Beirut shown live on world TV will bring this home to the citizens of Israel too.
The effect that this Hezbollah victory has already had on the Arab world is palpable. The Arab people have always been united against Israeli oppresion of the palestinians, but the US client state govenrmnets have usually kept quiet. This time they stuck togehter and ruined Boltons first pro-Israel resolution. In additon Arabs have seen the once omnipotent IDF humiliated. Usually the stated aims of the IDF were at least met if not exceeded. this time they ammended the aims down every day and still failed to meet them. The startegic problem Isral had was that Hezbollah only had to survive to win, and this is the mistake Israel made. They could not possibly destroy Hezbollah. They fell into the trap of believing their own omnipotence. that Hezbollah not only survived but showed how vulnerable Israeli amor was, inflicted casualties that at a military level were not far off a parity, remain in place throughout most of South Lebanon after a month, destroyed a warship, and hit Israel with rockets every day since Israel first bombed Lebanon is doubly humiliating fo Israel and is something many Arabs are celebrating.
I think you exaggerate Hezbollah’s success greatly, and we’ll see over the next few months what was really accomplished. Remember that when you get burned badly, you are more careful to avoid the burning causes the next time. I highly doubt too many non-fanatic citizens of Lebanon will allow such Hezbollah follies from now on if Israel guarantees a similar response. It is called deterrence and conditioning!
Hezbollah are the darlings of the Arabs now and very popular in Lebanon unlike Israel and the US. Hezbollah will always fight Israel while they are in Lebanon. Israels kid massacres and Halutzs admission of war crimes will not be enough to stop hezbollah resisting Israel if they enter Lebanon. Of course if Israel stay out of Lebanon they will have little to worry about. It is called deterence and conditioning.
Reality also shows it was Israel and its ally that wanted no ceasefire initiailly when they thought they would obliterate Hezbolah, but who were desperate to get it after the military debacle.
Of course Israel first said they would destroy Hezbollah. They have not, and every week they have lowered their target, and still failed to achieve them all. Israel lost if Hezbollah survived. it was a stupid strategic error to launch the offensive and make the ridiculous claim in the first place. To compound the error by losing virtually all of the worlds sympathy towards Israel was even more stupid.
Deternce only works when you look strong. An army that cannot ahcieve its stated objective looks weak. This has also undermined Israels security as the strength of the IDF has been shown to be less than it used to.
What you post may be a nice right wing Israeli opinion, but it is far from reality I am sorry to tell you.
Peace.
This has also undermined Israel’s security as the strength of the IDF has been shown to be less than it used to.
This is more wishful thinking and not based on facts, I am afraid. Hezbollah has never represented an existential threat to Israel and that is why this war is fought with only a fraction of Israel’s military capacity. If Israel had wanted to annihilate Hezbollah and Lebanon they could have done that in less than a month, but that is not what Israel wanted and it is neither a viable option.
You ought not to take what people say in War to literally this is of course War Rhetoric intended for the enemy and that goes for all parties in a war. The Israelis know very well that Hezbollah can not be destroyed as long as it draws its support from a major party of the Lebanese population, but their armed capabilities can be severely curbed and that has been the aim all along.
Hezbollah has never been, and likely will never be, an existential threat to Israel. But with Hezbollah’s build-up of its arsenal, including the accumulation of several thousand missiles, the Israelis knew that it was just a matter of time before these missiles were going to be used against them and on the 12th of July Hezbollah attacked by staging a cross-border raid into Israel and killed and kidnapped a number of Israeli soldiers.
Concerning the Israeli “failure”, as you call it, in preventing Hezbollah from launching missiles into Israel it goes without saying that they are not able to prevent all of them from reaching Israeli territory. The number of missiles launched exceeds 3500 rockets as of today in an estimated total of 12000 rockets. Even with a fairly efficient anti-missile system and a massive ground offensive it wouldn’t be possible to prevent all of these missiles from being launched.
Hezbollah only needs two operators, a pick-up truck , a missile battery and about 5 minutes or less to fire a number of kaytusha rockets into northern-Israel and when Hezbollah on top of that hide these batteries behind and close to civilian objects (read Jan Egeland the UN humanitarian coordinator), then of course they are harder to neutralize.
The ceasefire if it holds will see Hezbollah still in south Lebanon. That is where the members of the movement live.
Yes, of course Hezbollah will still be in South-Lebanon, but the aim of the Israelis have been to diminish Hezbollah’s military capability, and with the incorporation of Hezbollah’s armed wing into the regular Lebanese army it will not be any non-state militia left to fight. This means that the Hezbollah units have to abide by the Lebanese army rules and not attack Israel as they see fit, they will have to behave as one unit and conform to the Lebanese government and not to the orders of Nasrallah. Problem solved. Whether Hezbollah are going to accept this remains to be seen.
1. The Lebanese army is currently 50% plus Shia and very sympathetic to Hezbollah, so Hezbollah will see no problem there. 2. Hezbollah are still in the governemtn and so face no problem there.
1. I can not vouch for your 50%+, but if that is the case, than why didn’t the Lebanese Army close ranks with Hezbollah in the fighting? Because they answer only to the Lebanese government and that is also what the incorporated Hezbollah units have to do, if not, a new civil war is very likely going to happen. If Hezbollah’s military wing is accepting to be integrated into the Lebanese Army their image as guerrilla fighters will wither away and they will become just another party in the Lebanese political landscape, which is by the way not a very lucrative way of mustering popular support since they now have to be responsible for all government policies.
In the last Lebanese general election in 2005 Hezbollah only managed to grab 14 seats out of a total of 128 seats in Parliament, that is not a very convincing proof of Hezbollah’s huge popularity in the Lebanese population, I am afraid. The reason for the high approval ratings of Hezbollah as we speak has much to do with national sentiments and an anti-Israeli stand and less to do with Hezbollah’s popularity par se. When the war is over and things have settled, the high popularity rating Hezbollah enjoys today, will surely diminish (see the 2005 election).
The UN force is under chapter 6 which limits any action they can take, so no problem there.
True, a chapter 6 mandate represents a more limited mandate, but the task of disarming and incorporating Hezbollah’s military wing is primarily the responsibility of the Lebanese government and the Lebanese army. The UNIFIL forces are to be deployed in South-Lebanon to function as a stabilization force. Whether the Lebanese army manage to full fill its commitments remains to be seen.
The question is why did Israel accept such a humiliating deal?
Your portrayal of the situation is nothing new in the history of the anti-Israeli community. The prime example of this is the battle of Karameh, in Jordan in 1968, when PLO units were driven out of the area by the Israeli army. The Israelis suffered more casualties than usual, but never-the-less won the battle, but PLO presented this as a huge victory. I do not doubt for a minute that this war will be portrayed in the same way both in Lebanon and in other Arab countries, to function as a kind of moral booster in the ongoing fight with Israel regardless of facts.
The startegic problem Isral had was that Hezbollah only had to survive to win, and this is the mistake Israel made.
Well, if that is the case then it can hardly be called a victory. Maybe they have won the propaganda war, but then again Israel never fights its wars for propaganda purposes but in self-defense. A propaganda/PR victory is not a real victory only in some people’s minds.
They fell into the trap of believing their own omnipotence. that Hezbollah not only survived but showed how vulnerable Israeli amor was, inflicted casualties that at a military level were not far off a parity, remain in place throughout most of South Lebanon after a month, destroyed a warship, and hit Israel with rockets every day since Israel first bombed Lebanon is doubly humiliating fo Israel and is something many Arabs are celebrating.
I do not believe that most Arabs are celebrating the death of civilians, but if that is the case then I hope they do their utmost to share their “joy” with the rest of us.
.
TEL AVIV (Haaretz) Aug. 13 — Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday met with the parents of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldiers Eldad Regev and Udi Goldwasser and told them that Israel will negotiate with Hezbollah over their release. Defense Minister Amir Peretz also attended the meeting.
Olmert gave the parents an update on the UN resolution and on the steps Israel is taking in order to release the three abducted soldiers (including IDF soldier Gilad Shalit abducted on the Gaza-Israel border). The prime minister said that Israel is doing its utmost to bring about the release of the two, who were kidnapped by Hezbollah on July 12 on Israel’s northern border.
The UN resolution on cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon calls for the unconditional release of the abducted Israeli soldiers, but is not included as a binding section in the resolution.
≈ Cross-posted from my diary —
BREAKING NEWS: Israeli Cabinet Approves Cease-Fire Plan ≈
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
Thank you for that news snippet Oui. Well, it shows that even in a situation of war the Israelis are willing to do their utmost in order to free their soldiers, even to negotiate from a position with the strong backing of the UN resolution 1701, which clearly states the UN Security Councils priorities: First, the unconditional release of the Israeli soldiers and then negotiations between the two parties over the release of Lebanese prisoners in Israeli prisons.
Everything you state makes perfect logical sense. The rational part of my meager brain concurs with your assessment. However, the cynic part of my brain has grown proportionately with the outrages of the last few years and screams in protest against the crux of your arguement – that is; this was NEVER about hostages or a prisoner swap in the first place, Seymour Hersh’s new article did not surprise me in the least, only served to depress me.
This is war for war’s sake and the stranglehold of global power, the great game has become a lot more dangerous since the cold war – everyday now, when I read the news and blogs, I think to myself “God, I’m happy the I live in Europe” – the home of the anti-Christ according to the Rapture Index.
Has my country truly gone insane?
Lets hope it gets the attention it deserves.
“Hizbullah is the Army and Nasrallah its face. Beep, beep.” Yeah, you’re a pretty funny guy, Larry.
Here’s some more mirth for you:
Views on Israel
Speaking at a graduation ceremony in Haret Hreik, Nasrallah announced on October 22, 2002: “if they [Jews] all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide.”[7][8] The New York Times qualifies this as “genocidal thinking”[9], whereas the New York Sun likens it to the 1992 Hezbollah statement, which vowed, “It is an open war until the elimination of Israel and until the death of the last Jew on earth.”[10] Michael Rubin qualifies his goal as genocide too, quoting Nasrallah ruling out “co-existence with” the Jews or “peace”, as “they are a cancer which is liable to spread again at any moment.”[11] The Age quotes him like so: “There is no solution to the conflict in this region except with the disappearance of Israel.”[12]
Despite declaring “death to Israel” in his public appearances, Nasrallah said in an interview to The New Yorker, “at the end of the road no one can go to war on behalf of the Palestinians, even if that one is not in agreement with what the Palestinians agreed on.” [13] When asked whether he was prepared to live with a two-state settlement between Israel and Palestine, he said he would not sabotage what is a Palestinian matter. [14].
In another interview with the Washington Post, Nasrallah said “I am against any reconciliation with Israel. I do not even recognize the presence of a state that is called “Israel.” I consider its presence both unjust and unlawful. That is why if Lebanon concludes a peace agreement with Israel and brings that accord to the Parliament our deputies will reject it; Hezbollah refuses any conciliation with Israel in principle.” [15].
Views on Jews
The scholar Amal Saad-Ghorayeb quotes Nasrallah describing his view of Jews: “If we searched the entire world for a person more cowardly, despicable, weak and feeble in psyche, mind, ideology and religion, we would not find anyone like the Jew. Notice, I do not say the Israeli”. [16]
“Jews invented the legend of the Holocaust,” said Nasrallah on April 9, 2000. During another appearance on Al-Manar on February 23, Nasrallah praised a leading European Holocaust denier, David Irving, for having “denied the existence of gas chambers.” [17]
why are you wetting your bed?
seriously.
I listen to David Duke and Pat Robertson and even Charles Krauthammer, and I do NOT wet my bed.
Why do you pee your pants whenever you hear someone make threats?
Straight out. Do you denounce this stuff or not?
sure. I denounce it. It doesn’t make me lose control of my urethra though.
Are you jewish? Do you have any friends or family that are jewish? Do you have any knowledge of the holocaust?
Now, do you think a country, one that is attempting to obtain nuclear weapons, which has such an ideology, is not a threat and should not be treated like a threat? Would you deal with Hitler before the holocaust occurred if you knew it was going to happen?
Am I Jewish? No.
Do you have any friends or family that are jewish?
Yes. My former sister-in-law is Jewish. She died of breast cancer. All but one of my closet friends is at least half-Jewish.
Do you have any knowledge of the holocaust?
Yes. I am well read on the subject.
Now, do you think a country, one that is attempting to obtain nuclear weapons, which has such an ideology, is not a threat and should not be treated like a threat?
Here I am assuming you are talking of Iran. Yes. I think we are correct to take steps to prevent them from becoming a nuclear power. However, Israel has a mutually assured destruction deterrent. So don’t wet your bed.
Would you deal with Hitler before the holocaust occurred if you knew it was going to happen?
Yes. I would. Iran is about as powerful as Lichtenstein in this analysis.
You need depends.
I am glad that you are so sure, Chamberlain. Thanks for the very mature parting comment. I’m sure it buys you a lot of credibility among your readers. So long.
why are you so afraid? I live in a community with unceasing violence. It’s a nice night out and I have my windows open. There has been at least 25 gunshots in my neighborhood tonight. I am not happy abut that, but I haven’t asked our government to go nuclear to solve the problem.
You are a bedwetter, plain and simple.
all Jews in with the Israeli government and military. Israelis are not all Jews and Jews are not all Israelis. Some Jews do not even support Israel.
Also do not claim that only Jews can see the enormity of the Holocaust crime. Many non-Jews were also affected and many others hold this incident dear.
And finally what is all that nukes crap. The only country in the middle east with nukes is Israel. the only aggresor country is Israel. if you are so concerned about nukes why not campaigbn to have Israel rid itself of them. A nuclear free middle east as proposed by Iran seems sensible to me copmpared to any crap coming out of Israel or the US.
.
Similar to our robot member —
“The real reason for an anti-seimitic label on Hezbollah comes form their own words:
Speaking at a graduation ceremony in Haret Hreik, Nasrallah announced on October 22, 2002: “if they all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide.”[61][62] The New York Times qualifies this as “genocidal thinking”[63], whereas the New York Sun likens it to the 1992 Hezbollah statement, which vowed, “It is an open war until the elimination of Israel and until the death of the last Jew on earth.”[64] Michael Rubin qualifies his goal as genocide too, quoting Nasrallah ruling out “co-existence with” the Jews or “peace”, as “they are a cancer which is liable to spread again at any moment.”[65] The Age quotes him like so: “There is no solution to the conflict in this region except with the disappearance of Israel.”[66]”
Nasrallah on Jews by inarchunite
Posted: Aug 7 2006-17:23
Nasrallah alleges “Christian Zionist” plot
A story from 2002 about hezbollah’s rabid leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah:
Cabal of Doom — Posted by joey on July 17, 2006 08:46 AM
● Perhaps an hasbara associate.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
Israel is a Terrorist nation.
When Bush slaughters innocent women and children so-called progressives call him a murderer.
When Israel does the same, so-called progressives look for excuses to condone murder.
Funny old world, isn’t it?
Malcolm from the UK
.
It’s called a biased opinion and hypocritical American foreign policy in the Middle East. An Emperor with no clothes caught in shifting sands of the Arabian peninsula.
A Healthy Discussion @ BooMan
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
Whenever these discussions devolve into a question of whether or not one is Jewish as a means of determining credibility rationality defenestrates.
One shouldn’t have to defend one’s point of view by answering questions about one’s religion. Anyone who asks such a pointedly stupid question should also answer in the next breath – and I’m assuming the questioner is a U.S. citizen – whether they are most loyal to Israel or the U.S. That question doesn’t feel so good, does it?
Whether Booman’s observations have merit ought not to depend on whether he has Jewish ancestry. I will gladly acknowledge mistake here if the questioner is Israeli.
IOW, one should be able to offer observations, perceptions, judgments etc. on any topic without having to necessarily be a member of the group one focuses upon. Either sex may comment on either sex, one nationality may judge another, rich may speak about the poor and vice-versa. The point of view offered should be judged only on the quality of its thought and not on its provenance.
Provenance matters, of course, because it may shed light on a point of view, but that doesn’t mean it’s automatically right or wrong.
So….enough of the “are you Jewish (or Muslim or Catholic, or whatever) questions.
And if you have to ask what my religion is to figure out whether my post has any merit, you’ve already lost the argument.
Do you own a Vizsla? We’ve had 5 over the years, beginning in 1966 when we bought one in Cleveland. At that time, the breed was unknown and there were very few dogs. They had nearly been wiped out during the two WW’s.
Of course I owned one!
10-86 was Clifford’s birthday. I’ve been on line forever – actually since prior to ’86. I used the label Vizsla1086 on GEnie and have just kept it for simplicity’s sake.
I’ve loved the breed since I first saw a pair in Greenwich Village circa 1965 running vivaciously around a vacant lot behind Washington Square Village. I confess my first love is for Doberman’s – I’ve got a monstrously large, sweet-natured male right now, but Vizslas are right there with Dobermans in my estimation.
huh
The quote is one interesting piece of information.
Generally speaking (no pun intended,) armies relying on officers to direct combat operations in a top-down command model are tactically rigid, easier to disrupt, easier to surprise. It throws away the years of experience NCOs have gained and puts the burden on (relatively) untrained and certainly less experienced personnel.
Thinking of the 30,000 reservists, putting green troops under the tactical command of green officers with rigid battle plans going against experienced troops with a flexible ‘web-like’ structure does not bode well for Israel.