Does America Need To Be Involved in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?
Neither side needs military aid funded by U.S. taxpayers.
An American bomb was used to destroy an American news bureau in the Middle East last week.
On Friday, Israeli forces blew up a building in Gaza which housed several foreign news bureaus, after warning the journalists inside to evacuate.
Israel has claimed, without providing evidence, that the Palestinian militant group Hamas was operating out of the building. The Associated Press, the American news agency whose office was destroyed in the attack, denies the claim and has demanded an independent investigation.
The bomb used to destroy the Associated Press bureau appeared to be an American-made Joint Direct Attack Munition, according to the Qatari news outlet Al Jazeera, whose office was also in the building.
In fact, U.S. military aid pays for about one-fifth of Israel's military budget, and ensures that Israeli forces are the best-equipped in the region. All of that material support is on top of U.S. diplomatic involvement, which has largely favored Israel.
Israel has been "the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II," according to the Congressional Research Service, the nonpartisan think tank housed in Congress. The Middle Eastern republic has received $104.5 billion in military aid in $34 billion in economic aid since its independence in 1947.
The Biden administration is requesting $3.8 billion in aid to Israel this fiscal year, making up about 59 percent of all U.S. foreign military aid. But numbers don't tell the whole story: U.S. law also requires the United States to help maintain Israel's "qualitative military edge"—its technological advantage over its neighbors.
Because of that legal requirement, Israel is granted earlier access to and better versions of American weapons technology than other Middle Eastern countries. The United States sometimes even "offsets" its weapons sales to Arab countries by providing Israel even more advanced weapons at the same time. And the U.S. military stores part of its global emergency stockpile of munitions in Israel, allowing the Israeli military to dip into it from time to time.
All of this largess dates back to a time when Israel was a small, weak state surrounded by hostile neighbors.
But times have changed. Israel is now a wealthy, technologically advanced nation armed with nuclear weapons. The Jewish state has peace treaties with six Arab nations. Several of those nations even joined Israel in an alliance called the Abraham Accords last year after receiving generous offers of U.S. assistance and arms sales.
Rather than relying on the American defense industry, Israel now produces its own high-tech weapons, which much of the world is clamoring to buy.
And the biggest issue Israel faces no longer comes from other states, but from the Palestinian territories, which Israeli forces captured in 1967 and have continued to occupy ever since.
The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians continues despite, or perhaps partially because of, heavy U.S. involvement. The United States has ostensibly been trying to broker a deal for Palestinian independence for years, while sometimes single-handedly blocking dozens of U.N. Security Council resolutions critical of Israeli actions.
The United States also provides around $200 million per year in economic assistance to the Palestinians, and $40 million dollars per year training and equipping the Palestinian Authority security forces, which patrol part of the territories and could become the police force of an independent Palestinian state. Some Israeli officials consider Palestinian security cooperation vital to keeping the peace, but the Palestinian Authority is widely seen as corrupt and has not held an election since 2006.
American critics on the right also criticize the Palestinian Authority for its payments to the families of Palestinian prisoners, which critics say incentivize terrorism. (Congress has cut aid to the Palestinians over this issue.) Critics on the left, meanwhile, note that U.S. aid to the Palestinians subsidizes Israel's occupation by paying for services the Israeli authorities should be providing themselves.
In 2007, an ill-fated covert operation by the Bush administration provoked a civil war in Gaza. Islamists led by Hamas then took over the Palestinian enclave, provoking an Israeli blockade and nearly 14 years of sporadic warfare that most recently flared up this month.
The latest round of fighting began when several issues in Jerusalem—mob violence by Israeli nationalists, the attempted removal of Palestinian families from their homes, clashes between Palestinians and the police over holy sites—exploded into civil unrest all at once. It escalated after Hamas fired rockets at Israeli cities.
Israeli officials have rejected ceasefire offers, vowing to continue operations "until we achieve complete calm." Over a dozen Israelis and over 200 Palestinians have been killed in the violence so far.
The Biden administration has stated its "unwavering support" for Israeli operations and blocked a U.N. Security Council statement calling for a ceasefire, although the White House also told Israeli leadership that it expects "a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire" on Wednesday.
Some members of Congress are now attempting to pull the United States out of the conflict or, at the very least, impose some limits on U.S. involvement.
Rep. Betty McCollum (D–Minn.) is now sponsoring a bill to ban Israel from using U.S. taxpayer money to detain Palestinian children, demolish Palestinian homes, or annex Palestinian land.
"A budget is a reflection of our values. I'm committed to ensuring that our government does not fund state violence in any form, anywhere," Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D–Mass.) said in a floor speech last week supporting McCollum's bill. "American government dollars always come with conditions, no matter the context. The question at hand is: should our taxpayer dollars create conditions for justice, healing, and repair, or should those dollars create conditions for oppression and apartheid?"
But proponents of U.S. restraint face an uphill battle. The U.S. foreign policy establishment has long been sympathetic towards Israel, and two thirds of Congress signed a letter last month calling for "robust funding for Israel's security without added conditions."
"As America's closest Mideast ally, Israel regularly provides the United States with unique intelligence information and advanced defensive weapons systems," the letter states. "Reducing funding or adding conditions on security assistance would be detrimental to Israel's ability to defend itself against all threats."
In fact, the Biden administration had approved a $735 million weapons sale to Israel shortly before the latest round of fighting in Gaza broke out.
The sale included Joint Direct Attack Munitions—the same kind of bomb that smashed into the Associated Press office on Friday.
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All of this largess dates back to a time when Israel was a small, weak state surrounded by hostile neighbors.
More to the point, it dates back to a time when Israel was holding on to a buffer zone about two and a half times its size between itself and one of its rabidly hostile neighbors and we managed to convince Israel to give it back to that rabidly hostile neighbor on the condition that we help bankroll Israel's military to make up for the loss of that territory.
Why are we so obsessed with both of these countries?
At the time, the Suez canal was closed due to the ongoing dispute. We had carriers going through there a couple of months after Egypt and Israel inked their peace treaty.
As to whether or not we should care now, that's a completely different question. I just thought it was important to add that bit of historical context to an article largely about historical context.
As to whether or not we should care now, that’s a completely different question.
Although given the havoc wrought by the recent temporary closure of Suez, I'd wager "we" still care a great deal.
Then we should take it or shut up. Exercise our divine right of conquest or stay out of it.
There are other options.
Somehow for four years the Orange Bad Man managed to keep things from getting this hot and bothered.
Maybe Biden can try some mean tweets.
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Because we have millions of immigrants who care deeply, and they vote.
Sorry, but the concerns of American voters and families are secondary now.
Because AIPAC says we should be. (Favoring one side, of course.)
Indeed.
I say withdraw. If China wants to be a world superpower, let them take over and sink trillions of dollars into that shithole.
I would bet, given their disregard for anyone not Han Chinese, that they’d bomb the shit out of the place and move Chinese settlers into the void.
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Israel has claimed, without providing evidence, that the Palestinian militant group Hamas was operating out of the building.
Debunked days ago.
Palestinian territories, which Israeli forces captured in 1967 and have continued to occupy ever since.
Ariel Sharon abandoned Gaza. It became a terror state.
Debunked in 2014.
"Debunked days ago."
Yep. Nothing says lying liar pretending to be a disinterested party quite like repeating some debunked propaganda.
By proxy, yes. We could send Black Lives Matter to negotiate it.
How would sending blm be any different than sending the plo to negotiate?
It gets them out of here?
And this here is quite a gem:
Israel has claimed, without providing evidence, that the Palestinian militant group Hamas was operating out of the building
Has the AP provided any evidence that rockets magically launch themselves from the roofs of buildings?
Even Israel has not claimed that any rockets were fired from that building. They say there was a Hamas "intelligence office" there. In fact, while Hamas may be a "Palestinian militant group", they are also the government of Gaza, and it's hard to see how the presence of a government office can make the whole building a military target.
"...it’s hard to see how the presence of a government office can make the whole building a military target."
Sarcasm?
Well, it's undisputed that the AP was there, so maybe there's something to that Hamas intelligence agency claim.
$147 billion to prop up a stolen, occupied apartheid state.
You got jewed.
Hey, Mizek the stormfag is here! Tell us how middle eastern history began in 1917 again!
As expected from Misek.
C'mon, now. That was funny.
What a shock, the national socialist agrees with the other socialists.
It is impressive how proud you are of your antisemitism. But still not proud enough to acknowledge that the Holocaust really happened, I see. Bizarre conundrum you got there. One would think that your hatred of the Jews would cause you to argue for the Holocaust rather than denying its existence.
75% of Semitic people’s are Arabs.
Jews are trying to steal that too.
Hatred is conflict, which is in turn initiated by lying. Lying is enshrined in the Jewish religion. Some jews are more religious than others.
Jews, Zionists, are responsible for conning the US into WW1 in exchange for the promise of Palestine, Zion, via the Balfour declaration.
Jews are responsible for forcing Germany into WW2 by coordinating global boycotts in 1933.
Jews are responsible for starting the Middle East conflict by invading Palestine in 1948.
There was no holocaust. In your own words, describe the physical evidence, there is none, that millions of Jews were cyanide gassed to death.
Jews have demonstrated over and over again the ruthless behaviour that has always led to their persecution. History repeats itself when truth is disregarded.
None of you ever has, or ever will, refute my statements because they are true.
^claims lying isn't covered by the 1A, Paul McCartney was murdered and replaced with a double, wants compelled call and response interactions with police^
A typical Jew behaviour, prefacing diabolical lies with an obvious truth.
Typical stormfag, denying his statements when they're inconvenient to him.
Some people aren't worth talking to, at all. Once you've talked to one full on holocaust denier, there is really no point in talking to any others. So, come and enjoy the freak show if this is your first time.
And if it's not your first time, then don't engage and let the nazi yell into the abyss all by himself.
Everyone can see that you never have and never will refute what I say not because because you won’t but because you can’t.
Newsflash, bigotry isn’t a virtue.
People have tried to consider my arguments to refute what I say, but never have. That speaks volumes to all witnesses.
People don't bother refuting flat earthers, either. Because both are as dumb as as they come.
Trump russia. Afghanistan bounties. Death by fire extinguisher.
Happened.
Probably happened, but the main point was that Trump was so uninterested in finding out.
And finally homicide was the official cause of death until April 18th, when the medical examiner revised.
Unlike you, I can and do revise my opinions as new information becomes available. This is what's called "using evidence instead of faith" and "responding appropriately to new information".
You should try it.
“ Unlike you, I can and do revise my opinions as new information becomes available.”
Yet you counsel others to ignore the evidence that soundly refutes the holocaust.
You should try not being a hypocrite sometime.
You just believe what others tell you. Like the AP “debunking” Hamas location.
"Happened."
Lefty pile of shit is stupid enough to believe this.
"Probably happened, but the main point was that Trump was so uninterested in finding out."
Lefty pile of shit is stupid enough to believe this.
"And finally homicide was the official cause of death until April 18th, when the medical examiner revised."
IOWs, it didn't happen
"Unlike you, I can and do revise my opinions as new information becomes available. "
Unlike you, I try not to be a gullible pile of lefty shit.
You really are stupid...
No, asshole.
Nobody is interested in wasting their time refuting your bulllshit.
They just laugh at you.
Dumbo.
Your bigoted perspective can’t survive the consideration of the irrefutable evidence I present.
Your childish claim that you aren’t refuting it because you don’t want to speaks volumes about your lack of character.
Not just stupid.
A masochist too.
Shame.
How pathetic.
You’re the self demonstrated liar who denies and can’t refute what I say.
Ok asshole.
Here's your refutation:
You're yapping shit.
Israel is not an "apartheid" state, unless the meaning of apartheid has changed radically relatively recently.
Israel has separate laws for “its citizens” based on their religion and political affiliation.
Jews get the most rights.
Palestinians who have accepted Israeli occupation are discriminated against.
Palestinians in Gaza to whom the Israeli army does whatever they want to, as they are currently demonstrating.
That is by definition, apartheid.
Have you evidence of your allegations?
I don't think you've got much of a clue what Apartheid means.
Your definition is...
Inadequate, at best.
Miko Peled is an Israeli, an author, a public speaker and the son of a famous Israeli general.
He is also opposed to Israeli apartheid of Palestinians.
In the following video he puts into perspective the history of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis that you won't see anywhere anytime in our western propaganda.
Between 40:00 and 42:00 in the video he describes Israeli terrorism and the laws which enforce segregation.
If you’re a Jew or anyone interested in thinking that you have a balanced perspective, you need to view the video.
I’d be interested in hearing your perception of it.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TOaxAckFCuQ
Get screwed with a running chain saw, Nazi shit.
Stuff your lies up your ass so your head has some company, lying piece f Nazi shit.
It isn't stolen, and it isn't an apartheid state.
But you are most definitely a hater of Jews.
The Balfour Declaration (it its entirety)
Foreign Office
November 2nd, 1917
Dear Lord Rothschild,
I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet.
His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.
I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.
Yours sincerely,
Arthur James Balfour
This is the promise Jews mention in the Declaration of the state of Israel which initiated the Middle East conflict.
Bulldozing Palestinians homes, creating a state of occupation and discrimination is how jews routinely violate that promise of theft that the British had no right to make in the first place.
Fuck off and die, Nazi
Ah, yes, the lying Nazi piece of shit checks in.
Once again sevo the retarded entertains us with another display of feeble mental gymnastics.
Apparently all it takes to be a Nazi is to expose the corruption of Jews with irrefutable evidence. Are you convinced? Hahaha what a fucking retard.
Your only chance to ever be a human being is to kill yourself and hope to be reincarnated as one.
I want you to know that if you choose to do so, you can count on my full support.
Israeli officials have rejected ceasefire offers, vowing to continue operations "until we achieve complete calm."
GOOD
Over a dozen Israelis and over 200 Palestinians have been killed in the violence so far.
a dozen Israelis - deliberate
over 200 Palestinians - collateral damage from being human shields for Hamass.
And the biggest issue Israel faces no longer comes from other states, but from the Palestinian territories, which Israeli forces captured in 1967 and have continued to occupy ever since
Quick reminder that the "Palestinian Territories" prior to 1967 were actually part of Egypt and Jordan proper and not part of any "Palestinian country". The people living in them were Jordanian and Egyptian citizens.
A further reminder that Jordan and Egypt lost those two chunks of land in 1967 because they invaded Israel from them. International law regarding aggression gave Israel full rights to them.
Funny how Petti forgot to mention all this.
He also forgot to mention that the Palestinians were respectively citizens of Egypt and Jordan prior to Egypt revoking their citizenship (if I'm not mistaken) as part of the Camp David accords and Jordan unilaterally revoking their citizenship in the 1980s.
"International law regarding aggression gave Israel full rights to them."
And treaties that ceded the land to them.
Funny how if you look on a map from, say, 1940, that there is no Israel.
Funny how if you look on a map from, say, 1920 there's also no Iraq, or Syria, or Egypt, or Saudi Arabia, or Lebanon, etc.
The British created them all, just like Israel. What's your point?
Funny how if you look at a map from, say, 1940, there is no Olmec empire.
Idiot.
There's also no Croatia or South Korea
Or Eritrea.
Go back far enough and you'll see: "Here Be Monsters..."
Yeah...History...How does it change so quickly?
Yes.
Funny, isn't it?
The bomb used to destroy the Associated Press bureau appeared to be an American-made Joint Direct Attack Munition...
The sale included Joint Direct Attack Munitions—the same kind of bomb that smashed into the Associated Press office on Friday.
Did it appear to be the JDAM, or was it the JDAM?
When first I heard this story the building next door to the building was the one that was hit. Now the bomb specifically hit the AP offices?
They did hit the AP/Al Jazeera offices. Hamass operatives worked out of the same building.
The question of whether we should be supporting Israel is answered by talking about whether what we're getting is in the best interests of American security and whether we're getting our money's worth.
Israel's value to the United States is that it can act as a proxy against our enemies, especially with Iran and Iran's allies, and they have been extremely effective in that regard--recently and successfully targeting Iran's nuclear program again.
So, what would we be doing with this money otherwise? Do you think our money would be better spent at the Pentagon? How expensive would it be for us to run similar operations against Iran if it weren't for Israel?
It should also be pointed out that President Trump set up a scenario where the United States was no longer to be the guarantor of peace in the region. In fact, President Trump was selling arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE so that Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE could defend themselves (and our interests against Iran) without our participation at all.
Joe Biden killed those arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It was just about the first thing he did when he got into office. If you don't like the United States giving aid to Israel, did you support our private defense contractors selling arms to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE--so that we're no longer responsible for guaranteeing the security of the Middle East?
Because that's the real world alternative.
"The administration of President Joe Biden is pausing weapons sales to Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as part of a broader review of multibillion-dollar arms agreements made under the Trump administration . . . .
In the past, lethal drones and the flagship F-35 joint strike fighter jet were off the table for Arab allies in the Middle East because of Washington’s commitment to maintaining Israel’s advantageous qualitative military edge, or QME, in the region — a policy that has been codified in U.S. law for decades. But since the signing of the Abraham Accords in August normalizing relations between the UAE and Israel, acquiring these systems became a real possibility for the Emiratis.
----CNBC January 28, 2021
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/bidens-pause-on-gulf-weapons-sales-and-the-us-saudi-relationship.html
I repeat. The alternative to Trump's way out of the United State guaranteeing the security of the Middle East is not isolationism. That isn't under consideration by anyone in power. It isn't a serious consideration among Republicans, and it certainly isn't under consideration by necons like Joe Biden.
Trump was actually bringing Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE together to defend themselves--together--against Iranian aggression, but Biden is a neocon, and he doesn't want that. The Biden administration are neocons who believe in Pax Americana, and they want the United States to be in charge of defending the Middle East from Iran.
If Biden is a neocon, then that word no longer has a useful definition. Biden is probably best described as a Wilsonian, a progressive interventionist.
What is your definition of neocon that it doesn't include progressive interventionist?
Republican progressive interventionist?
Well, for one thing, "con" in neocon is short for "conservative". I am not sure how Biden is a conservative of any sort. Secondly, there are longstanding Democrat interventionist foreign policy traditions that you don't have to hijack the name of a Republican one in order to categorize Biden's thinking. That is just lazy.
Neocon and neolib are pretty much the same - progressive interventionists who support a crony capitalist welfare state.
So far as "conservative" goes, it's sometimes useful shorthand for describing sides, but to its literal meaning the Biden admin/party certainly represents keeping the entrenched political/bureaucratic order and class.
But to each their own.
If we're going to object to labels, I think it's far, far more important to sever the equation of capitalism and free market.
Me on was a bunch of not conservatives who liked war jumping the peacenik party of the Democrats to the more security/anti communist Republican Party, earning them the nickname “neocon”. I wouldn’t say Biden shares the same policy priorities, but the imperialists are running the ship, not Biden.
Neocons have certain features, in contrast to realists specifically.
Among them, they welcome the use of American troops to spread democracy and topple dictators, and they relish the United States accepting its role as an imperial enterprise. They are opposed to dealing with vicious dictators, even when it's in our immediate best interests to do so--they would much rather the United States went to war on its own, rather than work through proxies, so we can be in charge of recreating a democratic society in the aftermath of a U.S. led war.
Biden demonstrates all of those tendencies, and his dismantling of Trump's polices in the region are indicative of that.
Neocons are vastly different from pragmatists, like Trump, who committed neocon sins, like refusing to invade Syria when he had the chance (because it wasn't in our best interests to do so) and making common cause with Putin to destroy ISIS in Syria. Now, Syria may never become a democratic paradise in our lifetimes, and it's all because of Trump refusing to invade and his willingness to make common cause with vicious dictators.
Hey Ken, how many cruise missiles did the OBAMA administration fire into Syria in response to “chemical warfare” attacks. Probably like a hundred hundred gagillion, right?
Jesus. That was a horrendous response.
I think there are more options for labels than pragmatists and neocons.
The only time Biden gets "Wilsonian" is when he talks about black on black crime. Then some scrawny looking shrew hurriedly ushers him away.
Joe Biden killed those arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Probably still the most absurd thing the regime has done. We had foreign countries begging us to take their money so they could buy our weapons to give to their own soldiers to fight our proxy wars for us, and the Biden regime put stop to it.
Hamas is doing this because they want to break up the alliance that was forming between Israel and Arab states around Israel--as Trump made clear, repeatedly, that he was not willing to involve the United States unless Iran targeted Americans.
We'll sell you all the weapons you need to defend yourselves against Iranian aggression, just so long as you make peace with Israel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Accords
Trump using that agreement to get around the Palestinian question, as an eternal thorn in America's defense policy's side, was a stroke of genius. And Joe Biden cancelling the promised arms sales that made those agreements possible also made Hamas' offensive against Israel practically inevitable.
In science, if you perform the same exact experiment under the same exact conditions, you should expect to see the same exact results, and that's what we're seeing here. Because Joe Biden recreated the same conditions that prevailed before the Trump administration brought our Arab allies together with Israel in an alliance against Iran, we are now seeing the same consequences.
Now Middle East policy is no longer about our allies coming together against Iran and all about solving the unsolvable Palestinian question again. The Biden administration is incredibly incompetent if they didn't see that this would be the result of their actions. And they're incredibly evil if they did this on purpose--so that the United States could reassume its role as the guarantor of peace in the Middle East we've had, since before Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.
Hamas is doing this because they want to break up the alliance that was forming between Israel and Arab states around Israel
It's simpler than that. Now that Trump is out and it's back to business as usual in Washington, Iran is emboldened to start cutting its proxies loose to achieve its ends with the knowledge that the US will run interference for them. Hence why Hamas couldn't find a single excuse to fire mass barrages of rockets while Trump was in office, but the Palestinian election fiasco seemed to them a fine reason just months after Trump was ousted.
The same dynamic Hamas used before the Trump administration is the same dynamic they're using now.
Saddam Hussein lobbed Scuds at Israel in '91 because he thought the resolve of the other Arab states for the alliance against him might fall apart if they felt like they were doing Israel's dirty work, and Hamas is gunning for the same kind of reaction today.
This wouldn't have been such a big opportunity for them if Hamas' problems weren't America's problem.
Thanks Biden!
Don't do us any more favors.
Hey everyone: Let’s all watch Ken justify U.S. military aid to Israel so it can murder Palestinians and—at the same time— say that Democrats are the real war party. You go, Ken. Continue.
Democrats ARE the war party. That you refuse to acknowledge that doesn't change the fact that they have been the ones clamoring for conflict for the last 10 years.
Why are Arab countries our "enemies"? Who cares.
Ask them. I think it has to do something with religion.
Oil is a religion now?
If only we actually took the oil...
You don't seem to understand that Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and The United Arab Emirates are our allies.
And that's important because Iran is our enemy, an enemy with a terrorist army in Hezbollah, a nuclear weapons program that violates the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and a space program that is already capable of launching multistage rockets and successfully launching satellites.
"Iran has apparently lofted its first military satellite into orbit, ending a series of setbacks for the nation's space program.
A two-stage Qassed rocket lifted off from the Markazi Desert in central Iran on Wednesday (April 22) and successfully delivered a military reconnaissance satellite called Nour to orbit, Al-Jazeera reported. The rocket could be seen successfully launching into soace in this video from Iran's Tasnim News Agency and PressTV.
The outlet cited an announcement on the official website of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an elite military outfit distinct from the nation's regular armed forces. The IRGC announcement also stated that Nour is currently circling Earth at an altitude of 264 miles (425 kilometers)."
https://www.space.com/iran-launches-first-military-satellite.html
The legitimate purpose of the military and defense policy is to protect our rights from foreign threats, and Iran is a foreign threat to our rights. The best way to meet that the threat is for the United States to withdraw its protection from the region and let our private defense contractors sell conventional weapons systems to our allies so that they can defend themselves from Iranian aggression without our assistance.
I hope that answers your question.
What you don't understand is that we suck Saudi dick because, without them, the Petrodollar goes to shit, and with it, the US economy. It's that simple. Plus we have corporate interests in the region because of oil.
These libtards can yammer on about "green energy", but obviously the people running this country in both parties aren't convinced (even the ones who give it lip service) because we clearly seek conflict anywhere in the world that has oil and where we think we can get away with it in an effort to control as much of it as we possibly can.
That is why we are Israel and S.A.'s bitch.
What you, as well as too many other people, don't understand is that the U.S. has it's own petroleum, shale, coal, and Uranium to last us for hundreds of years, if not indefinitely, and we have known it since the U.S. Geological Survey in the Eighties.
Also, Europe has struck oil in the North Sea and even little Israel has via horizontal drilling struck a pool of Black Gold bigger than Saudi Arabia's!
In short, the U.S. and the West does not need Middle Eastern oil anymore! In fact, all three sources could flood the world market and make every regime in the Middle East go broke! All without risking or sacrificing one innocent life and all we have to do is get out of our own way!
Iran is a "threat"? Gee I wonder why Iran doesn't like us... I'm sure that has nothing to do with the fact that we're shitting all over their backyard...
Besides, Iranian aggression isn't happening anywhere near our country. It's happening in the Middle East, over 10,000 miles away. The fact that any aggression is directed toward us is because we are in that region (which has been a violent hotspot since the dawn of civilization). If we left the region tomorrow, do you think Iran would all of a sudden have the resources to show up in Mexico and attack us? Is that really your position? Again, who cares.
I could see if we actually took their oil. We didn't even get that right lol.
"Iran is a “threat”? Gee I wonder why Iran doesn’t like us… I’m sure that has nothing to do with the fact that we’re shitting all over their backyard…"
1) Iran is a threat regardless of whether it's for good reasons. If you think we should only defend ourselves against threats to our rights with bad reasons, that's ridiculous.
2) Iran is openly using both its terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in various contrives all around them, at least one of which was an ally. I'm not convinced it's necessary to give Iran a good reason to user terrorism, aggression, and nuclear weapons. After all, they seem perfectly capable of acting aggressively towards people in other countries, despite those countries not lifting a finger against them.
The point was to illustrate that Iran would not be a significant threat to our country if we left the region. In which case, why not leave after securing whatever resources we need? If Iran chooses to come all the way over here to attack us, then we can deal with them.
Global trade routes effect the US.
"The point was to illustrate that Iran would not be a significant threat to our country if we left the region."
And that point has no basis in reality.
Iran has been more than happy to perpetrate aggression on its neighbors. The idea that bullies would leave us alone if only we didn't pick fights with them is wrong. Thing would be better if that were the case, but Iran is a state sponsor of terror with a nuclear program, a space program, and religious fanatical chip on it's shoulder--and they would represent a serious threat to our rights whether we were in the region or not.
P.S. The reason Imperial Japan invaded Manchuria and massacred its people is because they wanted to and because they could. Minding our own business minimizes the chances of creating problems unnecessarily. It does not protect our rights from foreign threats entirely. The only reason Iran hasn't utilized their terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, to target Americans specifically (since what coalesced into Hezbollah after the marine barracks bombing) is because Iran is afraid we'd let Israel off their leash if they did. If it weren't for the United States holding Israel back, Qom might already glow in the dark--and Iran knows it.
When has Iran ever attacked us outside the region?
Forgive me if I don't feel comfortable taking the massive logical leap required to adopt your position.
Why are you saying outside the region? They have attacked shipping lanes in the sea, attacked military gun boats, funded Hamasaki and hezbollah attacks, funded ied attacks in Afghanistan....
They don't own the entirety of the middle east. We have trade partners and allies there.
They violated the NPT with their nuclear weapons program, and their space agency is already capable of delivering nuclear payloads outside the region--and they'll be able to hit us soon enough.
They attacked our allies in the region.
They blew up our Marine barracks in Lebanon.
If you can't oppose war with Iran without becoming an Iranian apologist, please either stop or tell people you're a progressive.
The only reason they haven't attacked the US directly is because they've been having difficulty getting out of the region and building nuclear weapons.
But Bidiot and his butt-suckers are hell-bent on changing that by re-entering the Nuclear Deal.
Iran is working hard and steadily to increase the range and payload of it's missiles.
Now that fool Biden want's to allow them to nuclear-tip them.
How long do you think it'll be before the US mainland or Europe gets attacked by the turban-wearing nuts in Teheran?
You don't seem to get it.
They want the "Great Satan" dead - which includes you.
And if you think you can make peace or pacify that...
Then you're an absolute fool.
Your just giving them time and money to blast you out of existence.
You want to give them the rope to hang you with.
And if you think sitting far away from them between two oceans is going to protect you forever...
Well, think again.
“despite those countries not lifting a finger against them.”
Umm Israel has launched hundreds of attacks in the past few years alone.
I was talking about Syria!
Yes and you said direct quote “despite those countries not lifting a finger against them.”
I beg to differ. One of them has.
Much more than a finger. A fist.
The argument was being made that the reason we need to worry about Iranian aggression is because of our own behavior in the region against them. I countered that there are other countries around them, such as Syria, who never lifted a finger against Iran, and yet Iran let loose a terrorist army against the people of Syria anyway--and your response is that Israel is against them?!
That does not compute.
How does Israel's behavior towards Iran justify Iran's behavior towards the people of Syria?
Again, are you not aware of what both Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Army have done in Syria since the Arab Spring? Why are you defending Iran's motivations anyway? Have you lost your mind? Do you just argue the opposite of any argument you come across--no matter how absurd? The fact is that Iran requires no instigation by the United States or Israel to justify their aggression against their neighbors--and this has been demonstrated repeatedly since 1979.
The idea that bullies would leave us alone if only we ignored them was stupid when your Mom told you that as a kid, and it's stupid now. Iran is a terrorist state that murders its own people for stepping out of line, and that isn't justified because the Iranian people are responsible for initiating hostilities against Iran either. If all of Iran's neighbors capitulated to Iranian aggression tomorrow, Iran wouldn't become any less aggressive than they are now. They would become more aggressive, and anyone who believes otherwise is a Pollyanna idiot.
"and yet Iran let loose a terrorist army against the people of Syria anyway"
Really?
I'm no fan of the Iranian regime and IRGC, but this is an absurd take.
I don't see how you escape the implication that al Nusra and ISIS arose as resistance to Iran with the way you've framed it here, and that's ludicrous.
I guess you could escape that implication by claiming Iran created al Nusra and ISIS, but that would be a... bold... theory.
Were you not aware that Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were both neck deep in Syria?
What did the people of Syria ever do to Iran? Iran went in and crushed them anyway.
Now let's talk about Yemen and Lebanon. What did they do to Iran?
Iran and Hezbolla are in Syria. Nobody knew.
Assad is a client of Hezbolla. They are still there. Let us talk about Lebanon. It is collapsing in political and economic control.
Everything that Iran does outside Iran is about Shiites. If you don't understand that you're not paying attention.
Why is the ME Iran's backyard?
You forget the Ayatollahs sent assassin squads to target Iranian dissenters throughout Europe in the Eighties, as well as for the first time in history imposed global censorship by handing down a death fatwa and a bounty upon the head of Salman Rushdie for his book The Satanic Verses. Hardly a local affair.
Fortunately, we don't have to take their oil or send arms to the Saudis or declare war in retaliation. All we have to do is turn on our own oil spigot and the Iranians and the Saudis both go belly up!
And that’s important because Iran is our enemy
Cite needed, neocon.
I got news for you, Ken. As long as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates have Islam as their official religion--the very name means "Submission" in Arabic--with a "holy" text The Qu'ran that calls for killing or converting anyone who does not submit, none of these nations are friends of either the United States or Israel.
I seem to recall Saudi Arabians were 15 of the 19 hijackers who slammed planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and attempted to aim one at the Capitol and vaporized 2988 lives on September 11, 2001.
I seem to recall also the Saudi Arabian royals bankrolled the Al Qaeda gang who pulled off this act of both war and terroristic nihilism, a gang that later morphed into Al Shabob, Boko Haram, and ISIS . Also, not one member of the Saudi royal regime has been called to account for 9/11/2001.
The best thing both the United States and Israel can do is stand back, protect their own citizens, and let the Saudis, the Gulf States, and all the Al Qaeda mutations all go at it with Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas. (Really, Syria's Civil War is Islam's version of Vietnam where it was happening to a great degree.)
The more that the Sunni, Shia, and Wahabbi sects of Islam are going at each other, the less any of them are trying to destroy Israel or the United States.
Moreover, The U.S., Israel, and Europe all need to keep drilling and digging for their own petroleum, shale, coal, and Uranium until every one of these nations in the Islamic world go bankrupt from both their warfare and their petroleum becoming so cheapened.
The nations of Dar Al Islam will either have to diversify their economy and prosper with something besides petroleum, free up their economy from State and Religious control, give up their costly Jihad against the unbeliever, or simply die. Only then will there be peace in the Middle East.
best response yet
Thank you, Nancy, but I made a boo-boo with my clumsy fingers.
2977 died in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, not 2988.
However, over 1400 rescue workers in the days and months after 9/11/2001 also died and 1140 people have cancer from toxins released by the destruction of the attacks. And, of course, 7008 military deaths and 50,422 wounded are attributed to the War On Terror in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other operations.
Really, the aftermath has never ended.
The entire Middle East was an empty parking lot for camels that no one anywhere else in the world gave two shits about, until oil.
Encogitationer said it: "Moreover, The U.S., Israel, and Europe all need to keep drilling and digging for their own petroleum, shale, coal, and Uranium until every one of these nations in the Islamic world go bankrupt from both their warfare and their petroleum becoming so cheapened."
The faster the rest of the world can get their own oil, or substitute other resources for oil, the faster we can stop giving a shit about what those crazy religious fucks in the Middle East do to each other.
Of course you are pro arms sales to Arab states -- when Trump does it. I seem to recall a different tone around here when Obama sold arms to SA.
SA and UAE were using those weapons to kill and induce a famine affecting millions of Yemenis. 1/2 of Yemeni children are expected to suffer malnutrition because of this. Ever heard of "blowback"? Yes, then what protects us from a the next generation of Yemeni extremists who will have a legitimate grievance against the US for helping starve them or their kids?
We should not be funding the forced starvation of a country, especially when we have no direct interest.
Iran is a threat to the Sunni Arab states no matter our involvement. Arab states need no other incentive to counter Iran.
I'm sure you can cite it since you always ask for them in return.
Did Obama outright sell the arms, or did he just get out of the way of the private companies doing so?
This is fucking insane. There is no such thing as private arms traders just free trading their way to prosperity without consequences to others.
Trade arms to someone at war and you are not a bystander or a neutral. You are a belligerent and an accomplice. That means others will attack - and innocents will become the collateral damage. The Lusitania was loaded with ammunition (4 million rounds) and artillery shells (50+ tons) sold by Remington and Bethlehem Steel to the British. That is why it was targeted by the Germans. And it didn't matter one whit that they announced ahead of time (before the ship left port) that it could be targeted.
There is a real-world cluelessness re 'libertarians' and foreign policy. It is the reason ALL of their 'ideas' about foreign policy are ignored - and 'libertarians' are clueless about that too. It's like - you know - virtue signalling poseurs.
Does KMW deliberately choose neo-liberal hacks for almost every outside contributor. More brilliance from the Quincy Institute: "President Donald Trump escalated in Afghanistan before cutting a deal to put the United States’ war on a path to termination. But it is his successor Joe Biden, the creature of Washington, who has broken with the logic of endless war, at least in this one exemplary case. President Biden has not just decided to withdraw all U.S. troops, scrapping his campaign plan to leave residual forces behind. He has also delivered a methodical debunking of the forever-war mindset that has prevailed for decades."
Yes, they managed to frame delaying the Trump-negotiated withdrawal by 5 months as an "exemplary" anti-war decision.
That level of blatant doublethink is astonishing. Not even CCTV could pull that off.
Check Petti's twitter feed. Many statements supportive of Palis/PKK/Iran's Mullahs.
Oh, where's my shocked face? I know I left it around here somewhere...
Remember when Michael Young used to write for this rag? David Harsanyi, even?
It's no surprise that Reason is going along with the left in open hatred of jews
the problem with RTFA is I can't get the time back after.
>>Israel has claimed, without providing evidence
Israel carries cred.
"Israel carries cred."
Of course they do! They run the banks! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
/Mizek.
The bomb used to destroy the Associated Press bureau appeared to be an American-made Joint Direct Attack Munition, according to the Qatari news outlet Al Jazeera, whose office was also in the building.
Great. DoL will ignorantly blame Raytheon again.
But fairly cheap ammunition.
Should say ordnance....
At least you omitted the "I" from the word...
Weird, how this article, while it did mention the aid the United States gives to affiliates of the Palestinian Authority, it doesn't mention that the Biden Administration was the one that restarted such: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/us-resumes-funding-palestinians_n_606eac4fc5b68ddf94b96fc4
Go ahead, ban Israel from buying JDAM kits. Not like they can't use LGBs, or start buying from China.
Is it weird that I'm pleased the article isn't complete garbage?
You are assuming I am pro-hamas or "with Palestine". I am neither. But believe whatever you get the most enjoyment out of believing, as you always do.
You mean when I accurately described Raytheon as an ever present contractor in bloated military projects?
https://reason.com/2021/03/31/joe-bidens-2-trillion-infrastructure-plan-doubles-down-on-everything-that-makes-american-infrastructure-insanely-expensive/#comment-8834669
And my original comment, which Jesse used for months as an example of why I obviously was never in the military, and he, a lifelong civilian, was just so smart that he could tell:
"De Oppresso Liber
February.2.2021 at 5:48 pm
No one is interested in making those platforms last longer. The air force has been trying to kill the a10 for 20 years, despite the demonstrated effectiveness. Proposed replacing it with a fucking JSF.
It’s all about getting that sweet executive suite job after government service. If you aren’t getting stock options from raytheon after you retire, you fucked up."
(Raytheon does, in fact, have a JSF contract for radar and ECM, as they do for almost every military airframe.)
Lol. You are stilling about this. You said Raytheon created the JSF. When I called out your ignorance you claimed you always meant itt was a component maker for the JSF.
Why do you lie when caught?
You are still lying, Jesse?! I quoted it. You are beyond shameless.
Point to the spot in the comment where I claim Raytheon "builds" the JSF.
“De Oppresso Liber
February.2.2021 at 5:48 pm
No one is interested in making those platforms last longer. The air force has been trying to kill the a10 for 20 years, despite the demonstrated effectiveness. Proposed replacing it with a fucking JSF.
It’s all about getting that sweet executive suite job after government service. If you aren’t getting stock options from raytheon after you retire, you fucked up.”
Interesting how you kissed this buddy.
De Oppresso Liber
February.2.2021 at 5:48 pm
No one is interested in making those platforms last longer. The air force has been trying to kill the a10 for 20 years, despite the demonstrated effectiveness. Proposed replacing it with a fucking JSF.
It’s all about getting that sweet executive suite job after government service. If you aren’t getting stock options from raytheon after you retire, you fucked up.
You know... youre fucking original post.
Then you switched to and defended your post because Raytheon builds a component. Lol.
God damn man. It is in the thread you so helpfully linked.
I did not miss it. I quoted it so all could see.
Hello, earth to Jesse. Hello? That quote does not say what you claim it does. Simply not.
And furthermore, Raytheon does have a fat JSF contract. So, what exactly is your contention? Other than you make shit up?
Bill gates proposed replacing windows could with windows ME. But of youre getting stock options from Apple when you retire.....
Bud light replaced schnitzel as Americans preferred beer. But if you're not getting stock options from Samuel Adams....
You are quite simple.
Ford pinto was a travesty. But if you aren't getting stock options from tesla....
Except Raytheon got a $3 bil contract from JSF.
And I didn't even look that up before I made the original comment. I used Raytheon simply as the most common vendor on these projects. The fact that they actually do have a JSF contract ($3 BILLION), just further proves my point of existence of the military-industrial complex.
I'll explain it for you. Next time just tell us you have a severe disability.
More like Hewlett Packard guy replaced Intel with AMD for their laptops' CPU's. Thus, HP guy might get some favors from AMD when he goes a job hunting.
Lol. God damn man. Keep defending yourself on this. Fucking clown.
I wouldn't have to come here and prove you to be a charlatan if you would simply keep my name out of your mouth.
Nice attempt to lie through scare quotes.
$3 billion minimum contract for that "component", Jesse.
You think that wouldn't get the General who awarded it a few options with Raytheon after his military retirement?
Did you even notice you didn't post your original post you fucking retard? Something I've posted for you 3 times now.
Lol. Your original post is in even in your link.
God damn buddy.
You linked it, I linked to your link, and I quoted. And in all those different versions, you are lying, again.
Scroll up in the conversation I linked to watch Jesse really lose it in a tantrum. The dude cannot admit he's wrong, even when it beyond insane to keep arguing.
Like now, where he is still claiming I said that Raytheon builds the JSF, in a comment in which I clearly do not say that Raytheon builds the JSF.
Jesus Christian dumbass. Youiterally talk about aircraft and then talk about stock options from Raytheon who doesn't make manned aircraft.
How are you this dumb? Honest question. It is all in your link.
You even attempted to deflect your fuck up. Lol. And now you're changing what you meant even more.
This is hilarious.
Raytheon does build components of the JSF, as they do for almost every new airframe. I have explained this before. We can all read my quote, Jesse. I do not say that Raytheon builds the JSF. I say that Air Force Generals like having their post military career options lined up by securing defense companies contracts before they get out.
Which you would be able to parse on your own if you were not such a hopelessly biased, self-loving idiot.
Woops: https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/06/13/raytheon-beats-out-northrop-to-provide-key-f-35-system/
Headline: Raytheon snags F-35 system business previously held by Northrop
So what are you even saying, Jesse? Your interpretation of my comment, to put it charitably for you, requires all of the least charitable inferences possible
Nope, but we will while getting entangled in the affairs of every goddamn country on the planet. I say let 'em fight it out and sell tickets on pay-per-view.
the attempted removal of Palestinian families from their homes
For nonpayment of rent.
"Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D–Mass.) said in a floor speech last week supporting McCollum's bill, "The question at hand is: should our taxpayer dollars create conditions for justice, healing, and repair, or should those dollars create conditions for oppression and apartheid?"
But proponents of U.S. restraint face an uphill battle."
----Matthew Petti
This is propagandistic horseshit that should only be quoted for purposes of ridicule in a libertarian publication.
If government has any legitimate purpose at all, it is to protect our rights. The legitimate purpose of our military and defense policy is to protect our rights from foreign threats. It is not to solve the world's historical, economic, and social problems. Using the defense policy to solve these kinds of problems in the world is what being a necon is all about.
"Neoconservatism's Marxist Roots Are Showing"
----The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2010/06/neoconservatisms-marxist-roots-are-showing/185857/
"Israel has claimed, without providing evidence, that the Palestinian militant group
Hamas was operating out of the building."
The Israelis provided evidence to the Biden Administration prior to the attack. They don't need to provide evidence to anti-Semitic writers that don't read news stories that debunked their story and will ignore the truth anyway.
You can throw insults around all you want, in the end you're making excuses for the deliberate murder of children.
And how easy it is. Palestinians could send a single actual firework into Israel, and that's all the excuse you'd need to support murdering more children. As long as they're on the wrong side of an imaginary line.
Without a doubt this area of the world is a mess and there is little we can do either way to help. Both the Palestinian's and the Israel's government are failing. The Palestinian government's problem is obvious, but the Israelis can not form a government. Netanyahu has worn out his welcome but refuses to leave (sound familiar).
And while it time for some tough love for both sides, I suspect it will be difficult. One thing I suggest is that our government back off groups, institutions, and companies that want to boycott Israel. Let the boycotts happen and see it it produces and change. It may not help but it will also not hurt.
The problem is the Hamas/Hezbollah/Iran directive for the genocide of all Jews. It is hard to have a negotiation when death of a civilization will not be negotiated by the other side.
Not even Egypt or Jordan wanted the Palestinians back after the 1967 war.
Especially not after 1970.
Failed assassination attempts do tend to have that effect.
There is no moral equivalence between Hamass and the Israeli government.
Netanyahu has worn out his welcome but refuses to leave (sound familiar).
This is false, but about what one should expect from leftists. Netanyahu's party got the greatest share of votes and the right as a block got far more than needed to form a government for the last several elections. What's blocking a new government has been posturing among the right wing parties.
The biggest impediment to forming a government is Netanyahu. He needs to step aside and allow another individual to try. As you know he is in legal jeopardy and so attempting to hang on to power. The best thing for Israel at this time would be to have him move aside.
"Netanyahu has worn out his welcome but refuses to leave (sound familiar)."
What the fuck are you trying to say here? Wore out his welcome with whom? What the fuck does that even mean? He was elected.
Yes he was elected but in a Parliamentary government he needs to form a government and he is unable to do that. He needs to step aside and allow another individual the opportunity to form a government.
You aren't very bright, are you?
If you don't support murdering children as a PR stunt for a wannabe strongman, you basically are Hitler.
Support the wanton murder of innocents for no reason whatsoever. You wouldn't want to be Hitler, would you?
Do we really want to bring Hitler into this? We got rid of him in 1945 and lets leave him out of it. Let's address the problem we face today.
The problem we face today is Hitler-shaped.
How do you think the Nazis came to power?
All war is culture war.
You and Hamas have something in common. You're both happy to see the lives of innocent children sacrificed to meet your own selfish desires.
"Rep. Betty McCollum (D–Minn.) is now sponsoring a bill to ban Israel from using U.S. taxpayer money to detain Palestinian children, demolish Palestinian homes, or annex Palestinian land."
I mean, I don't like taxpayer money going to foreign aid (any foreign aid), but how would this do anything? Money is fungible.
An aside, how do you get the italics for quoting others?
how do you get the italics for quoting others?
Look up HTML tags. the '' tag does italics.
I should say the <i> tag.
Thanks!
America has to be involved in this conflict because the US admitted millions of people from both sides of the conflict and promoted the idea that they don't have to assimilate but should keep their original cultures.
That's the problem with open borders and multiculturalism.
And the article "I'll fated attempt to start a civil war in Gaza" links to a vanity fair screed that makes miesk look reasonable. This author is a retard.
What would you know about reason, denying but never refuting my statements?
The same goes for the rest of you.
Too cowardly to have your asses handed to you by me the way sevo the retarded always does.
^claims lying isn’t covered by the 1A, Paul McCartney was murdered and replaced with a double, wants compelled call and response interactions with police, and if you don't let him spout stormfag propaganda in your home at 2 AM, you're violating his inalienable rights.^
What would you know about reason, denying but never refuting my statements?
Your statements about the Holocaust have been refuted again and again, and are self-contradictory and/or nonsensical on the face of them. You just refuse to accept this, because you're kind of a moron who wholeheartedly believes a book written by a guy who thinks Paul McCartney was replaced by a body double.
Stop hoping to be taken seriously, 'cos it just ain't gonna happen.
I’m calling you a bald faced liar.
If you don’t link to the article and describe how and when my statements were “refuted”, you will demonstrate to all that you are.
You want it to be simultaneously true that Hitler was trying to protect the Jews and that he was right to slaughter them.
Your one and only source is a book written by a guy who also seriously advances the argument that Paul McCartney was replaced by a body double. Please post another link to it so we can all point and laugh.
And then read the last sentence of my post again.
No link, no surprise.
Thanks for demonstrating that you are a bald faced liar.
Fuck off.
^Thinks he sets the standard of evidence^
Hey, he cites a Brit WWII intel page where the Nazis didn't brag about killing the Jews as *PROOF!!!!* there was no Holocaust!
Guy's a regular, uh, pile of stoooopid.
Sevo the retarded entertains us with his display of feeble mental gymnastics.
Apparently the Germans lied to themselves about prison camp death numbers using their enigma code machines while communicating plainly about their military plans.
Are you convinced? Hahaha what a fucking retard.
Confession: I was once a critic of Israel. It was back in my college days when many of my friends attended anti-Israel demonstrations, and I tended to agree with whatever I heard them say.
Eventually, though, I realized Israel must be good. Because I learned alt-right white nationalists mock the Jewish state with their silly "Open borders for Israel" slogan. And since the alt-right is pure evil, anything they're against, I'm automatically for.
#LibertariansForTheJewishState
This writeup is missing quite a few facts. In any case not that I expected much from a group that ignored the peaceful protests, last year, so I assume you'll say that launching rockets is basically Hamas protesting.
The fact is the PLO/Hamas got 98% of what they asked for, at least in negotiations with the US and others. What they neglected to tell you is that they want the whole enchilada. As long as you keep ignoring the obvious, it keeps smacking you in the face.
I expected much from a group that ignored the peaceful protests, last year
I suppose you could say that Israel is peacefully protesting the systemic antisemitism in Palestinian society...
"Neither side needs military aid funded by U.S. taxpayers"
True, but Reason's thinking is all wrong again.They need to think like a politician.
You see if we sell both sides military arms the billionaires in the Military/Industrial complex get even richer. And richer billionaire from military contracts donate more money to incumbent politicians. See everyone comes out ahead, except US taxpayers, dead Israeli's and dead Palestinians.
"Neither side needs military aid funded by U.S. taxpayers"
True, but Reason's thinking is all wrong again.They need to think like a politician.
You see if we sell both sides military arms the billionaires in the Military/Industrial complex get even richer. And richer billionaires from military contracts donate more money to incumbent politicians. See everyone comes out ahead, except US taxpayers, dead Israeli's and dead Palestinians.
Israel military technology is shared with the US. So is intel.
There is one ally in ME NA. Hint, it is not Turkey.
This is a long planned operation by Hamas and a long planned response by IDF.
Long term political goals are not on the table. They are further away.
The goals are military. These are to degrade the military ability of Hamas for a long time to come. Hamas has no interest in peaceful relations with Israel. Never will. Israel does not occupy Gaza. It does not interfere when attacks do not occur.
So who cares what Joe Biden says. This is a war and if it were happening on our turf he would destroy the enemy.
“We will have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate the Jews”
Golda Meir
^^ Hamas gave Israel the excuse to bomb it's resources until Israel's goals of crippling Hamas in Gaza militarily are met. Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza are collateral damage accepted by Israel and expected by Hamas. Hamas was hoping to kill as many Israelis as possible while gaining sympathy. They don't care about casualties among their own people or they wouldn't have started their hopeless, ineffective, doomed bombing campaign.
Israel could stop bombing sooner, and kill fewer civilians, but then they wouldn't have as long a respite until next time.
Civilian casualties aren't just expected by Hamas, but are the basis of their strategy.
I think you're saying the same thing, just wanted to reiterate it.
"Civilian casualties aren’t just expected by Hamas"
I think all Palestinians expect civilian casualties. Israel has been killing civilians since long before Hamas came into existence. Also, I can't see how Israel can launch the attacks they do without expecting civilian casualties. After all what is the alternative? Going toe to toe with armed Palestinian militants? A great way to lose seats in the Knesset (Israeli parliament).
"Israel does not occupy Gaza."
Nonsense. Israel controls Gaza airspace, the entire enclave is fenced off and manned with Israeli military. Approach by sea is controlled by Israel. Access to merchandise, the Internet and electricity? You guessed it. Controlled by Israel.
Not so ironic that Biden sends $200M to the Palestinians and Hamas sends $200M worth of rockets at Israel. Where there was relative peace (no people dying from US weapons) prior.
Multiply that by 20 and send it every year, then it'll be a fair fight.
On Friday, Israeli forces blew up a building in Gaza which housed several foreign news bureaus, after warning the journalists inside to evacuate.
Israel has claimed, without providing evidence, that the Palestinian militant group Hamas was operating out of the building. The Associated Press, the American news agency whose office was destroyed in the attack, denies the claim and has demanded an independent investigation.
I don't know which is worse, if someone believes Hamas, or is someone believes the media. In any case, the worst part of this picture is that the Israelis warned those propagandists beforehand.
In fact, U.S. military aid pays for about one-fifth of Israel's military budget
One-sixth.
U.S. diplomatic involvement, which has largely favored Israel.
That's no longer the case, since the democrats took power.
American critics on the right also criticize the Palestinian Authority for its payments to the families of Palestinian prisoners, which critics say incentivize terrorism. (Congress has cut aid to the Palestinians over this issue.) Critics on the left, meanwhile, note that U.S. aid to the Palestinians subsidizes Israel's occupation by paying for services the Israeli authorities should be providing themselves.
And the left is the wrong, as always. Paying terrorists, not just simple prisoners, is indeed immoral and vile. Meanwhile, there's no occupation per se, and there's nothing wrong with Jews living in their ancestral homeland i.e. Judea, and this is even encouraged by international law (see: League of Nations decision on the matter),
The Biden administration is requesting $3.8 billion in aid to Israel this fiscal year, making up about 59 percent of all U.S. foreign military aid.
Which is an indirect subsidy to the US military industrial complex, therefore, this is the only part of the picture that can possibly bother a real libertarian. Although it can be argued, that national defense and related matters are the exception that strengthens the rule.
All of this largess dates back to a time when Israel was a small, weak state surrounded by hostile neighbors.
This is a bit obscure. Most simpletons believe that Israel and the US had always been Greatest Allies. This isn't the truth, especially not for the technological/military part. The US solidified its stance on Israel only after the Yom Kippur War after 73'. And yes, Israel was weaker and poorer back then, and guess what... this only started to change for the better after the right took power. If Jews can't make leftism work, no one can.
The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians continues despite, or perhaps partially because of, heavy U.S. involvement.
Partially, yes. Just like the rest of those interlopers. If people stopped caring about the conflict, it would solve itself within a decade. If Israel was allowed to conclude the war launched against her, there would be peace. But Israel is the only country in history, who's not allowed to win. And the so called 'Palestinians' are the only group in history, who are constantly saved from losing. No wonder they can't accept loss, if the whole world is feeding, encouraging and defending them from the consequences of their actions.
U.S. diplomatic involvement, which has largely favored Israel.
That’s no longer the case, since the democrats took power.
We don't currently have an ambassador to Israel, only a charge d'affaires. Biden hasn't appointed one yet.
"But Israel is the only country in history, who’s not allowed to win"
Nah man, this has been the standard for a long time now. It certainly applies to the US. Russia in Afghanistan. UK in india.
Nobody has been able to stomach what it means to achieve victory in war for a very long time. We're probably better off for it, but who really knows?
"But Israel is the only country in history, who’s not allowed to win."
Nonsense. They won handily. What follows is occupation and resistance. Just like the US in Afghanistan or the Nazis in France.
I look forward to observing how Israel operates without America's economic, military, and political skirts to hide behind. I expect this to resemble what occurs when a big-mouthed brat's big brother leaves for college.
Most Americans do not support superstition-laced right-wing belligerence at home. Why would anyone expect them to wish to subsidize it, at great and varied cost, anywhere else?
Netanyahu and the Israeli's chose to align with the losing side of America's cultural wars and political tide. That should and will have consequences.
I don't understand why anyone who cares about Israel would push support for right-wing belligerence in Israel as a right-left divider in American politics -- and then choose the losing side along that divide -- but . . . it's their funeral.
I dunno. The only thing more nauseating than the Israel-Evangelical 69 is the Left-Hamas love fest. Even less to gain there, but as you said, it's their funeral.
Artie's predictions as usual never come true, so the safe money is on Israel to decimate Hamas.
And yes the far left dick sucking towards violent jihadists is sickening, but perfectly in line with their fascist authoritarian ways.
Every person ever born has been one thing, and one thing only: homo sapiens.
Your god is not better than the Muslim god. There are no gods.
You want to kill people deemed "other" because your brain functions thusly:
The amygdala is an ancient part of the brain and the seat of fear. It's supposed to activate when there's a snake nearby or something. It induces fight-or-flight, and turns off the cerebral cortex, where the advanced human gray-area stuff thinking and analyzing lives. This fear reaction turns you into a black-and-white thinker. Us vs. them. It's a powerful thing that undoubtedly served us well in our evolutionary tribal environment.
But tribes are just stories we tell ourselves. They're just people. They may be stupid and vile, but they weren't born that way. Even you wouldn't murder one of their infants, would you?
No, you send people to do that for you.
Obviously the Jewish lobby in the US is a major driver in this (both Carter and Reagan's first question to Tip O'Neil was how powerful is the jewish lobby). Obviously very very powerful. The last President who was sane with dealing with Israel was Ike. And how ironic was that..the General to helped to defeat Hitler and save the remaining Jews in Europe was lost the American Jewish Vote twice. But perhaps things are changing. Zionism in the end has failed. Jews are more safe today in the US or yes even Germany than Israel. There will not be a two party solution but a one party solution and that will mean equal representation of non Jews in Israel..and that pretty much ends this idea of an ethnic Jewish State. We welcome multiculturalism in the US..and so will Israel in the next 50 years...there simply isn't another solution..the Palistianians are not going anywhere and their birth rate is much higher than secular Jews..accept it and move on...
People under 40 are looking at this bizarre performative ritual we go through in support of the obvious aggressor and wondering what the fuck happened to everyone's brains.
It will go away. And there will be a huge mess to clean up.
The birth rate overall in Israel is among the highest in developed nations. It is not just religious Jews but also among secular Jews. It is near the same among Jewish and Muslim Israelis, around 3/female.
Secular American Jews have a lower birth rate although the percent of Americans identifying as Jewish is increasing after some years of decline. The “powerful” Jews are around 3% of the population.
It is actually safer to live in Israel which has a far lower violent crime rate compared to the US. 1.49/100,000 in Israel compared to 5.35 in the US.
The idea of a one state solution has been floated around. It is not accepted by the people shooting thousands of rockets at Tel Aviv so there is little point in discussing it.
American Jews tend to vote in line with their demographics along with other Americans. The level of education, income, urban vs rural and so on. Israel does not tend to be highest on the list of priorities.
There is a story, probably apocryphal, that after the election Obama invited a group of American Jewish leaders to the White House and boasted that the White House would have a place for a kosher kitchen. The rabbi said “that is very nice Mr. President. Now talk with me about the economy”.
Now we are discussing multicultural? Go spend some time in Jerusalem. It is the most multicultural place I have ever been. Go to Tel Aviv tonight. It is the most tolerant and open of cities I have ever been to. Try holding hands as a gay couple in the Palestinian Territories.
Zionism has failed? The Jews are not going anywhere either. Far from it. They are thriving. For its size Israel outperforms on every marker.
"The birth rate overall in Israel is among the highest in developed nations."
According to my sources, Gaza has a population of some 2.1 million souls. Slightly more than half of them are children under 18 years old.
"It is actually safer to live in Israel which has a far lower violent crime rate compared to the US. "
According to my sources, Merida, capital of the state of Yucatán, is safer than any city in the US. Second safest in North America after Quebec City, Quebec. The safest city in the world is Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, a city with so many Arab Muslims, it isn't even funny.
" It is not accepted by the people shooting thousands of rockets at Tel Aviv so there is little point in discussing it. "
A few thousand more rockets and they just might change their minds. Crazier things have happened.
Hamas can keep shooting rockets and keep losing tactical position. There is nothing more for them to gain.
" There is nothing more for them to gain."
Maybe so, But Palestinians have much to gain. That's why the struggle continues.
Aha was replying to your contention that “ Jews are more safe today in the US or yes even Germany than Israel.”
Not true. The Jewish population of Yucatán, Quebec, and Abu Dhabi not withstanding.
Gaza has a population many of them young. The list according to what I considered in human development compiled by a Pakistani economist based on UN data includes factors for life expectancy, education, and income.
Israel ranks at 19, next to Japan. The US at 17. Gaza is right up there with El Salvador.
So should have been more clear. I wish no ill upon the people of Gaza. They were a part of Egypt and should be or whatever they wish. Egypt seems not interested. Surely being a part of Israel is not on the list. Israel does not govern nor occupy Gaza.
Crazier things have not happened. Shooting a few thousand more unguided rockets at your far more capable enemy. Iron dome even with the mass barrages fired is amazing effective. We saw the photos and videos. It is not going to help you. Explain the strategy and tactics involved.
Ever see a photo or press release of the number of Hamas fighters killed or wounded? Damage to military installations and arms manufacturing? No and you will not.
Looks like a cease fire is in the making. Good.
"Gaza is right up there with El Salvador."
That is surprisingly high considering it's little more than an open air prison camp, One has to admire the Palestinians for keeping things together on such a level as to rival nation states that are vastly larger and aren't subject to occupation.
"Surely being a part of Israel is not on the list."
They may insist on a name change, as Israel might sound a little too Jewish to their taste. But they want the land we call Israel. They call it Palestine, by the way.
"Explain the strategy and tactics involved. "
I'm sure you can find others more qualified to explain Palestinian strategy and tactics. I figure they want to keep the pressure on Israel. Even one home made rocket launched from Gaza could set off air raid sirens that 10s of 1000s of Israelis will hear, or have 100s putting down whatever they are doing and send them scurrying off to air raid shelters. The strategy seems to work every time as Israel invariably comes to a point where they agree to a ceasefire.
Israel has agreed to a cease fire at the time and place of its choosing. The first tier targets are now hit.
Hamas made a tactical error. They thought the IDF would respond with a ground invasion. They prepared extensive bunkers and tunnels to respond. At the infantry level they could even it up. It was to be an ambush. They did not know that IDF knew every meter of those tunnels and in one stroke, with a ruse, launched 160 aircraft at once to destroy them.
They made a strategic error. The launching of salvos of unguided missiles against population centers gained little. Israelis are back out on the streets and working. They put resources into defenses. Every new building and residence has bomb shelters. Every emergency department has underground safe place to work. They built the best short range missile defense in the world. They have the most protected population against the Covid virus on the planet.
Hamas has failed its population on every front.
There's a famous book by an ancient Chinese scholar and state functionary, Sun Tsu. It's called the Art of War. You've probably heard of it but evidently never read it, or don't remember it if you did. It's short and an easy read. Sun Tzu identifies various forms of warfare and ranks them according to their effectiveness and desirability. One of the highest forms of warfare is to attack or disrupt enemy's alliances. This is what Palestine's up to. Even Fox news and the US Senate has voiced unprecedented criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza and the west bank, including East Jerusalem. This will only increase as America's gerontocracy dies off or is replaced. One of Israel's critics is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, born 1989, she replaced Joseph Crowley, a much older and more typically slavish supporter of Israel.
By the way, what about Sun Tzu's ideas of the worst, least desirable forms of warfare, you may be asking yourself. Besieging a walled city. Almost exactly what Israeli strategists have been doing for at least a couple of decades without making any progress. (Walled city in question being Gaza.)
"They made a strategic error. The launching of salvos of unguided missiles against population centers gained little. Israelis are back out on the streets and working. They put resources into defenses. Every new building and residence has bomb shelters. Every emergency department has underground safe place to work. They built the best short range missile defense in the world. They have the most protected population against the Covid virus on the planet. "
None of that prevents Palestinians from attacking Israel seemingly at will, causing internal disruption and fomenting international condemnation.
Sun Tzu mostly says not to attack an enemy where he is strong. You know, like in his walled cities with an iron dome and an air force. Maybe the gazans are just dumb.
http://library.lol/main/BC9DBE6AAE559D984120A65120CF00A1
A “name change”. Is that what you believe this is about?
"Is that what you believe this is about?"
It's essentially a squabble over real estate. The choice is between living together and dying together.
Ok Mr. True Pseudonym Asshole.
In answer to a few of your dumb points:
Here goes.
"By the way, what about Sun Tzu’s ideas of the worst, least desirable forms of warfare, you may be asking yourself. Besieging a walled city..."
The IDF (Israel Defense Force) doesn't seem to have a problem with that and taking no casualties at all.
By the way:
The only "walls" around Gaza are IDF forces surrounding it and pointing their guns, cannon and missiles at it - oh and also the IAF (Israel's air force) flying over it and a few of Israel's navy warships watching its coast by radar and sending out a patrol every now and then.
You ignore the fact that Gaza is tiny and IDF weaponry can reach every part of it, even underground, without ever setting foot in it.
Sun Tzu lived about 544BC to 496BC - that's a few thousand years ago. A few of his ideas that were directly applicable at that time aren't really applicable anymore.
Things do change you know.
"I’m sure you can find others more qualified to explain Palestinian strategy and tactics."
Yes, definitely not you.
"...prevents Palestinians from attacking Israel seemingly at will..."
That's a bit misleading, don't you think?
Is that every Palestinian or just a tiny, cowardly, faction only in Gaza that lies to the unarmed rest and holds them, by threats and force of arms, in virtual slavery and is the cause of them living in abject squalor?
Doesn't that vile faction knowingly fire and store their rockets from and in mosques, schools and hospitals to protect their own stinking asses from the consequences of their asshole-actions?
Don't they hide behind the civilian population of Gaza and use them as human shields when Israel inevitably retaliates and then hypocritically accuses Israel of committing war-crimes?
Who're the real murderers and destroyers of property here?
The consequences of those attacks are dire in the extreme for the population of Gaza and nobody except the callous balaclava-wearing cowards in Hamas would even think of doing something like that.
You also seem to be implying that a whole country stops operating and can be held to ransom with a few unguided home-made rockets that can't even reach beyond the middle of a country the size of New Jersey, are so unreliable that about 16% never make it out of Gaza but fall on their own people - a few fell on Gaza electricity infrastructure (that Israel built, maintains and supplies power through) depriving almost 200 000 people in Gaza of electricity - and about 90% of the rest gets shot down before they even reach populated areas.
There're some statistics being released giving a pretty clear picture of the latest conflict between Ham-Ass and the IDF.
Here's a hint:
Things didn't go too well for Ham-Ass.
"It’s essentially a squabble over real estate."
Really?
A squabble over real estate huh?
That simple huh?
Well, then the guys doing the squabbling for the Palestinians aren't doing too well at all.
They keep on losing wars, losing ground and getting squashed into smaller and smaller areas.
"The choice is between living together and dying together."
Really?
You seem to think this is a contest of equals.
It is not.
It's more akin to an argument between a cockroach (Hamas) and an elephant (Israel's IDF).
The roach keeps on getting stomped flat.
But, being a roach, it is utterly stupid, tries again and doesn't realize the elephant can obliterate it at will but doesn't for reasons totally obscure to the roach.
Finally:
So, tell me, Clever One:
How many people did Israel lose in the latest conflict - Israel's population is about 9 200 000 in 2021?
The people of Gaza - Gaza's population is about 734000?
How many soldiers did the IDF lose?
Hamas?
Who's been affected the worst here?
You don't think the people lost by Gaza and the massive damage and costs it suffers every time Hamas tries this stupid stunt is disproportionate to any, very short-term, gains, if there are any, that might be had?
But Hamas don't carry much of the consequences.
The civilians in Gaza do.
So the in Ham-Ass keeps on attacking Israel and the civilians in Gaza keep on getting killed.
You don't think it is long past time that the people of Gaza got rid of the disgusting creatures that make up Hamas so there's no more security threat from these butt-wipes?
Israel and Egypt can then lift their blockades and the Gazans can start rebuilding, without fear of their work and materials being confiscated by Hamas to build tunnels and fire rockets or destroyed by Israel?
You don't think Hamas is trying to do to the people of Gaza what Hezbollah has done to the people of Lebanon - rob them blind, wreck their country, and endanger their lives?
You don't think it's time Gazans start making decent lives for themselves and their families or you just want to keep on yapping crap about something you know virtually nothing about?
"Things do change you know."
The situation in Gaza has not changed to Israel's advantage. Their weaponry continues to improve, forcing Israel to spend vast amounts of money on defensive systems, and still have to shut down airports when under attack. With every attack on Gaza, support in America continues to erode. These are not good changes.
"You don’t think it’s time Gazans start making decent lives for themselves "
I don't see any indication the Palestinians are about to capitulate. They have time on their side and the Israelis seem to be suffering from intellectual and moral bankruptcy.
I'm more than surprised that Reason didn't commission Shecky Dullmia to write this drivel.
Is there a clause somewhere in the constitution that says one can back out of paying taxes so that U.S. military aid can be used by Israel to go murder Palestinians. If so, I’d like help in invoking that one. Thanks,
Sovereign Citizen.
Israel set up an abortion clinic for the Palestinians?
Sure, it's somewhere inside your local prison.
You'd better lubricate yourself before going there though.
You might get ass-raped before getting to it.
Does America Need To Be Involved in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?
No. Next question.
Of course we need to be involved. It's imperative.
Sure, we're all going to go extinct because of our addiction to burning fossil fuels, but what's really important is that we make it clear to anyone who's watching that our magical sky fairy has a bigger dick than those other people's magical sky fairy.
Looks like the staff of the New Yorker has called for ethnic cleansing, then retracted it
https://twitter.com/davidharsanyi/status/1395164072849575938?s=19
Oh, the slogan about pushing the Jews into the sea distracted from your solidarity message?
"@newyorkerunion
We stand in solidarity with the Palestinians who went on strike for dignity and rights. We’ve removed our original post, which used a phrase with connotations that distracted from our intended message of solidarity."
So what you're saying is you're a petty cancel culture SJW.
"An American bomb was used to destroy an American news bureau in the Middle East last week."
No, a bomb was used to destroy a HAMAS command post that was using a news bureau as a shield. Its an old and common tactic that HAMAS and other terrorist organizations use to generate propaganda and garner public sympathy.
Reason 10 years ago would have seen right through this tactic and called a spade a spade, but today's Reason is leaning so far left they're on the verge of falling down.
Correct. It was an Israeli bomb with US made components. It, I think there were more than one, was launched in an Israeli operation by Israeli pilots in their own planes.
IDF does not need permission from anyone to defend itself against Hamas aggression.
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In general the United States should not fund any offensive weapons for any state. Untangling the mess of the military iIndustrial machine will take time and it is probably not wise to simply flipping the switch off. Rather we should phase out of our military funding for offensive weapons over the next decade.
The argument for purely defensive weapons is different. We should only fund any weapon for states that face eminent danger. Selling purely defensive weapons should be the option used instead. We should not obligated to fund the protection of any state other than our own.
We should follow a simple rule of minding our own business. If a state attacks us then I'm all for pounding that state into the dirt, then leaving and returning to a non-war footing. If the state rises and attacks us again then we would pound them into the dirt again.
I am totally against our attempts to meddle in the affairs of foreign states. We are in a constant state of war all around the globe. We cause many of the issues we face due to the unsavory allies we support in these wars.
There are three options to any conflict, dialogue, segregation and violence. We need more dialogue and less violence. With the Israeli - Palestinian issue, there has been little dialogue.
Hamas shoots rockets into Israel and the media expects that Israeli to not respond. Hamas refuses to talk and openly holds a position that the only solution is the extermination or elimination of Israel as a state and the expulsion of the Jewish residents.
Israel is not without blame, however approximately 20% of Israelis who are arabs and live a relatively peaceful life, enjoying freedoms relatively equating the Jewish citizenry. They hold position in the government and other positions of power.
Countries have the obligation to protect its citizens. Countries should not attack other states unless attacked. Countries should not plot and meddle in the affairs of other states.
"They hold position in the government and other positions of power."
As long as Israel is a "Jewish State," any Arabs there are going to be second class citizens. After some 70 years it is clear by now the Palestinians are not going to accepting it. A one state solution seems the best hope, even though (or maybe because) nobody wants it.
2nd class citizens huh?
Interesting.
You should tell about 50% of the pharmacists in Israel they're 2nd class citizens.
They are Arabs after all.
If they are Arabs, they are not Jews. You can be an Arab Christian, or an Arab Muslim. but you can't be an Arab Jew.
Yes, most Arabs are Muslims (about 83% in Israel)
Most of the rest are Christians.
With a sprinkling of Druzes, Circassians etc.
You are wrong about an Arab not being able to adopt Judaism.
Many Jews that got expelled from or murdered in Arab countries where born in those countries and had a long lineage in those countries.
A case in point are the Farhud of Baghdad in Iraq and the pogroms launched against them by the Muslims of that city because they were Jewish.
You're telling me those people weren't Iraqis?
And Iraqis aren't Arabs?
Why can't an Arab adopt Judaism as a religion?
A few have.
Anyway, be that as it may.
So, are these Arab pharmacists in Israel 2nd class citizens or not?
Oh, by the way here's something you might find interesting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Jews
"Why can’t an Arab adopt Judaism as a religion?"
Why should they? What if they are happy being Muslims, Christians, or even atheists? I don't see any indication that Arabs are adopting Judaism in any number, even though it means a promotion to first class citizenship.
Is it really the new mainstream opinion that the US was wrong to enter WW2 in europe?
I know the public hates war, but they hate attempts to exterminate whole ethnic populations even more. Since politicians have no principals outside of getting elected, they have to balance both of these facts in making military decisions.
Being from the ghetto and decidedly non-NAP, I feel the best way to deal with potential headaches is to punch them in the mouth and see if they have the balls to stick to their convictions.
Once the arabs start slaughtering jews/yazidis/kurds/copts, or the chinese start slaughtering everything that isnt han, public support for a military intervention will go through the roof. Better to nip that shit in the bud.
https://babylonbee.com/news/blm-deploys-rioters-to-gaza-to-protest-israel-by-burning-down-palestinian-businesses
"As America's closest Mideast ally, Israel regularly provides the United States with unique intelligence information and advanced defensive weapons systems,"
America's only ally in the Mideast is Turkey, a member of NATO. It's an organization which obliges members to come to each other's aid in case one is attacked. Israel is actually a 'strategic partner' as is Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and others. These countries are not obliged to help the US in case of attack.
Turkey.
With friends like that who needs enemies?
We should have taken the hint when they refused to go along with our Iraqi adventure in 2003.
You think Turkey is a US ally?
You really are a fool.
Turkey is a member of the NATO alliance. So is the USA. That makes the countries allies. Israel is not a member of NATO, SEATO, or any other TO.
No, sorry idiot, just being in any organization does not make you an ally.
Need an example?
Here's one:
Nobody came to Turkey's aid when it invaded Syria and nobody helped it while fighting there.
So where were its other "allies" then?
Being an ally means actually coming to someone's aid - whether they're in the same organization you are or not.
I'm in the "let's bring the troops home and let all these countries work out their own problems" camp. But that's across the board. No special circumstances for your pet project. That means the squad as well as the industrial military complex need to be reigned in. And everything in between. Good luck with that
Maybe it’s time for libertarians who support free countries and Israel to realize that a violent world of approx eight billion people needs border security in free countries. The Democrats with the help of open borders libertarians are going to destroy any freedom remaining in the world. Just like that, it took centuries to build the best society the world has ever know, lost to philosophical super glue.
known
"Does America Need To Be Involved in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?"
We had a POTUS recently who had an idea of exactly how much we should "be involved".
Unfortunately, he was replaced by a drooling incompetent as a result of TDS-addled shits focusing on his personality rather than his actions.
I know. I read that 85 percent of US Jews are Democrats, 85 percent! This white supremacy, systemic racism and critical race theory will destroy the free world, including Israel at some point.
It’s always a great political policy to use arbitrary melanin levels to judge an individuals character.
Id guess 90% of the 85% are jew by ethnicity (european variety, like marx) and not religion.
You would be guessing incorrectly.
In a very real sense, we need to be involved because we involved ourselves continuously for the last 60 years. Both for and against Israel. To wash our hands of it at this stage, when we helped created the mess, would be the worst sort of hypocrisy. Frankly, we should have helped Israel drive the Palestinian ‘refugees’ (Palestinian red herrings would be more like it) into the sea sometime before 1980. If your neighbors are being attacked by racist swine, and you side with the swine AND LOSE, I have zero sympathy for you, and your heirs and assigns.
"Frankly, we should have helped Israel drive the Palestinian ‘refugees’ (Palestinian red herrings would be more like it) into the sea sometime before 1980."
The problem with that solution is that Palestinians are unlikely to agree with it and will risk everything in resisting it.
https://twitter.com/michaldivon/status/1395145296741650437?s=19
Jews being attacked on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Can’t say I didn’t see this coming @jews_of_ny [video]
Unintended consequences. Who would have dreamed that Jews would be held accountable for the actions of a 'Jewish state?'
Peled is a shallow and repulsive anti-semite with utterly stupid and impractical ideas that represents a pathetically small fringe - not mainstream though at all.
Anything better?
By the way:
You still haven't defined Apartheid - probably because you haven't the faintest clue what it is.
Your complete ignorance of it is obvious from your dumb comments.
You don't know what you're yapping about.
You're wasting my time.
The people here are correct.
You're an idiot and not worth taking to.
Peeled is an accomplished author and speaker, the son of one of the original Israeli invading generals.
He knows the history and situation in Israel and speaks about it. He has credibility.
Who the fuck do you, anonymous coward, think you are? You’re nobody. You can’t even refute what you deny. Who the fuck cares what you think?
pseudonymous coward
That too.
Who am I?
The one who tells you you are an ignorant asshole.
So, that being cleared up...
Who, exactly, does Peled (Not "Peeled" - or maybe he should be) have credibility with?
Anybody of any import?
And so what if the idiot is an author and yaps about it.
Publishing and yapping about some of your crappy scribblings that nobody reads makes you an "accomplished author and speaker"?
By that definition everybody and their mother is an accomplished author and speaker.
No, sorry.
You've got it wrong again.
That's not it.
Also, Oh Brilliant One:
Tell me, what and why exactly, did Peled's daddy "invade" "originally"?
Why does he stand out?
There are plenty of generals, active, retired and dead in Israel.
It's a very military society.
It has to be to ensure it's own survival.
Do you even know what's so special about Peled's daddy?
Except for being the daddy of a dipshit of course.
Or you just bullshitting about that too - just like you do when you talk about Apartheid?
The sheer number of neocons in this thread that clearly consider themselves "Libertarians"is fucking staggering, jesus fuck. Get the fuck out if everywhere and only worry about our own shit, that's fucking libertarianism, a tiny fraction of the idiots posting in this thread have any idea what the fucking NAP is, or at least want to subjectively interpret it.
No. And given that Biden talked with parties involved, we aren’t.
It's my party and I'll die if I want to.
Promises, promises.
Go to Gaza.
You're needed to rebuild the terrorist tunnels.
Maybe you come back.
Maybe not.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/numbers-from-israels-guardian-of-the-walls-shows-palestinian-terrorists-took-a-drubbing-from-the-idf
Consider the source.
Maybe the results not to your liking Dumbo?
Find some other sources then.
See if the stats differ much.
"Maybe the results not to your liking Dumbo?"
A cease fire and stalemate is the result.
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When the last American soldier leaves Israel....
Oh wait. Never mind.