Surely that justifies the killing of 1000+ Palestinians... in a week.

Well duh. They're a swarthy people who much resemble Al Qaeda. Never mind the facts of the matter or anything

 

So let's see here, the argument is that it's okay to launch rockets at a civilian population as long as you only kill a few people per year? I just want to make sure I understand.

 

I'm saying that launching such an offensive is like me taking an AK-47 to the heads of whichever asshole kid put a flaming bag of dogshit on my porch last night. Does the right to defend oneself exist? Sure.

Does the right to defend oneself extend to bombing targets like schools full of children who haven't learned to build rockets yet, or cemeteries full of people too dead to be attacking? Cos that's some kinda bullshit.

 

those terrorists sure like to hide amongst the innocent palestinian population.
mission accomplished!

i ask again, how exactly do you suppose israel should defend itself against the terrorists when they are purposefully shielding themselves with innocent people?

 

Hahahaha not all brown people are terrorists man.

 

It's not okay, but Israel's actions are just as inappropriate. Both sides are handling it poorly and outright supporting one side means you're supporting using deadly force on civilians for a political purpose; that makes you (not you specifically, the general "you") the lowest form of human scum.

 

deek,
if the palestinians were targeting the israeli military, then it would be easy to see their side of the story. but they are lobbing attacks at random inn0cent people.

 

In my mind both are just as wrong equally. Its wrongful for Hamas to fire rockets and smuggle weapons, but Israel shuts borders with Gaza and has caused humanitarian issues since no fuel, food and other supplies can't come through, so its not the first time Israel has taken actions against Palestinian civilians.

 

Post a picture of a cat's paw: Lifetime ban
Advocate the senseless death of innocent children: The new TSL

 

Does anyone think that the people living in Gaza couldn't guess what would ultimately happen if rockets were continuously allowed to be launched from their neighborhoods?

edit: I know I'm not surprised at the outcome one bit, and I live on the other side of the world.

 

"Allowed" haha.

In that case I've "allowed" cops to get shot to death in Philadelphia, for some reason I'm not expecting to be personally retaliated against, as I wasn't directly complicit.

 

Not really, good try though. Maybe you personally didn't "allow" something like that (and yes that's the correct word), but someone is. Cops go to a scene and no one saw anything...

 

Let me break it down like I would to my 12-year-old cousin.

Ralph is a resident of Philadelphia. A cop gets shot to death there. Ralph was on the other side of the city. Despite having no power to do so, he still technically didn't stop it; one could say he "allowed" it. Should Ralph expect retaliation because he was located in the city at the time?

Mummar is a resident of Gaza. A rocket is shot at Israel from there. Mummar was on the other side of the city. Despite having no power to do so, he still technically didn't stop it; one could say he "allowed" it. Should Mummar expect retaliation because he was located in the city at the time?

I hope this helps!

 

This is the root of the issue here. This is a pissing match between governments with a whole bunch of innocent people standing in the way and getting pissed on as a result. It just sucks.

 

You can't really take sides on this issue. Both sides are at fault, and it's more complicated than saying one is right and the other is wrong. One side may be more wrong than the other, sure.. but to say that anyone is innocent here is very naive.

Hamas is obviously a threat to Israel.. but Israel's heavy-handed retaliation is a far bigger threat to themselves. Is it their objective to recruit a whole new generation of terrorist enemies? That is what the ultimate result of the assault will be. The massive amount of collateral damage makes Hamas the de-facto "good guys" in the eyes of many Palestinians, whether they originally agreed with Hamas' tactics against Israel or not.

Israel made a move to assert their authority- and not just against Hamas. It was to show that it is not in any of their enemies' best interest to challenge them due to their overwhelming military power... but the problem is that no matter their military might, they cannot destroy Hamas as a whole and they will regroup. This serves as a massive PR win for Hamas amongst uneducated and impoverished Palestinians (those who are most likely to be drawn into extremism).. that they survived such an onslaught is proof in their eyes that Israel is ultimately vulnerable and incapable of stopping them.

Regardless of who you believe the victim to be, I can't see how one could believe that Israel did the right thing with their assault.

 

i agree with your take on the situation pretty much verbatim. israel is being very heavyhanded as a deterrent. and this type of deterrent historically doesn't really work.

 

After seeing these photos

http://www.news.com.au/gallery/0,23607,5036782-5010140-1,00.html

I was tempted to go fight in the IDF.

 

I blame the British.

 

I just want to know how saying I'm angry that innocent people are being killed by a government body is an idiotic comment? I didn't even mention if I felt that they were justified or not, just that I was angry it was happening. I'm lost on that one.

 

I don't think you said anything wrong but then again I don't take pleasure in unfortunate deaths for no reason, nor do I masturbate while clutching a gun to make me feel like a man (common traits in these parts)

 

haha, oh man. I guess that answers my question.

 

Israel makes their move to be pre-emptive and swift. Too many times have the legally recognized nations attacked Israel after its formation. Because of this their government has decided not to take chances and be taken advantage off. If they know something is coming they will strike first and at the source of the impending attack. They no longer wait to have to defend themselves and their citizens.

Also the problem with Hamas is much bigger and is shared by every other terrorist orginization. They don't follow the Geneva code because they don't care and will hide shamelessly behind all innocents with their weapons. So governments that do follow the Geneva convention are left in a tight spot of ethical decision making. Do you not strike a protected facility (churches, hospitals, schools, etc.) even though you have confirmed that the terrorist sect/aggressors are hiding in said building which includes a weapons cache. Or do you just turn a blind eye and just wait and let them fire from the building and leave them be.

It's easy to criticize but harder to analyze the real decisions being faced by the IDF command. Really in the end if you want to be saying what Israel is doing you might as well be saying the same thing about America because we've been doing the same thing since 9/11 but I'm not seeing anybody cry foul on us.

 

Israel makes their move to be pre-emptive and swift. Too many times have the legally recognized nations attacked Israel after its formation. Because of this their government has decided not to take chances and be taken advantage off. If they know something is coming they will strike first and at the source of the impending attack. They no longer wait to have to defend themselves and their citizens.

This sounds suspiciously like our preemptive quest for weapons of mass destruction (which never existed in the place we attacked, if you recall, making our military aggression unjustified).

It's easy to criticize but harder to analyze the real decisions being faced by the IDF command. Really in the end if you want to be saying what Israel is doing you might as well be saying the same thing about America because we've been doing the same thing since 9/11 but I'm not seeing anybody cry foul on us.

EVERYBODY has cried foul on jingoistic US military actions post 9/11. Literally, the entire world has had issues with it, but most American's worldview is narrow and self-centered, so nobody gives a shit.

 

Its a shit fest over there no matter how you look at it. Both sides are to blame for not holding up their ends of whatever fickle agreements they reach now and then. Im more concerned about our staunch backing of israel though. There have been reports that they are planning an attack on Iran without our consent or backing. I really do hope that if they are stupid enough to do so, our new government will be smart enough to tell them that they are on their own.

 

Groups like Al Qaeda and Hamas use unconventional tactics because that is the only way they can inflict damage against such a powerful and insurmountable enemy. That doesn't justify these tactics, but that is the reason for them.

Having the very choice of ethical military action is a luxury that shouldn't be taken for granted, and when we or Israel choose otherwise we are disregarding the very thing that separates us from "the terrorists".