Krauthammer-->Moral Clarity in Gaza

Washington Post/Yidwithlid ^ | 1/2/09 | Yidwithlid

[Shellybenoit]

The right and wrong" of most conflicts between nations are not "black and white." Of course there are some exceptions. WWII, for example, was a case where it was easy to differentiate who the good guys and bad guys were.

Despite the best efforts of the propagandists in the news media, in the PA (see clip above), American Terrorist groups such as CAIR, and in some of the EU governments, there is no moral ambiguity in this conflict. Israel is NOT occupying Gaza, Israel asked Hamas to extend the cease-fire, Hamas has been shooting rockets/mortars at Israeli innocents, and used the homes of Gaza innocents as a staging area for launching those projectiles.

Columnist Charles Krauthammer has a great perspective on the conflict:

[Postman]

In a sane, moral and logical world, and to people that have a base of sanity, morality and logic,these are issues that should be intuitive and should not have to be so excellently and carefully delineated.... but, I stand corrected.........

[Sherman Logan]

WWII, for example, was a case where it was easy to differentiate who the good guys and bad guys were.

Well, sorta.

One major component of the good guys (USSR) was also indisputably a bad guy, and others (Chiang's China) were at best ambiguous.

There's also the whole British and French empire issue.

Even WWII was not unambiguously the good guys vs. the bad guys.

[econjack]

Hamas hopes that inevitable collateral damage -- or, if it is really fortunate, an errant Israeli bomb -- will kill large numbers of its own people for which, of course, the world will blame Israel.

This ploy wouldn't work if the MSM did its homework. But, they would rather report the staged pictures that Hamas churns out in hopes of winning a media campaign victory. It would be like asking the US to ignore daily bombardment of San Diego by Mexico. I hope Israel tells the world community to grab their ankles while they neuter the mad dog that is Hamas.

[MomwithHope]

Love Charles Krauthammer!!!!!! I always groan when he is not on the Fox panel and can’t wait to hear his opinion when he is on. Plus when they introduce him I have to say he has the sexiest eyes I’ve ever seen. Hope you’re reading this Charles! You are awesome.

[PGalt]

Perhaps Charlie should read the pertinent excertps from the Hamas Covenant 1988 to clarify the unambiguous, constitutional clarity of the opponent...

The Universality of the Islamic Resistance Movement:

Article Seven:

As a result of the fact that those Moslems who adhere to the ways of the Islamic Resistance Movement spread all over the world, rally support for it and its stands, strive towards enhancing its struggle, the Movement is a universal one. It is well-equipped for that because of the clarity of its ideology, the nobility of its aim and the loftiness of its objectives.

On this basis, the Movement should be viewed and evaluated, and its role be recognised. He who denies its right, evades supporting it and turns a blind eye to facts, whether intentionally or unintentionally, would awaken to see that events have overtaken him and with no logic to justify his attitude. One should certainly learn from past examples.

The injustice of next-of-kin is harder to bear than the smite of the Indian sword.

“We have also sent down unto thee the book of the Koran with truth, confirming that scripture which was revealed before it; and preserving the same safe from corruption. Judge therefore between them according to that which Allah hath revealed; and follow not their desires, by swerving from the truth which hath come unto thee. Unto every of you have we given a law, and an open path; and if Allah had pleased, he had surely made you one people; but he hath thought it fit to give you different laws, that he might try you in that which he hath given you respectively. Therefore strive to excel each other in good works; unto Allah shall ye all return, and then will he declare unto you that concerning which ye have disagreed.” (The Table, verse 48).
The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the links in the chain of the struggle against the Zionist invaders. It goes back to 1939, to the emergence of the martyr Izz al-Din al Kissam and his brethren the fighters, members of Moslem Brotherhood. It goes on to reach out and become one with another chain that includes the struggle of the Palestinians and Moslem Brotherhood in the 1948 war and the Jihad operations of the Moslem Brotherhood in 1968 and after.

Moreover, if the links have been distant from each other and if obstacles, placed by those who are the lackeys of Zionism in the way of the fighters obstructed the continuation of the struggle, the Islamic Resistance Movement aspires to the realisation of Allah’s promise, no matter how long that should take. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, has said:

“The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews.” (related by al-Bukhari and Moslem).
The Slogan of the Islamic Resistance Movement:

Article Eight:

Allah is its target, the Prophet is its model, the Koran its constitution: Jihad is its path and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes.

more...here...

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp

Thanks to FReeper bethybabes69 for the link New Years Day.

[Matchett-PI]

“...it can surely be no coincidence that the most humane place in all of the Middle East is surrounded by barbarians who wish to extinguish it in the exact degree to which they systematically abuse their own children.

As a matter of fact, a couple of days ago a reader sent me this link to a piece in the Claremont Review on child sacrifice. In it, the author recalls Golda Meir’s famous remark about how “peace with the Palestinians will be possible when they love their own children more than they hate the Israelis. In saying so, she touched upon a fundamental difference between pagan and biblical religion: the presence or absence of child sacrifice.... Many ancient peoples believed in sacrificing a child to an angry god like Moloch or Baal in order to avert misfortune. Today, thousands of Muslims believe that sacrificing their children as ‘suicide’ bombers in a crowd of people pleases their God Allah. More, Islamic terrorists invite the death of children by placing their military and political headquarters in residential areas which they know their enemies will strike.”

Folks, is this not an obvious, if horrid—and therefore denied—truth about mankind in general and the Islamic world in particular? The author concludes his piece on a pessimistic note, speculating that “if the current intellectuals’ project of undermining the Biblical traditions of the Western world continues unabated..., rather than embracing some new, ‘enlightened’ philosophy which previous generations were supposedly too dull to conceive or practice, likely we will wind up with ancient paganism instead. ....”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2156342/posts?page=4#4

[cpdiii]

Precision strikes with small payload munitions that do not cause great collateral damage means you are fighting the war on your enemies terms and rules. This is stupidity and military suicide.

I would suggest precision strikes on launch points in Gaza but with 500 lbs bombs. These are simply the old 500 pound iron bombs with a GPS guidance system added to it. Let it be publicly know to all in Gaza to stay the hell away at least 500 meters from any launch point.

Sherman burned Atlanta and left a path of destruction through the South, he was not an evil man. He did not do this to punish The South. He did it to break the will of the South to resist, IT WORKED.

[Oldpuppymax]

Why do people continue to apply facts, logic and common sense to “discussions” with the left?

[econjack]

Since the Vietnam War, we have let politicians dictate the way we fight wars. Sorry, but most politicians aren't bright enough to blow their noses, let alone run a war. Let the generals run the war, and let them run it to win. If Israel turns Gaza into a glass parking lot, it's not like Hamas wasn't asking for it. No one holds terrorists accountable, which does little else but embolden them. I hope Israel pounds Gaza into dust. And if it does, the only explanation it needs for the world community is: “We warned you.”

[painter]

Remember when we tested MOAB during the second Iraq war? It is the largest conventional weapon in the world.

Israel should build a bunch of them themselves. Then they could warn Hamas if you launch any more rockets “You will pay BIG TIME”! When Hamas launches rockets at Israel which they would do drop one of thoes suckers at the spot where the rockets were launched.

Then warn them "We have a whole warehouse full of them and we will keep dropping them on you till you stop rocketing us or Gaza is nothing but rubble and desert"!

[bethybabes69]

This ploy wouldn't work if the MSM did its homework. But, they would rather report the staged pictures that Hamas churns out in hopes of winning a media campaign victory.

It just shows how close the World has become to being run by the media industry.
Nearly all the political furore in the West is driven by media reporting. You know, the latest 'corrupt politician', exposed by the 'undercover' reporter from 'the daily whatever' newspaper, or the 'dodgy dealings' by the 'big business executive' are all sourced from the media moguls. They never seem to get 'stories' sourced from official bodies.

The disturbing thing is the relation to official political opinion based on what's in todays 'newspapers', I often wonder if there is ANY intelligence supporting Governments opinions in the West, they all seem to speak and act in reaction to what's in the public media.
The problem with this is, as all FReepers know, once these media entities have a political bond, then news becomes irrelevant due to bias.
Obama's campaign was the shining example of the media groups deciding who was going to have the most powerful job on the planet, then feeding the required information to the public to make it happen.

This current conflict, as with all other conflicts in recent times, are being fuelled by media opinion, based on what will grips their clients' attention, which is further decided by the underlying political bias of said media company.
Whether it's factual, impartial, correct, relevant or destructive is completely irrelevant to them, they just want the people to view their media.

Media moguls used to be the recorders of history, but are increasingly becoming the creators of it.

[econjack]

Exactly. As you watch the news, keep an ear tuned for phases like: “According to an ABC (or CBS, NBC, etc.) poll...”, “Sources close to CBS (?) disclosed today...”, “A New York Times (?) poll shows that...”. Any time I hear about a poll where a news source is connected or sponsored the poll, I throw its conclusions into the toilet where they belong. The MSM is actually manufacturing its own news. They long ago lost sight of the fact they are supposed to report the news, not create it or editorialize it.

[bethybabes69]

It's incredible isn't it? It's even more incredible how so many of the masses actually absorb what they're 'fed' without question!

It does seem to be predominantly a Liberal/Socialist practice, which for me, is completely understandable.

[Forward the Light Brigade]

The Hammer is always on the right side of issues. I respect his views and most of the time they are spot on.