Posted on 07/22/2006 4:20:05 AM PDT by Valin
When I was in the Navy, I once witnessed a bar fight in downtown Olongapo (Philippines) that still haunts my dreams. The fight was between a big oafish Marine and a rather soft-spoken, medium sized Latino sailor from my ship.
All evening the Marine had been trying to pick a fight with one of us and had finally set his sights on this diminutive shipmate of mine... figuring him for a safe target. When my friend refused to be goaded into a fight the Marine sucker punched him from behind on the side of the head so hard that blood instantly started to pour from this poor man's mutilated ear.
Everyone present was horrified and was prepared to absolutely murder this Marine, but my shipmate quickly turned on him and began to single-handedly back him towards a corner with a series of stinging jabs and upper cuts that gave more than a hint to a youth spent boxing in a small gym in the Bronx.
Each punch opened a cut on the Marine's startled face and by the time he had been backed completely into the corner he was blubbering for someone to stop the fight. He invoked his split lips and chipped teeth as reasons to stop the fight. He begged us to stop the fight because he could barely see through the river of blood that was pouring out of his split and swollen brows.
Nobody moved. Not one person.
The only sound in the bar was the sickening staccato sound of this sailor's lightning fast fists making contact with new areas of the Marine's head. The only sound I have heard since that was remotely similar was from the first Rocky film when Sylvester Stallone was punching sides of beef in the meat locker.
Finally the Marine's pleading turned to screams.... a high, almost womanly shriek. And still the punches continued relentlessly.
Several people in the bar took a few tentative steps as though they wanted to try to break it up at that point, but hands reached out from the crowd and held them tight. I'm not ashamed to say that mine were two of the hands that held someone back.
You see, in between each blow the sailor had begun chanting a soft cadence: "Say [punch] you [punch] give [punch] up [punch]... say [punch] you [punch]were [punch] wrong [punch]".
He had been repeating it to the Marine almost from the start but we only became aware of it when the typical barroom cheers had died down and we began to be sickened by the sight and sound of the carnage.
This Marine stood there shrieking in the corner of the bar trying futilely to block the carefully timed punches that were cutting his head to tatters... right down to the skull in places. But he refused to say that he gave up... or that he was wrong.
Even in the delirium of his beating he believed in his heart that someone would stop the fight before he had to admit defeat. I'm sure this strategy had served him well in the past and had allowed him to continue on his career as a barroom bully.
Finally, in a wail of agony the Marine shrieked "I give up", and we gently backed the sailor away from him.
I'm sure you can guess why I have shared this story today.
I'm not particularly proud to have been witness to such a bloody spectacle, and the sound of that Marine's woman-like shrieks will haunt me to my grave. But I learned something that evening that Israel had better learn for itself if it is to finally be rid of at least one of its tormentors:
This is one time an Arab aggressor must be allowed to be beaten so badly that every civilized nation will stand in horror, wanting desperately to step in and stop the carnage... but knowing that the fight will only truly be over when one side gives up and finally admits defeat.
Just as every person who had ever rescued that bully from admitting defeat helped create the cowardly brute I saw that evening in the bar, every well-intentioned power that has ever stepped in and negotiated a ceasefire for an Arab aggressor has helped create the monsters we see around us today.
President Lahoud of Lebanon, a big Hezbollah supporter and a close ally of Syria, has been shrieking non-stop to the UN Security Council for the past two days to get them to force Israel into a cease fire.
Clearly he has been reading his autographed copy of 'Military Success for Dummies Arab Despots' by the late Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt. Ever since Nasser accidentally discovered the trick in '56, every subsequent Arab leader has stuck to his tried and true formula for military success:
Instigate a war. Once the war is well underway and you are in the process of having your ass handed to you... get a few world powers to force your western opponent into a cease fire. Whatever you do, don't surrender or submit to any terms dictated by your enemy. That would ruin everything! All you have to do is wait it out and eventually the world will become sickened at what is being done to your soldiers and civilian population... and will force a truce. Once a truce has been called you can resume your intransigence (which probably caused the conflict in the first place), and even declare victory as your opponent leaves the field of battle. This tactic has never failed. Not once.
In fact it worked so will for the Egyptians in 1973, that to this day they celebrate the Yom Kippur War - a crushing defeat at the hands of Israel - as a military victory! No kidding... it's a national holiday over there!
President Lahoud has already begun to shriek like a school girl to the UN Security Council to "Stop the violence and arrange a cease-fire, and then after that we'll be ready to discuss all matters."
Uh huh. Forgive me if I find that a tad hard to swallow. He allowed Hezbollah to take over his country. He allowed the regular Lebanese army to provide radar targeting data for the Hezbollah missile that struck the Israeli destroyer. He has turned a blind eye while Iranian and Syrian weapons, advisers and money have poured into his country.
And now that his country is in ruins he wants to call it a draw.
As much as it may sicken the world to stand by and watch it happen, strong hands need to hold back the weak-hearted and let the fight continue until one side finally admits unambiguous defeat.
Great post. Thanks.
"I'm not particularly proud to have been witness to such a bloody spectacle, and the sound of that Marine's woman-like shrieks will haunt me to my grave. But I learned something that evening that Israel had better learn for itself if it is to finally be rid of at least one of its tormentors:
This is one time an Arab aggressor must be allowed to be beaten so badly that every civilized nation will stand in horror, wanting desperately to step in and stop the carnage... but knowing that the fight will only truly be over when one side gives up and finally admits defeat.
Just as every person who had ever rescued that bully from admitting defeat helped create the cowardly brute I saw that evening in the bar, every well-intentioned power that has ever stepped in and negotiated a ceasefire for an Arab aggressor has helped create the monsters we see around us today.
President Lahoud of Lebanon, a big Hezbollah supporter and a close ally of Syria, has been shrieking non-stop to the UN Security Council for the past two days to get them to force Israel into a cease fire.
Instigate a war. Once the war is well underway and you are in the process of having your ass handed to you... get a few world powers to force your western opponent into a cease fire. Whatever you do, don't surrender or submit to any terms dictated by your enemy. That would ruin everything! All you have to do is wait it out and eventually the world will become sickened at what is being done to your soldiers and civilian population... and will force a truce. Once a truce has been called you can resume your intransigence (which probably caused the conflict in the first place), and even declare victory as your opponent leaves the field of battle. This tactic has never failed. Not once.
President Lahoud has already begun to shriek like a school girl to the UN Security Council to "Stop the violence and arrange a cease-fire, and then after that we'll be ready to discuss all matters."
Uh huh. Forgive me if I find that a tad hard to swallow. He allowed Hezbollah to take over his country. He allowed the regular Lebanese army to provide radar targeting data for the Hezbollah missile that struck the Israeli destroyer. He has turned a blind eye while Iranian and Syrian weapons, advisers and money have poured into his country.
And now that his country is in ruins he wants to call it a day.
As much as it may sicken the world to stand by and watch it happen, strong hands need to hold back the weak-hearted and let the fight continue until one side finally admits unambiguous defeat."
"I'm not particularly proud to have been witness to such a bloody spectacle, and the sound of that Marine's woman-like shrieks will haunt me to my grave. But I learned something that evening that Israel had better learn for itself if it is to finally be rid of at least one of its tormentors:
This is one time an Arab aggressor must be allowed to be beaten so badly that every civilized nation will stand in horror, wanting desperately to step in and stop the carnage... but knowing that the fight will only truly be over when one side gives up and finally admits defeat.
Just as every person who had ever rescued that bully from admitting defeat helped create the cowardly brute I saw that evening in the bar, every well-intentioned power that has ever stepped in and negotiated a ceasefire for an Arab aggressor has helped create the monsters we see around us today.
President Lahoud of Lebanon, a big Hezbollah supporter and a close ally of Syria, has been shrieking non-stop to the UN Security Council for the past two days to get them to force Israel into a cease fire.
Instigate a war. Once the war is well underway and you are in the process of having your ass handed to you... get a few world powers to force your western opponent into a cease fire. Whatever you do, don't surrender or submit to any terms dictated by your enemy. That would ruin everything! All you have to do is wait it out and eventually the world will become sickened at what is being done to your soldiers and civilian population... and will force a truce. Once a truce has been called you can resume your intransigence (which probably caused the conflict in the first place), and even declare victory as your opponent leaves the field of battle. This tactic has never failed. Not once.
President Lahoud has already begun to shriek like a school girl to the UN Security Council to "Stop the violence and arrange a cease-fire, and then after that we'll be ready to discuss all matters."
Uh huh. Forgive me if I find that a tad hard to swallow. He allowed Hezbollah to take over his country. He allowed the regular Lebanese army to provide radar targeting data for the Hezbollah missile that struck the Israeli destroyer. He has turned a blind eye while Iranian and Syrian weapons, advisers and money have poured into his country.
And now that his country is in ruins he wants to call it a day.
As much as it may sicken the world to stand by and watch it happen, strong hands need to hold back the weak-hearted and let the fight continue until one side finally admits unambiguous defeat."
This seems like some sick stuff to post on an American site, while we have Soldiers and Marines in combat as this thread is being read.
What am I misinterpreting here?
"Duh" award of the day
"...so what is your point?
"Duh" award of the day"
So spare a moment , what is the "point"
funny, no one else seems to have a problem seeing that this is spot on to the current situation, as evidenced by the other posts. maybe YOU are the one that needs to explain YOUR problem with it.
Please, just translate it for me.
seriously, it is self evident. since you are in the minority, you explain to the rest of us, what bothers you about it.
The muslims don't think they are the little guy set upon by the bully. They know they are the aggressor and they want all Israelis dead. The Isrealis are quite capable of delivering a knock out blow and I hope the hell they do. Your little analysis is dead wrong. The bystanders in Lebanon are not "innocent" and have encouraged and supported the terrorists for years. They are getting what they deserve.
What the heck is going on here, it sounds like the Marines are being put down, then it goes into middle eastern stuff, this is the second time this weird Filipino- Marine thing has been posted, while we are at war, please explain this seeming put down, of the American fighting man.
The bystanders in Lebanon are not "innocent" and have encouraged and supported the terrorists for years.
This is from another thread
"The problem I have with this view is people look at Lebanon and think it's a real country like Britain...Japan...America or any other country with a strong government, it's not. Remember one year ago it was ruled by Syria and they still have a great deal of power there. I also could mention the civil war they went through, they fact that Hezbollah the only militia that didn't disamr probably has more fire power than the Lebanese and has the backing of Syria.
Given this, what can the President of Lebanon do?"
What they think should not influence us. What we know should. We know who is the aggressor in this conflict. We know which is the bully.
neither can actully deliver a knockout blow,
I doubt that is true.
and it's largely the bystanders who are getting their teeth punched out.
Except for those who are visiting Lebanon there are no bystanders. The Lebanese who "aren't Hezbullah" allowed them to come in, to stay, and to attack. If they had known from the beginning that their choice was to kick Hezbullah out or lose their homes, do you think they would have behaved a little differently?
Shalom.
He just has to demonstrate his moral superiority to the rest of us.
I listened with extreme care to the statements made by Secretary Condi Rice, yesterday. She is a very clear thinker, and is extremely precise in her use of language. She made it quite clear that she would not be seeking a cease fire, if that meant preserving the status quo.
As long as the US holds to this position, as bloody as the situation may get in Lebanon, the problem is still moving toward a solution. And that's the point of this article.
P.S. Interested in a Freeper in Congress? Keep in touch with me.
Congressman Billybob
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ok here's a little tip. the big oafish marine SYMBOLIZES hezbollah. and the slight but pugilistic latino sailor is REPRESENTATIVE of israel. you really need to try to stretch your brain and figure it out from there.
moral superiority heck, he is demonstrating his dimness or recalcitrant refusal to see analogy.
In a bar fight, a sailor will always whip a Marine's butt :-)
"The Marine was described as big and is supposed to be a representing the Muslims. The slightly built Sailor is supposed to represent Israel. I truly believe that this was not supposed to be a put down to our beloved Marines. Truly."
So while we are at war, this thread uses the United States Marine corp to represent the most reviled people in western civilization.
The imaginary hero is a small, foreign, country that defeats the United States Marine, because we represent the world's Muslim terrorists.
WOW, for Gods sake who are you people?
"The problem I have with this view..."
That's kind of my feeling too.
While I understand what this author's point is as far as the bar fight, I'm not so sure it's analagous to Lebanon.
Unfortunately, Hezbollah also has it's charitable branch, like Hamas, and it's part of people's every day lives.
And Syria is still a strong influence in Lebanon, and Iran has a very big influence, especially in Southern Lebanon. There's not a whole lot the president can do about it, if he wants to stay alive.
Not to mention that probably 1/2 of his army is Shiite and wouldn't fight against Hezbollah.
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