Posted on 01/01/2009 11:39:33 AM PST by Free ThinkerNY
It's a new year in an old and bloody world.
In Israel, politicians jockeying for power have launched the most lethal military assault on Palestinian territory in decades. Israel has justified its bombardment of Gaza on the grounds that Hamas broke a fragile, temporary cease-fire. The Israeli government is right to consider Hamas' rocket attacks on Israeli civilians inexcusable, but the timing of the Israeli military offensive has more to do with politics than anything else.
Ehud Barak, Israel's Labor Party defense minister, and Tzipi Livni, the foreign minister from the centrist Kadima party, are both contenders for prime minister in Israel's Feb. 6 national elections. A show of "toughness" against Hamas could help Labor and/or Kadima beat back the right-wing Likud Party of Benjamin Netanyahu, which has been leading in the polls. Meanwhile, outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who faces corruption charges, has just a few weeks to restore his own tattered reputation.
Adding to the time pressure is U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's upcoming inauguration. As long as President Bush was in the White House, Israel could count on a U.S. administration that wasn't merely "supportive" of Israel but blindly, mindlessly so. Obama may be less willing to offer Israel blank checks. Thus this New Year's military offensive, timed for the crucial window before Israeli elections and Obama's swearing-in.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
That's the way I see it. Keep bombing 'til they go deaf from the noise.
But Hamas can export love via missiles.
Rosa dearest.....peace is won war
They should leave just enough in Gaza to produce cave paintings as a warning to future generations.....
Yep. She'd fit in perfectly with the einsteins of the last 20 years who created the current quagmire out of a pefectly good opportunity in the early 90's for stable peace through American hegemony and economic strength through low taxes and conservative fiscal policies.
It's not because they lack intellect, but because cultural insularity clouds their judgment and leaves them to operate in a virtual echo chamber. They are often rendered impervious to the advice of people who come from outside their social circles but whose experience, knowledge and wisdom count for far more in the final analysis than a piece of parchment from an elite college.
You guys just don’t get it! EVERYTHING Israel does is wrong, and this current war is all their fault! They should just sit back and let the rockets rain down. Pali “innocents” are of more value than Israeli innocents. Or so the MSM would have us believe.
They are not stupid; they are Brilliant Fools. They associate with only those with whom they share values both inherited and acquired, and tend to be remarkably unreflective and narrow-minded as a consequence.
“Israel can’t bomb its way to peace (Mega Barf)”
that’s right. They need to stop giving the Palestinians utilities such as electricity, end Oslo and annex territories. Show them that crime doesn’t pay. They have learned the opposite lesson.
Brooks is just one more reason to turn the light out at the LA Times ASAP.
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