Posted on 01/05/2009 11:50:56 AM PST by LdSentinal
Outspoken Republican congressman Ron Paul says Israel had received a green light from the United States to launch an offensive in Gaza.
The Texas congressman said the Israeli attack on the impoverished Gaza Strip shapes a bleak future for the whole world as it means that, "the whole idea of preemptive or preventive war is spreading."
He went on to challenge the idea of Hamas threatening Israel's security and argued that "Palestinian missiles are so minor compared to the fire power of Israel, who has nuclear weapons."
The US Congressman's remarks come as Israel continues to rebuff international efforts to end the assault on Gaza, and Israeli troops and tanks -- protected by heavy air, sea and artillery fire - have sliced through the center of Gaza and surrounded the main city.
The tenth day of the assault brings the number of Palestinian casualties to 530 with over 2,600 others wounded. The UN says that about 25 percent of the casualties were civilian deaths.
Paul added that the escalation of war in Gaza would contribute to the fall of economy on the global stage and in the US, explaining that the US involvement in too many wars is "draining us emotionally and financially".
Congressman Paul said that even though Israel has carried out the invasion of Gaza, "the United States will be blamed for it."
"Israel depends on us; they depend on us economically, they depend on us for their military power and all their weapons and they really got a green light from our administration," he explained.
Paul's comment comes after US vice president Dick Cheney said Israel did not seek Washington's approval for launching an offensive against Gaza.
"They didn't seek clearance or approval from us, certainly," Cheney said Sunday.
Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli website Debkafile cited sources in Washington as saying that US President George W. Bush had given a green light to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for an all-out military operation in Gaza.
The GOP congressman also warned in July, that any Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities would take place with the explicit backing of the US government.
Paul told Press TV that, "No matter what they do, it is our money, it is our weapons, and they are not going to do it without us approving it."
Well, this skunk Ron Paul had me fooled for a long time. Guess I read him wrong.
Israel is playing by the rules of the Just War Theory. Hamas is not. Anyone suggesting otherwise is an apologist for terrorists.
Yes, I am the GOP.
I explained how Israeli actions deviate from both proportionality and dicrimination principles, but I agree that Hamas has not acted by any rules at all.
What you seem to fail to understand is that Hamas is dedicated to the goal of eliminating Israel — wiping the country off the planet — making this an existential crisis for Israel, not something to fit into your narrow and weird definition of “just war.”
What you want sounds more like a soccer match played among second graders, where fairness is emphasized over winning.
I understand that, and indeed every time rules of war are brought up someone would say that it is not a soccer match. Hamas, from its own perspective, would also point out its own reasons to violate the rules of war as it resorts to terrorist tactics and sets goals that are genocidal.
This is precisely why rules of war matter. They especially matter for the survival of Israel, who has not done well in the eye of public opinion lately.
And when did the GOP begin to think it was appropriate to act like a communist agitator in public discussion? I am curious because the GOP used to oppose the communists.
Lets say you home with your wife and children was bombarded for ten years but no family member had been killed.... so far.
If a chance to stop that bombardment via disproportionate response came up you would seize it. Because at a certain point you say it it's either me or them. This is human basics
Support is good in this war because most people can see Israel vacated Gaza but have been under rocket and missile attack since then
Muslims get very bored without war. So they lob rockets into Israel
I still do. That has never changed.
Your precious little rules mean nothing to Hamas, but you still want Israel to fight with one hand tied behind her back to give a level playing field.
That’s just sick.
Paul is a dingbat. But he might be useful as a shield to block the Hamas missiles. Since he knows so much, he should even be able to foretell where the next ones will land.
Disproportionate? As long as rockets are falling on Israel, it is not NEARLY disproportionate enough.
Forum rules, however, prevent the kind of disproportionate response your comment deserves...
Possibly, but that wouldn't make it proportionate, and the rules of war call for it.
Why is it sick? We have all kinds of rules for cops, for example, and they deal with criminals for whom rules are nothing.
As long as rockets are falling on Israel, Israel has every right to stop them with legitimate military means, if at all possible. But the aerial bombardment of apartment blocks does not seem to advance that objective, now does it?
Nothing to see here folks...just another liberal of Catholic persuasion insisting Israel play by “rules of war” formulated before the advent of modern Islamofascist terrorism...move along...
Fixed.
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