The Middle East spirals out of control!

America works to topple elected government of third-world country

'Everyone just hates the Big Dog'

America expects world's resources to fall into her lap

'Everyone just hates the Big Dog'

Guantanamo Bay declared morally reprehensible, illegal

'Everyone just hates the Big Dog'

America supports apartheid government of Middle Eastern nation'

'Everyone just hates the Big Dog + Israel is merely defending herself! Racially!'

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Yes, okay, it's objectionable that Hamas officials say one thing to one administration and something else to another.

I guess that must make them some sort of political party or something. More than just degenerate towelheads with a rudimentary geopolitical understanding at best.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Bradylama

So long as Hamas maintains its militant wing, they are a terrorist organization. Does Labor have its own militia there in aussie land? Do they have turf wars with the Conservatives or kidnap New Zealanders?

Actually, I'd say the only thing holding back certain Sydney electorates are the firearms laws. Guns or not (and indeed an entire sea or not), the science of landgrabbing will never leave humanity, but just get cleaner. Our constitution still provides for New Zeleand's becoming a seventh state.

I don't really follow the A-I conflict, mainly because of its homogeneity, but I think the Israeli government's obliged to accord Hamas many of the same courtesies it would the governing bodies of Jordan, Canada or the UN, despite its militant wing. It's not an easy juggle, no, but that's what the circumstances dictate. Shit, it's in Israel's best interests to take care of Palestine. Extremist organisations die when their recruitment pool realises it's not worth saddling up for a remote grudge of history when they've a home that they know will stand for more than six months, central heating, clean water, a secondary school and a decent soccer ground.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by NP

Remember, might indeed does make right.

Were all the hippies and Cronkite right, and the US military wrong, on Vietnam? What about that time Castro got the better of the US government? You're ideology's black and white so neither of these should be too tough of a pigeonhole.

Quote:

Israel takes better care of Palestinian refuges than Palestine would if the role situations were reversed.

I'm talking about everyday living standards, not who does incarceration better. Militant ideological twists of Islam are proselytised by one generation of Palestinians onto younger generations in order that they fight Dad's war. You can only cut if off generationally, and one side is infinitely more equipped to achieve that than the other.

But of course we can look at independent states as corporations and go 'why should Israel, Inc. put charity before profitability?' Giving Palestinians a future IS Israeli profit. In fact it's the best security initiative Israel could ever hope to implement.

Has Israel and/or the Atlantic Community (I don't like 'International') even given Hamas an incentive worth the bother, as in something positive? Offer to them that they'll be recognised as a proper government and removed from the terrorist list if they can capture the loyalty of all the factions and keep them together, if they can legitimate themselves by independent criteria. Palestine has to compromise first, but Israel has to compromise the most if anyone will ever see the remotest semblance of this occuring.

Triggering a proper Palestinian infrastructure also means that Syria and Iran lose their proxies, or at least a significant amount of authority.

Originally Posted by Brady

Not in the Middle East. If Iran attempts to cut off the world's oil because of Israeli escalation, then the global community would be behind us in ending an Iranian blockade. People the world over would be clamoring for the resignation of President Ahmedinejad.

Aren't you part of the camp that said his government's likely working toward the bomb last time? Surely he's cluey enough to know what comes after what.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Has it occured to you that muslims in the Middle East may well become militant because organised foreign interests pose a threat to their way of life?

Quote:

I hope you dissarm hesbola enough to equal what it should have been like after the UN ordered it decades ago. (LOL the UN)

Is this some sort of Fox Newsish throwaway troll?

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Wesker

This is an interesting article from the New Yorker magazine from 2002

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?021014fa_fact4

This war should suprise no one. The maniacal anti semetic hatred of Hezbollah is well documented and highlighted well in the article.

Just a tid bit from a Hezbollah leader quoted in the article

""The Jews are sons of pigs and apes," Na'im said"

But lets negotiate with these folks!

Why do you equate 'they aren't entirely to blame' with endorsment of Hezbollah?

Your own country has paramilitary groups that reserve even lower sentiments for the Jews, but if they found themselves in southern Lebanon after 12/7, they'd have been unconditionally airlifted to safety by now.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?