Monday
Dec292008
Gaza: OK, So What's the Endgame?
Monday, December 29, 2008 at 12:20 
As the death toll climbs above 300 and Israel threatens the next step of a ground invasion of Gaza, Juan Cole puts the point concisely:
What I can't understand is the end game here. The Israelis have pledged to continue their siege of the civilians of Gaza, and have threatened to resume assassinating Hamas political leaders, along with the bombardment....Do the Israelis expect the population at some point to turn against Hamas, blaming it for the blockade and the bombardment? But by destroying what was left of the Gaza middle class, surely they a throwing people into the arms of Hamas.
Rhetorically, the Israeli Government is pressing ahead, with Defense Minister Ehud Barak telling the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, "This is an all-out war against Hamas and its branches." This has been backed up by a Cabinet call-up of 7000 reservists, a step which should be approved by the Knesset on Monday.
Airstrikes continue, with the Hamas Interior Ministry amongst the latest targets. But as it becomes clear that, for all the destruction, the political situation in Gaza has not changed --- Hamas is still in control --- Israel faces its next decision. How many of the troops and infantry now massing on the border are sent across?
Ethan Bronner inadvertently captures the difficulty in a rather confused piece in The New York Times. He parrots the official but rather misleading line of "Israeli military commanders" that "they did not intend to reoccupy the coastal strip of 1.5 million Palestinians or to overthrow the Hamas government there". The aim is “to stop the firing against our civilians in the south and shape a different and new security situation there.”
Yet Bronner opens his piece with the assertion that the broader Israel objective is "to expunge the ghost of its flawed 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and re-establish Israeli deterrence".
A moment's reflection would highlight the contradiction, and thus the problem, for Israel. The 2006 war was not one of "deterrence". It was an attempt to shatter Hezbollah as an effective political and military force.
That attempt failed because, after Israel had inflicted all its military might in Lebanon, Hezbollah still remained, killing Israeli forces and avoiding its final destruction. More importantly, the organisation was politically stronger, a boost which means that today it is a key player in the future of the country.
So, to return to Juan Cole, who also notes the 2006 precedent of Israel bolstering, rather than breaking, its enemies:
By refusing to negotiate with Hamas, Israel and the United States leave only a military option on the table. The military option isn't going to resolve the problem by itself.
Meanwhile, the ripples of Gaza spread across the Middle East. The inaction of Arab Governments is prompting large demonstrations by their populations, criticising not only Israel and the United States but their own political leaders.
Reader Comments (23)
So What's the End Game? Simple - the erradication of Gaza. Take a look at the map of Israel.
Is the proposal for a two state solution really feasible for this Palestinian enclave physically dismembered from the West Bank? Is it even desired by Israel given its apparent determination to destroy all existing civil infrastructure in Gaza?
In order to tidy up its boundaries Israel might image that the future of the West Bank can be negotiated with say Jordan and the inhabitants of the Gaza strip annihilated and the remnants of their existence swept into the sea.
Whether Israel can achieve this is not certain - however in light of decades of creeping expansion and inertia on the part of regional powers and the toothlessness of the UN in countering Israeli expansion - one might guess that it stands a fair chance of success.
The fact that the Muslim world has just entered into the month of Muharram - the first ten days having a particular emphasis on the concept of self-sacrifice in the face of injustice - makes the outcome for Israel - and the wider region - even less certain. It's difficult to imagine that Israel was not aware of the signficance of this when stepping up its military campaign now - and in light of its position with Hezbollah in particular.
This just strengthens the argument that peace with Zionism, apartheid, and racism is just not possible and that it is a mistake to rely on western regimes.
THOU SHALL NOT KILL, PERIOD.
All followers of the three (3) great Abrahamic religions, Judaism,
Christianity and Islam believe in the Ten (10) Commandments. In our humble
opinion, if anyone killed another innocent human being or himself, he is neither
a Jew, nor a Christian, nor a Muslim, because he disobeyed one of the
most important Commandments of Almighty God (Allah): Thou Shall Not Kill.
……..
Given below are some of the verses from the Holy Qur’an in support
thereof, referring to the number of Surah (Chapter) first followed by
the number of Ayah (Verse), later (from an English translation of the
Holy Qur’an by Mr. Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall).
Yet ye (Children of Israel) it is who slay each other and drive out a
party of your people from their homes, supporting one another against
them by sin and transgression, and if they came to you as captives ye
would ransom them, whereas their expulsion was itself unlawful for you.
Believe ye in part of the Scripture and disbelieve ye in part thereof?
(2:85)
Lo! those who disbelieve the revelations of Allah (God Almighty), and
slay the Prophets wrongfully, and slay those of mankind who enjoin
equity: announce them a painful doom. (3:21)
O ye who believe! eat not up your property among yourselves in
vanities: but let there be amongst you traffic and trade by mutual good-will:
nor kill (or destroy) yourselves (commit suicide): for verily Allah hath
been to you Most Merciful. (4:29)
Never should a believer kill a believer; but (if it so happens) by
mistake (compensation is due): if one (so) kills a believer, it is ordained
that he should free a believing slave and pay compensation to the
deceased's family, unless they remit it freely. If the deceased belonged to
a people at war with you and he was a believer, the freeing of a
believing slave (is enough). If he belonged to a people with whom ye have a
treaty of mutual alliance, compensation should be paid to his family
and a believing slave be freed. For those who find this beyond their
means (is prescribed) a fast for two months running: by way of repentance
to Allah: for Allah hath all knowledge and all wisdom. (4:92)
If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell to
abide therein (for ever): and the wrath and the curse of Allah are upon him
and a dreadful penalty is prepared for him. (4:93)
For that cause We decreed for the Children of Israel that whosoever
killeth a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the
earth, it shall be as if be had
killed all mankind, and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if
he had saved the life of all mankind. Our messengers came unto them of
old with clear proofs (of Allah's sovereignty), but afterwards lo!
many of them became prodigals in the earth. (5:32)
They are losers who besottedly have slain their children without
knowledge, and have forbidden that which Allah bestowed upon them, inventing
a lie against Allah. They indeed have gone astray and are not guided.
(6:140)
Say: "Come I will rehearse what Allah hath (really) prohibited you
from": join not anything as equal with Him; be good to your parents: kill
not your children on a plea of want; We provide sustenance for you and
for them; come not nigh to shameful deeds whether open or secret; take
not life which Allah hath made sacred except by way of justice and law:
thus doth He command you that ye may learn wisdom. (6:151)
O Prophet! when believing women come to thee to take the oath of fealty
to thee that they will not associate in worship any other thing
whatever with Allah, that they will not steal, that they will not commit
adultery (or fornication), that they will not kill their children, that
they will not utter slander intentionally forging falsehood, and that they
will not disobey thee in any just matter then do thou receive their
fealty and pray to Allah for the forgiveness (of their sins): for Allah
is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful. (60:12)
Kill not your children for fear of want: We shall provide sustenance
for them as well as for you: verily the killing of them is a great sin.
(17:31)
And slay not the life which Allah hath forbidden save with right. Whoso
is slain wrongfully, We have given power unto his heir, but let him
not commit excess in slaying. Lo! he will be helped. (17:33)
And those who cry not unto any other god along with Allah, nor take the
life which Allah hath forbidden save in (course of) justice, nor
commit adultery and whoso doeth this shall pay the penalty; (25:68)
Why blame Islam?
Individuals, not religions, carry out inhuman acts.
Islam is a religion of peace, accepted and practiced by more than 1.25 billion people worldwide. It is the fastest-growing religion in the world, and if it was what some critics claim, why should the people from all walks of life from around the world keep embracing Islam? Where is the sword now?
In Islam, a person has the right to defend himself, his family, his country or his neighbor(s), which justifies the resistance being offered by the people of Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, Iraq, Kashmir and Palestine, to attacks on their soils by the so-called liberators, who are actually the occupiers.
The Holy Qur’an clearly states that if a person saves one life, it’s as if he saved humanity, and if a person kills one human being, it’s as if he killed humanity.
What is happening in the enslaved Muslim countries is a natural reaction to occupation, bombings, killing and terrorizing of innocent civilians (children, old men and women), rapes, in addition to looting of resources, national antiques and artifacts, above all the destruction of their property by the occupiers.
Terror breeds terror.
We assure those who bash Islam that if there was no occupation in this world by foreign invaders, there would be no resistance – the so-called terror.
We would like those who criticize Islam to explain all of the acts committed by the Christians on Jews, other Christians and Muslims alike, throughout history:
- Hundreds of thousands of Muslim men, women and children killed by the crusaders, who were Christians.
- Inquisition of Jews and Muslims from Spain by Queen Isabella, a Christian.
- Millions of people killed by the European and American Christians during the two world wars and the civil wars.
- Atrocities committed on millions of Jews and Christians by Adolph Hitler, a professed Christian.
- Hundreds of thousands of Christians killed every year by the Irish Christians, including the British and the IRA, both Catholics and Protestants, during the past few centuries. Why they are not blamed to be “Christian Terrorists, or Catholic Terrorists, or Protestant Terrorists?”
Both of them believe in Jesus Christ, who told them to turn the other cheek, and both of them believe in the same Lord, Who commanded that “Thou shall not kill.” Period.
- Timothy McVeigh, who bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, OK, in the United States of America, was a Catholic. Are all Catholics terrorists?
For more than sixty (60) years, the Zionists are actively involved in the genocide of a whole nation, killing a number of Muslims in the occupied territories of Palestine on a daily basis with machine guns, missiles from helicopters, tanks, and bombs from F16s, under the watch of the western countries, the so-called champions of the human rights. How do you explain that?
Just by labeling the freedom fighters as terrorists and launching another holocaust on the poor Palestinians as revenge will not wipe out the crimes or the guilt of Hitler! Where are the justice, equality, freedom, and above all the human tights of Palestinians, dead or alive, propagated by these champions of human rights?
Last but not least, how do you explain the bombings, killings, lynching, murders and raping of innocent Native American Indians and black slaves (Afro-Americans) committed by the so-called Christians in the United States during the past 200 years of her history. What about them?
Will those filled with hate for Islam blame Christianity for the above inhuman acts by Christians in various parts of the world since its inception?
If not, then why are they blaming the religion of Islam for what is a natural reaction to occupation of Muslim countries by foreign invaders?
Most importantly, these folks should know that the three (3) great Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – have one common basis, and that is one God Almighty.
“All men (and women) are created equal, and we all are one nation under Almighty God,” is a clear cut statement according to the Holy Qur’an and is very well elucidated in the Constitution of these United States, one of the champions of the human rights.
Lastly, yet importantly, as brothers in humanity, we recommend those Islamophobists filled with prejudice to get life and an education in the history of Islam and Muslims, before they dare to write nasty letters, articles, and news releases, using out of context verses from the Holy Qur’an and distorted statements from the true traditions of our Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), full of personal, ingrain hate and vendetta against Islam and Muslims.
We would be pleased to provide anyone with free copies of the Holy Qur’an and Islamic literature in English or any other language, which would help them to understand the truth about Islam and Muslims and get rid of all hate from their systems, God willing.
May God Almighty show the light to all those, who believe in one mankind, as children of Adam and Eve, hence brothers and sisters, no matter what they believe in, Amen.
"The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do."
- Samuel P. Huntington (author The Clash Of Civilizations)
I can't understand why the whole world gets mad at Israel when Hamas has continued to pluck away at them......if you have a flea that's biting you, wouldn't you flick it off eventually. Hamas should have stopped their attack on Israel long ago. Hamas are the ones that are causing these deaths in Palestine because they've used the civilians as 'cover'. Why hasn't the world rallied against Hamas in Palestine? Do you really believe that if Russia was launching a continued strike against California or the West Coast that the US wouldn't respond in kind? Wouldn't any country respond in kind eventually. I think Israel has been patient and kind enough. Hamas should pull out of Palestine completely so no more civilians are killed but if they choose not to then Israel must look at the casualties as unavoidable in protecting itself.
[edited by moderator]
THis is exactely what Israel is good for; total destruction of humanity, lives, buildings, even olive grooves destruction for the building of their selfish terrorist promise land. Killing children on Christmass is a...message to the entire world. People that claim to be once victims of the terrible holocausts are doing the same terrible thing to the Palestinians....
It seems to be about punishment and about destroying the infrastructure of Gaza. Bombing police stations and a university is not going to stop the rockets. Perhaps it is also about Israeli domestic politics as jockeying occurs for the upcoming election.
[edited by moderator]
This is really so completely ridiculous. For days the Muslim Hamas...in Gaza launch rockets at Israeli civilians. The "Arab world" is quiet. Then Israel retaliates and the "Arab World' suddenly goes nutso. How long do we tolerate this asinine double standard?
Where was the Arab world when those rockets were being fired at innocent Israelis? Sitting on their butts and shutting... up, that's where .. and the same goes for much of the oh-so-enlightened European Union. Then Israel retaliates and everybody tells Israel to be careful about causing civilian casualties. Do any of you remember "the world" telling Hamas to be careful about where they aim those rockets? Did "the world" warn Israelis about civilian casualties among the so-called "Palestinians?"
Hamas tells Israel that if they don't stop their assault then Hamas is going to resort to suicide bombings. Are you believing this? Hamas feels free to fire rockets indiscriminately into the Israeli civilian population. They're telling Israel that if it tries to stop them from playing with their rockets, they'll move on to suicide bombs. In other words ... the message is that Israel just has to endure the rocket attacks and do nothing in return.
Israel is to be admired here. They have a civilian population to protect, and the hell with world opinion. When "the world" shows as much concern for innocent Israelis dying under Hamas rocket barrages as it does for Palestinians, then maybe Israel will listen.
Israeli troops are reportedly massing at the border. Send 'em in to clean out...Hamas...once and for all.
Even as a supporter of the state of Israel i have a hard time answering the original question. The problem is that the Palestinian people have abused their one golden opportunity to get their own state. Israel pulled out of the Gaza strip unilaterally. They dismantled the settlements and left the people to create their own government. The israeli government ripped people from their homes in order to try and give the palestinians the first step towards creating their own state. When people talk about the occupation still going on in Gaza its because they dont look at their history. There is no occupation of the gaza strip. The blockade only exists since Hamas took over. Its a response to a terrorist state controlling land that is in their "backyard". Try to imagine what it would be like to have have a government like Iran exist in Mexico. Americans supported building a fence on the Us-Mexican border and all they want to do is come here and work. imagine if they wanted to come to the US and be suicide bombers. what we do to keep our families safe? The answer is the same thing the Israelis do with the Gaza strip. Israel wants peace more than you will ever realize. Imagine having to send every single one of your children into the army once they turn 18. No parent wants that. But they are being put in an absurd situation. Israel has the right to exist as a state and when its sovreignty is under attack you better believe it will defend itself just as any other nation on earth would do. Dont be so quick to put fingers but instead do some real research into the Gaza strip and you will see in this scenario Israel tried to do the right thing for the Palestinian people and the response was daily rocket attacks on civilian populations. But to try and answer the endgame question i really dont see this ending well. Its amazing that when i read the news i mourn for the civilians who die in gaza as collateral damage but when they hit a schoolyard on purpose with one of their rockets they celebrate. but that makes no difference. I am scared that this will not help anything. The only end game that would make a difference is to remove Hamas from government but to do that would require a new occupation but thats not a solution either. I can only hope that in the very least israel wil destroy the Hamas weapons supply and bring calm to the Negev once again. Please pray for the lives of both the innocent israelis and palestinians who are in danger right now.
Hamas apologists would like to have us believe that they are benign. What is happening there is 100% Hamas's fault. Then, why is it not happening in the other territory? These people are inhuman beasts who will gladly let every Palestinian die in order to further their ideology. I hope Israel will hold their rear-ends to the fire on these rockets. Personally I would halt any territory negotiations, declare the areas part of Israel and treat it as an internal affair of Israel. The Palestinians will never have a homeland under any conditions that any sane person can think of. Certainly not under rocket fire.
McVeigh did not carry out attacks in the name of God. Also, The IRA was not a religious organization. And it was not their aim to establish a Catholic religious caliphate in Ireland.
Here are 5 questions for Muslims:
1. Why are you so quiet? Israelis and other "infidels" are targeted for death by Muslim terrorists blowing themselves up in the name of your religion. You don't condemn it.
2. Why are none of the Palestinian terrorists Christian? They are just as occupied and nationalistic as the Muslims Palestinians.
3. Why is only one of the 47 Muslim-majority countries a free country? Mali is the exception, according to Freedom House.
4. Why are so many atrocities committed and threatened by Muslims in the name of Islam?
5. Why do countries governed by religious Muslims persecute other religions?
I await your response...
“The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do.”
- Samuel P. Huntington (author The Clash Of Civilizations)
----------------
Reply to Qazi -- Samuel Huntington also said the following -
"Wherever one looks along the perimeter of Islam, Muslims have problems living peaceably with their neighbors. The question naturally rises as to whether this pattern of the late 20th century conflict between Muslim and non-Muslim groups is equally true of relations between groups from other civilizations. In fact, it is not. Muslims make up 1/5 of the world's population but in the 1990s they have been far more involved in intergroup violence than the people of any other civilization....Islam's borders are bloody, and so are its innards"
"It seems to be about punishment and about destroying the infrastructure of Gaza. Bombing police stations and a university is not going to stop the rockets. Perhaps it is also about Israeli domestic politics as jockeying occurs for the upcoming election."
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Good point, Canuckistan. The far right parties are leading in the polls.
quiet is the only thing that israel demand's. for all the tempestuous i suggest to imagine themselves passing day by day in the fear of rockets flying above their heads. i think that hamas get exactly what he spread.
Quick Notes:-
1. Blaming Islam:- very silly argument but we could easily make the same about christianity.. ww1 and ww2, Hitler, crusaders, hundreds of years of oppression against women and black, colonization, enslaving other nations are all actions done by christians or christian countries. People who talk with this kind of logic are most of the time have a racist background. This same logic was used by Nazi about the Jews in ww2. So please cut the silly and stuped hateful propaganda that only satisfy the sick twisted minds of racist people.
2. If you think that Israel and Hamas problem is about Islam then again you either extremely naive, ignorant or you know the truth and try to hide it with your justification for the Israeli Nazi crimes against Palestinians. The equition is as simple as this, Israel is a colonized state created by the west on stolen land from its owners ( Palestinians). Israel and the states are happy with anyone that surrounder, accept their domination as masters and decision makers, no matter who they are and what they believe in, and anyone try to resist the treatment of Israeli's for Palestinians as sub-humans, or even animals, is a terrorist in their eyes. The Palestinian revolution against occupation and oppression started with secular, leftist, marxist people.. has nothing to do with religion, and they were all titled terrorist at that time.. these same people ( Fateh and Arafat) became not terrorist when they started slowly accepting the "master rule" of Israel.. then in camp-david when arafat refused to give up all rights of Palestinians that are protected by International Law, Arafat was fought against in the last days of his life again by the same people that consider arafat a partner in the period before.. its as simple as this, you either surronder and become a slave for us, or you are a terrorist that we will kill, torture.. etc.
3. There are many resistance and revolutionary groups in Palestine who refuse to live the life of slaves.. now Islam is a religion that tells its followers to either live in diginity or die a hero defending this.. most people around the world praise this logic .. people who fought and died against the Nazi are heros.. The black people that died asking for their civil rights in the states are not considered terrorist, at least not by black people.. the problem is the propaganda media machine twist things around and change what this conflict is about..
4. The current war is not about rockets and you will be very naive if you believed this.. Hamas is not attacked for being islamic group but rather a resistance group.. Israeli's admit that they have planned carefully for this for months.. the intention was there long time ago no matter what Hamas does, fire rockets or not.. and this is why Israel during the 6 months of "truce" violated the truce over a hundred time, closed boarder and made people in Gaza in the worse human conditions on earth.. no food .. no medicine.. they were pushing Hamas to refuse to renew the "truce" simply becuase it was not a truce.. what Israel is calling as a truce is simple accepting to live the biggest concentration camp and prison of the world with no food, medical supplies or anything.. so either die from hunger, desies in your concentration campe under the "truce" or die by our F-16 bombing..
Its so sad to see the consiouse of the world is politically motivated these days.. If an Israeli die.. what a tragedy .. when hundreds of Palestinians die.. well... its sad but not a big deal.. If the bombing was against animals shelter and 350 dogs and cats died, maybe the whole world would have risen up to against Israel.. If some twisted mind person gather 1.5 million chicken in a cage and then entered teh cage and started shooting them.. maybe the UN would have made a resolution to stop him.. but its ok to have a concentration camp where Palestinian children die.. after all Palestinians are criminals by DNA.. even 1 month baby Palestinian deserve to die ..
The world should stop this new holocoast !!
I see that both Labour and Kadima are up in the polls as a result of the attacks.
can i also point out, and this rarely seems to be discussed in teh commentary, as to how small Gaza is. If you attack police stations or almost any targets there you are going to kill civilians and it's not because the civilians are being used as shields.
To Dave:
Answer to all your questions lie in scratching the surface and reading some history of all those Islamic countries you say are involved in violence. Read the history and you will learn how much the west has interfered in those coountries in propping up corrupt dictators. Example: Iranelected a secular government back in 50s. CIA toppled that government and installed a emperor who ruled with an iron fist but obeyed all the orders from his masters (US Govt). Result Ayatullah Khomeini after 25 years of oppression. Afghanistan a secular government back in 70s cozying up with the Soviet Union. Again CIA engineered an uprising a "Jihad" to quote the Secretary of State of that time Brezinski. Pakistan elected a secular party to power. The leader Bhutto, a socialist, was an obstacle to the Jihad campaign CIA was preparing for so he got toppled by an ultra- islamist General and the socialist leader was hanged. Pakistan has been an Islamic stse since then led by Generals or corrupt politicians since then. Iraq, the dictator Bush says he toppled to save the Iraqis, was brought to power with the help of CIA who provided him with the list of all the socialist in the country. He was wholeheartedly supported with arms when he launched an unprovoked attack on Iran at the instigation of his msters in the Whitehouse ( remember the video and photo of Rumsfeld shaking hands and having a meeting with Saddam back in the 80s? Of course you know how friendly US/ Bush relations are with the Islamic State of Saudi Arabia are. The same country wherefrom the 18 highjackers are if you are to believe the official version of 9/11 events. Simple rule of the game is "either you are with us or you are a terrorist". All this has nothing to do with religiion. If it helps you an Islamic regime (Saudi Arabia) is okay, if it refuses to be dictated by the west (Iran), it is a terrorist state. I can go on with more examples but I want you to go out and do your own study. Thanks.
To Dave:
One of the founding fathers of PLO George Habbash is a Christian. of course , he was also called a terrorist in those days.
Tariq Aziz, the foreign minister in Saddam's regime is Christian.
Hanan Ashrawi, a prominent Palestinian spokesperson is Christian.
Do you know how Hamas came into existence? Hamas was created by the tacit approval and support of the Israeli government to counter the "terrorist" of those days, Arafat and his PLO. Again, religion did not matter as long as Islamist Hamas could counter the influence of the secular "terrorists" the PLO among the Palestinians. Recent history shows you the result. West controlled by the now " good guys" the PLO bacause they listen to you and Gaza by the "terrorists" Hamas, although elected fairly by the Palestinian population.
You often hear that Ahmendinnejad wants to annihilate Israel. You should wonder how come there are thousands of Jews living in Iran in peace if Iran's aim is to annihilate Israel? Is it the government Iran has issues with or the people?
To Blue Proctor:
There hasn't been any blockade going on at the west bank. The people in Gaza have been denied basic necessities of life for months on end despite please from UN and other world bodies. Extra-judicial killings of Hamas leaders have been going on while the so-called truce was in place. Desperate situations lead to desperate measures. What would you do if you had to undergo the same situation as Gazans are faced with?
To Elizabeth:
At the time of first Intefada when young kids were throwing stones at Israeli tanks, armourced cars and well-equipped forces, the Israeli forces target practised on those kids and blamed the parents for hiding behind those kids.
In 2006 Israeli bombings killed atleast a 1,000 civilians again the blame was on Hezbollah for hinding among the civilians. Hezbollah killed 100 Israelis with their rockets 60 of them were soldiers. Question is who was aiming better, Israelis with their missiles or Hezbollah with their home made rockets?!!
Before blaming Hamas ask the Israeli government to what purpose there was a blockade on Gazans for so many months. Why basic necessities were not allowed in? Why was Israel controlling their lives. Are these the same people who suffered under the Nazis?!!
"Do you know how Hamas came into existence? Hamas was created by the tacit approval and support of the Israeli government to counter the “terrorist” of those days, Arafat and his PLO."
"Tariq Aziz, the foreign minister in Saddam’s regime is Christian."
"Hanan Ashrawi, a prominent Palestinian spokesperson is Christian."
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Not true.
Yes. They are Christians. These individuals don't preach the Islamic jihad ideology. And I know that some Christians commit acts of terror, but the vast majority of attacks are carried out by Muslims. There is a crisis within Islam and moderate Muslims are ignoring it.
I don't always agree with US foreign policy - especially US actions in the Balkans. I think the Serbs have been demonized and blamed for things they didn't do. Today, Srpska is under threat by the Bosnian Muslim authorities who are now labeling it a illegitimate entity. They want to do away with the Serbian enclave. They're going to push for a land grab. The US aided KLA terrorists and Bosnian Muslim mercenaries and I didn't agree with that either. The Americans bombed and the Muslims egged them on. We now have an independent Kosovo, another failed state. It's not even legal.
Now the Muslims have the Kosovo town of Pec again -- the former seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church. They (Americans and Muslims) know Pec is sacred ground to the Serbs, but they don't care. Did Muslims ever learn to get over the loss of the Ottoman Empire?
To Dave:
You missed the point. Moderate muslims only looked for social justice and equality. They voted for secular governments. Your "civilized" western powers imposed dictatorships and wholeheartedly funded Islamic parties, open madaressahs to counter Soviet influence. Blame your own "Christian" western governments for promoting Islamic extermism. Today moderate muslim are stuck between two evils US, UK and their Allies and Islamic extremist. They have to make a choice between neo-colonialism or strict Taleban type Islamic rule. Both are unacceptable. Atrocities committed in the name of democracy by the occupation forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and the humiliation of the local population, however, are pushing the younger, emotional population towards the Islamic militants.
You must be a moderate Christian. How come you find the Chirstian extremist Serbs as innocent of the crimes they committed? We have seen the videos of the camps with starving emaciated muslims, the gunning down of both young and old muslim men, the torched houses with burnt bodies inside etc.