Friday, August 4, 2006

World War III

About to leave for Boston so I thought I'd leave you something to chew on. According to Billmon, it's inevitable:

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What's become clear to me is that the Democratic Party (even it's allegedly anti-war wing) will not try to stop this insanity, and in fact will probably be led as meekly to the slaughter as it was during the runup to the Iraq invasion. Watching the Dems line up to salute the Israeli war machine, hearing the uncomfortable and awkward silence descend on most of Left Blogistan once the bombs started falling in Lebanon, seeing how easily the same Orwellian propaganda tricks worked their magic on the pseudoliberals -- all this doesn't leave too much room for doubt. As long as World War III can be sold as protecting the security and survival of the Jewish state, I suspect the overwhelming majority of Democratics will support it. [my em]

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It's time for a little awakening in this country. It's time to separate calling a spade a spade, with regard to Israel, from the cries of anti-Semitism. As long as we take the position that Israel can do nothing wrong, and support every action she takes in the region, the chance of an all out world war will exist with a high probability.

This crap they are engaged in now is as fruitless an endeavor as our occupation of Iraq. If, after three weeks (more) of constant bombardment, Hezbollah is able to launch 200 rockets into Israel, something is extremely wrong. The 'war plan' has failed and continuing this folly will only galvanize Iran's hold over the hopeless and disenfranchised in the region.

With our nation's reputation unbreakably tied to Israeli policy, we can no way distance ourselves from the hate people of the region feel for Israel. Personally, I'm perfectly willing to pay for my own sins (and the sins of my nation) when the day of reckoning comes, but until Israel becomes the 51st State, I refuse to take responsibility for theirs.

I'm tired of the Israelis shitting all over the region in the name of self defense and our elected leaders coming out four square behind them. Don't tell me this is a fight that began thousands of years ago. Hezbollah and Hamas are the children born of Israel's policy (and ours by proxy) toward the Palestinians over the past forty years.

It's time in this country for us to dispel the conventional wisdom that criticism of Israel is somehow a slight of the Jewish religion. I happen to be very happily married to a Jewish woman, (the granddaughter of Russian immigrants escaping that tyranny) and have the utmost respect for her beliefs, but her loyalty is to the United States, not Israel.

We've fought for a long time to dispel the meme that we, because we criticize the Bush administration's policies, are anti-American or traitors, I will certainly not stand for being called an anti-Semite because I criticize Israel. I certainly will not stand for Israel leading us into a war that will eventually cost more American lives. We've lost enough thanks to the failed policy in Iraq, it would be a crime to lose more thanks to Israel's failed policy toward its neighbors.

As I've said many times before, Israel has every right to live in peace and retain its sovereignty, but they created Hamas and Hezbollah (as we created Osama bin-Laden) and I do not see our obligation to bail them out when every policy they've impelemented over the past forty years in the name of 'self defense' has been a colossal failure. I mean, if they were successful, Hamas and Hezbollah should be nothing more than a bad memory by now, right?

It's time for us to rethink our policy of appeasement for Israel and come up with some serious, new diplomatic initiatives for the region. If we continue on this course, not only will we plunge the entire region into war but make us less safe at home. As we've seen on 9/11, they can get us here. If we don't change the way we deal with the region, it will come back to bite us eventually. It's time for us to realize we are Americans first. If your first loyalty is to Israel, maybe it's time for you to move there.

Link thanks to Attaturk.

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