by destroying what was left of the Gaza middle class, surely they a throwing people into the arms of Hamas….Of course, there are only 1.5 million Gazans, and they increasingly are being forced to live in Haiti-like conditions, so in the short term the Israelis can do whatever they want to them. But I can't see this ending well for the Israelis in the long term.
Perhaps if U.S. involvement in the current massacre were considered, the answer to Prof Cole’s question would become clearer. In the 33 day 2006 Israeli War on Lebanon, many saw the hand of the U.S. in the planning of the war and its refusal to call for a quick end to the bombardment aimed largely at civilians. Indeed there were credible reports then that the U.S. was pressuring Israel to extend the war to Syria. But such a plan was too crazy and self destructive even for the Israelis.
In the current crisis, the perpetrators seem to have handled the public relations aspect more shrewdly, and U.S. involvement is rarely mentioned. Or perhaps it’s simply a matter of time before it will be generally understood that it’s Elliot Abrams, Bush and Cheney who are driving the current horror.
And once again, since Israeli isn’t benefiting, the question is who is?
Obviously it’s not for oil.
Is it for Empire? Imperialism? The military industrial complex? Crony capitalism? The die hards will say so, but such theories don’t seem to fit the current circumstances.
The Lobby? Well they’re unvarying in their support of whatever Israel does, but it’s not clear that it's to satisfy them that F-16s are bombing children and laying waste to the infrastructure of Gaza such as it was, making it as hard as possible for civil life to continue.
By chance, the last phrase is our best answer.
Making civil life impossible. A history of the last eight years. Has all the devastation been the result of mistakes? miscalculations?
It's been noted that the current offensive will make things even more difficult for the incoming administration. Should we see the ongoing horror as another post election parting gift from the Bush team? First Mumbai, now Gaza. Is there time to squeeze in more state terror before Jan 20, or is the killing and destruction in Gaza going to have to serve us till then?
1 comment:
Hi Ron--Mel here--I disagree with your choosing sides. Don't blame the pit bulls for fighting in the ring, they were bred for it, they are the ones being abused.
After Hitler's final solution failed, Europeans had to find another course of action--and mass deportation was the logical choice. The UK, always a supporter of racism, had just the right spot--the correct spot 2000 years before, not so today.
Zionism is not a Jewish tool, it was the avenue to cleanse Europe of "them." Sure Jews fell for the gambit, hell, it looked better than Triblinka. The Arabs were pissed but were also defenseless. Not only were they poor weak nations, but they were fractured and wary of one another.
After the improbable Israeli victory, the stage was set--the pit bulls had an arena--bought weapons--never realizing that they were puppets. Today, like Afghanistan fighting the Russians, the puppeteer has lost control and the fan is getting shitted upon.
The whole mess is untenable, Israel cannot let rockets fall on Tel Aviv (only a matter of time for that) and the Arab countries don't want Palestinians to emigrate because of their own bigotry--not that they should be forced to lose their homeland.
Persecuted people are paranoid--both sides are justifiably psychotic and will not outgrow this. Egypt and Jordon running away from the fray made peace difficult--seemingly unattainable. Syria and Iran don't care about the people being slaughtered any more than do the Americans or the Brits, but see the fight as a way to keep their monarchy/theocracy alive.
Hopefully there's a Hell, and that it's big enough for all the players in this game, but I don't believe that--neither do you, I suspect. If we're wrong, somewhere deep below the surface, Hitler is smiling.
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