June 13, 2003
Burning Bush
I know this is a bit dated now, but I’m still pre-occupied with Bush’s statements toward Israel. I am a Bush supporter, but I cannot for the life of me figure out why he would chastise Israel for retaliating after they are attacked. If Israel just takes it and does nothing, they will send the wrong message to the Palestinians.
I know both sides have committed their share of horrors, but I put the responsibility on the shoulders of the Palestinians. All it takes is half a brain to realize that no Arab country will be happy until every Jew is dead. There isn’t an effective peace plan available. You cannot stop thousands of years of war between the Jews and Arabs with a nice little peace plan.
Bush or his advisors really made a mistake here. This kind of position will not win his conservative constituency.
Posted by Scott at June 13, 2003 08:15 AMWhat amazes me about both Democrats and Republicans is that they refuse to address the real issue at hand: There is a *cycle* of violence purpetuated by *both* sides. The reality is that Israel oppresses the Palestinians on a daily basis and, at the same time, the Palestinians respond through terror. As someone who chooses to take the middle road on this topic I say the Palestinians should read up on MLK, while the Israelis should step back from their racist ways.
Posted by: joestump at June 13, 2003 03:35 PMSo, joestump, the Palestinians are merely responding to Israeli oppression? Some see the instrumentality the other way around, as one would given the stated desire of many Arabs to drive Israelis into the sea.
I believe that the facts are that the mere existence of Israel as a Jewish state is enough to inflame the Arabs.
Posted by: Richard Bennett at June 13, 2003 05:18 PMRichard,
30 years ago, I think you would have been right. At this point, in this climate, I think that most Arab nations are willing to accept a Jewish state in the region, albeit grudgingly. What choice do they have, after all?
That is not to say that the radical elements of the Palestinians are willing to do so.
Israel is definitely making some concessions in this peace process, but it amazing the difference a couple of events can make. Monday, people were talking about the significance of Sharon saying the settlements were ‘occupations’, and now look at things.
The radical elements on both sides draw so much attention to the bad, and so little to the good things that go on. Israel relies on the Palestinians for a portion of their labor force, though their are large numbers of Chinese immigrants filling some of that gap now. Jerusalem during the day is a mixed city, when the border restrictions allow.
This issue is one of the tough ones, and not necessarily one divided down party lines, no matter what the author seems to think.
Posted by: crutan at June 14, 2003 09:52 AMIf there is a root cause, it is based in the fact that both sides hate each other based nothing more than on imagined differences. I think the U.S. should invade Israel and Palestine, maybe the threat of a common enemy will unify those idiots long enough for them to realize that neither side REALLY wants to continue the fighting. After all, I don’t think anyone in the world would really want to live in fear if they don’t have to. Maybe this sounds too simplistic, but I think that someone (not bush, not a politician, not a diplomat, maybe a child…) needs to remind the fanatics on both sides that what everyone really wants is to be happy, and that fighting really only gets in the way of that wish.
We need to remember that they’re all human, but they’re too ignorant and arrogant to look beyond crescent moons and stars of David…
Posted by: Jason at June 17, 2003 03:53 AMRoger L. Simon, quote of the week:
“To complain about the absence of WMDs at this point would be like having liberated Auschwitz during WWII only to grouse that there wasn’t any cylon-b in the concentration camp, just dead bodies.”
You egregious goose-stepping bastard. What a disengenuous defense of a shallow deception.
The dead bodies at Auschwitz are a fact. Unless, of course, you are part of the “Holocaust Never Happened” for lunch bunch. To equate the Holocaust with the Bush admin spin on Iraq’s WMD is to ….
… is to be like all of the other NEO-conservative disinformation specialists who are MAKING STUFF UP to support their cock-eyed opinions.
The Holocaust is about facts. The spin on WMD in Iraq is about facts.
So what you said is the Holocaust didn’t happen and Iraq did have WMD.
Prove it…. but stop insulting the Jewish race and folks like me who are not Jewish but have read History!
