Punditry Break

[callistotoni]

I have no great love for John Bolton or for Israel, nor do I condone the tragedy that is taking place in Lebannon right now. But I must award Bolton debate style points for the line (to paraphrase from memory): "How one brokers a peace agreement between a democratically elected government in a soverign state and a terrorist gang has yet to be explained."

Comments

[mad-duchess.livejournal.com]

pandorasbox posted this link on her LJ
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51164

Like her, never in my feeble little life did I expect to agree with Pat frikkin' Buchanan on ANYTHING. But he's got my number in this article. (Just try to ignore the irritating side banner ads while reading this.) I'm speechless.

[ermine-rat.livejournal.com]

I am scared shitless by what I see going on in Lebanon, the begining of WWIII. Bolton's elegant argument is hard to avoid. I wish I had a better answer, but Lebanon is allowing their country to launch attacks on Israel with weapons that they are not capable of building. If the Lebanese government isn't responsible for their citizens or visitors who are launching attacks, then they aren't really a government, and their loss will not be missed. Israel isn't doing anything different than what the US would do to another country who had allowed a group of opinionated malcontents to launch weapons into our citizenry from the safety of foreign soil. Israel has nowhere to flee to.

[mad-duchess.livejournal.com]

Bombing the shit out of innocent people because you don't like the games their government is playing is never an option in my book. Just because it's something the US would do REALLY doesn't pull much weight with me either--quite the opposite these days.

I will shed no tears for Israel over this. I will for the 8 Canadians who lost their lives to Isreali bombs in Lebanon this week while waiting to be evacuated...

[lifeofglamour.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on that one. Also, exactly why Israel gets to be considered a sovereign state with a democratically elected government while Palestine, who they stole their land from to create said state, is denied the same status, means that in my mind they have not much credibility to begin with.
This isn't our war, this shouldn't be a war at all. This is a massive overreaction on the part of a hostile, semi-legitimate state with a hair trigger and penchant for aggression in a sensitive region. 'Cept it's only a sensitive region because they moved in and started forcing the inhabitants out to create a religious state there instead of integrating and getting along with the people already living there. No wonder the surrounding countries fire rockets at them.

[ermine-rat.livejournal.com]

I'm not happy with Israel either, but people on the Lebanon side of the border have been sniping from the Golan Heights into Israel for years, until Israel took it away (and returned it after the attacks ceased). Now these same opinionated people are launching rockets into Israel. What is Israel to do? The Lebanese government (invaded and controlled by Syria for many years) has done nothing but mouth defiance and denial of responsibility while rockets keep shooting out of their yard. These Lebanese militants have used schools, mosques and homes to hide their weapons and leadership, and howl outrage when they themselves place innocents as shields for their attacks on others. Israel isn't wearing a white hat, but I see no options for them to survive against opinionated people who want them all dead.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know where to begin.... and therefore probably shouldn't. Suffice it to say I think the creation of Israel was the biggest political folly of the 20th Century--I'd like to see a do-over on that. But now that you know where I stand on the issue, I think you'll agree it would be further folly to continue to hijack poor T's LJ to debate the issue. Sorry, dude--hope you still love me anyway.
:-b

[mad-duchess.livejournal.com]

Oops, that was me. Thought I was still logged in.

[ermine-rat.livejournal.com]

I agree.
I'm sorry.
I do.

[dame-cordelia.livejournal.com]

The wrong done to the Jews by Hitler and his ilk was not resolved by sending the Jews to the Middle East to live in the late 1940's when the modern state of Israel was formed at gunpoint. Yhis was very the wrong way to give the Jews a land of their own.

What is currently happening between Lebanon and Israel is a continuation of this tragedy. People who have lived in a place for over 1000 years don't like having their home stolen.

I feel sorry for both sides.