[phosphor112]

Israel is getting ready to attack.

They formed the coalition the other night...reminiscent of the 6 day war and other ordeals that require national unity.

[s7evn]

I'm glad we can all get along.

[phosphor112]

I'm glad we can all get along.

I'm going to hang out in that shelter of yours.

[RawPower]

Well this particular threat is actually very valid thing to criticize them about. It is obvious that they probably can't/won't attack and that the whole nuclear situation in Iran is going to most likely reach an agreement soon. But it's still disgusting that members of the Israeli government are willing to make such a threat and expect people to believe it.

The fact that they're explicitly threatening to kill innocent civilians is indefensible. So yes, this is a valid thing to criticize Israel about. Hezbollah on the other hand isn't getting one fucking iota of sympathy from me.

[cousins]

Why doesn't the UN ever tell Israel to calm down?

So yes, this is a valid thing to criticize Israel about.

You're clearly anti-semetic.

[nib95]

So the ultimate warmongers are threatening countries with indiscriminate force again I see. Smh at Israel every other week.

But on a side note, I think it's likely Hizbollah would help Iran. So this Iran attack is looking ever more dangerous. More so considering Iran's economic ties with China and Russia. But I guess that's why Israel/US are getting more antsy.

[RawPower]

This entire conflict is scaring the living shit out of me.

[phosphor112]

This entire conflict is scaring the living shit out of me.

It should, it'll be the start of WWIII. The whole middle east will fucking blow up (pun sorta intended). The whole ordeal in Syria alone is crucial... add in several other countries into the mix? Yeah, will end up well...

God knows we need to spend more money we don't have either...

[speculawyer]

Israel is getting ready to attack.

No.

Why doesn't the UN ever tell Israel to calm down?

List of United Nations resolutions concerning Israel

[phosphor112]

No.

Elaborate?

List of United Nations resolutions concerning Israel

How are those 1947 borders holding up?

[goomba]

Why doesn't the UN ever tell Israel to calm down? .

They do but the US vetos any bill against Israel.

[demolitio]

There's too many places right now that could be the catalyst to a much, much larger conflict. That's the real scary part of it all.

[gabbo]

Didn't the Israeli government just rework a coalition to avoid an election? Sounds like posturing to drum up support for actions that will not happen despicable as they are.

[goomba]

The sad fact is that the only fair answer to the Israel / Palestine issue is so obvious.

One democratic state, Palestinians get right of return, citizenship and equal rights.

With Israel taking more and more of the west bank and Jerusalem day by day, it's too late for a two state solution.

[GusBus]

The sad fact is that the only fair answer to the Israel / Palestine issue is so obvious. One democratic state, Palestinians get right of return, citizenship and equal rights. With Israel taking more and more of the west bank and Jerusalem day by day, it's too late for a two state solution.

This. The reality is that Israel is shooting themselves in the foot by not making a two state solution today. It would be in there interests to do so as they would still retain a good chunk of land. Ultimately however, because everyone is being so stubborn, this is the inevitable outcome.

[kazuo]

They have the most advanced Airforce known to man

You have been saying some seriously goofy things in this thread; this one takes the cake. We (the USA) have the most advanced Air Force known to man. See also: F-22 Raptor, which we won't even sell to our Israeli buddies.

The IDF probably would win a full-scale conflict against Hezbollah (or just Lebanon in general), but beat Iran "with ease"? Completely ignoring everything else, let's look at a map of the middle east:

http://i.infoplease.com/images/mapmiddleeast.gif

"With ease"? Perhaps "bomb their infrastructure into the stone age with ease", but defeat them "with ease"?

ಠ_ಠ

[Rocket Scientist]

These people are psychopaths.

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

You have been saying some seriously goofy things in this thread; this one takes the cake. We (the USA) have the most advanced Air Force known to man. See also: F-22 Raptor, which we won't even sell to our Israeli buddies. The IDF probably would win a full-scale conflict against Hezbollah (or just Lebanon in general), but beat Iran "with ease"? Completely ignoring everything else, let's look at a map of the middle east: http://i.infoplease.com/images/mapmiddleeast.gif "With ease"? Perhaps "bomb their infrastructure into the stone age with ease", but defeat them "with ease"? ಠ_ಠ

Yeah, these countries have become incredibly proficient at insurgency/guerilla warfare etc. If Israel did target Iran I would say they might just scatter their forces amongst the civilian population. It would be Iraq on a much much grander scale and I see no way anyone is winning that.

[theignoramus]

You have been saying some seriously goofy things in this thread; this one takes the cake. We (the USA) have the most advanced Air Force known to man. See also: F-22 Raptor, which we won't even sell to our Israeli buddies. The IDF probably would win a full-scale conflict against Hezbollah (or just Lebanon in general), but beat Iran "with ease"? Completely ignoring everything else, let's look at a map of the middle east: http://i.infoplease.com/images/mapmiddleeast.gif "With ease"? Perhaps "bomb their infrastructure into the stone age with ease", but defeat them "with ease"? ಠ_ಠ

they cant even do that without nuclear weapons, if you're talking about an Israeli attack on Iran. that's why they want to drag the US into it.

[Big Baybee]

They just straight up said they would fucking target civilians. Goddamn.

[BigJonsson]

Well yea

If Israel attacked Iran and Hezbollah launched an attack against Israel it is only logical that Israel would decimate the source of the attack coming from inside Lebanon

[theignoramus]

Well yea If Israel attacked Iran and Hezbollah launched an attack against Israel it is only logical that Israel would decimate the source of the attack coming from inside Lebanon

but they dont do just that and they havnt since the Lebanon war in 1980. since the 90s, theyve specifically gone after civilian infrastructure (claiming the hezbollah was embedded within when, more often than not, no independent verification can be made of a Hezbollah presence and the IDF refuse to provide ANY corroborating evidence) to get people to turn against Hezbollah. They did the same in Gaza in 08/09. They figure if the Lebanese look around and see their homes destroyed, their neighbourhoods pulverized, they'll see the Hezbollah (or, in the case of Gaza, Hamas) as the source of their misery, rally against the them and root them out, like cancer from within. It's a REALLY ineffective strategy. The US used it over Germany and Japan in wwII and Vietnam and Cambodia in the 60s and 70s and they found that indiscriminate bombing generally rallies people against the entity that's bombing them and around the entity that claims to be fighting on their behalf.

I'm not pulling this out of my ass, this is Israeli strategy and they've said so themselves over and over and over again in english media. if the American media was fair and balanced about reporting on Israel, this would be as commonly known as Ahmadinjad's lunacy and Hamas' anti semetic charter.

[TacticalFox88]

Did someone say Israel could defeat Iran with ease? Really? You're saying a country whose fighter jets can't even REACH a country that's literally ten times the size of them in both landmass and population, with a population that every man woman and child would take up arms to defend, could defeat with ease?


Fucking LOL!

[Enco]

Fucking Israel.

"We're gonna attack you but don't you dare retaliate or we'll attack you again!"

"The day after (we attack) the village will be something that it will take 10 years to rebuild"

How the fuck can any sane person support this? Fucking childish and pathetic. The Israeli forces and government are a bunch of sub human pieces of shit.

[theignoramus]

Fucking Israel. "We're gonna attack you but don't you dare retaliate or we'll attack you again!" "The day after (we attack) the village will be something that it will take 10 years to rebuild" How the fuck can any sane person support this? Fucking childish and pathetic. The Israeli forces and government are a bunch of sub human pieces of shit.

I never thought of them as uniquely nasty or evil or subhuman or whatever, and they're not utterly grotesque in the way the Syrian army is or Saddam's army was but they're quite capable of brutality and cruel indifference to human suffering and the US media has a responsibility to show that.

[GuessWho]

Where does it say israel will target civilians? And pretty low, for hezbollah to build there infrastructures in middle of towns. Shows how little they give a shit about civilians too. Although if they were in the open they would probably already of been bombed.

[Instigator]

As someone of Jewish descent, I've always been a supporter of Israel and its right to exist.

The fact that they're explicitly threatening to kill innocent civilians is indefensible. So yes, this is a valid thing to criticize Israel about. Hezbollah on the other hand isn't getting one fucking iota of sympathy from me.

Sounds like you only need some lebanese ancestry in you to make you sympathize with Hezbollah. It would probably helped if you were shiite.

Tribalism, ain't that swell?

[RawPower]

Sounds like you only need some lebanese ancestry in you to make you sympathize with Hezbollah. It would probably helped if you were shiite. Tribalism, ain't that swell?

What the fuck is this?

I support Israel's right to exist, which in itself is not the same as ethnic cleansing or killing innocent civilians (things I do not support, and have criticized Israel for in this very thread). How did you even draw that parallel? I hate Hezbollah because they have made it abundantly clear that they hate Jews and want Israel wiped off the map. The Israeli government can change, and you can support a country without agreeing with its policies. A movement like Hamas or Hezbollah, on the other hand, were created with specific purposes in mind and are not likely to stray from those ideals without becoming an entirely different thing altogether.

[Instigator]

You implied that because you have Jewish ancestry, you support Israel. You will still criticize Israel on some moral points, but if you're forced to choose, you'll pick the Israeli side no matter what because your "tribe" comes first at the end of the day.

Ask yourself this: what would it take to make you stop supporting Israel?

[Ydahs]

Sounds like you only need some lebanese ancestry in you to make you sympathize with Hezbollah. It would probably helped if you were shiite. Tribalism, ain't that swell?

I don't see how you came to that conclusion. From what I gather he supports their right to exist, but does not necessarily support the government and its policies.


Anyway, as someone of Lebanese descent, I'm absolutely terrified that something so blatant can be said without worldwide condemnation. Why do you think Hezbollah is setting up camp in these villages to begin with?

If such an atrocity were to occur, hopefully other countries will actually do something instead of saving face with meaningless words.

[Hammer24]

Although the prospect of an attack in the next few months is unlikely until after Israelis vote in a September general election...

Huh? I thought there would be no election in September, with the recent changes in the governments coalition.

[RawPower]

You implied that because you have Jewish ancestry, you support Israel. You will still criticize Israel on some moral points, but if you're forced to choose, you'll pick the Israeli side no matter what because your "tribe" comes first at the end of the day. Ask yourself this: what would it take to make you stop supporting Israel?

I support the right of Israel to exist, nothing more. Government cabinets can and do change, and that is the direction I'm hoping Israel goes in. For instance, Iran used to be an ally of Israel until 1979. As far as the bolded is concerned, I think you're reading way too much into my comments.

[RawPower]

I don't see how you came to that conclusion. From what I gather he supports their right to exist, but does not necessarily support the government and its policies.

That is exactly what I meant. Thank you.

[Instigator]

So why don't you come back to your initial statement and elaborate. Why does being Jewish have any relevance in supporting Israel's right to exist? Do other countries/nations have a right to exist or some do not?

I'm not being cute here, but you go some way to criticize policies on moral and humanitarian grounds, but the right to exist (for Israel) is purely because of some ethnic/cultural affinity?

[jorma]

Some people just want to watch the world burn. From their newly aquired sofa.

[RawPower]

So why don't you come back to your initial statement and elaborate. Why does being Jewish have any relevance in supporting Israel's right to exist? Do other countries/nations have a right to exist or some do not? I'm not being cute here, but you go some way to criticize policies on moral and humanitarian grounds, but the right to exist (for Israel) is purely because of some ethnic/cultural affinity?

Why is wanting the best for my own people a bad thing? It doesn't necessarily entail that I want it to come at the expense of others, as you seem to be insinuating. Of course, you could argue that the State of Israel DID come at the expense of others, and that is a tragedy. But there's nothing that can be done about that now, and it's not like wiping it off the map is going to make anything better, or bring the dead back from their graves. You seem to want me to not support Israel for some reason, which begs the question: why?

As for the bolded part, of course they do. Why wouldn't they?

[Cromat]

Meh.

For those who don't know, the chances of an Israeli strike on Iran are lower after Netanyahu added the centrist Kadima party to his coalition yesterday.

Mofaz, the leader of Kadima, is firmly against an attack on Iran and is for reaching an agreement with the Palestinians and even negotiating with Hamas.

I take it as proof that Netanyahu's threats are merely posturing to make the West take a harder stance towards Iran. When Israel wants to bomb someone it doesn't sit around and throw threats for five years, it just does it.

[Instigator]

Why is wanting the best for my own people a bad thing? It doesn't necessarily entail that I want it to come at the expense of others, as you seem to be insinuating. Of course, you could argue that the State of Israel DID come at the expense of others, and that is a tragedy. But it's not like wiping it off the map is going to make anything better, or bring the dead back from their graves. As for the bolded part, of course they do. Why wouldn't they?

Take the Kurds, for example. They're a large minority in 3 or 4 countries, they have a right to exist as a people, but an actual Kurdistan would be a clusterfuck for the region. You could still say Kurdistan as a right to exist as a country if it ever came to be, but I don't think it's a necessity. The world over, you have thousands of different ethnic/religious minorities and technically, they all have a right to exist, but I don't think you need to make a country for every single one of them.

Israel is there already so it's a matter of acknowledging a reality, but even if you argue Israel has a right to exist, I don't think it absolutely needs to exist. The world would probably be better off without it.

[jaxword]

Are there any "good guys" in this war?

There are never any "good" guys in any war. You need to break free of childhood notions of good and evil that hollywood and religion and videogames gave you. There is no good, there is no evil, there's just people doing what they want. Or, to be more specific, what they've been told they want by people in power, although it may as well be the same thing.

Every single person thinks they are the "good guy". And every person on the other side is the "bad guy."

[Always-honest]

Always nice to see the threat of a couple of backwards fundamentalistic nations (not all the people in those nations ofcourse....) potentially fucking up the world for the entire human population.

[RawPower]

Take the Kurds, for example. They're a large minority in 3 or 4 countries, they have a right to exist as a people, but an actual Kurdistan would be a clusterfuck for the region. You could still say Kurdistan as a right to exist as a country if it ever came to be, but I don't think it's a necessity. The world over, you have thousands of different ethnic/religious minorities and technically, they all have a right to exist, but I don't think you need to make a country for every single one of them. Israel is there already so it's a matter of acknowledging a reality, but even if you argue Israel has a right to exist, I don't think it absolutely needs to exist. The world would probably be better off without it.

If a Kurdistan were created, I would not object to it. Whether or not it will ever happen is another story, but I'd support their sovereignty if it ever did. However, a nation for Jews did happen, and dismantling it will only create a slew of new problems.

I might be off here, but you seem to have some sort of beef with my support for the existence of Israel. Considering the factors that led to its creation (i.e. centuries of persecution and a desire for independence) and that it is a place that was created as a means to protect Jews and give us a sense of independence and dignity, it's hardly unreasonable for a Jew such as myself to want it to exist and thrive. For example, what if there were an outbreak of antisemitism in our country of residence and we had nowhere else to go, what do we do then? Stay here and wait for our death, or escape to a country full of our own kinsmen that won't shut the door in our faces (like America did during the Holocaust)? At least with Israel, we have something to fall back on, and I don't think that should be taken from us.

[Kinyou]

Yeah, try threaten the Terrorists. That always worked.

[Hammer24]

Meh. For those who don't know, the chances of an Israeli strike on Iran are lower after Netanyahu added the centrist Kadima party to his coalition yesterday. Mofaz, the leader of Kadima, is firmly against an attack on Iran and is for reaching an agreement with the Palestinians and even negotiating with Hamas. I take it as proof that Netanyahu's threats are merely posturing to make the West take a harder stance towards Iran. When Israel wants to bomb someone it doesn't sit around and throw threats for five years, it just does it.

This, combined with the misinformation about the cancelled September election date lets me doubt the validity of the article as a whole.

[M.D]

I like how everyone is "BAD ISAREL HOW DARE YOU RETALIATE IF HEZBOLLAH ATTACKS YOU", but no one gives a shit that Hezbollah uses civilians to hide behind

[Enco]

I never thought of them as uniquely nasty or evil or subhuman or whatever, and they're not utterly grotesque in the way the Syrian army is or Saddam's army was but they're quite capable of brutality and cruel indifference to human suffering and the US media has a responsibility to show that.

Sure Saddam and the Syrian army is horrific but the Israeli government is racist and value no life other than their own. They bomb schools and citizens purposely and pull a load of illegal shit with settlements. Plus there's always some news about how the government is urging Isareli's to treat the Arabs differently etc etc. It's a huge mess and the US is too scared to do anything. It's just sad.

[SleazyC]

I like how everyone is "BAD ISAREL HOW DARE YOU RETALIATE IF HEZBOLLAH ATTACKS YOU", but no one gives a shit that Hezbollah uses civilians to hide behind

[M.D]

What's your point?

[wonzo]

.

[Winnie the Pimp]

This conflict will never be settled it seems since the ones that keep rekindling the fire on both sides are bloodthirsty, crazy egomaniacs that don't actually give a shit about their own population even if they claim they do!

Like someone else said the BEST solution were for them to duke it out somewhere in the desert or something until there is only one left standing but they won't ever be satisfied no matter what anyways...

I mean i get that one side wants revenge for past wrongdoings and the other side wants to just eradicate them from the map it seems but what are they gonna accomplish by dragging innocent people into this that just want to live a semi normal life?

[Winnie the Pimp]

Sure Saddam and the Syrian army is horrific but the Israeli government is racist and value no life other than their own. They bomb schools and citizens purposely and pull a load of illegal shit with settlements. Plus there's always some news about how the government is urging Isareli's to treat the Arabs differently etc etc. It's a huge mess and the US is too scared to do anything. It's just sad.

That's not it, the US just like other superpowers across history care for their interests and will do whatever if takes to secure them!

If there is nothing in it for them, then why the hell would they make a move?

Imo, either the US is in waiting position and still figuring out how to best act to further their interests OR everything is already playing out just fine for them right now and they sit back and enjoy the show to step in at the right moment...