Wm. Blum: They simply can't stop lying, can they?

[laststeamtrain]

They simply can't stop lying, can they?

Is There a Stronger Word Than "Hypocrisy"?

By WILLIAM BLUM

There are times when I think that this tired old world has gone on a few years too long. What's happening in the Middle East is so depressing. Most discussions of the eternal Israel-Palestine conflict are variations on the child's eternal defense for misbehavior -- "He started it!" Within a few minutes of discussing/arguing the latest manifestation of the conflict the participants are back to 1967, then 1948, then biblical times. I don't wish to get entangled in who started the current mess. I would like instead to first express what I see as two essential underlying facts of life which remain from one conflict to the next:

1. Israel's existence is not at stake and hasn't been so for decades, if it ever was. If Israel would learn to deal with its neighbors in a non-expansionist, non-military, humane, and respectful manner, engage in full prisoner exchanges, and sincerely strive for a viable two-state solution, even those who are opposed to the idea of a state based on a particular religion could accept the state of Israel, and the question of its right to exist would scarcely arise in people's minds. But as it is, Israel still uses the issue as a justification for its behavior, as Jews all over the world use the Holocaust and conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.

2. In a conflict between a thousand-pound gorilla and a mouse, it's the gorilla which has to make concessions in order for the two sides to progress to the next level. What can the Palestinians offer in the way of concession? Israel would reply to that question: "No violent attacks of any kind." But that would still leave the status quo ante bellum -- a life of unmitigated misery for the Palestinian people forced upon them by Israel. Peace without justice.

<snip>

Israel's real aim, and that of Washington, is the overthrow of the Hamas government in Palestine, the government that came to power in January through a clearly democratic process, the democracy that the Western "democracies" never tire of celebrating, except when the result doesn't please them. Is there a stronger word than "hypocrisy"? There is now "no Hamas government," declared a senior US official a week ago, "eight cabinet ministers or 30 percent of the government is in jail , another 30 percent is in hiding, and the other 30 percent is doing very little.” To make the government-disappearance act even more Orwellian, we have Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking in late June about Iraq: "This is the only legitimately elected government in the Middle East with a possible exception of Lebanon.” What's next, gathering in front of the Big Telescreeen for the Two Minutes Hate?

<snip>

http://www.counterpunch.org/blum07262006.html

[Lindacooks]

1. Excellent, and very important, article.

[ixion]

2. Second that...

k'd and r'd

[ThomCat]

6. I agree.

Now if only the people who keep blindly supporting Israel would actually read it...

[jonnyblitz]

3. I like William Blum. His books are good.

thanks for posting this.

[laststeamtrain]

4. U.S. Interventions: 1945 to the Present by Wm. Blum

His books ARE great!
Ever seen this handy-dandy piece? Probably. But here's a link anyway.
:hi:


http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/US_Interventions_WBlumZ.html

[jonnyblitz]

7. I knew what the link was to before I clicked on it! it's always worth

putting the link up there again for others, though! :thumbsup:

[CrispyQ]

8. Thank you for this excellent link!

I will print it out & read in full this evening. I suspect my right wing mother is going to receive a copy of this, too! ;)

[rman]

5. No, the abuser won't stop abusing just because you ask him.

Not a big surprise.