Israel Takes A Stupid Pill, by Larry Johnson

[Coexist]

No Quarter is fast becoming my most frequent stop for unique analysis from those with more insight than I, and somewhere to make sense of this senselessness.

Apparently not content to let the U.S. do a self-immolation act in the Middle East by itself, Israel decided to set itself on fire by invading Lebanon. Burn baby burn? Like George Bush, Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, never served in a combat unit and launched military operations without thinking the matter through. In fact, Olmert reportedly never even served in the military. I raise this because there is one simple question Israel cannot answer about the current operations--what is their strategic military objective. Olmert has somehow persuaded the Israeli military to ignore strategy, think tactically, and in the process become really stupid. The events in the next several weeks will expose as myth the canard that you can secure a nation by killing terrorists. No you can't.

Killing "terrorists" has a place in policy but it is not a strategic military objective. It is a tactical objective and may serve political purposes, but achieves little in terms of securing Israel. Israel is attacking targets in Lebanon like a drunken sailor in a bar fight. Flailing about, causing significant damage, hitting innocent bystanders, and generally making a mess of things. This is not the Israeli military that pulled off the brilliant and daring raid at Entebbe.

What about Hamas and Hezbollah?

They are not terrorists. They carry out terrorist attacks, but they are not terrorists. They are something far more dangerous. They are fully functioning political, social, religious, and military organizations that use terrorism tactics, but they are far more formidable than terrorist groups like Al Qaeda or the Basque Terrorist Organization. They do have the resources and the personnel to project force, sustain operations, and cannot be easily defeated. Unlike the Egyptian and Syrian armies in 1973, Hamas and Hezbollah will not easily fold and cannot be defeated in a seven day war. If that is the assumption among some Israeli military planners it is a crazy fantasy.

While most folks in the United States buy into the Hollywood storyline of poor little Israel fighting for it's survival against big, bad Muslims, the reality unfolding on our TV screens shows something else. Exodus, starring Paul Newman, is ancient history. Hamas and Hezbollah attacked military targets--kidnapping soldiers on military patrols may be an act of war and a provocation, but it is not terrorism. (And yes, Hezbollah and Hamas have carried out terrorist attacks in the past against Israeli civilians. I'm not ignoring those acts, I condemn them, but we need to understand what the dynamics are right now.) Israel is not attacking the individuals who hit their soldiers. Israel is engaged in mass punishment.

more...

[Mojambo]

1. They must have broken into Georgie's stash. n/t

[Just Me]

2. There is NO making sense of these senseless individuals.

They do have purpose, though: PNAC. No matter how senseless, they will execute that plan.

[bloom]

3. I like the next paragraph...

"How did Israel respond? They bombed civilian targets and civilian infrastructure and have killed many civilians. Let's see if I have this right. The Arab "terrorists" attack military units, destroy at least one tank, and are therefore terrorists. Israel retaliates by launching aerial, naval, and artillery bombardments of civilian areas and they are engaging in self-defense. If we are unable to recognize the hypocrisy of this construct then we ourselves are so enveloped by propaganda and emotion that, like the Israelis, Hezbollah, and Hamas, we can't think rationally. We can only think in terms of tribalism and revenge."

[KittyWampus]

4. I just posted Steve Clemons analysis. He posits Israel is throwing a

monkey wrench into the United States foreign policy to prevent it from negotiating at all with Iran, moving forward with Syria , disengaging with Iraq.

[Coexist]

7. just read it - it is DEFINITELY a must read.

[otokogi]

5. thanks for sharing

larry johnson is always a good read :toast:

[niallmac]

6. Israelis and Arabs could be having free Root Beer Floats.

If the Israelis and Arab factions sat down and discussed (HONESTLY) in full all the options
open to them things could be different.

Sit down and talk. Cry, Rage. Accuse. Accuse and shake your finger about the wrongs of the past.
Get it all out. Demand apologies. Demand respect. Sit down and talk.

If the Israelis and the Arabs discussed what they each fantasized would happen if either of them 'won' a
contest based on killing innocent men women and children then there could be a beginning to a peace.

There is no future to be forged with hate and war.

There is no alternative to understanding and coexistence.

The devil claims the souls of all who encourage war.

Our statesmen should be ministers of peace. That is their moral imperative.

Our president proudly proclaims himself to be a War President.
By saying that he has betrayed his obligation to We The People.

Israelis and Arabs can get along. They have done it before.
They both want to live in peace.
We all want to live in peace.

The Israelis and Arabs could create
an example to the world.

The Arabs and Israelis could thrive and flourish.
They could create a paradise in their beautiful land by the sea.

Hell, they could buy themselves free Root Beer Floats in the summer.

War is that which stains all of us. It says that each one of us is powerless to stop
the killing and terrorizing of children for our own selfish interests.

We need men and women who can visualize our prosperity and not some myth of end times.

[daydreamer]

11. Amen.

[wellst0nev0ter]

8. Larry Johnson's Analysis Isn't Said Enough

:toast: recc'd :toast:

[MsMagnificent]

9. Interesting site, thanks for the link

[Justice Is Comin]

10. Somebody please find a miracle cure for Sharon.