Israel storms Lebanon

[TSwift25]

I'm sorry, but Israel deserves anything they get from here on in.

 

Attacking civilian infrastructure on the first night of attacks is just overstepping boundaries.

 

Israel's simply playing into Iran's plans and further fueling hatred for them throughout the middle east.

[Beinfest4Prez]

I'm sorry, but Israel deserves anything they get from here on in.

 

Attacking civilian infrastructure on the first night of attacks is just overstepping boundaries.

 

Israel's simply playing into Iran's plans and further fueling hatred for them throughout the middle east.

Lemme ask you something.

 

 

We attack the Civilian infrastructure after rockets are fired at Israeli citizens, how is that overstepping boundaries?

 

 

They deserve what they get? Get real. No one deserves war.

 

 

Israel was already hated because we are Jews.

[TSwift25]

I'm sorry, but Israel deserves anything they get from here on in.

 

Attacking civilian infrastructure on the first night of attacks is just overstepping boundaries.

 

Israel's simply playing into Iran's plans and further fueling hatred for them throughout the middle east.

Lemme ask you something.

 

 

We attack the Civilian infrastructure after rockets are fired at Israeli citizens, how is that overstepping boundaries?

 

 

They deserve what they get? Get real. No one deserves war.

 

 

Israel was already hated because we are Jews.

 

Lemme ask you something.

 

Don't you think your opinion is skewed because you refer to Israel as we?

 

Of course you're going to side with them.

 

However, that does not mean that Israel shouldn't defend itself, however, the "eye for an eye" mentality regarding war will leave everyone blind. Just think about that.

 

I don't mean this in an anti-semetic way, or an anti-Israel way, but the longer this conflict goes on, the closer Isreal comes to just wiping itself off the map, and I can't say that would be a horrific thing for a balance of peace in the middle east.

[Beinfest4Prez]

I'm sorry, but Israel deserves anything they get from here on in.

 

Attacking civilian infrastructure on the first night of attacks is just overstepping boundaries.

 

Israel's simply playing into Iran's plans and further fueling hatred for them throughout the middle east.

Lemme ask you something.

 

 

We attack the Civilian infrastructure after rockets are fired at Israeli citizens, how is that overstepping boundaries?

 

 

They deserve what they get? Get real. No one deserves war.

 

 

Israel was already hated because we are Jews.

 

Lemme ask you something.

 

Don't you think your opinion is skewed because you refer to Israel as we?

 

Of course you're going to side with them.

 

However, that does not mean that Israel shouldn't defend itself, however, the "eye for an eye" mentality regarding war will leave everyone blind. Just think about that.

 

I don't mean this in an anti-semetic way, or an anti-Israel way, but the longer this conflict goes on, the closer Isreal comes to just wiping itself off the map, and I can't say that would be a horrific thing for a balance of peace in the middle east. Of course my opinion is a little skewed when I have friends and family there.

 

 

But Israel being wiped off the map would be the worst possible thing for the Middle East. Israel is the only real democracy in the Middle East and has done a lot more to bring progress to that area then the Arabs ever did.

 

Unfortunately its eye for an eye because thats how the Arabs operate. They won't stop till they have all of Israel.

[Jimmy42Jack0]

I'm sorry, but Israel deserves anything they get from here on in.

 

Attacking civilian infrastructure on the first night of attacks is just overstepping boundaries.

 

Israel's simply playing into Iran's plans and further fueling hatred for them throughout the middle east.

Lemme ask you something.

 

 

We attack the Civilian infrastructure after rockets are fired at Israeli citizens, how is that overstepping boundaries?

 

 

They deserve what they get? Get real. No one deserves war.

 

 

Israel was already hated because we are Jews.

 

Lemme ask you something.

 

Don't you think your opinion is skewed because you refer to Israel as we?

 

Of course you're going to side with them.

 

However, that does not mean that Israel shouldn't defend itself, however, the "eye for an eye" mentality regarding war will leave everyone blind. Just think about that.

 

I don't mean this in an anti-semetic way, or an anti-Israel way, but the longer this conflict goes on, the closer Isreal comes to just wiping itself off the map, and I can't say that would be a horrific thing for a balance of peace in the middle east. Of course my opinion is a little skewed when I have friends and family there.

 

 

But Israel being wiped off the map would be the worst possible thing for the Middle East. Israel is the only real democracy in the Middle East and has done a lot more to bring progress to that area then the Arabs ever did.

 

Unfortunately its eye for an eye because thats how the Arabs operate. They won't stop till they have all of Israel.

this is what most americans fail to realize...just because we enjoy the splendors of democracy, doesnt mean the rest of the world wants it...Arabs dont want democracy, they never have and never will...and its an eye for an eye because of both sides...and israel wont stop until they have killed off every threat(which is pretty much everyone)...this is a problem that will never be solved through more bloodshed

[Flying_Mollusk]

I'm sorry, but Israel deserves anything they get from here on in.

 

Attacking civilian infrastructure on the first night of attacks is just overstepping boundaries.

 

Israel's simply playing into Iran's plans and further fueling hatred for them throughout the middle east.

Lemme ask you something.

 

 

We attack the Civilian infrastructure after rockets are fired at Israeli citizens, how is that overstepping boundaries?

 

 

They deserve what they get? Get real. No one deserves war.

 

 

Israel was already hated because we are Jews.

 

Lemme ask you something.

 

Don't you think your opinion is skewed because you refer to Israel as we?

 

Of course you're going to side with them.

 

However, that does not mean that Israel shouldn't defend itself, however, the "eye for an eye" mentality regarding war will leave everyone blind. Just think about that.

 

I don't mean this in an anti-semetic way, or an anti-Israel way, but the longer this conflict goes on, the closer Isreal comes to just wiping itself off the map, and I can't say that would be a horrific thing for a balance of peace in the middle east. Of course my opinion is a little skewed when I have friends and family there.

 

 

But Israel being wiped off the map would be the worst possible thing for the Middle East. Israel is the only real democracy in the Middle East and has done a lot more to bring progress to that area then the Arabs ever did.

 

Unfortunately its eye for an eye because thats how the Arabs operate. They won't stop till they have all of Israel.

 

The problem with that attitude is that it destroys any hope of stability and peace that is absolutely possible with pragmatists. You make it a war of Israel vs. Arabs and thats exactly what Hamas, Iran, Syria and Hezbelloh want. Attacking civilians and Lebanon, even when you admit they are less culpable as a nation than Syria and Iran, only because thats the easier target is ridiculous. Imagine if a group wanted to start a war between the US and Europe and they kidnapped US soldiers and took them to Europe. Would the US respond by sending missles into known civilians areas?

 

If Arabs didnt want Israel around at all then why engage in a road map for peace and why go so far? Yes that might not be what the extremists groups want, but they needed Israel to stoke up hatred to dismiss the overtures of the moderates and thats is exactly what is happening now.

 

And the lack of objectivity isnt dismissed by having family there. Do you think Arabs dont have people in danger too?

 

Like I said before, Israel has to do something. But I still was not answered on how this is going to lead to a good resolution. And M_N's theory has a valid basis when it comes to motives. It has yet to be refuted.

[Fishfan79]

I'm sorry, but Israel deserves anything they get from here on in.

 

Attacking civilian infrastructure on the first night of attacks is just overstepping boundaries.

 

Israel's simply playing into Iran's plans and further fueling hatred for them throughout the middle east.

Lemme ask you something.

 

 

We attack the Civilian infrastructure after rockets are fired at Israeli citizens, how is that overstepping boundaries?

 

 

They deserve what they get? Get real. No one deserves war.

 

 

Israel was already hated because we are Jews.

 

Lemme ask you something.

 

Don't you think your opinion is skewed because you refer to Israel as we?

 

Of course you're going to side with them.

 

However, that does not mean that Israel shouldn't defend itself, however, the "eye for an eye" mentality regarding war will leave everyone blind. Just think about that.

 

I don't mean this in an anti-semetic way, or an anti-Israel way, but the longer this conflict goes on, the closer Isreal comes to just wiping itself off the map, and I can't say that would be a horrific thing for a balance of peace in the middle east. Of course my opinion is a little skewed when I have friends and family there.

 

 

But Israel being wiped off the map would be the worst possible thing for the Middle East. Israel is the only real democracy in the Middle East and has done a lot more to bring progress to that area then the Arabs ever did.

 

Unfortunately its eye for an eye because thats how the Arabs operate. They won't stop till they have all of Israel.

 

 

You are not the oldest democracy in the region. Before your country was given to you by the UN, Turkey already existed and was a democracy. So, please rethink that. Second you shouldnt classify all arabs the same and say "that is how they operate". Not all Arab countries hate Isreal and some even have peaceful relationships.

 

As for progress that is a relative term. Just as much as "good, Evil" etc etc.

 

Ask some of the starving families in russia how good "progress" is going for them right now. You might be surprised the answer some give.

[Beinfest4Prez]

I'm sorry, but Israel deserves anything they get from here on in.

 

Attacking civilian infrastructure on the first night of attacks is just overstepping boundaries.

 

Israel's simply playing into Iran's plans and further fueling hatred for them throughout the middle east.

Lemme ask you something.

 

 

We attack the Civilian infrastructure after rockets are fired at Israeli citizens, how is that overstepping boundaries?

 

 

They deserve what they get? Get real. No one deserves war.

 

 

Israel was already hated because we are Jews.

 

Lemme ask you something.

 

Don't you think your opinion is skewed because you refer to Israel as we?

 

Of course you're going to side with them.

 

However, that does not mean that Israel shouldn't defend itself, however, the "eye for an eye" mentality regarding war will leave everyone blind. Just think about that.

 

I don't mean this in an anti-semetic way, or an anti-Israel way, but the longer this conflict goes on, the closer Isreal comes to just wiping itself off the map, and I can't say that would be a horrific thing for a balance of peace in the middle east. Of course my opinion is a little skewed when I have friends and family there.

 

 

But Israel being wiped off the map would be the worst possible thing for the Middle East. Israel is the only real democracy in the Middle East and has done a lot more to bring progress to that area then the Arabs ever did.

 

Unfortunately its eye for an eye because thats how the Arabs operate. They won't stop till they have all of Israel.

 

 

You are not the oldest democracy in the region. Before your country was given to you by the UN, Turkey already existed and was a democracy. So, please rethink that. Second you shouldnt classify all arabs the same and say "that is how they operate". Not all Arab countries hate Isreal and some even have peaceful relationships.

 

As for progress that is a relative term. Just as much as "good, Evil" etc etc.

 

Ask some of the starving families in russia how good "progress" is going for them right now. You might be surprised the answer some give. I never said oldest democracy first of all. I said real. Turkey's democracy is very weak, especially since there is a lot of turmoil in the government, between the Kurdish seperatists and the Islamic extremist groups.

 

Name an Arab country that doesn't hate Israel. Jordan and Egypt are at peace with Israel. That doesn't mean the general populace isn't anti-Israel.

 

Actually, using Russia is a bad example unless you are trying to exemplify Arabs. Russia has been a one leader dominated society for its entire existence. Most will say they were better off under Stalin and the Communists than now.

 

 

And Israel brought a lot more progress technologically and otherwise. No one can dispute this. Before the Jews were there, it was all swampland. Now it has a booming agriculture.

[QuickGold]

The Israeli's bombed the airport's runways; they didn't bomb a plane full of civilians. Basically they blew up alot of tarmac.

[TimeWrecker]

The Israeli's bombed the airport's runways; they didn't bomb a plane full of civilians. Basically they blew up alot of tarmac.

 

 

And here we see the differnce between the two sides, on one hand, israelis retaltion is bombing runways, andblocking ports, on the other side we have rockets into to cities....

[Jimmy42Jack0]

The Israeli's bombed the airport's runways; they didn't bomb a plane full of civilians. Basically they blew up alot of tarmac.

 

 

And here we see the differnce between the two sides, on one hand, israelis retaltion is bombing runways, andblocking ports, on the other side we have rockets into to cities....

yeah...israelis have never done anything to piss off the muslim community...im sure the israelis are just in the wrong place at the wrong time...come on man...both sides have blood all over their hands and its not looking like that will change

[TimeWrecker]

if your talking about that tanks on beaches thing, i heard that was proved NOT to have come from israel.

[TSwift25]

The Israeli's bombed the airport's runways; they didn't bomb a plane full of civilians. Basically they blew up alot of tarmac.

 

 

 

 

That looks like a controlled attack on runways to me. :whistle

[Marlin Nation]

Arabs want democracy and modernity but in an Islamic context, their way, at a gradual pace. They associate Western democracy with puppet regimes, secularism, a dilution of thier values, corruption and a lack of order. Not to mention alot of democractic elections have been rigged or squashed by the colonial powers. On top of that the nation-state and Islam are fundamentally incompatible, many Middle Easterners, especially Arabs, identify themselves as Muslims first, then refer to thier tribe, THEN thier nation (exceptions being Egyptians and Iranians who have retained thier borders since antiquity and have been empires before imperial Islam). Muslims view the rise of humanism and secularism and disconnection from God and nature in the West has led them to have two world wars, genocide, nuclear weapons, the disolution of the family, and contamination of the air and water... wow where am I going with this?

 

Well, as for an Arab country that doesn't hate Israel, I'd probably say Oman, they have decent relations with Israel. Also, Israelies everywhere owe alot of to the late King Husayn of Jordan.

 

LOL I think my point was... just to curb the Arab bashing.

 

Man, I can't believe this is happening.

[Iowa]

Isn't WWIII fun?

[Marlin Nation]

The airstrip is gonna be used later by the Israelis using smaller planes, the cratering is reported to only stop big planes. There are alot of Amercians in Lebanon and usually in a situation like this they are simply extracted by a charted flight, I wonder how they will be evacuated.

[Beinfest4Prez]

Arabs want democracy and modernity but in an Islamic context, their way, at a gradual pace. They associate Western democracy with puppet regimes, secularism, a dilution of thier values, corruption and a lack of order. Not to mention alot of democractic elections have been rigged or squashed by the colonial powers. On top of that the nation-state and Islam are fundamentally incompatible, many Middle Easterners, especially Arabs, identify themselves as Muslims first, then refer to thier tribe, THEN thier nation (exceptions being Egyptians and Iranians who have retained thier borders since antiquity and have been empires before imperial Islam). Muslims view the rise of humanism and secularism and disconnection from God and nature in the West has led them to have two world wars, genocide, nuclear weapons, the disolution of the family, and contamination of the air and water... wow where am I going with this?

 

Well, as for an Arab country that doesn't hate Israel, I'd probably say Oman, they have decent relations with Israel. Also, Israelies everywhere owe alot of to the late King Husayn of Jordan.

 

LOL I think my point was... just to curb the Arab bashing.

 

Man, I can't believe this is happening.

You are 100 percent correct in your assessment. My only problem is the current view of the Arab world is that all Jews and Israel are bad.

 

 

Well the misfortune of Iran is another topic. That was a wonderful civilization and they had great relations with the Jews of the world until the Shah was overthrown and Ayatollah and his band of extremists took over.

 

We do owe a lot to King Husayn, but remember, under his reign, Jordan was a part of quite a few wars against Israel.

 

I know that there are good Arabs, but when I talk about Arab bashing, I am mostly talking of the radical pigs that currently dominate the world view of them.

[Fishfan79]

Arabs want democracy and modernity but in an Islamic context, their way, at a gradual pace. They associate Western democracy with puppet regimes, secularism, a dilution of thier values, corruption and a lack of order. Not to mention alot of democractic elections have been rigged or squashed by the colonial powers. On top of that the nation-state and Islam are fundamentally incompatible, many Middle Easterners, especially Arabs, identify themselves as Muslims first, then refer to thier tribe, THEN thier nation (exceptions being Egyptians and Iranians who have retained thier borders since antiquity and have been empires before imperial Islam). Muslims view the rise of humanism and secularism and disconnection from God and nature in the West has led them to have two world wars, genocide, nuclear weapons, the disolution of the family, and contamination of the air and water... wow where am I going with this?

 

Well, as for an Arab country that doesn't hate Israel, I'd probably say Oman, they have decent relations with Israel. Also, Israelies everywhere owe alot of to the late King Husayn of Jordan.

 

LOL I think my point was... just to curb the Arab bashing.

 

Man, I can't believe this is happening.

You are 100 percent correct in your assessment. My only problem is the current view of the Arab world is that all Jews and Israel are bad.

 

 

Well the misfortune of Iran is another topic. That was a wonderful civilization and they had great relations with the Jews of the world until the Shah was overthrown and Ayatollah and his band of extremists took over.

 

We do owe a lot to King Husayn, but remember, under his reign, Jordan was a part of quite a few wars against Israel.

 

I know that there are good Arabs, but when I talk about Arab bashing, I am mostly talking of the radical pigs that currently dominate the world view of them.

 

 

I think it is less dominating the world view and more dominating the view shown to the world. The average person that doesnt hate or isnt angered over the problems between Israel and the different parts of the muslim world. That is a generalization too of course, but I bet if polled honestly 90% of the muslims wouldnt really care as it didnt affect their daily lives (not counting palestians).

 

Turkey is another that has good relations specially in trade. But that is perhaps because of their position close to europe and customs there. As for their own problems, it isnt too bad overall. Most of it stems from the Prior invasion of iraq by the US where the Kurds moved there in large numbers and now want to break off with part of turkey. But the US does no wrong :thumbup

 

I believe this isnt too far yet that there cant find peaceful ground still. But if they dont solve this withing 10 days time I bet it explodes much much bigger.

[Flying_Mollusk]

Arabs want democracy and modernity but in an Islamic context, their way, at a gradual pace. They associate Western democracy with puppet regimes, secularism, a dilution of thier values, corruption and a lack of order. Not to mention alot of democractic elections have been rigged or squashed by the colonial powers. On top of that the nation-state and Islam are fundamentally incompatible, many Middle Easterners, especially Arabs, identify themselves as Muslims first, then refer to thier tribe, THEN thier nation (exceptions being Egyptians and Iranians who have retained thier borders since antiquity and have been empires before imperial Islam). Muslims view the rise of humanism and secularism and disconnection from God and nature in the West has led them to have two world wars, genocide, nuclear weapons, the disolution of the family, and contamination of the air and water... wow where am I going with this?

 

Well, as for an Arab country that doesn't hate Israel, I'd probably say Oman, they have decent relations with Israel. Also, Israelies everywhere owe alot of to the late King Husayn of Jordan.

 

LOL I think my point was... just to curb the Arab bashing.

 

Man, I can't believe this is happening.

 

Great post. Some people on this board have headaches now. Too many good details.

 

Well the misfortune of Iran is another topic. That was a wonderful civilization and they had great relations with the Jews of the world until the Shah was overthrown and Ayatollah and his band of extremists took over.

 

I have a good friend who is Iranian. He drinks and parties and womanizes like no other. He is a duel citizen, US and Iran. His family moved here after the takeover but goes back on occasion. Suffice it to say, he isnt a fundamentalist(in fact he is about to become a prosecutor).

 

He pointed out to me that a good degree of why things went down the way they did had more to do with the frustration at having their choice for leadership subverted than it did with wanting the Ayatollah. The Shah was seen as corrupt and controlled by the US and they wanted him out of power but couldnt because of the US. So they turned to anyone who could provide relief. Our foreign policy during Cold war really has caused major problems for us. We risk making the same mistake again. Like M_N pointed out-the people dont want things rammed down their throat.

 

This can also be seen in the election of Hamas by the Palestinians. Who provides food and charity to the people when they suffer? Hamas. The people arent going to put Israel ahead of their own well being. The terrible condition of a lot of Palestinians follows a similiar line.

 

 

I know that there are good Arabs, but when I talk about Arab bashing, I am mostly talking of the radical pigs that currently dominate the world view of them.

 

 

You should be explicit about this. Your views become more respected when you dont engage in broad black and white assertions or dont resort to absolutists statements. Thats more to accord's liking and youre better than that.

[OldSand]

Arabs want democracy and modernity but in an Islamic context, their way, at a gradual pace. They associate Western democracy with puppet regimes, secularism, a dilution of thier values, corruption and a lack of order. Not to mention alot of democractic elections have been rigged or squashed by the colonial powers. On top of that the nation-state and Islam are fundamentally incompatible, many Middle Easterners, especially Arabs, identify themselves as Muslims first, then refer to thier tribe, THEN thier nation (exceptions being Egyptians and Iranians who have retained thier borders since antiquity and have been empires before imperial Islam). Muslims view the rise of humanism and secularism and disconnection from God and nature in the West has led them to have two world wars, genocide, nuclear weapons, the disolution of the family, and contamination of the air and water... wow where am I going with this?

 

Well, as for an Arab country that doesn't hate Israel, I'd probably say Oman, they have decent relations with Israel. Also, Israelies everywhere owe alot of to the late King Husayn of Jordan.

 

LOL I think my point was... just to curb the Arab bashing.

 

Man, I can't believe this is happening.

You are 100 percent correct in your assessment. My only problem is the current view of the Arab world is that all Jews and Israel are bad.

 

 

Well the misfortune of Iran is another topic. That was a wonderful civilization and they had great relations with the Jews of the world until the Shah was overthrown and Ayatollah and his band of extremists took over.

 

We do owe a lot to King Husayn, but remember, under his reign, Jordan was a part of quite a few wars against Israel.

 

I know that there are good Arabs, but when I talk about Arab bashing, I am mostly talking of the radical pigs that currently dominate the world view of them.

 

 

I think it is less dominating the world view and more dominating the view shown to the world. The average person that doesnt hate or isnt angered over the problems between Israel and the different parts of the muslim world. That is a generalization too of course, but I bet if polled honestly 90% of the muslims wouldnt really care as it didnt affect their daily lives (not counting palestians).

 

Turkey is another that has good relations specially in trade. But that is perhaps because of their position close to europe and customs there. As for their own problems, it isnt too bad overall. Most of it stems from the Prior invasion of iraq by the US where the Kurds moved there in large numbers and now want to break off with part of turkey. But the US does no wrong :thumbup

 

I believe this isnt too far yet that there cant find peaceful ground still. But if they dont solve this withing 10 days time I bet it explodes much much bigger.

 

Well, the Kurds were always in Turkey. Kurdistan is divided between Turkey, Iraq, and I believe Iran. The Kurds didn't just move into Turkey because of the war with Iraq, though I'm sure they got some Iraqi Kurds move into Turkey. It's a complex problem with the Kurds that I do not know much about though.

[Beinfest4Prez]

Arabs want democracy and modernity but in an Islamic context, their way, at a gradual pace. They associate Western democracy with puppet regimes, secularism, a dilution of thier values, corruption and a lack of order. Not to mention alot of democractic elections have been rigged or squashed by the colonial powers. On top of that the nation-state and Islam are fundamentally incompatible, many Middle Easterners, especially Arabs, identify themselves as Muslims first, then refer to thier tribe, THEN thier nation (exceptions being Egyptians and Iranians who have retained thier borders since antiquity and have been empires before imperial Islam). Muslims view the rise of humanism and secularism and disconnection from God and nature in the West has led them to have two world wars, genocide, nuclear weapons, the disolution of the family, and contamination of the air and water... wow where am I going with this?

 

Well, as for an Arab country that doesn't hate Israel, I'd probably say Oman, they have decent relations with Israel. Also, Israelies everywhere owe alot of to the late King Husayn of Jordan.

 

LOL I think my point was... just to curb the Arab bashing.

 

Man, I can't believe this is happening.

You are 100 percent correct in your assessment. My only problem is the current view of the Arab world is that all Jews and Israel are bad.

 

 

Well the misfortune of Iran is another topic. That was a wonderful civilization and they had great relations with the Jews of the world until the Shah was overthrown and Ayatollah and his band of extremists took over.

 

We do owe a lot to King Husayn, but remember, under his reign, Jordan was a part of quite a few wars against Israel.

 

I know that there are good Arabs, but when I talk about Arab bashing, I am mostly talking of the radical pigs that currently dominate the world view of them.

 

 

I think it is less dominating the world view and more dominating the view shown to the world. The average person that doesnt hate or isnt angered over the problems between Israel and the different parts of the muslim world. That is a generalization too of course, but I bet if polled honestly 90% of the muslims wouldnt really care as it didnt affect their daily lives (not counting palestians).

 

Turkey is another that has good relations specially in trade. But that is perhaps because of their position close to europe and customs there. As for their own problems, it isnt too bad overall. Most of it stems from the Prior invasion of iraq by the US where the Kurds moved there in large numbers and now want to break off with part of turkey. But the US does no wrong :thumbup

 

I believe this isnt too far yet that there cant find peaceful ground still. But if they dont solve this withing 10 days time I bet it explodes much much bigger.

 

Well, the Kurds were always in Turkey. Kurdistan is divided between Turkey, Iraq, and I believe Iran. The Kurds didn't just move into Turkey because of the war with Iraq, though I'm sure they got some Iraqi Kurds move into Turkey. It's a complex problem with the Kurds that I do not know much about though. The Kurds were there own nation and then were taken over by the Ottoman Empire, whose downfall led to the partition of all the Middle East..

 

And Turkey is not Arab. Turkey is dominated ethnically by the Turks.

 

 

I also have a good friend who is Iranian. In fact he lost a grandfather to the Ayatollah. And his entire family escaped and left for here in the US.

[Beinfest4Prez]

Interesting take on what is behind the sudden insurgency in both Lebanon and Gaza:

 

Lebanon is the pond, the IAF bombs are the stones, and the hope in Jerusalem is that hurling enough of those stones into the Lebanese pond will produce a ripple effect felt as far as Teheran.

 

Israel woke up Thursday morning finding itself facing a two front war - but not a traditional two front war, rather a two front terrorist war. And on each front it is facing one of Iran's proxies - Hamas in the south; Hizbullah in the north.

 

One of the assumptions of the current campaign is that if you hit the proxy hard enough, its master will get the message. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert intimated this much Wednesday when he said he was certain the IDF actions would "echo in the right places and with the necessary strength."

 

Israeli spokesman have said consistently over the last few days that what happened in the north Wednesday morning fundamentally changed the rules of the game, and that Israel needed to respond in kind. One of the rules of the game that Israel wants to change is that Iran has free rein to use its terrorist proxies to make Israel bleed at a whim.

 

While some have argued that the recent flare-ups in Gaza and now in Lebanon are attempts to test a new and relatively inexperienced Israeli leadership, others say that the timing is not linked to Defense Minister Amir Peretz's learning curve, but rather to mounting international pressure on Iran regarding the nuclear issue.

 

Iran is under strong pressure from the US and the international community to stop its drive toward nuclear capability, and there are few ways easier to divert the world's attention than opening up another front. Which is what Iran has done. Indeed they have opened up two fronts, just as the question of the Iranian nuclear issue is reaching a critical peak.

 

Because of the situation that has been created here over the last two days, the Middle East, and not Iran, will likely dominate discussions at the G-8 summit Saturday in St. Petersburg.

 

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni drew a line from Iran to Syria, Hizbullah and Hamas and called it an axis of hate that "wants to end any hope for peace."

 

If that's the case, why not hit the head of the snake, instead of fiddling around with the tail? For, in the final analysis, does Iran really care if Hamas or Hizbullah get clobbered?

 

Diplomatic official in Jerusalem provided two answers to this question. The first is that Israel wants to act where it feels it will have international legitimacy to do so, and presently this is in Lebanon - a sovereign country from which a party in its government launched an attack on another sovereign country.

 

The second reason is that Israel has no interest in an all out war with Iran, and is concerned about Iran's military capabilities.

 

After withdrawing from both Lebanon in 2000, and Gaza in 2005, Israel promised a harsh response for any provocation, any Katyusha from Lebanon, or Kassam from Gaza. Those harsh responses, however, were not fast in coming, and a situation developed where both the proxies and those controlling them felt they could provoke without concern for a massive response.

 

As one government official noted Thursday, "We left Gaza and hoped that there would be pressure, and wanted to give them a chance. It never worked."

 

The same thing happened in Lebanon. Israel withdrew, counted on the Lebanese government to take control of the south, but it never did. Instead, the area continues to be ruled by Iran's proxy.

 

The goals of the campaign in Lebanon are clear - to remove Hizbullah from the south by delivering Lebanon a blow so hard that the central government there will be forced to move its forces south and assert its authority over that part of the country.

 

 

"We want to ensure that they can't dance in Jounieh and have tourists return to Beirut if the streets are dark in Kiryat Shmona and tourists are fleeing the Galilee," one government official said.

 

And this message is also intended to for Teheran: that Israel will not let it turn Lebanon in to a theater of war against Israel, and that Jerusalem intends to remove this weapon from Teheran's arsenal against Israel.

 

Although it is far fetched to believe that Israel would take direct military action against Iran, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that at some point during this conflict Iranian Revolutionary Guards who are reportedly stationed in Lebanon might get hit.

 

Israel has been saying for years that members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are stationed among Hizbullah fighters in Lebanon, manning some of the thousands of missiles, some of them long range missiles that could hit the heart of the country, in southern Lebanon.

 

If they do fire those missiles the Iranian Revolutionary Guards may be targeted.

 

Targetting the Revolutionary Guards would be the closest that Israel is likely to come within the framework of this current conflagration to taking action against Iran.

[TimeWrecker]

BREAKING: ISRAELI WAR PLANES ARE NOW ATTACKING THE SOUTHERN SUBERBS OF BERUT

[Beinfest4Prez]

BREAKING: ISRAELI WAR PLANES ARE NOW ATTACKING THE SOUTHERN SUBERBS OF BERUT

Well they warned the residents that this was going to happen. Its where Nasrallah is based.

[TimeWrecker]

i know, and im not aganst it, im just informing!