What Am I Missing? - Israel and Hamas (Palestinians)

[CMP_5.56]

Ronin you have a very narrow understanding of terrorism. Do you think the FARC or the IRA sits around saying death to the infidels?

Terrorism is a tactic usually used by a group when they don't feel they have the political means or military might to achieve their goals. If you don't believe that from their perspective their goals are just then perhaps you're the one who should cease and desist now.

I said earlier I was looking for a little intellectual honesty. Let's try to at least be consistent here. You still haven't answered my post on pg 8. I'm looking forward to your thoughts.

Before you call the IRA terrorists, i suggest you read The History Of The IRA. I personally don't consider the IRA terrorists.

[Mick-Boy]

Before you call the IRA terrorists, i suggest you read The History Of The IRA. I personally don't consider the IRA terrorists.

And again we come back to perspective. Ask a member of the RUC and I'm certain they'll describe the IRA as terrorists. Ask someone from Dublin and you'll likely get a different answer. The British Government has them listed as a proscribed organization in their anti-terror acts (2000?). They call themselves freedom fighters. Perspective.

Edited to add- Are you talking about Coogan's "The IRA: A History"? Because I've read it.

[roberth]

Why are they an exception?

snip

The United States should have ceased all contact when the Palestinians elected Hamas as their leadership.

[roberth]

Why should this be true? The concept of "A Side" is inaccurate, it makes the wild assumption that the millions of residents in these places are the same, want the same, act the same. It might be more fair to say that we want to be on the side of the millions of people who live there, minus the idiots who keep killing people.

There are plenty of Palestinians who just want to raise their kids. The workers that build these Israeli settlements out on the tops of mountains are mostly Palestinians trying to do well by their family.

And then there are groups of determined and funded people who want to do things like capture a soldier and hold him for five years, returning him gaunt and in exchange for 1,000 convicted felons.

It's the wide range of attitudes and actions that you just can't paint the entire thing in black and white.

A former coworker and programmer friend lives in Tel Aviv. He's an American who married an Israeli. Ever since then, I put this show on my DVR www.linktv.org/mosaic, it shows Israeli local news in English, since he said that's what he watches. His Hebrew has gotten pretty fluent, but he says it's "relaxing" to listen in english without having to kind of process a foreign language. It also shows Al Jazeera, Doha, Saudi Arabia, and Qatari news in English. It's strange to hear English being translated to Arabaic, back into English.

www.linktv.org/mosaic

Watch the video at about 8:00 minutes in is the Israeli local news

H.

I like black and white, that's why. The Palestinians don't deserve recognition because they elected Hamas, a known terrorist organization to lead their government.

The United States is being played for suckers by the rest of the Arab world.

Thank you for the linktv link.

I love how the Palestinians want their countrymen who murdered Israelis released. It is OK to murder Israelis but if Israel lifts a finger to try and convict murderers or to defend itself, well we just can't have that.

[alxone]

OK so here's a question. Let's play to the assumption that it is black and white.

What should Israel do? How do they ensure their own peace and prosperity?

d*mn i wish i could type better but ill give it a shot

if not give back some of the land that was taken at least have an open agriculture program using those lands in question

try some real peace talks without the preconceived notion of failure

i bet if they just started there things would start progressing .
the real problem with that part of the world is it considered holy land by d*mn near everyone so they all feel as if they are chosen and have the right to inflict not only political but religious views . you can never have peace when everyone feels that they are right and has god on there side.

[Ronin13]

Mick- after spending 7 months at the US Army Intelligence School, and continuous counter-terror training throughout my tenure as an S2 ANCOIC I think my knowledge of all kinds of terrorists is pretty wide. It's not focused simply on ME terrorists, but also extreme right and left wing domestic terrorists (like PETA!) and many many others from around the globe. I personally, as an American of Irish heritage (and Scottish too) do not believe that the PIRA/IRA/RIRIA/etc. ARE NOT (typo- my bad) terrorists organizations. They responded to a threat and do not specifically target civilians. Granted the law of unintended consequences comes to play in their bombings in London, Belfast and other areas of the region. Need I mention the Scottish revolution, Bloody Sunday, and the peak of the Troubles? Personally, and this is simply my educated opinion on the matter, the IRA and different factions therein, are not in the wrong in opposing the last of the British empire's outstretched dominance.

[Mick-Boy]

I can see my request for a little intellectual honesty didn't didn't take.

You rock on in your black and white world. Continue making judgements of millions of people based on your opinions and issuing blanket statements on America's foreign policy when you clearly have very little understanding of the issues involved. Whoever trained you has failed on an epic level.

[alxone]

I can see my request for a little intellectual honesty didn't didn't take.

You rock on in your black and white world. Continue making judgements of millions of people based on your opinions and issuing blanket statements on America's foreign policy when you clearly have very little understanding of the issues involved. Whoever trained you has failed on an epic level.

while simplistic i was being honest , although id never call my self an intellectual

[Mick-Boy]

while simplistic i was being honest , although id never call my self an intellectual

Sorry Alex, that wasn't directed at you. I think you're off to a good start. I hit on the big three issues at the bottom of page 7. Until some progress is made on those issues they're going nowhere. That can't happen until both sides are willing to give a little. "God gave it to us" just isn't going to cut it with 7.8 million believers on one side and 6 million believers on the other side.

[Ronin13]

I can see my request for a little intellectual honesty didn't didn't take.

You rock on in your black and white world. Continue making judgements of millions of people based on your opinions and issuing blanket statements on America's foreign policy when you clearly have very little understanding of the issues involved. Whoever trained you has failed on an epic level.

In the words of Jack Ryan (from Clear and Present Danger): "Not black and white, right and wrong!"
Israel, for the most part, =Good!
Palestine, while mostly not bad people, still those support bombing innocent people= BAD...
I'd think whoever trained me probably knew more about what they were talking about than most- considering one of whom used to be the 5th highest ranking civilian from the DoD to brief the president (which probably fell on deaf ears because it was during Clinton's reign of stupidity on foreign policy).