Sunday, July 30, 2006

Rogue IDF Commanders Behind Qana Bombing

Since my last post about the bombing of the UN post in south Lebanon, the second round of US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice's diplomatic efforts to lebanon has been cancelled following the bombing in Qana (echoing a previous Israeli bombing in 1996) that killed 50 civilians, a majority of them children.

Again, I strongly suspect the culprit is a rogue element within the Israeli defence command that wants to sabotage any attempts at a cessation of hostilities. This unit aims to press the campaign in Lebanon, prevent UN troops from arriving in the area, and drive a wedge between Israel and the so-called "international community."

By all appearances, the plan seems to be working. The UN headquarters were ransacked by enraged protestors demonstrating the latest Israeli war crime and confusion has broken out in diplomatic and Western ranks as Jack Straw is leading a rebellion against the Blair-Bush-Harper "measured response" position.

It's not all-out war yet, but God-willing, it will get there. Over the next couple of months, keep your eye out for the Iranian nuclear issue causing big problems, and over the next couple of years, monitor the situation at Al-Aqsa...


Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Why UN Post Was Bombed By Israel

As Reuters reports, despite vehement denials by Israeli officials, Kofi Annan believes the attack on a UN observer post that killed 4 UN observers was "apparently deliberate."

Why would the Israelis want to attack the very organization which they hope will deploy peacekeepers and implent resolution 1559 which calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah?

It is no secret that Israel has a love-hate relationship with the UN and the "international community." On the one hand, Israel completely ignores UN resolutions which condemn its actions and its supporters attack the legitimacy of the organization whenever it does so.

On the other hand, it was the UN that recognized Israel 50 years ago and resolutions which are congruent to its interests are always given the utmost attention by all those on its side.

Nevertheless, the Israeli polity, despite claims to the contrary, is not a homogenous body. Israel is made up of a large centre, with peaceniks flanking on the left, and ultranationalists, zionists, and religious extremists on the right. Due to the fact that virtually all of Israeli society passes through the ranks of the IDF, with the exception of Orthodox Jews, its obvious that the ideologies that make up the mosaic of Israeli political thought are also represented in its cadres.

Though most of the erudite and well-spoken Israeli political elite including Prime Minister Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni would like nothing more than to earn the sympathy and support of the UN and the world for their policies, surely there exist extreme reactionaries, zealots and xenophobes with Israel which see not only "Islamic terror" as Israel's enemy, but also the gentiles that make up the rest of the world (Christians included).

My supposition is that exteme rogue elements within the Israeli military command organized and supported the attack for the purpose of torpedoing the plan to establish foreign troops in a buffer zone between Israel and Hezbollah. Perhaps they perceived a deployment of foreign troops as an infringement of their sovereignty and an unwelcome curtailment of the free hand with which they have pummeled the Arabs since the state's inception.

Maybe extreme zionist elements fear a UN deployment would prelude an eventual UN occupation of not only Lebanon, but of Israel as well. The Romans occupied ancient Israel and the zealots rose up in response. It could be that modern neo-zealots within the IDF are trying to prevent foreign occupation from happening again, despite the assertions of Biblical Prophecy suggesting just that.

Israel's military has a history of attacking its supposed allies in incidents such as the deadly targetting of the USS Liberty in the six-days war in 1967. There are other incidents such as the bombing of the King David Hotel by militant zionists and apparent plans by such groups as the
Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement
, whose leader was once an IDF commander, to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque in hopes of rebuilding the temple.

If history is any guide, this war, taking on religious tones and dimensions, will get worse before it gets better. There are people on both sides who will go to any lengths to achieve their goals. The bombing of the UN post was no mistake, but a deliberate strike by a minority splinter within the Israeli military establishment to drive a wedge between Israel and the rest of the world.


Double Standards

Great little post from Maya's Blog:

Rule # 1 : In the Middle East, it is always the Arabs that attack first, and it’s always Israel who defends itself. This is called “retaliation”.

Rule # 2: The Arabs, whether Palestinians or Lebanese, are not allowed to kill Israelis. This is called “terrorism”/

Rule # 3: Israel has the right to kill Arab civilians, this is called “self-defense”, or these days “collateral damage”.

Rule # 4: When Israel kills too many civilians. The Western world calls for restraint. This is called the “reaction of the international community”.

Rule # 5: Palestinians and Lebanese do not have the right to capture Israeli military, not even a limited number, not even 1 or 2.

Rule # 6: Israel has the right to capture as many Palestinians as they want (Palestinians: around 10000 to date, 300 of which are children, Lebanese: 1000s to date, being held without trial). There is no limit; there is no need for proof of guilt or trial. All that is needed is the magic word: “terrorism”

Rule # 7: When you say “Hezbollah”, always be sure to add “supported by Syria and Iran”

Rule # 8: When you say “Israel”, never say “supported by the USA, the UK and other European countries”, for people (God forbid) might believe this is not an equal conflict.

Rule # 9: When it comes to Israel, don’t mention the words “occupied territories”, “UN resolutions”, “Geneva conventions”. This could distress the audience of Fox.

Rule # 10: Israelis speak better English than Arabs. This is why we let them speak out as much as possible, so that they can explain rules 1 through 9. This is called “neutral journalism”.

Rule # 11: If you don’t agree with these rules or if you favor the Arab side over the Israeli side, you must be a very dangerous anti-Semite. You may even have to make a public apology if you express your honest opinion (isn’t democracy wonderful?)

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Lebanon War: Where are the Christians?

Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan blames Christians for not speaking out about the Israeli destruction of Lebanon by Israel:
Let it be said: Israel has a right to defend herself, a right to counter-attack against Hezbollah and Hamas, a right to clean out bases from which Katyusha or Qassam rockets are being fired and a right to occupy land from which attacks are mounted on her people.

But what Israel is doing is imposing deliberate suffering on civilians, collective punishment on innocent people, to force them to do something they are powerless to do: disarm the gunmen among them. Such a policy violates international law and comports neither with our values nor our interests. It is un-American and un-Christian.

But where are the Christians? Why is Pope Benedict virtually alone among Christian leaders to have spoken out against what is being done to Lebanese Christians and Muslims?
As usual, American public opinion is against him and firmly with Israel and the killing of civilians in the name of self defence. Of course, "terrorist" groups are notoriously difficult to destroy (Hamas, Al-Qaeda, Kashmiri seperatists) and seem to thrive under the most dire conditions.

There are a myriad reasons why Americans are with Israel:
  • Trauma of September 11 attacks
  • Shared Judeo-Christian tradition
  • Zionism
  • Islamophobia
  • Racism against Arabs
  • History of state terrorism against civilians (Hiroshima) and of conquest (Native Indians, African slavery)
Israel is the friend and ally of America, regardless of its actions. This much is clear. US weapons are used to attack Lebanese civilians just as Iranian weapons are used to attack Israelis. It remains to be seen over the long haul, whether the priviledged partnership that America shares with Israel is conducive or corrosive to its longterm strategic interests and security.


Monday, July 10, 2006

Circumcision Can Prevent AIDS

Perhaps God knows a thing or two about science after all: Scientists have concluded AIDS deaths could be drastically reduced via circumcision.