Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Stopping the Gaza Slaughter

Israel's aerial bombardment of Gaza will end the minute the White House tells them to call it off. Shrub may not have any credibility left in the rest of the planet, but he still calls the shots with the Israelis. Unfortunately as we've seen in his own failed wars and in Israel's botched war in Lebanon, there's no end to Bush's appetite for bloodshed. Killing civilians, en masse, isn't something that's going to cost George any sleep.

It's interesting how the rocket barrages by Palestinian militants are unquestionably taken to be the work of Hamas, the democratically elected government of the Palestinian people. Everybody makes the claim, takes it for granted, and yet I, for one, haven't seen anything directly linking the militants and the Palestinian government.

It's a guilt by association thing that surely ought to cut both ways at the very least. That means Israel is culpable in every atrocity committed by its own extremists, its settlers, in stealing Palestinian land, in destroying their olive groves, in stoning and shooting their innocents. Of course that would mean we'd have to designate Israel as a terrorist regime, something that's unthinkable of a state whose leaders acknowledge a "pogrom" against the Palestinians and yet are no better than Hamas at eradicating their own, in-house extremists, their Jewish fundamentalists who are just as bloodthirsty as their counterpart Islamist fundamentalists.

We have seen what Christian fundamentalism (the radical Rapture reprobates) has done to the United States. We've seen what Islamic fundamentalism (the radical Wahabism reprobates) has done to the Middle East. We've seen what Jewish fundamentalism (the radical Zionism reprobates) has done to the Occupied Territories. There's no point coddling these people because, when it comes to extremism, there's neither floor nor ceiling. None of them put their nations or their peoples ahead of their religious zealotry. They're not interested in freedom of religion because they know other religions are untrue or worse. They're all one gaggle of freebooter Crusaders ironically huddled around the same book.

The international community created Israel. We have seen for far too long that Israel is incapable of managing its own affairs, both unable and unwilling to find peace with its neighbours. No nation, no group in that region has clean hands. It's time to impose peace on Israel and on the Palestinians, the Lebanese and the Syrians. Israel isn't interested in a one-state solution so a two-state solution it must be.

Back to the 1967 borders. A buffer zone established entirely within Israeli territory and occupied by international peacekeepers armed to the teeth with the latest weaponry and technology. Peacekeepers with a mandate to shoot to kill intruders from either side whether they come by land, by air or by sea. It might take two, perhaps even three generations for the ethnic and religious venom to die off but we're at a point where it's either quarantine both sides or allow this nightmare to worsen, perhaps irretrievably.

This madness must end.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

This madness will only end when Israel is moved....end of story.
Both sides claming legal and moral rights to land. Both sides willing to die over it. The issue is and always will be that one side is so strong it can keep up this dance for a thousand years. Israel is not going anywhere. Israel is not giving up anymore land or territory. The Palestine people have some choices to make. Its just that simple. Right or wrong doesnt matter. Imposing peace just puts off the inevitable decision that must be made, and that is, are the concessions made by Israel enough for a lasting peace? billg

The Mound of Sound said...

"Right or wrong doesn't matter." It does matter Bill since we decided to invest tens of thousands of lives to thwart the last bunch who thought might makes right. What did they cost the world - 60-million lives? Yeah, Bill it matters. Think on that next time you're in the Legion.

Anonymous said...

Calm down there Biff.....I meant YOUR idea and MY idea of right and wrong...that's what doesnt matter.
Both sides think they are right, and both sides think the other is wrong...thats why it doesnt matter.
In the end..I still think it comes down to wether or not the Palestinians can be happy with what they have now...because asking for more territory means that this madness goes on and on.
I'm a Gold Charter member of the RCL by the way..3 uncles, a father, 5 cousins and a wife that all served...I'm not sure what your last comment meant, but, I know it wasnt mean spirited...:)
billg

The Mound of Sound said...

No Bill it wasn't intended to be mean-spirited. I think we both have a better understanding than that.

I was hoping to inspire you to drop some of the cynicism and apathy that's become so pervasive today. Our generation has really cultivated that sort of thing in ourselves and passed it to our kids and theirs too.

If we won't demand that our allies refrain from terrorism, what moral right do we hold to demand it of others?

We lost sight of that in our brief, uinipolar reality. That is now passing as our influence declines and that of other nations ascends. The West's ability to play the "do as I say, not as I do" game is ending and it's leaving a lot of anger and resentment in its wake.

The world is entering a very dangerous century in which we'd be foolish to assume our integrity doesn't really matter.

Take, for example, South America. They're now forming their own political, economic and military alliances, exclusive of the US or Canada. African nations have roundly rejected the establishment of the US Army Africom's entry into their continent. China, Russia and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (their equivalent of NATO) may expand to embrace both Pakistan and Iran.

The rest of the world is watching how we deal with the Palestinians and we can no longer afford to be content with patting Israel on the head. Both America and Israel would be well served to understand the significance of these changing times.

sassy said...

22 April 2009
One of Canada's iconic retailers is facing a politically charged debate at its annual general meeting, where it expects a motion to boycott Israeli products will be introduced.

The Mound of Sound said...

I can't see how attempting to punish one Israeli manufacturer will have any meaning. Surely these issues deserve to be aired on the floor of the Commons rather than at the AGM of an outdoor outfitter. With the current batting lineup, that's not going to happen.

sassy said...

Point taken