Enjoyed this post. I couldn't help but notice you left out the name of the terrorist, Hamas. Also, no mention of the atrocities committed by Hamas on Arab Bedouins. Hamas kidnapped scores of Bedouins and brought them back to Gaza. At least 15 Bedouins were killed in the attack. Hamas is no different than ISIS.
These are all clearly appalling war crimes, I agree. I purposely didn't mention the specifics because discussions that do quickly turn into trading atrocity stories, each side trying to prove the other is worse. That gets nowhere and only feeds each sides' conviction that their greivences are so great they can ignore international laws of war.
I want to stick to my point that I am guided in this by what I've learned from Russia's war on Ukraine. Ukraine and its supporters have had to endure one atrocity after another, yet their response is, for the most part, within international codes of war conduct. Even though Ukraine is clearly the victim of a much stronger, bigger power, they do not retaliate with their own war crimes. If Ukraine can do that, so can others. Ukraine has given them an example they can follow.
I'm for the right of Israel to exist and live in peace. I'm also for the right of a Palestine nation to exist and live in peace.
The UN does a lot of good in many areas including war situtions, armed conflict, and peacekeeping deployments. But they have some insurmountable structural amd charter limitations. They couldn't stop the Rwandan genocide or many civil conflicts because they have to be asked and empowered by the offending nation to intervene. Of course a country embarking on a purposeful genocide for example is not going to invite an armed force to stop them. Preventing all out war anywhere is the biggest hill they have to climb and it is still elusive. I would think dismantling the UN in any way would only make everything far worse.
Bill, I very much like reading your posts. I agree with you regarding UN. But I think if you really understood the Middle East conflict you would definitely stand with Israel. Just as I write this, it is Hamas that blocks civilian evacuation from the Gaza City, and it's Egypt that has completely closed its borders to the Palestinians. Meanwhile Israel is holding off its ground offensive for the civilians to leave the northern part of Gaza. They can't hold off for long, they must try to free up hostages. But most importantly they need to eliminate Hamas completely. Even if you are not close to the conflict, you hopefully know that Hamas is a terrorist organization. But it's not just an organization, like Wagner Group, it controls Gaza completely. It is terrible that Arab countries are united in their treatment of Palestinians as pawns, endlessly sacrificing them for the goal of wiping Israel from the face of the Earth. It is not an interpretation, it their stated goal. Specifically, in the current flare up, standing with Israel is not standing against Palestinian civilians, it is standing against Iran and the terrorists Iran sponsors.
Enjoyed this post. I couldn't help but notice you left out the name of the terrorist, Hamas. Also, no mention of the atrocities committed by Hamas on Arab Bedouins. Hamas kidnapped scores of Bedouins and brought them back to Gaza. At least 15 Bedouins were killed in the attack. Hamas is no different than ISIS.
These are all clearly appalling war crimes, I agree. I purposely didn't mention the specifics because discussions that do quickly turn into trading atrocity stories, each side trying to prove the other is worse. That gets nowhere and only feeds each sides' conviction that their greivences are so great they can ignore international laws of war.
I want to stick to my point that I am guided in this by what I've learned from Russia's war on Ukraine. Ukraine and its supporters have had to endure one atrocity after another, yet their response is, for the most part, within international codes of war conduct. Even though Ukraine is clearly the victim of a much stronger, bigger power, they do not retaliate with their own war crimes. If Ukraine can do that, so can others. Ukraine has given them an example they can follow.
I'm for the right of Israel to exist and live in peace. I'm also for the right of a Palestine nation to exist and live in peace.
The UN does a lot of good in many areas including war situtions, armed conflict, and peacekeeping deployments. But they have some insurmountable structural amd charter limitations. They couldn't stop the Rwandan genocide or many civil conflicts because they have to be asked and empowered by the offending nation to intervene. Of course a country embarking on a purposeful genocide for example is not going to invite an armed force to stop them. Preventing all out war anywhere is the biggest hill they have to climb and it is still elusive. I would think dismantling the UN in any way would only make everything far worse.
Bill, I very much like reading your posts. I agree with you regarding UN. But I think if you really understood the Middle East conflict you would definitely stand with Israel. Just as I write this, it is Hamas that blocks civilian evacuation from the Gaza City, and it's Egypt that has completely closed its borders to the Palestinians. Meanwhile Israel is holding off its ground offensive for the civilians to leave the northern part of Gaza. They can't hold off for long, they must try to free up hostages. But most importantly they need to eliminate Hamas completely. Even if you are not close to the conflict, you hopefully know that Hamas is a terrorist organization. But it's not just an organization, like Wagner Group, it controls Gaza completely. It is terrible that Arab countries are united in their treatment of Palestinians as pawns, endlessly sacrificing them for the goal of wiping Israel from the face of the Earth. It is not an interpretation, it their stated goal. Specifically, in the current flare up, standing with Israel is not standing against Palestinian civilians, it is standing against Iran and the terrorists Iran sponsors.