Yep, this whole Flotilla fiasco pisses me off.
The whole thing is supposed to be a protest, right? A challenge to Israel to do away with the Gaza blockade?
I can understand wanting to take the much needed supplies into Gaza personally, how do the folks on the Flotilla know that their supplies will actually get to the people in Gaza? How do they know Israel won't just stockpile it or use it for their own means?
I can understand Israel wanting to search these aid flotillas as well. How does Israel know there aren't more weapons, or supplies that can be made into weapons, on these boats being shipped into Gaza? The "word" of someone else, be it political leader, diplomat or pleading spouse can often mean squat. Welcome to the world we live in.
War isn't played out by military leaders goading their troops into an empty field to face off with the opposition who feels their cause is equally just. All that ended with WWI and more and more innocent lives get caught in the middle and suffer for it. That's how I felt about the events of 9/11... The innocent people in the World Trade Centers and their families, how were they responsible for calling out a "Jihad"? What did they EVER do to Osama and his wacky bunch to be punished like that? What did they ever do besides go to work and try their best to care for their families? How many of those people in the Trade Centers that day where sitting around plotting the destruction of some militant belief in the Middle East? Most of them probably never heard of Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Al-or Jihad. The most political thing most of them probably ever did was vote.
That's the way I think about the innocent Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The need for medical aid alone in this area is known the world over. For 3 years the Gaza Strip has had a blockade on both the Israel side and the Egypt side.
Because of the violent coup and take over of the Gaza by Hamas.
The innocent get caught in the middle. The Palestinians who live there daily with the threat of mortar rounds from both sides, not enough educated doctors or supplies when they are attacked. What the hell do you do with that kind of life?
Hamas is considered a "Terrorist" group by many nations and judging by their actions over the MANY years, they certainly like to terrorize folks. "Terrorism" and "Terrorist" are terms that have been tossed around so much they've become a part of everyday vernacular and these terms have even had their definitions changed in the dictionary and encyclopedia since the 9/11 attacks. What about the actions of the Israeli military on the "Freedom Flotilla"?
Israel says their troops were met with "Axes" and "Pipes" and "Knives" as they repelled down to one of the boats from their chopper and that the Israeli troops were acting in self defense. Honestly, I would have shot someone too if I had a gun and they came at me with a knife... Poor decision on the knife carrier to take on the person with a gun. But here's the thing, Nine Turkish men on board were shot a total of 30 times, and five of the victims were shot either in the back of the head or in the back. "Israeli commandos shot one person every minute." (citation 1)
Sounds a little more like the Israeli troops got excited. Actually it sounds like a terrorist act, because it sounds like the people who were killed, were killed while running away... Shot in the back. Many of them were also shot at close range, which sounds like an execution. Israel is saying this Flotilla had connections to Hammas, and some Russian terrorist organization as well as Al-Qaeda. Reaching... See, the world saw them do this and the world is watching still.
I'm very interested to see what this second Flotilla - "Rachel Corrie" (named after an American girl run over by an Israeli bulldozer while protesting the demolition of a Palestinian residence) coming from Ireland will face.
I do think that Israel has proven they are from the Middle East. They're acting just like all those other Middle Eastern "Terrorists" they bitch about... As well as the ones we bitch about.
What REALLY gets my goat though is that in almost EVERY article I have dug up on this whole fiasco, and it has been a lot of 'em, someone is wanting Obama and the United States to step in and call Israel on their shit, they want US to do something about it. Why? Because we're allies with Israel? How many times have these same people said "America stay out of our business" or "America is meddling" and my favorite "America's failed Peace Talks"? They call us Imperialists, The "Empire", "Occupiers"... And now you want us to rescue you... Again? So you will have someone to blame and relieve yourselves of the responsibility. Egypt has dropped its blockade, Israel needs to do something better than what they're doing since the "blockade" has now become a tool for peaceful protesters to become Martyrs, and the people who are the innocent victims in the Gaza Strip need to get rid of Hamas.
Perhaps we should place sanctions on Israel for not signing the Non-proliferation treaty in the same way we've sanctioned N. Korea and Iran, or perhaps this time we should stay out of the mess THEY made and let them fend for themselves.
The whole thing is supposed to be a protest, right? A challenge to Israel to do away with the Gaza blockade?
I can understand wanting to take the much needed supplies into Gaza personally, how do the folks on the Flotilla know that their supplies will actually get to the people in Gaza? How do they know Israel won't just stockpile it or use it for their own means?
I can understand Israel wanting to search these aid flotillas as well. How does Israel know there aren't more weapons, or supplies that can be made into weapons, on these boats being shipped into Gaza? The "word" of someone else, be it political leader, diplomat or pleading spouse can often mean squat. Welcome to the world we live in.
War isn't played out by military leaders goading their troops into an empty field to face off with the opposition who feels their cause is equally just. All that ended with WWI and more and more innocent lives get caught in the middle and suffer for it. That's how I felt about the events of 9/11... The innocent people in the World Trade Centers and their families, how were they responsible for calling out a "Jihad"? What did they EVER do to Osama and his wacky bunch to be punished like that? What did they ever do besides go to work and try their best to care for their families? How many of those people in the Trade Centers that day where sitting around plotting the destruction of some militant belief in the Middle East? Most of them probably never heard of Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Al-or Jihad. The most political thing most of them probably ever did was vote.
That's the way I think about the innocent Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The need for medical aid alone in this area is known the world over. For 3 years the Gaza Strip has had a blockade on both the Israel side and the Egypt side.
Because of the violent coup and take over of the Gaza by Hamas.
The innocent get caught in the middle. The Palestinians who live there daily with the threat of mortar rounds from both sides, not enough educated doctors or supplies when they are attacked. What the hell do you do with that kind of life?
Hamas is considered a "Terrorist" group by many nations and judging by their actions over the MANY years, they certainly like to terrorize folks. "Terrorism" and "Terrorist" are terms that have been tossed around so much they've become a part of everyday vernacular and these terms have even had their definitions changed in the dictionary and encyclopedia since the 9/11 attacks. What about the actions of the Israeli military on the "Freedom Flotilla"?
Israel says their troops were met with "Axes" and "Pipes" and "Knives" as they repelled down to one of the boats from their chopper and that the Israeli troops were acting in self defense. Honestly, I would have shot someone too if I had a gun and they came at me with a knife... Poor decision on the knife carrier to take on the person with a gun. But here's the thing, Nine Turkish men on board were shot a total of 30 times, and five of the victims were shot either in the back of the head or in the back. "Israeli commandos shot one person every minute." (citation 1)
Sounds a little more like the Israeli troops got excited. Actually it sounds like a terrorist act, because it sounds like the people who were killed, were killed while running away... Shot in the back. Many of them were also shot at close range, which sounds like an execution. Israel is saying this Flotilla had connections to Hammas, and some Russian terrorist organization as well as Al-Qaeda. Reaching... See, the world saw them do this and the world is watching still.
I'm very interested to see what this second Flotilla - "Rachel Corrie" (named after an American girl run over by an Israeli bulldozer while protesting the demolition of a Palestinian residence) coming from Ireland will face.
I do think that Israel has proven they are from the Middle East. They're acting just like all those other Middle Eastern "Terrorists" they bitch about... As well as the ones we bitch about.
What REALLY gets my goat though is that in almost EVERY article I have dug up on this whole fiasco, and it has been a lot of 'em, someone is wanting Obama and the United States to step in and call Israel on their shit, they want US to do something about it. Why? Because we're allies with Israel? How many times have these same people said "America stay out of our business" or "America is meddling" and my favorite "America's failed Peace Talks"? They call us Imperialists, The "Empire", "Occupiers"... And now you want us to rescue you... Again? So you will have someone to blame and relieve yourselves of the responsibility. Egypt has dropped its blockade, Israel needs to do something better than what they're doing since the "blockade" has now become a tool for peaceful protesters to become Martyrs, and the people who are the innocent victims in the Gaza Strip need to get rid of Hamas.
Perhaps we should place sanctions on Israel for not signing the Non-proliferation treaty in the same way we've sanctioned N. Korea and Iran, or perhaps this time we should stay out of the mess THEY made and let them fend for themselves.