Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan & American hypocrisy

When the rockets red glare, burst in the air, over Israel, our media was, almost without exception, silent. For years. One Middle Eastern reporter, siding with Hamas, claims these rockets did not detonate. Who cared whether they did or not? Very few. Where was the outrage? Absent.

During these years, whenever a truce was negotiated and there occurred a lull in the Hamas barrage, Hamas used that lull to restock its armories with weapons.

When Israel decided enough was enough and took action against Hamas, the outcry was worldwide and sustained and continues. Much of the outcry was based upon reports coming from within Gaza and were unconfirmed. For example, the Gazan hospital said to have been reduced to rubble by the Israelis, is expected to be up and running in a couple of days.

At the moment a truce is in effect. Hamas leaders have come out of their hiding places among the population, and put their uniforms back on. A degree of normalcy is returning to Gaza. Do you think Hamas is restocking its supply of weapons, including rockets?

Hamas is a terrorist organization but rules Gaza. Hamas is dedicated to the destruction of Israel. Hamas exists to destroy Israel.

During this recent military confrontation between Israel and Hamas, the outcry has been mostly about the deaths of innocent men, women and children. That is a legitimate concern. While all the facts are not in, and now a Gazan doctor claims the number of deaths has been exaggerated, no one is comfortable with civilians being killed in the morass of war.


At the same time, it is monumental hypocrisy for Americans to criticize Israel when for the last five years, our military forces have caused thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of deaths of innocent men, women and children in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Collateral damage. Big time. What makes American criticism of Israel even more hypocritical is that Iraq not only never attacked the United States, but did not even have the capability to attack the U.S., and never threatened to do so.

It was reported today that American planes attacked a terrorist camp in Pakistan and killed several civilians. This is not unusual, but occurs on a regular basis. Our response is, "Oops. Sorry 'bout that. We'll try to do better next time."

While we never should have invaded Iraq, there is some justification for going after members of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan because that group is responsible for the 9/11 attacks. But, even with such justification, we have the added problem of targeting terrorists without permission of the country in which they are located. Pakistan is not happy with us at the moment, feeling its sovereignty has been abrogated.

Furthermore, because the terrorists in Afghanistan/Pakistan follow the same MO as Hamas in Gaza -- hiding among the civilian population; indeed, using the civilian population as shields -- there will be "collateral damage."


Where is the outcry in the media over these innocent men, women and children that have been and continue to be killed by American forces?

It is absent. There is a huge sucking void.


Frankly, the problem of Israel and Gaza is beyond my grade level, to quote a famous leader. And I don't have a solution to the Afghanistan situation nor do I know how to capture bin Laden as John McCain claimed he would do.

But fair is fair. It seems a massive hypocrisy to attack Israel for doing exactly the same thing that Hamas has been doing to that country for the past eight years and that we've been doing in Iraq since 2003 and Afghanistan since 2001.

Things not well in pope land

[MSNBC photo of Cardinal Renato Martino]

Pope Benedict XVI is planning to visit Israel - er, was planning to visit Israel.

But things are not going well between the Vatican and the Jews. Well, partly because Cardinal Renato Martino, head poohbah for the Vatican Council for Justice and Peace, made a statement that upset the Israelis. Martino is "one of the Pope's closest aides," and therefore one might assume that his thoughts and words often reflect the thinking of the Pope.

Martino made a statement the other day in which he "compared Gaza to a concentration camp. The cardinal criticised Israel for killing civilians who had taken shelter at a UNrun school in Gaza."

"Defenceless populations are always the ones who pay," said Martino. "Look at the conditions in Gaza: more and more, it resembles a big concentration camp."

Martino did, however, also condem Hama's rocket attacks on Israel and noted that Israel did have the right to defend itself.


All of this was just the latest chapter of a growing conflict between the Vatican and Italy's Jews. The latter are also upset about the pontiff's plans to beautify Pope Pius XII, who was the pope during WWII and has been accused of failing to protect Jews from the Holocaust.

The Vatican rejects that accusation and is demanding "the removal of a plaque attacking Pius XII at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem."


So, the long, sordid story of enmity between Jews and Christians continues; perhaps for another 2,000 years.


Oh, one more thing: Cardinal Renato is also the guy who told Catholics to stop giving money to Amnesty International because Amnesty International is now supporting abortion in cases of rape or where a mother's health is in danger.

Hamas hypocrisy

[Iraqi children killed by U.S. Marines]

Pundits around the world have called in to pronounce Israel guilty of over-reacting to the acts of Hamas. Protestors are marching in a number of cities, demanding the militant Israelis stop their attacks on Gaza.

While others, directly involved in this latest Israeli-Gazan violence, and much more knowledgeable than I, have defended the Israeli action with some cogency, I would raise a question with the naysayers: Where were all these protesters five years ago when the United States invaded Iraq setting off a conflagration which has left hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead (many of which were civilians, including women and children), and millions more fleeing the country?

And how is it that we are treated to multiple photos of dead and dying Gazans but our media has conveniently forgotten to show us images of the havoc wreaked by our own forces in Iraq?


Israel has been under daily assault by Hamas for years. Israelis, for years, have lived with the threat, not only of rockets which appear suddenly and without warning over and over again, but also suicide bombers which turn Israeli marketplaces into bloody scenes of death.

Hamas denies Israel's right to exist, and in turn exists ONLY to drive Israel into the sea! Hamas is dedicated to the death of Israel. Hamas turns its resources into weapons and fires those weapons at Israel.


In 2003, the United States invaded a sovereign nation that posed no threat to us whatsoever! Iraq never attacked us! Iraq never attacked our allies. We attacked Iraq, leading to the destruction of the country, damage that has been been massive and pointless. Dead bodies, including those of women and children continue to litter the streets.

We not only do not see such things on the evening news, we are not allowed by our leaders to even view the caskets of our dead soldiers as they are brought back home for burial. Such sights might make people wonder if maybe God didn't tell Bush and company to take out Saddam.

Those who wish to protest what they feel is unnecessary war and gratuitous violence should head to Washington, D.C. and lead marches against the Bush administration and all of its subdivisions, which created the world's largest killing machine and which, for the past five years, has used that killing machine to extend American hegemony over the Middle East.

Unfortunately, that killing machine not only killed Iraqis who stood in the way of the Bushite dream, but is responsible for the murder of hundreds of thousands of innocents men, women and children.

An Israeli speaks out on Hamas

[Jerusalem - the Old City]

A guest post by Bob Poris.

This derives from an hospital administrator in Jerusalem.

Our speech at the UN

Members of the United Nations, Democracies, dictatorships, republics, and the honorable secretary-general:

Within a few hours, media outlets in your countries shall present horrific photos of blood, fire, and rubble from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians will be screaming, in front of the cameras, about the massacre undertaken by the State of Israel. Initially, you may show understanding for our operations in the Strip, yet once the photos of wounded civilians reach you, you shall press us, as is your custom, to stop defending ourselves.

The first signs of this phenomenon can already be seen. Calls to "end the violence" from across the world are being heard loud and clear - yet they are only being heard now, after years of violence, and after Israel finally decided to respond. The European Union already rushed to declare that it condemns Israel's "disproportional use of force." Several news networks have brought together panels whose members are scrutinizing the law books at this very moment in order to ascertain whether the Jewish State violated some international law.

I do not intend to deal with the question of where were these condemners and critics for the past seven years, when Hamas' murderers set the timers of their rockets to coincidence with the end of the school day in Israel, because of a declared aim to kill as many children as possible.

The question we should be discussing at this time is as follows: Why do the countries of the world and global media outlets obsessively engage in strict criticism that is only directed at Israel? After all, there is not even one country out there that is required to adhere to the moral criteria which the world demands of us - of us of all people, the ones who as opposed to the rest of the world face threats of extermination.

Our Arab neighbors are well familiar with this double standard vulnerability. On their part, they are not bound by any kind of moral code.

And so, they learned to exploit the international strictness towards Israel. A long time ago, they already understood that they cannot face the State of Israel on the battlefield. Indeed, when it comes to photographs and videos, they boast uniforms and weapons, yet once the fighting gets underway, they are quick to take off their uniforms and assimilate among women and children used as human shields. They also make sure to place their arms depots in hospital basements and to fire rockets at population centers out of schoolyards.

Their great hope is to elicit an Israeli response that would unintentionally hurt a few children. Once that happens, they will wave their bodies before the cameras and cry out to the world for help.

This was the case in Lebanon, and this may happen tomorrow in the Gaza Strip.

Easing Europe's conscience the states demanding that Israel adhere to certain moral standards do not even dream of asking the same of her enemies.

After all, we are dealing with theocracies and dictatorships, where homosexuals are publicly hanged, where women are regularly stoned for undermining their "family's honor," and where children suspected of theft have their arms severed.

What do these states have to do with the value of human life?

We should therefore ask representatives of global opinion: Be honest with yourselves - Do the lives of humans being butchered daily in Iraq, Afghanistan and Darfur arouse you into similar action?

Reality indicates this is not the case. My answer to the question regarding the obsessive preoccupation with the actions of the Jews is purely sociological.

Many of you, the shapers of public opinion, and mostly the Europeans amongst you, are interested in easing your conscience: If only can only show that the Israelis-Jews are not so moral or innocent, perhaps they deserve everything you did to them before they were able to establish their state? After all, here they are, occupying and butchering the poor Palestinians; they are certainly no better than us!

To that end, you are willing to help out the lowliest terrorists. Therefore, you bought into their slanderous Mohammed al-Dura tale, and therefore you will rush to buy into various blood libels in the coming days.

Those who launch missiles and mortar shells into kindergartens know that they will always enjoy a protective umbrella from you.

They draw their self-confidence from the intolerable ease with which they enlist your public opinion in their favor.

Therefore, you would do well to think twice before you move to stop the punishment they lawfully deserve.

After all, you are the only lifesaver that can spare this radical terror group the measure of justice hovering above it.

Update from another Israeli:

Today the new Consul General for the Pacific Northwest was on  a local talk
show.  When questioned about the civilian casualties, he replied that
before targeting the Hamas headquarters in Gaza, Israel made 90,000 phone
calls to Gaza residents warning them to remove themselves from that area.
Do other nations do that? 

---

Israel's response to Gaza attacks

[Hamas Gunman - AP Photo by Hatem Moussa]

Guest post by Bob Poris.

I have no way of knowing how the Israeli attacks against the Gaza terrorists will end, but it didn’t have to come to this.

Israel voluntarily withdrew from Gaza in 2005 as part of a "land for peace" deal that had been pushed upon it for decades. It left prosperous businesses intact for the Gazans to use to shore up its economy.

That's not what happened!

Instead of instituting programs and policies which would benefit the citizens of Gaza, Hamas turned Gaza into a front line military base in a long-term Islamist confrontation with Israel, backed by Iran. It has rejected any attempts to negotiate a two-state solution with Israel.

Hamas began a daily barrage of rockets into Israeli towns over a year ago! Over four thousand rockets have been fired into Israel since 2005! These rockets have narrowly missed blowing up Israeli children in kindergartens and giant fuel storage facilities in built-up areas of Southern Israel.

The various cease fires have been used by Hamas to smuggle more sophisticated rockets and weapons into Israel and to build up its forces to wage terror against Israel.

Israel’s attacks are not the result of the end of the last cease fire. They are a response to eighteen months of rockets being launched against Israeli cities and civilians by the elected governing body of Gaza and seven years of attacks from Gaza, and the ideology which fuels them.

What nation on earth would have waited so long for talks to stop a war waged against it? Why should Israel be asked to not react to the indiscriminate killing of its citizens over so many years?

Why indeed?

Dean Rotbart is a putz!

Just in case you're wondering, a "putz" is a Yiddish term: literally, a penis. It is also a slang term for "fool" or "idiot," or "jerk."

Rotbart is described by all of them!

Maybe if you've been nominated for the Pulitzer and have worked for the Wall Street Journal, you think you can be a prick, a fool, an idiot or a jerk and no one will notice. Not so.


Writing on behalf of who, I don't know, [maybe his own shadow Orthodox Jewish constituency] Robart scribbled off a "letter of apology" to Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin for the fact that 78% of American Jews voted for Senator Obama on November 4.

That's enough to make him a fool. What follows makes him the other things:

Because he added he was also apologizing to "Republican voters, Christian evangelicals, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Mike Gallagher and everyone else in the non-Jewish universe who stands four-square behind the State of Israel."

Let's see, Ann Coulter cannot tell the truth, is filled with vile hatred of anything she considers to be "liberal," claims to "love" the Jews, but believes they are all going to hell unless they accept Jesus. They need to be "perfected" in Christ, is what she says.

Sean Hannity has shown his anti-Semitic streak by inviting his friend, the known anti-Semite, Andy Martin on his show. Andrew Martin is a vicious anti-Semite. (Details by Glenn Greenwald here.) Mike Gallagher is a ultra-conservative radio talk-show host, who sometimes makes Rush Limbaugh blush: One minor example - Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama, said Gallagher, was racially motivated.

These are the people to whom the putz, Rotbart, is apologizing!


In his letter, Rotbart suggests that Jews who voted for Obama did so because the were "So enamored ... of the symbolism of electing a man of color to the Oval Office that they fatefully overlooked what he stands for and worse, what he will not stand against."

Then Rotbart invokes the threat of Holocaust II: "Who would have ever imagined that it would fall to our non-Jewish neighbors to take up the cause of Israel's survival and the necessity to be every vigilant against the gathering clouds of Holocaust II."

Jews who voted for Obama are "Philistines," says Rotbart.

Nor does Rotbart think that the 78% of American Jews should be forgiven of their "willful callowness." They knew well, he writes, of "his proclivities to associate with anti-Jewish, anti-Israel friends and preachers."

Hot damn, for a minute there I thought he was talking about John McCain! McCain fits that bill of indictment better than does Obama!!


There is much more such crap by this putz. The worst, though, is his conclusion. He quotes Anne Bayefsky of the Hudson Institute (a conservative think-tank), who "warned that not since Hitler's time has civilization teetered so perilously on the brink of catastrophe."

She put it this way: "So when you cast your ballot this election, make no mistake: You are voting for or against a nuclear holocaust."


And I thought the Protestant fundamentalists were a bunch of dummies! Rotbart and Bayefsky put them to shame!


Read all of Rotbart's diatribe here.

Read Marc Stanley's (National Democratic Jewish Council) response here.