A Setback for An Aggressor Nation & It's Ally

Here are just a few thoughts and enlightening links on Israel's recent invasion of Lebanon:

Israel did not "win," and the lie that Hezbullah was targeting only Israeli civilians is clearly shown by an Israeli journalist: From Mania to Depression, by Uri Avnery. Now compare that to the innocent civilians that the "good and decent" Israeli army purposely targeted in Lebanon.

The fact that Israel lost is shown even more clearly in this incredibly concise commentary: What Did and Didn't Happen in Lebanon; It Ain't Over, by Rachard Itani.

Hezbullah did not start this war: The Two Israeli Soldiers Were Captured in Lebanon. Even if they really did cross into Israel to kidnap the soldiers, it would still have been a criminal act, not a first strike in a major war. Israel, with full encouragement by their partner in crime, the United States, had just been waiting for an excuse to invade Lebanon, and this weak one was all they could come up with. Was Lebanon supposed to have become one of the future embarkation points for the invasion of Syria by U.S. troops? Will it still happen?

Israel's goal isn't survival. It's theft -- theft perpetrated while hiding behind every nation's fear of being labeled anti-Semitic if they complain: An Interview with Noam Chomsky on Lebanon.

A Jewish writer and teacher in Montreal, Canada, explains it very well: No Peace Without Justice, No Justice Without Truth; Pulling the Plug on Israel, by David Himmelstein.

"Demographic threat" is a new code phrase for racism. Guess who uttered it and who is enforcing it with extreme violence.

Who set the historical precedent for Hezbullah's supposed fighting methods? War Crimes in Lebanon.

The U.S. news outlets' incredibly biased reporting: The US Media's "Special Relationship" by Remi Kanazi.

Just one of the possible reasons we get distorted one-sided news in the U.S.: AIPAC Congratulates Itself on the Slaughter in Lebanon, by John Walsh.

I have saved the best editorial for last: How Israel Could Destroy Itself; Delusional Expectations, by John Chuckman. Here is a brief quote from it (the comment in brackets [ ] is my own addition):

"Israel began by moving into a bad neighborhood [in the late 1940s, without invitation, and simply took land that had never been theirs], and everyone involved understood this from the beginning, yet Israel behaves as though it should be normal to enjoy a pristine Disney-like suburb with white-picket fences. It reacts to activities in the bad neighborhood that disturb its fantasy with ferocious indignation. Israel's destructive behavior is explained largely by this delusional expectation.

"If Israel had spent half the resources it has spent on war over the last fifty years instead on helping its neighbors and building up their economies, the region would be a far better place today. And if Israel had been willing to make reasonable concessions to the needs of others in the region, there might well be lasting peace today."

My concluding thought (just in case I am misunderstood): Israel is a nation, not a religion. It is populated by people, not by saints, and is governed by a greedy, violent, self-righteous government with total disregard for human rights. Criticism of the actions of a nation is not equivalent to criticism of that nation's predominant religion. That is a defense behind which many crimes can be, and clearly are being, perpetrated with reckless abandon.

I naively supported that country's aggressive land grabs for most of my adult life because I thought they were the good guys. I have every right to change my mind, and I've done so.

I Smell A Rat

This is pretty simple math.

Israel has attacked Lebanon.

Israel seems to be threatening to attack Syria.

Iran's President Ahmadinejad has warned Israel not to attack Syria. This implies that he will send Iran's army to the aid of the Syrian army if Israel attacks it.

President Ahmadinejad is an extremely stupid person sometimes, almost as stupid as Usurper Bush. Usurper Bush's neocon handlers know this. Israel knows this. I'm willing to bet that both entities are taking full advantage of Ahmadinejad's stupidity, just as the final draft of their carefully written script requires. They are baiting the trap.

If -- When -- Iran's army comes to the aid of the Syrian army -- against "poor, innocent, practically defenseless" Israel (even though its army is larger than the armies of most of its neighbors combined; and even though it has nuclear weapons) -- Usurper Bush will insist to Congress that the United States must defend Israel at all costs. [There will be no explanation as to why we must defend Israel, since Israel has never -- in all of its history -- been of the slightest strategic or economic interest to the the United States, whatsoever. No oil exports, no food exports, no clothing exports, no U.S. military bases, nothing. Zilch.]

AIPAC (the staunchly pro-Israel lobbying group) will finally call in its markers and demand satisfaction from every member of the U.S. Congress, stating that it now expects repayment in full for the millions or billions of "campaign" dollars it has given them over the years. That satisfaction will naturally come in the form of Congress's approval of Usurper Bush's "purely altruistic" plan to invade Iran in order to "defend poor, innocent, practically defenseless" Israel.

The lapdog republican Congress then approves Usurper Bush's "purely altruistic" plan to invade Iran in order to "defend poor, innocent, practically defenseless" Israel.

Usurper Bush thus pulls an end run around all of his critics worldwide and finally gets a "legitimate" excuse to invade Iran after all. And Syria will even be thrown in as a bonus "enemy."

I smell a dirty, evil sewer rat -- or two. Is it possible that Israel's recent military overreaction was actually predesigned to ensure that the United States will get to attack Iran and Syria? Is it possible that that military overreaction is actually unrelated to a few dead or kidnapped Israeli soldiers?

It's too bad for the world that the United States is so short of troops these days. One can imagine the excessive slobber, from overactive salivary glands, that is even now dripping down the chins of Usurper Bush and his neocon handlers as visions of invasion and/or nuclear bombs explode in their heads.

[Update: 07-17-06: It appears that my theorizing above (from four days ago) may have been completely correct. Read this (making sure to note that the article continues below the video "screen"): Danny Schechter: The WWIII Meme.]

Disgusting Hypocrisy & Double Standards

1.) -----

I'm opposed to the invasion and brutal occupation of Tibet by China and the systematic genocide they have been conducting there since 1950. I even saw the Dali Lama in person a few years ago.

"I'm with you all the way, man."

2.) -----

I was opposed to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait back in 1990, even though I found out later it was because Kuwait was stealing Iraqi oil by drilling at a slant into Iraqi territory. Iraq warned Kuwait several times to stop, but Kuwait didn't listen.

"Yeah, that was a pretty despicable act on Iraq's part. I didn't know Kuwait was doing that stuff, though."

3.) -----

I was totally and violently opposed to the imprisonment and murder of millions of Jews by the Nazis in World War II and the subsequent theft of their property and wealth. One of my favorite movies of all time is Escape from Sobibor.

"Yes, that's one of the worst crimes in the history of the human race."

4.) -----

I was opposed to Serbians killing Muslim civilians in a genocidal manner in Kosovo and Bosnia and then taking their land merely because many residents in those provinces wanted independence and were willing to fight for it.

"That was really horrible. I agree with you."

5.) -----

I was opposed to the Indonesian invasion and occupation of East Timor a few years ago.

"So was I. I'm glad the UN forced the Indonesians out and allowed East Timor to become an independent nation."

6.) -----

I am opposed to the mass genocide and eviction by the Sudanese government of the minority inhabitants of the Darfur region merely because a few Darfur rebels fought for more rights. The government is now using it as an excuse to take their land and kill them off.

"Yes, it's sickening. I cannot believe we are doing so little to stop it from happening."

7.) -----

I am totally opposed to the unprovoked invasion and occupation of Iraq (and the theft of their future oil rights) by the United States.

"Yeah, I've been protesting that one myself. Bush and Cheney used non-Iraqi terrorists as a weak excuse to invade that country."

8.) -----

I'm absolutely sickened by the right-wing christian takeover of the republican party.

"Yeah, those religious nuts need to keep their noses out of our government. They're destroying our democracy."

9.) -----

I am opposed to Israel's systematic mass imprisonment and murder of Palestinian civilians (including women and children) and the blatant theft of land that the Palestinians have owned for thousands of years.

"You disgusting, anti-Semitic, neo-nazi piece of trash."

I see... So what you're saying is that Israel isn't like all the rest of the countries I just mentioned. Instead, it is allowed to perpetrate crimes against humanity -- and no one, including the press, is allowed to identify them as crimes -- simply because most Israelis are Jewish? How come I'm not anti-christian for my opposition to the Serbian and U.S. invasions of Muslim territories? How come I'm not anti-christian due to my disgust with right-wing christians who are taking over our government? Or, if even if I did happen to be anti-christian, how come that's OK with you? How come I'm not anti-Muslim for my opposition to the Sudanese government's practice of genocide in Darfur and the Indonesian government's occupation of catholic East Timor? How come I'm not considered pro-Semitic and anti-Nazi for my total condemnation of the Nazi holocaust of World War II?

"Hmmm, I didn't think of it that way."

Yes, I know. From now on, please stop with the hypocrisy and double standards. No nation, including Israel, has the right to hide behind its predominant religion -- no matter what that religion is -- in order to commit its own atrocities. And no one should be demeaned and condemned for exposing those atrocities for what they are.

[Inspired by Israel's recent attacks on civilian targets in Gaza and Lebanon, no matter what their excuse might be.]