The Associated Press reports that "Israeli tanks and troops launched a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip Saturday night with officials saying they expected a lengthy fight with Hamas militants in the densely populated territory after eight days of punishing airstrikes failed to halt rocket attacks on Israel. Hamas vowed that Gaza would be a 'graveyard' for Israelis forces." California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared that "every nation has the right to defend itself against terrorism and cold-blooded attacks on its people. Israel is no different and is right to defend itself against the unceasing violence of rocket attacks launched by Hamas." Czech European Union presidency spokesman Jiri Potuznik said that "at the moment, from the perspective of the last days, we understand this step as a defensive, not offensive, action." The EU President, however, does not represent all of Europe. The French Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that "France condemns the Israeli ground offensive against Gaza as it condemns the continuation of rocket firing" and termed the Israeli action a "dangerous military escalation."
It is important to point out to the French and to all those who may condemn the Jewish State that Israel has the military capability to take care of Gaza without a single boot on the ground. The Israeli Air Force is one of the very best air forces in the world. Over the last week the world has witnessed the precision in which Israel is able to target its enemy. Israel could continue to bombard Gaza with bombs from the air if it so wished. If Israel was not worried about civilian collateral damage in the assault on Gaza it could continue an aerial attack and cause much more damage. When it comes to Israel, this is not the case. Israel has decided that it is worth risking the lives of Israeli soldiers by launching a ground offensive. This risks IDF lives in a way that an offensive from the air does not. It is a testament to the fact that Israel has always taken civilian casualties into consideration. It is imperative that you not be fooled by the media offensive against Israel. The media will attempt to portray a ground offensive as an escalation on the part of Israel. This is certainly not the case. It is Israel showing that they will not rely solely on their air force, as they no doubt could, but that they are willing to sacrifice Israeli soldiers in the battle against Hamas. I pray that the Israeli soldiers and tanks moving into Gaza are successful in their mission against a fanatical jihadist enemy.
The Associated Press further reports that "the U.N. Security Council scheduled emergency consultations Saturday night on the escalation of violence in Gaza." Israel should brush the United Nations aside as one brushes aside dandruff on the shoulder of a dark suit. When it comes to Israel the United Nations is more than irrelevant. They are a nothing more than a mouthpiece for the enemies of Israel. They are a propaganda headquarter for the Palestinians and the Arab States, all the while having the aura of international legitimacy.
The AP reports also that Hamas has "threatened to resume suicide attacks inside Israel" as if Israel needed another reminder of the jihadist evil which it faces, an evil force that is willing to conduct suicide terrorism targetihg innocent civilians.
And here is Bob Dylan to provide some perspective:
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Saturday, January 3, 2009
Israeli Ground Forces Enter Gaza
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This may sound harsh, but I hope that Israel refuses to listen to the international community in regards to those condemning the Israeli response. I dont know when this started but ever since the American conflict in Korea "war" has taken on some new definition, and not a good one. War should rarely be used, as everyone would acknowledge, but when you do, I feel you should destroy your enemy until HE NO LONGER HAS THE WILL TO FIGHT. Sometimes we forget this fundamental aspect of combat, and we cut it short, wasting lives and time. I want Israel to crush Hamas, and when either they admit they are beaten and shut there mouths or they die, then Israel should pull out. And as far as France goes, they are nation of sheep, so no surprise there; sheep have no choice but to 'Baa' don't they?
ReplyDelete-Gifford
I could not agree with you more. The idea of "proportionality" is often heard by opponents of Israel. They argue that Israeli responses to Palestinian terror are "disproprotionate." If one thinks about it, this is nothing more than a sick wish that more Israelis were dead. Only then, according to the logic of proportionality, would an Israeli response be justified. How one calculates proportionatlity is rarely explained. Should Israel kill one Palestinian for every one Israeli killed? That is absurd on its face. What this line of argument does is simply attempt to demonize Israel as the killing machine when in fact it is the likes of Hamas which, as one Hamas suicide bomber put it, is a "nation that drinks blood" and knows "that there is no blood better than the blood of Jews"(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPJKPFUrTq4). Furthermore, Israel is just about the only country against which this proportionality nonsense is used. Apparently Israel should hold itself to a standard expected of no nation acting in its own defense. The fact is that every nation has a duty to defend its citizens. If a nation is attacked by Islamic terrorists targeting civilians it has not only the right but the responsibility to respond before more civilians are killed. And there is no obligation that the response be proportionate. The obligation is that the response make her citizens more secure.
ReplyDeleteI must admit that what I fear is that Hamas must do very little in order to claim victory. Hamas will no doubt survive this Israeli assualt. Even if they are damaged, even if they lose fighters and weapons caches, they will survive. And the day after the Israeli actions cease, all Hamas needs to do is stand up at a rally in front of tens of thousands of its Gaza supporters and declare that they have not been defeated and that the war on Israel will continue. Survival is probably all that Hamas needs to claim victory. You rightly state that in war you should destroy the enemy until "HE NO LONGER HAS THE WILL TO FIGHT." The question that arises is what would Israel have to do to make the likes of Hamas lose the will to fight? If there is one thing the Islamic terrorist enemy has, certainly when it comes to Israel, it is the will to fight. And to diminsh that will would probably take more than temporary military actions against Gaza. This in no way takes away from the justifications for Israel's actions today, but it certainly is a question worth asking.
Ben, thanks for the comments.