They do plenty for the US. They exist to allow the US to exert just enough control to destabilize the region to keep themselves secure. If you read about US "Grand Area Planning" that started at the end of WW2 all US foreign policy today makes perfect sense: http://zcomm.org/wp-content/uploads/zbooks/htdocs/chomsky/sam/sam-1-3.htmlI consider it the other way around. They don't really do jack shit for the US, if they were a puppet they'd be more useful. But we spend an awful lot of money and energy keeping them safe, so it's fair to ask who is using who.
They do plenty for the US. They exist to allow the US to exert just enough control to destabilize the region to keep themselves secure. If you read about US "Grand Area Planning" that started at the end of WW2 all US foreign policy today makes perfect sense: http://zcomm.org/wp-content/uploads/zbooks/htdocs/chomsky/sam/sam-1-3.html
An interesting point I have heard made: The US is conducting operations in the neighboring Eastern European countries to Russia(the US has also done so in Cuba for well over 50 years). What do you think would happen if Russia decided to conduct military operations in Canada or Mexico?Well fucking shit. I am wondering where this will lead. Although the Russians were not any more moral back then or even today. There is cause in preventing the Russians from world domination but we have to think about what other shit America does as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wise_Men_%28book%29
An interesting point I have heard made: The US is conducting operations in the neighboring Eastern European countries to Russia(the US has also done so in Cuba for well over 50 years). What do you think would happen if Russia decided to conduct military operations in Canada or Mexico?
Yes, and that serves US interests just fine.A good point but keep in mind the countries around the Muscovites have been bullied and oppressed for centuries. They are not fond of the Muscovites.
Yes, and that serves US interests just fine.
That is a fair point. It would be absurd to criticise Israel for not suffering enough, given Jewish history.BTW, I don't get the numbers game. Would people be happy if we executed our own citizens to match casualties on the other side? Does preventing damage to your population count as a bad thing? I ask this as a general question, regardless of the current conflict.
Would you consider a lack of deaths on your side a loss, because war needs to be "fair" and symmetric?
For evidence and pictures of this go to:
http//www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/20/israelis-cheer-gaza-bombing.
Well, if that is the IDF 'thing', I think it stinks.I know about that. Sderot has been on the receiving end of non-stop rocket and mortar attacks for the last 14 years.
For once they get to leave the shelters and watch the IDF do its thing.
I have just watched a Palestinian aid worker in Gaza, he is a guy in a green t-shirt. He is on his back on the ground, shot in the hand by an HV IDF sniper round. He was unarmed and in great pain. A British Channel 4 press group caught up with him and as several people tried to pull him back clear of the line of fire, he was 'finished-off', on camera, by the same sniper. He was clearly unarmed. Through a sniper scope the IDF soldier who gently squeezed that trigger would have know that from 1000 metres away. I have been an army marksman.
The question is, how do you best solve that? I certainly don't accept the notion that the best solution is all options are on the table, which is the politest way of saying we're going to go to war if we don't solve the nuclear problem quickly. The fact of the matter is Israel has an effective nuclear monopoly in the region, and it will have that for a long time. And one thing that the Iranians are certain not to do is to undertake some suicidal mission the moment they have one bomb. So the notion that's been publicized in America that there could be a crazy Iranian rush to have the bomb in nine months is, to me, meaningless. What do you do with a single nuclear weapon that you have for the first time, that you haven't tested, that you haven't previously weaponized, that you cannot be sure that you can deliver effectively, and with which you cannot protect yourself from retaliation because you don't have any more? And the Israelis have a very strong military, and they have about, what -- estimates are 150 to 200 bombs. That's enough to kill every Iranian. So I think that issue is phony.
On a fair balance -- most certainly not.As in do you consider Israel an moral and just country...
Suddenly we are short of space here in Israel, which has become full to capacity and needs lebensraum. Every cultured person knows that this is a despicable German concept, banned from use because of the associations it brings up. Still, people are starting to use it, if not outright then with a clear implication: We are short of land, we are short of air, let us breathe in this country.
When we embarked on the Six-Day War did we want to remove a threat or did we want to gain control in order to spread out? That's what happens after 44 years of mire and moral corruption,
· Israel has long implemented policies akin to apartheid with militarily enforced separate areas and separate laws in the West Bank. Palestinians are subverted in favour of Israeli while only those Israeli colonists, rather than their subjugated Palestinian neighbours, are granted a political say upon state policy by Israel.which distort things and make us forget the original objective and replace it with an entirely different one. We were fortunate when we occupied the West Bank because had we not done so, where would we have come to live? And who knows how high housing prices would have risen? The divine promise is now being revealed in all its ability to prophesy about real estate.
The founding fathers, as opposed to the Diadochi who fought for control after Alexander the Great's death, represented a different approach, for the most part. Between "A little goes a long way," and "Don't bite off more than you can chew," they chose to bite; they even agreed to the 1947 UN partition plan for lack of choice. They believed that all the objectives of rational Ben Gurion-style Zionism could be fulfilled even in "Lesser Israel," which is more complete and more at peace with itself. And it has no need for lebensraum, may God preserve us.
Charter of the United Nations: Article I:
2. To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;
Though the above are mostly ideals, some points have been ratified into international law, particularly those ratified and signed by the state of Israel.United Nations Declaration of Human Rights
· without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
· Article 9
o No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
· Article 13
o (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
o (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
· Article 15
o (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
o (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
· Article 17
o (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Reaffirming such post-WWII international law, here are some of the historically sanctioned and recorded legal international views, that also include that of your USA:Definition of Aggression, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX).
Article 5:
3. No territorial acquisition or special advantage resulting from aggression is or shall be recognized as lawful.
Article 7
Nothing in this Definition, and in particular article 3, could in any way prejudice the right to self-determination, freedom and independence, as derived from the Charter, of peoples forcibly deprived of that right and referred to in the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, particularly peoples under colonial and racist regimes or other forms of alien domination: nor the right of these peoples to struggle to that end and to seek and receive support, in accordance with the principles of the Charter and in conformity with the above-mentioned Declaration.
United Nations Resolution 242 (November 1967) - The situation in the Middle East:
..
Emphasizingthe inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every State in the area can live in security,
1. Affirms that the fulfilment of Charter principles requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East which should include the application of both the following principles:
(i) Withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict;
(ii) Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force;
Internationally, on a state-per-state basis, Israel is absolutely isolated upon a view of legal annexation and colonisation of extra-jurisdictional territory. Driving partisanship, Prime Minister Harper of Canada has been both praised and critiqued for his unwavering support for Israel, yet even the government that he leads is unequivocal upon the illegality of Israeli aggression:United Nations Resolution 3236 (November 1974) - Question of Palestine:
Recognizing that the Palestinian people is entitled to self-determination in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,
Expressing its grave concern that the Palestinian people has been prevented from enjoying its inalienable rights, in particular its right to self-determination,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter,
Recalling its relevant resolutions which affirm the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,
1. Reaffirms the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in Palestine, including:
1. (a) The right to self-determination without external interference;
2. (b) The right to national independence and sovereignty;
Israeli occupation, subjugation, and colonisation of Palestinian land is immoral, criminal, and as specified -- unjust. As far as states go, Israel is alone upon challenging this. If you choose to side with Israel in such opposition, then your perception of justice is quite incorrect.Foreign Affairs
Status of Jerusalem
Canada considers the status of Jerusalem can be resolved only as part of a general settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute. Canada does not recognize Israel's unilateral annexation of East Jerusalem.
Occupied Territories and Settlements
Canada does not recognize permanent Israeli control over territories occupied in 1967 (the Golan Heights, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip). The Fourth Geneva Convention applies in the occupied territories and establishes Israel's obligations as an occupying power, in particular with respect to the humane treatment of the inhabitants of the occupied territories. As referred to in UN Security Council Resolutions 446 and 465, Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The settlements also constitute a serious obstacle to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.
Canada believes that both Israel and the Palestinian Authority must fully respect international human rights and humanitarian law which is key to ensuring the protection of civilians, and can contribute to the creation of a climate conducive to achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement.
The Barrier
Canada recognizes Israel's right to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks, including through the restriction of access to its territory, and by building a barrier on its own territory for security purposes. However, Canada opposes Israel's construction of the barrier inside the West Bank and East Jerusalem which are occupied territories. This construction is contrary to international law under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Canada not only opposes Israel's construction of a barrier extending into the occupied territories, but also expropriations and the demolition of houses and economic infrastructure carried out for this purpose.
Got a link to that?
Of course Whiskey16 has no leg to stand on....
UN resolutions mean nothing -- the UN has been highly pro-Palestine!
The World Court means nothing AND Has no enforcement powers....
How very odd! I bet you don't mind remembering Holocaust Memorial Day or 9/11.This my take on the whole thing......the past is the past!
Means nothing now...