Humble Opinions

Weapons found on the Mavi Marmara

The May 31^st “Free” Gaza Flotilla incident has, for the most part, disappeared from news headlines, except for the occasional Turkish demand for Israel to apologize for its soldiers defending themselves in the deadly ambush meant to murder them. And I thought Israel was supposed to be the country with Chutzpah… Anyway, today I saw this headline: Lawyers ask ICC to prosecute Israel. Apparently, the lawyers representing the 9 Turkish terrorists who were killed upon the flotilla are asking international courts to prosecute Israel for war crimes due to the outcome of the humanitarian aid-disguised provocation. Wow.

It seems quite a lot of people in the world suffer from a severe case of short term memory. They have apparently forgotten that the IDF released video clips clearly depicting the Turkish “activists” on the flotilla smashing Israeli soldiers with metal pipes, throwing stun grenades at them, stabbing them, and attempting to steal their firearms. The IDF also released a huge collection of photos (1, 2) revealing the insane amount of knives, swords, pipes, clubs, and other deadly weapons that were on the flotilla in preparation of their well-planned, premeditated ambush.

Let’s for a moment play out this fantasy court case of Israel being tried for war crimes because of this incident. The way I see it is as follows: First, it would be a surprise if the prosecuting lawyers actually made it to the courthouse - remember, their memory is shockingly short lived. Assuming they arrive, they would make their case by stating Israeli soldiers killed 9 Turkish citizens who were peace loving activists, trying to get some basic life sustaining supplies to the starving Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Israel would respond by showing statistics of the enormous amount of supplies that regularly flow into the Gaza Strip, proving there is not an ounce of humanitarian crisis in the strip, as well as reiterate the repeated offer they made to the ship to transfer their cargo into Gaza under their supervision after it was checked for weapons. They would proceed to display the videos and pictures mentioned above, proving the flotilla was nothing more than a political stunt that forced IDF soldiers to defend themselves from being killed.

Israel’s victorious judgment would make global news headlines for approximately 1 day, and would pretty quickly be replaced by more headlines of Turkey demanding an Israeli apology over the war crimes it committed on the humanitarian aid flotilla. Granted, Israel is all too familiar with this simulation, and will thus ignore whatever ridiculous nonsense is launched its way. Israel clearly explained the causes for these unnecessary casualties shortly after the event, and that’s about the best it can do other than be better prepared for the next stunt the Arab world tries to play against it.

On the topic of news headlines, check out some of these recent headlines from the last week:

• Israel’s Stanley Fischer wins best bank governor of the world award
  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3967328,00.html
• Warrent Buffett says he’ll invest more in Israel
  Buffett: “If you are looking for brains - stop in Israel, there is no need to go further…”
  http://www.israel21c.org/201010148450/briefs/buffett-thinks-hell-invest-more-in-israel
• Israel to give Intel NIS 741M grant
  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3964054,00.html
• Jerusalem named top travel culture, sightseeing destination
  http://www.jpost.com/LocalIsrael/InJerusalem/Article.aspx?id=190921

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On September 11, 2001, approximately 3,000 American citizens were murdered in an act of terror against the United States. This occurrence literally paralyzed the country in many respects, and as was repeatedly reported, “changed the world forever.” — or so we were told.

First of all, let me just say that 9/11 was absolutely awful in every way. It was sad, unfair, and shocking. Why did these people have to die, and why must their friends and families now suffer the rest of their lives with the absence of their loved ones? I believe every one of them were entitled to live a long, fulfilling life… which brings me to my main point. When will this madness end?!

Browsing through the news today, I saw these two articles:

• Iraq blasts kill at least 103 (more than 197 wounded)
• Twelve dead as car bomb targets Pakistan army

Here is a quote from the 2nd link: “…killing 12 people in the third attack in 24 hours…” Third attack in 24 hours? Are you kidding me? That’s unbelievable. What makes any of the 103 people in Baghdad or the 12 people in Pakistan different from the approximate 3,000 Americans?

My point is this: These bomb blasts occur so often. Wait a few days, or a number of weeks, and the death toll from bomb blasts like these will equal a brand new 9/11. Is the world “changing” every few weeks? Why does the world change only when Americans die? Does the starbucks coffee in their systems make them more valuable human beings?

The answer is this: Countries only act in favor of their interests, and unfortunately this includes even opposing or fighting terrorism. Russia’s interest in Iranian oil money has made them “open minded” to Iran’s “peaceful” nuclear aspirations, while North Korea’s own nuclear program has rendered them perfectly okay with Iran’s worldwide support for terror (a.k.a. mass murder).

What will it take for the world to finally stand up to terrorism? It seems like only massive terrorist attacks in every country on earth could stem the tide - but by then, the world will have lost. Why is it okay for thousands of Kassam rockets to fall on innocent Israeli citizens, but NOT okay for a subway to be bombed in London? Why is it okay for endless rape and bloodshed to occur daily in Darfur, or for Palestinian extremists to blow themselves up in crowded Israeli markets, but NOT okay for planes to be flown into the Twin Towers?

When will the world realize terrorism is terrorism, and terrorists are not to be “negotiated” with around a table, while everyone sips their hot drinks, all whilst their comrades are back at home building more explosive devices, and smuggling more weapons to all parts of the globe? I have some bad news: the world is losing in the war on terror.

Terrorist organizations now have their own “Foreign Ministers”, their own newspapers, and even give their own press conferences (of course their faces are covered because, well, they ARE wanted murderers)… but hey, let’s give them a chance - let’s see what they have to say! Could be important.

If people don’t start waking up, and realizing this is not a game, terror will continue spreading worldwide, with very little resistance against it. I leave you with the following video, entitled “A Former Terrorist Speak Out”

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So this morning, I stumbled upon this article on Al Jazeera’s website:

Iraq hit by triple car bombing

The article can be summarized in these sentences: “The first bomb appeared to target people queuing outside a municipal office to claim various allowances, he said. The second detonated when police and firemen arrived on the scene, and the third blew up on the road to the hospital.” At least 23 dead, 81 wounded.

First, I’d like to mention that although this triple bomb idea seems creative, it’s actually old news. This exact strategy was used in an attack against Israel in the mid 90’s, during the reign of Prime Minister Rabin. The second bomb that had gone off did kill officers and personnel on the scene helping victims of the first bomb, however the third bomb prematurely detonated, and missed. Ever since then, Israel has been prepared for this type of an attack in their response protocols. (We rock?)

Second, I’d like to state my opinion which is that suicide bombings (and terrorism in general) cannot be stopped by anything other than force. I personally feel awful that there are so many people that care so little about their lives that they would happily use it up to destroy the lives of others, but I think a lot of the blame for this goes to the leaders of those people who encourage these acts, as opposed to trying to help and improve the lives of the individuals they are attempting to represent.

I’m additionally saddened by the fact that these double and triple bombings are no longer shocking to me, as I am reading about another suicide bomb / car bomb in Iraq or Afghanistan almost daily. So what is the correct response?

Let’s look at what Israel did, because it is run by the smartest human beings that currently exist: In 2002, Israel began constructing the Israeli West Bank Barrier which separates the West Bank from the rest of Israel. It is a highly controversial barrier. Those on the left side of politics say the wall is a guise for secretly annexing parts of the West Bank, since the wall juts inward to the West Bank in a number of places, and also that it makes life for the Palestinians in the West Bank significantly more difficult. Those on the right say it was and is desperately needed to improve security against terrorism. Who’s right? Well, suicide bombings inside of Israel are down 99.99% since the constructional of the wall - you can make up your own minds.

I am a supporter of disproportionate response to suicide bombings and acts of terror. One could argue that being a democracy means abiding to the international laws of war, the Hague Convention (etc), and that every democracy must deal with these problems proportionately and legally. However, I feel that is appropriate when dealing with other democracies, not terrorists who are prepared to cross every line imaginable, and then some.

Dealing a disproportionate response does two things: (1) Clearly sets the price for committing acts of terror very high, and (2) Diminishes the terrorists’ abilities to carry out these acts, because the responses are ideally devastating their infrastructure, bomb making facilities, and weapons caches.

The only last point is that for this to really work, the UN needs to be dismantled for its idiocy, and support for worldwide terror. That’s about all… Did I mention Iran’s building a nuclear bomb?

EDIT: Just thought I would add that this morning, I checked the news as I normally do, and what did I find? 41 dead as suicide blast hits northwest Pakistan. I rest my case.

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