Israeli Police Beat 15 year old American Citizen

[Al B. Sure!]

Maybe when you grow up, you'll realize that being a marine lieutenant isn't actually very impressive and that you're actually the one engaged in regurgitation, just of the sycophantic "what my field manual from the war we are actually losing said" variety.

Better to lose with honor than win as a monster. As if Israel has done any better than us. They are no closer to a resolution in the conflict than they were in the 1970's. As I have said repeatedly, Hamas and other groups will always be a threat to Israel until Palestinians no longer hate Israel. I cannot fathom how you can deny that. You think somehow you can combat terrorism through nothing more than brutal military repression? You will never be able to kill every single terrorist and the act of killing terrorists potentially produces more terrorists until you can win the hearts and minds of the population to your side. There is nothing controversial about this, except for the fact that Israel fails miserably in actually ending the conflict.

you'll realize that being a marine lieutenant isn't actually very impressive

You're right. Being a CompSci student at Carnegie Mellon is oh so much more impressive.

[Hauldren Collider]

You're right. I never thought of that, but now that I look at the statistics it is in fact much more selective than the marines.

[regexcellent]

As a rule I don't read posts that break the tables.

Alby, when we invaded Germany, was that counter-insurgency?

I'm hoping he's got to work with the icky Jews in somesort of joint military exercise over the course of his career. The awkwardness his anti-Semitic views presents in that situation would be hilarious.

IIRC he's deploying on an MEU (not sure exactly); if he's going to the 6th fleet then it's reasonably likely.

[Fake Boris]

This conflict is incredibly easy to comprehend.

Water and good land are scarce over there and Israel desires to annex and settle the good lands. They have absolutely no intention of ever making peace.

Palestinians are pissed off and as a result do a lot of wrong things, which serve as a casus belli for Israel to pursue its annexionist policies.

If peace were made and Palestinian attacks persisted, then Israel would have a very strong legal and international case to launch full scale retaliation against a sovereign Palestinian state, until the attacks cease. They could capture Palestinian leaders and have them tried in international courts.

Israel will never agree to such a peace, because precisely that would put them in a situation where they can't annex land they would have recognized as Palestinian in a treaty.

The low intensity conflict they are deliberately nurturing is simply a stratagem to pursue de facto annexion of Palestinian land, and anyone who doesn't see this is just a moron.

[C0ckney]

There is nothing controversial about this, except for the fact that Israel fails miserably in actually ending the conflict.

israeli doesn't really want to end the conflict. it wants to keep gaza under siege while stealing more and more land in the west bank; while cynically talking the language of peace.

[C0ckney]

x-post with oncle boris who puts it very well.

[The Mad Monk]

That should suggest something about your own position.

[C0ckney]

what are you talking about?

(and if you're going to respond please try to make it something other than the worthless platitudes you've so far offered in this thread)

[Bereta_Eder]

What Oncle Borris said has been common knowledge for decades (let me say here that I sympathize with the average israeli not only palestinian).
The question is who's the facilitator in all of this and how to bring him down

[Bereta_Eder]

I'm hoping he's got to work with the icky Jews in somesort of joint military exercise over the course of his career. The awkwardness his anti-Semitic views presents in that situation would be hilarious.

Kind of like pretending you're german when you go abroad?

[Fake Boris]

What Oncle Borris said has been common knowledge for decades (let me say here that I sympathize with the average israeli not only palestinian).
The question is who's the facilitator in all of this and how to bring him down

It is common knowledge in Europe, but not in North America - press coverage in Canada and the US is massively pro-Israel.

In general on the Internet, nearly all Israel fanboys are from the US.

[Al B. Sure!]

Of course no one from the e-IDF responds to my posts in any meaningful way. Just fingers in the ears 'la la la! I'm not listening, you stupid lieutenant!'. Not surprising.

USMC Iraqi Children
IDF Palestinian Children

The difference is very striking.

Maybe America is just better at propaganda but even if that's the case it still shows the IDF has a problem. Either they suck at portraying themselves positively or they have a much more sinister problem.

[Bereta_Eder]

It is common knowledge in Europe, but not in North America - press coverage in Canada and the US is massively pro-Israel.

In general on the Internet, nearly all Israel fanboys are from the US.

Europe is changing rapidly though.
You could have almost uniform condemnation of Israel in the past, sanctions etc
Now there are a lot of people that seriously question palestinian practise of firing rockets to inhabited areas (even if they are intercepted, that's not really the point). That doesn't mean that everything else doesn't stand. The suffering, oppression, occupation of the palestinians. But also the right of israeli people to live in peace.
Also islamophobia and the turn of Europe the the right wing has played a part in softening its stance towards the israeli gov.
As things go though, Europe's present system will near collapse and a new era of leaders will arise.

It's frightening though what's going on in the world. Syria, Palestine, the arab world, Ukraine.... it seems it's multiplying non stop

[regexcellent]

Jesus Christ Alby how dense are you? ISRAEL IS NOT TRYING TO PROP UP A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT.

[DinoDoc]

Jesus Christ Alby how dense are you? ISRAEL IS NOT TRYING TO PROP UP A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT.

He's not going to understand that.