Posts Tagged ‘War on Terror’

This sounds like Sherman too

Posted: January 6, 2009 by datechguy in arthur vs carter, opinion/news
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Via Israellycool this Arab written article is rather amazing:

With Israel entering its fourth week of an incursion into the same Gaza Strip it voluntarily evacuated a few months ago, a sense of reality among Arabs is spreading through commentary by Arab pundits, letters to the editor, and political talk shows on Arabic-language TV networks. The new views are stunning both in their maturity and in their realism. The best way I can think of to convey them is in the form of a letter to the Palestinian Arabs from their Arab friends:

Dear Palestinian Arab brethren:

The war with Israel is over.

You have lost. Surrender and negotiate to secure a future for your children.

The next phrase sounds just like Sherman:

…you and your leaders have wasted three generations trying to fight for Palestine, but the truth is the Palestine you could have had in 1948 is much bigger than the one you could have had in 1967, which in turn is much bigger than what you may have to settle for now or in another 10 years. Struggle means less land and more misery and utter loneliness.

At the moment, brothers, you would be lucky to secure a semblance of a state in that Gaza Strip into which you have all crowded, and a small part of the West Bank of the Jordan. It isn’t going to get better.

Here is Sherman in Jan 1964

Three years ago by a little reflection and patience they could have had a hundred years of peace and prosperity, but they preferred war; very well. Last year they could have saved their slaves, but now it is too late.

All the powers of earth cannot restore to them their slaves, any more than their dead grandfathers. Next year their lands will be taken, for in war we can take them, and rightfully, too, and in another year they may beg in vain for their lives. A people who will persevere in war beyond a certain limit ought to know the consequences.

I attribute Arab movement in this direction to three things: The War in Iraq, The Gaza withdrawal, and Iran’s move for the bomb. It remains to be seen if Israel can win the propaganda war. If it can the whole dynamic of the area can change.

We can be sure that unless totally destroyed Hamas will hold out till at least the 20th to see if there is any change with the new president. It will be interesting. Arthur or Carter. Believe it or not I’m betting Arthur.

Maybe Nordlinger is right instead

Posted: January 6, 2009 by datechguy in arthur vs carter, opinion/news
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In this post I made a rather provocative assertion when explaining why 65,000 civilian deaths dead in the fight against the Tamil-Tigers provoked no protest on the left as opposed to Israel and Gaza:

How could this be? Simple answer. If you can’t blame Jews or Americans, then its not evil or important. Why? Because their final goal is dead Jews. Period.

In is column today, Jay Nordlinger may have a better explanation:

During the Cold War, we used to speak of anti-anti-Communists. These were people (on the left) who were not exactly pro-Communist. But they so hated the anti-Communists, they were . . . well, anti-anti-Communists — the best, the fairest name for them.

Today, there are anti-anti-Islamofascists. They are not on the Islamofascist side in the War on Terror. But they hate those who are fighting, or attempting to fight, the Islamofascists more than they could ever hate the Islamofascists. They are anti-anti-Islamofascists.

The similarities between yesterday’s anti-anti-Communists and today’s anti-anti-Islamofascists would make a very good essay — perhaps by David Pryce-Jones or Norman Podhoretz. Of course, many of today’s anti-anti-Islamofascists were yesterday’s anti-anti-Communists — I mean, the same people, in the flesh.

And it’s all embodied in a publication such as The New York Review of Books.

That is a much more charitable explanation, I’ll have to think on it.

He also touches on another quote I made during the first week of this blog.

You can take this to the bank: Any successful attack on American soil during an Obama administration is going to be wholly owned by not only that administration but the Democratic party.

Here is Nordlinger:

A wise Republican head said to me the other day, “I actually think Obama is going to have a hard time of it.” Here was his reasoning: “Two things Bush has done right are Iraq (after the surge) and preventing a second attack. Those are big achievements to live up to — especially if you don’t believe there is any connection between the president’s means and these ends.

This goes to the heart of the Arthur vs Carter question. Anyway its another reason why Nordlinger should be regular reading for you.

As for yesterday’s anti-anti Communists as today’s anti-anti-Islamofascists; I guess they are fooled twice. Shame on them.

Even more Sherman.

Posted: January 5, 2009 by datechguy in Uncategorized, war
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Either Sherman was a much better analogy than I thought or there are a million Civil War buffs out there just dying to use him in a post. The latest is the American Thinker:

While the Union Army respected the sanctity of private homes, all public buildings and infrastructure including railroads were subject to complete destruction. Needless to say, resistance was not tolerated. Millions of slaves were freed in the wake of his march.

Recognizing that it was not in their economic interest to continue the fight, civilian political support for the Confederacy began a precipitous collapse and the war soon ended. Despite rebellious pledges that the “South Would Rise Again”, peace and prosperity has lasted 144 years.

It’s a good argument except for the religious component, if the Palestinian Arabs are convinced that there is a religious component they may fight anyways. Secondly unionists were not summarily executed in the south, just try to express support for Israel in Gaza, hell try to express support for Fatah in Gaza and see what happens. Thirdly you didn’t have schoolrooms teaching their kids everyday that the North was a bunch or murderous barbarians. Although AFTER the war the north didn’t do so well in southern classrooms.

I would have found a source other than Wikipedia myself, after all it’s history and not Doctor Who we are talking about.

I’m iffy on this

Posted: January 4, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news, Uncategorized
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The ground war in Gaza is a very risky move for Israel.

Unless Hamas can actually be destroyed on the ground and unless there is intelligence that can allow them to find them I can’t see how a sustained ground war will help.

One might go in and destroy the tunnels and the infrastructure of terror to make things complicated for Hamas and then pull out but I can’t see anything sustained. If the incursion is too brief however then it has the potential to turn into the 7 days when McClellan won 6 of seven battles but treated them as defeats or Tet which was a military disaster for North Vietnam but was portrayed as a defeat for the US.

The wild card here is Fatah. If they are actually giving underground support to Israel in this offensive then Hamas is in trouble. Of course it is not unlikely that if or when Hamas is neutralized Fatah will go back to their normal support of their own terror objectives but we will see.

The north is still the wild card. If we see strikes from Lebanon, and I’m very surprised we haven’t already the whole game will change in a hurry.

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