Tag Archives: Iraq
As the world figuratively and in some places literally burns, where are all the humanitarians now? I have never had a problem with those who have been upset with the deaths of civilians in Gaza, but it’s the rest of their behavior which reflects how disingenuous they often are. A few weeks back I made mention of Pope Francis and how much I appreciated the way in which he discussed the events taking place in the world. He pleaded to everyone fighting to stop fighting, practically crying to God in prayer. He has emphasized his concern over the last few days over the situation in Iraq, once again showing his understanding for what is happening in the world. Too many people however have taken a very different approach.
Gaza has been a popular cause. One might even call the support for Gaza the latest fad, kind of like when Darfur was hot. Once it was “Save Darfur”, now it’s “Free Gaza”. People, some famous, many not famous, use these causes to show others and sometimes themselves, how good they are. What caring people they are. In reality they’re just followers lining up behind what they are hearing as important in the media without even knowing what is really happening on the ground. Ask these same “Free Gaza” people, and I guarantee you they were many of the same “Save Darfur” people, what the situation in Darfur is today. Ask them to name 2 cities in Gaza. I’m very confident the answer to both would be the same, “I don’t know.” Then ask them why they don’t open their mouth or protest the actions of ISIS and see what kind of response you get. I doubt it will be a very logical or intelligent one. After all, Iraq isn’t a hot fad, at least not yet.
Its gets even worse with the high-profile people or agency workers or leaders. Most likely the UN is busier investigating Israel for war crimes than it is addressing the humanitarian crisis and genocide taking place in Iraq. Where are those who had so much to say about Gaza now? Some of them are even Christians remaining silent to the horrors taking place against Christians. For the athletes or entertainers that spoke out about Gaza, they are not much different from the sheep I referred to earlier. For the agency heads and politicians that remain silent now, the behavior is nothing short of abhorrent and destroys any credibility they may have had. Their neglect for their responsibilities not only doesn’t help the problem, it contributes to it by strengthening the resolve of the truly evil. Whether or not it’s about money, politics or neglect, it’s clear that their humanitarianism in the end is a lot more talk than action.
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Leave a comment | tags: Darfur, Free Gaza, Gaza, God, Iraq, ISIS, Pope Francis, Save Darfur, UN | posted in Uncategorized
One must ask themselves this question. Should Israel continue to fight fairly? Ever since the U.S. started fighting in Iraq we’ve heard a lot of talk about fighting a clean war, a moral war. War by definition is not moral. It is killing and destruction and no one decent is ever happy when it takes place. To quote my mother, “When there is a war, no one wins”. My mother Sipora Groen, is a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor from Holland, very pro-Israel, and very aware of the need to destroy the enemy. Her statement is based on the understanding that even the victorious suffer pain and loss no one should ever have to endure. Even with self-defense and survival forcing good people into war, war never becomes a good thing. With that being said, she understands, as so many do, that Israel is exercising its right to self-defense, which makes its mission a vital and moral one. What has made Israel’s behavior during this war so remarkable is that it has not sunk to the depths of the enemy, an enemy with no moral restrictions. This has ironically given the enemy some advantages on the battlefield and on the world stage. Seeing that the defeat of the enemy is crucial, should Israel sink to the level of Hamas?
Simple answer is, only if it is the difference between victory and defeat. The levels in which this war is being waged most unethically are primarily twofold. First and foremost is of course the manipulation and use of the civilians of Gaza, either through exploiting their injuries in the press or even worse, causing the casualties through the use of human shields. The second is through lying, either through transparent omission or blatant distortion of the facts. The fact that those unwilling to support Israel will not do so regardless of what the truth is, is clearly stated by the same facts they use to attack Israel in the media. Israel has allowed full disclosure to the press, has clearly stated its objectives, and has provided open information on all incidents that have taken place since the start of the operation. Other than providing blueprints for its attack strategy, Israel could not do any more than it has. Hamas on the other hand hides from the press, intimidates the press, and consistently makes statements contradictory to its actions. A very logical assumption would be, if what you are doing is right, you want the whole world to know about it. So from the media standpoint the answer is simple. If Israel is going to be attacked by those that hate it, there is no benefit in sinking to that level of lying the enemy has been using from the very beginning.
However, militarily speaking, if Hamas continues to attempt to draw Israel into a war of attrition, Israel may have no other choice but to change tactics. It comes down to one very simple point, one I have no doubt is in the heads of everyone in Israel’s cabinet. If protecting Palestinian civilians puts Israeli civilians in more serious and prolonged danger, Palestinian civilians will no longer be considered in the strategic assessment. As long as Israel can maintain its high moral ground it will, but ultimately unless something happens to stop Hamas, Israel will be left with no other choice but to inflict damage in Gaza that will make Hamas and the residents look back at the situation on the ground today as a relative picnic. It is a choice Hamas and the Palestinians need to make, and in my estimation one they need to make soon or suffer dire consequences.
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Leave a comment | tags: Bring Back our Boys, Gaza, Hamas, Holland, Holocaust, Iraq, Israel, Palestinians, Sipora Groen, survivor, U.S. | posted in Uncategorized
Dear Mr. Secretary-General,
I write to you today out of concern for your reaction to a recent attack in Gaza you referred to as a “moral outrage and criminal act.” I will not address your outrage since that is a feeling one has and it is pointless to debate one’s feelings, but what can be, and in this case needs to be clarified is your definition of morality.
The outrage you speak of is caused by Israel’s attack on a United Nations school in which 10 people were killed. It is without question another tragedy in a very tragic war. However, if you are to use the term moral outrage now, I believe it prudent to ask you what exactly you deem moral and immoral.
Is it moral for “militants”, as your organization now refers to the terrorists of Hamas, to hide in hospitals and schools? Is it moral to consistently fire missiles at Israeli population centers with one intent, to kill civilians? You have moral outrage for Israel’s attack, an attack whose purpose was to target terrorists and sadly killed civilians, but you do not express similar outrage when Hamas targets Tel-Aviv with the sole intent of murdering civilians. I understand Israel is a stronger force and that it’s ability to defend itself has prevented the amount of casualties Hamas has hoped for, but is the action itself not one deserving of your outrage?
Is it moral to agree to a cease-fire and shortly after ambush the opposing force’s soldiers killing three of them? Hamas has had numerous opportunities to stop the fighting but has rejected each cease-fire. If you truly feel so strongly about human life where is your moral outrage for the fact that Hamas insists on continuing the fighting? Where is the moral outrage with an organization using billions of dollars in financial aid on weapons and terror tunnels while the people it pretends to care for live in squalor? Is it moral that the leaders of Hamas travel in private jets and hide in luxury hotels in Qatar while it uses its citizens as pawns in its effort to wipe Israel off the face of the earth? If your outrage was truly sincere you would hear that while one side calls for the other’s destruction, the one you and your organization consistently oppose calls for peace.
Myself, and many like me might listen to your organization more if it were not for the one-sided approach consistently exhibited when it comes to matters regarding Israel. I took some time to look up some of the resolutions and condemnations over the years and one in particular made me feel moral outrage. Just before Israel destroyed Iraq’s nuclear capabilities the United Nations passed a resolution calling for a nuclear-free Middle East, and soon after the attack passed a resolution condemning the attack despite the fact that Israel’s actions kept nuclear weapons out of the hands of a crazy and dangerous dictator. I also look back at the warm welcome received by PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and to this day question the credibility your organization gave to someone who waged his war by murdering innocent civilians. There was no moral outrage then. The UN then proceeded to provide the PLO support laying the groundwork for future terrorist organizations to gain acceptance on the world stage. That fact alone puts a lot of blood on the collective hands of the United Nations even though it is something it will never openly accept accountability for. It did however very efficiently proceed to pass the resolution equating Zionism with racism. This treatment towards Israel has gone on for quite some time and is no surprise to anyone, but with all the facts so readily available today, your comments and the reaction of the United Nations as an institution are even more absurd than they were in the past.
I could speak of other atrocities such as having Syria, Libya and China on Human Rights councils over the years and the lack of action against Syria and ISIS today, but that would take too long. The amount of criticism given to Israel while so many people are being murdered by brutal regimes and organizations all over the world, mostly Muslims I might add, is, and I use the phrase many like to use when criticizing Israel’s actions, a disproportionate response.
Quite frankly, and I say this without apology, the organization you lead has shown itself to be anti-Semitic beyond compare, and has functioned as though it is clearly in the pocket of the corrupt and the criminal. While you call for investigations of Israel’s actions I call for an investigation of your actions and the actions of the organization you are running. However, no one, myself included, is naive enough to believe there will ever be full disclosure of what takes place behind the scenes. At the end of the day it is not about right and wrong, it is about money and power, something the United Nations has a lot of and therefore is bulletproof and untouchable. When you have the degree of responsibility for funding and influence that you possess, to abuse it as you are doing Mr. Secretary General is a true moral outrage and criminal act of enormous proportions.
Sincerely,
David Groen
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Leave a comment | tags: Ban Ki-moon, China, Gaza, Hamas, Iraq, ISIS, Israel, Libya, Middle East, Muslims, PLO, Qatar, Secretary, Syria, Tel-Av, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council, Yasser Arafat | posted in Uncategorized
Anyone who knows even a little history knows that this is not Europe’s first go at anti-Jewish sentiment and actions. However, this time around there are some significant differences, differences that could lead to the end of Europe as we now know it.
Traditionally anti-Semitism in Europe was government sanctioned. The Spanish inquisition, Russian pogroms, Nazi Germany, Stalin’s U.S.S.R., all consisted of horrors and destruction for the Jews that were carried out by the ruling parties of each of these regimes. In each one of these examples Jews were being eliminated because they were fraudulently declared a threat to the environment being created and were therefore, for all intents and purposes, illegal and harmful residents. Today however, regardless of whether you call any particular nation in Europe a friend of the Jews or not, the anti-Semitism being generated comes more from mobs than governments. At least for now.
These mobs are primarily organized and dominated by the Muslim communities of various countries. Nothing represents the advancement of the Muslim cause in Europe more than France, where the mobs have turned so hateful and violent, Jews are starting to pick up and leave. The behavior of these mobs is the precursor to what will ultimately be a much bigger issue in Europe, a radical new demographic. That’s a technical way of saying an Islamic takeover.
I do not make this statement to be racist. I would love to see a world where we all can live together in peace. I know there are good and bad people in all races and religions, and yes, I have met many good Muslims. But I also know, that only one group has leaders in their midst declaring a desire for world domination, a term not connected to such a significant threat since the days of Adolph Hitler. Ironic that the Jews are being called Nazis, isn’t it? I understand the Muslim fanatics drawing the comparison because it gets the people going and helps their cause. Although they should know, that even though Hitler may have killed the Jews first, in a Europe such as the one we see today, if a Hitler-type rises to power, the Muslims would at worst be second.
The stupidity in all of this however is with the non-Muslims in Europe who are taking the side against Israel and the Jews. I am not referring to decent people who are saddened by the events taking place in Gaza. I am referring to those who are falling for the propaganda machine being used against Israel and the Jews, a machine getting a trial run before it takes on its much bigger target, anyone not Muslim. Those who feel these mobs will stop at the Jews is not only not paying attention to what is happening, they are not being honest about its source. If these mobs care so much about dead children, where have they been till now? Ask them how many children have been murdered in Syria? Or better yet, tell them. Over 9,000. Let me repeat that. Over 9,000 children have been killed in Syria. Where are the mobs protesting that? Where are the signs equating the Syrian flag with the Swastika? Then there is Mosul, a city of 1.8 million. Interesting number. Why? Because Gaza has 1.8 million residents. But here is the difference. 150,000 Christians were recently attempting to flee because if they did not they would be slaughtered or forced to convert like those Christians that did not leave. I am sure there are thousands of children in that number as well, but unlike Gaza, where the Israeli government actually wants people to see the truth, Mosul is unreachable by the press. This allows ISIS to run rampant murdering and destroying anyone and anything they feel doesn’t help towards their goal of an Islamic Caliphate. Where are the mobs protesting this? Where are the signs comparing ISIS to Nazis? Nowhere.
My point is that for these mobs it is not about the concern for the well-being of children, it is either about pushing their agenda or voicing their hatred for Jews. When the time comes that governments need to fight against evil entities such as ISIS in Iraq or Boko Haram in Nigeria, or a nuclear Iran, just to keep Europe and the rest of the civilized world safe, the mobs will form all over again, and just like they are doing now, will pretend it is about dead babies.
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Leave a comment | tags: Adolph Hitler, anti-Semitism, Boko Haram, Europe, France, Gaza, Germany, Iraq, ISIS, Islamic, Islamic Caliphate, Jewish, Jews, Mosul, Muslim, Nazi Germany, Nigeria, pogroms, propoganda, Russian, Spanish, Spanish Inquisition, Stalin, Swastika, Syria, U.S.S.R. | posted in Uncategorized
Dear Mr. Bardem and Ms. Cruz,
I will write this on the assumption that your letter was constructed from a genuine disdain for the murder of innocents. We have that in common. I too hate to see innocent people killed. It is the worst thing to happen in this world on a daily basis and if it were to stop the world would indeed be a better place. The issue that can not be ignored however is who is responsible for the murder of innocents and what is its root cause.
The term Genocide is being thrown around a lot these days. I too see Genocides happening. The ones I see happening are in Iraq and Nigeria. The definition of genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation. ISIS in Iraq and Boko Haram in Nigeria have made it very clear that they are targeting Christians who have 2, sometimes 3 choices. Convert or be killed are always on the table, while leave and go somewhere else are only occasionally on the table. Even if one would accuse Israel of conducting this war incorrectly, a point I will address later in this letter, they would have a very difficult time proving that an actual genocide is being committed. Unless of course one chooses to listen to the Hamas version of the story only, in which case Israel is doing everything wrong and Hamas is doing everything right.
I recently was concerned that the problem we have in dealing with this situation is that we are trying to use reason with the unreasonable. I read your letter and it certainly comes across as having been written by a reasonable person, but then I see a very narrow argument being given and I naturally question the motives and logic behind your arguments. Imagine Spain was being threatened by a strip of land attached to it, that strip of land was being supported by an enemy nation sworn to Spain’s destruction, and that same strip was being governed by a group of people who in its charter declared it wanted all the Spanish out of Spain. What would you do? If the territory bordered water, and that waterway had access to the hostile nation, would you not stop shipments to that territory? If missiles were being fired at Spain from that strip of land would you not fight back, no matter how much stronger you may be? And if you were to fight back, would you, as the humanitarians that you are, feel responsible for the deaths of innocents placed in the location of the missile launchers?
It is a tragic situation. We agree on that? But the bigger tragedy may be how the people causing this tragedy are duping reasonable people, such as yourselves into believing their lies. Israel has accepted almost every cease-fire offer made. Hamas has mainly refused all but one. If you are to make the argument that Israel is wrong for the deaths of the innocents despite the fact that Hamas puts the innocents in the line of fire, how can you justify not criticizing Hamas for rejecting the cease-fire? You want to see the death stop. So do we. Ask yourself a question. Look into your heart and be honest. Do you truly believe that Hamas wants the death to stop? If you truly are reasonable and honest you will come up with the correct answer. If not, your opinion may be tainted by something you are not revealing in your letter, in which case there is no point in debating this with you. If however you are sincere, I believe you will see the truth.
Sincerely,
David Groen
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4 Comments | tags: Boko Haram, Christians, genocide, Hamas, Iraq, ISIS, Israel, Javier Bardem, Nigeria, Penelope Cruz, Spain, Spanish | posted in Uncategorized
It’s a stroke of genius. Identify what hits a chord with the population, and whether your words and images are factual or not, pound them into the psyche of the masses. It’s a model used throughout the ages with more devastating consequences in the 20th century than any other. Most notably Hitler’s Nazi party which preyed on the economic misfortunes of the populace to assign blame to anyone they felt would stand in the way of their agenda, or even worse, use a scapegoat to rally strong support. By the time throngs of people were shouting Heil Hitler, most of them were just spewing out structured opinions and no longer thinking for themselves. Which is in many ways what it is all about.
Many people, whether they wish to admit it or not, feel comfort and security in allowing leaders to choose their path. It’s the draw of religion. A friend of mine once told me, people buy with emotion and then justify it with logic. Tyrants and dictators are selling a product, and when people are downtrodden and desperate they’re buying that product. People who like their life may protest, and may even have opinions laced with hate, but they hardly ever commit acts of violence in the name of civil disobedience. What Hamas is doing is following a model, and doing so with precision tactics.
Their biggest advantage is also their biggest deception. They are not in it alone. Backed by Iran, a nation that was taken over in 1979 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a man who used the same model to rally enough of a nation behind him to take over a government and start a global revolution, Hamas is a microcosm of a much bigger threat. That bigger threat is one the world needs to be aware of, but won’t be as long as those most threatened appear to be mostly from one group. That one group is the same group initially targeted by Hitler. The Jewish people. Yes there were others the Nazis hated and persecuted almost immediately. Homosexuals, gypsies, Poles, were all hated by Hitler, but from the start the Jews were the cause of everything bad in Germany. They were called subhuman, a word that popped into my head earlier when seeing how the United Nations Human Rights Council showed its usual disregard for the human rights of the inhabitants of the Jewish State of Israel. But maybe they see Jews as subhuman too. It just doesn’t support their current agenda to admit it.
The lesson of previous models, specifically of World War II should be obvious. To some it is and yet they choose to disregard it. To others, those caught up in the fervor of Hamas propaganda, they have bought into the mass hysteria often created by evil dictators, and in doing so they are doing what was done before, go after the scapegoat, which once again is the Jewish people. Although it seems to be easy to let others think for you, they are making the same tragic mistake. They do not see that which has always been the case when following this model, that the goal is world dominance. Ultimately that means there is no room for any major group of people with different ways of thinking, as already evident by the way Christians have been brutally murdered in places like Iraq and Nigeria .
If the right people with the right amount of power wake up to the true dangers facing civilization, a full-scale World War III may be averted. If they don’t, and continue to get caught up in the hysteria of lies and deception, civilization as we know it is in danger. It’s that horrifying, that deep, that simple, and yes, just a matter of time. Let’s hope people study the model and learn from history.
Leave a comment | tags: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Christians, Germany, Gypsies, Hamas, Heil Hitler, Hitler, Homosexuals, Iran, Iranian revolution, Iraq, Jewish people, Nazi party, Nazis, Nigeria, Poles, propoganda, State of Israel, subhuman, totalitarianism, UNHRC, United Nations Human Rights Council, World War II, World War III | posted in Uncategorized
Apparently, according to some friends of mine, my voice is needed now.
What else can I add that has not already been expressed thousands of times?
Grief is beyond words. I cannot imagine the pain and loss that the families are going through. Or, perhaps I can imagine, having lost my brother at age 21 (albeit to Israel’s “other national curse”), and also because I am a father to two daughters and I worry about their health and safety constantly. But take that imagining and multiply it by millions. Those numbers boggle the mind.
Rage is abundant. I want the IDF and/or other security apparati to find the murderers, shoot them on sight without arrest or trial, and cremate the bodies. Neither they nor their families deserve the dignity. They deserve the Eichmann treatment. Or at the very least, the Bin Laden burial. I want to see the terrorist infrastructure – which at this point means any putatively “governing” Palestinian body – dismantled, destroyed, disintegrated, and deported. I want to see all the enablers of terror deported to Syria or Iraq – and those in the West to be struck down by all sorts of debilitating illnesses to ensure they will never open their mouths again. I want Israeli sovereignty to be proclaimed throughout all of Judea and Samaria and all residents who don’t declare and demonstrate unwavering allegiance to the State of Israel deported. I want to see Gaza retaken and Gush Katif reestablished. I want to see an Israel that does not bend over to Western overlords or cower at the sound of specious “world opinion.” Let Israel dictate the opinion the way it should have done and almost did in 1967 – not vice versa. Because then – AND ONLY THEN – will there be peace.
Frustration is intense. I want to see all these things happen and wish for them fervently – but feel powerless to do anything about it beyond posting here – which, in the scheme of things, does not mean a whole lot. I am no longer an IDF soldier and have no voice in Israeli politics. I am just a Jew and a human being currently in New York, trying to make a living and maybe pursue a few artistic endeavors. And even if I were in Israel, what else could I do but feel exactly the same?
http://www.reverbnation.com/theheshinc/song/99805-theres-a-voice
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Leave a comment | tags: Bin laden, Eichmann, Gaza, Gush Katif, Hesh Meister, IDF, Iraq, Israel, Israeli, Jew, Judea, New York, Palestinian, Samaria, State of Israel, Syria | posted in Uncategorized
Dear President Obama,
I am a Jew. I am a Zionist. I am an American. I voted for you twice. I find myself not only disillusioned by your responses to the murder of the 3 Israeli teenagers, but angry as well. This is not a time for packaged responses and clichés. This is a time to utilize the power of your office, a power that extends around the globe if utilized correctly, to make a strong and significant statement impacting not only the well-being of Israel today but the future of the entire planet.
I begin with two questions we are all entitled to have answered.
Question number 1. You coined the phrase “senseless act of terror”. Does that imply that some acts of terror are not senseless? Is that a redundancy overlooked by your speechwriters or is that part of the thinking that allows you to be willing to accept Hamas as part of a Palestinian government? Please keep in mind that the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank is also a terrorist organization transformed into a political organization and the so-called “unreasonable” Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to deal with them, despite the fact that so many of their leaders formerly took part in “senseless” acts of terror.
Question number 2. In what is clearly the administrations careful wording, since it was uttered in both your initial comments and those of your Secretary of State John Kerry, why do you feel it necessary to caution Israel to not “destabilize the situation”, be it further or at all? I am fairly certain that the mothers of Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frenkel are not looking at this situation as anything resembling stable. Neither am I for that matter. And I know that most people who share the same concerns that I do would feel the same way.
I am aware that you inherited a bad economy, high unemployment and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Much to the dismay of many who will read this, I have been a defender of you and your presidency and have not blamed you for everything wrong in the country, as so many Republicans do. I have however, as have many others, been concerned over your approach towards Israel as well as your responses to acts of terror and terrorist organizations and regimes. My deepest fear going into your presidency was that you would make the same tragic mistake that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain made when he declared there would be “peace in our time”. He convinced himself he was dealing with a willing peace partner in Adolf Hitler. We all know how that turned out. It concerns me now that in comparing you to Neville Chamberlain I may have been giving you the benefit of the doubt. It is a terrifying and potentially tragic road it leads us all down, and we all can only hope you either wake up to the realities or change your tune, whichever one is necessary to set this in the right direction.
I do not question whether or not you understand the responsibility you have at this moment, but as an American citizen and as a Jew I hope you are aware that your words and actions can make the difference between life and death for so many good people who want nothing more than to live in peace. I can only hope that matters enough for you to change your approach.
Sincerely,
David Groen
1 Comment | tags: 3 Israeli teenagers, Adolph Hitler, Afghanistan, American, Benjamin Netanyahu, Bring Back our Boys, British Prime Minister, Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar, Hamas, Iraq, Israel, Israeli, Jew, John Kerry, Naftali Frenkel, Neville Chamberlain, Palestinian Authority, President Obama, Republicans, Secretary of State, West Bank, Zionist | posted in Uncategorized
As a supporter for Israel I have no difficulty in saying that I despise the current Syrian regime. Starting with the current Assad’s father, this dictatorial fascist government has been a catalyst in attacks on Israel and a financier of worldwide terrorism specifically against Israel and world Jewry for decades. With that said one would think I would be in favor of a U.S. lead attack on Syria in response to the evidence of chemical weapons being used by the government against the rebels in the ongoing civil war. This is not the case at all. Not only am I not in favor of United States involvement in Syria, I’m more opposed to it than I have been to any military action in a very long time. The reason being is that it is clear to me that nothing good will result from any type of US lead attack.
The first question that comes to my mind, one that I asked a week ago, is why now? Why is it so much worse that people get slaughtered with chemical weapons than it is that they get blown apart by a bomb? My mother, who is 91 and a survivor of the Holocaust, gave me what I consider to be the best answer to that question. Her response was, and I am paraphrasing; ‘others get involved when it scares them and they are in danger. If Syria has chemical weapons they can use it elsewhere. They don’t care about the other people. They only care about themselves.’
If we think the people we are pretending to care about don’t see this as well then we have become blinded by our very arrogance.
I don’t have a problem with our government or any other government looking out for the safety of its citizens, but I do have issue with it being done behind the smokescreen of concern. It eliminates the full and honest disclosure necessary to deal with a crisis of this magnitude. And make no mistake. This is a major crisis. The Syrian government is backed by Russia, a powerful and important player in world politics and one we are already at odds with. The collapse of governmental structure in Syria could lead to chaos that could indeed start a major conflict involving multiple nations aligning on different sides. The Syrian crisis has immediate impact on Israel, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Jordan. This would follow with a multitude of other countries likely getting involved. Although Russia has not taken a hard stance against US involvement, the relationship it has with Syria is a wild card that makes this an even more dangerous venture.
I am generally in favor of anything that protects the State of Israel. This would not protect Israel nor would it bring any additional stability to the crumbling region. Syria is already an enemy of Israel and the Jewish people and has and will continue to harbor and support terrorists committed to its destruction. The Israeli government is fully aware of this and has and always will take the appropriate action to ensure the safety of its people and neutralize the enemy. A US attack on Syria does neither.
I am not a bleeding heart who is opposed to any type of war. However, of all the reasons to go to war, going to war to send a message is one of the most barbaric and unproductive. If someone can show me how bombing Syria accomplishes anything more than that I am willing to listen. I just don’t see it that way.
1 Comment | tags: Assad, chemical weapons, fascist, Holocaust, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jewry, Jordan, Lebanon, Russia, Syria, Syrian, terrorism, turkey, United States, US | posted in Uncategorized
As the world figuratively and in some places literally burns, where are all the humanitarians now? I have never had a problem with those who have been upset with the deaths of civilians in Gaza, but it’s the rest of their behavior which reflects how disingenuous they often are. A few weeks back I made mention of Pope Francis and how much I appreciated the way in which he discussed the events taking place in the world. He pleaded to everyone fighting to stop fighting, practically crying to God in prayer. He has emphasized his concern over the last few days over the situation in Iraq, once again showing his understanding for what is happening in the world. Too many people however have taken a very different approach.
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