The Israel-Hamas War is likely to continue for many more months, so it probably deserves a thread in the Pit where it can be discussed more freely.
In the Pit, of course, one is able to viciously attack other posters, if necessary, and even go so far as to inform them that they have misrepresented your posts.
So let’s get going…
I’m going to start by saying I fucking love the fact that I’m on exactly the same page on this issue as Barack Obama. He’s somebody that believes in looking at things from bOtH sIdEs, which surprisingly many people consider to be a controversial point of view to take these days.
Obama is amazing as always. An intelligent guy with thoughtful responses and very well spoken. I agree with him as well.
But, while Obama is eloquent, what he is saying is not particularly new. He is not the first person to notice this. Peace in the Middle-East has been a problem many US presidents have grappled with and none were particularly successful. Israel has been in this position for 70 years. It’s not new.
It seems an intractable problem. While some want peace (from all sides) all too many have no interest in it and work to maintain the problem (I think Iran has a particular interest in stirring the pot and opposing any peace). Indeed, some make killing the other side central to their outlook (explicitly so). I doubt it will be fixed for many more decades. The problems will continue.
I have a certain amount of “NOW he tells us ” in my reaction—I mean, where was this plain speaking when you were President?—but the basic premise of Obama’s viewpoint, that we are all complicit in this ongoing problem, is one I agree with.
At peril of bringing facts and actual insight into The BBQ Pit from someone who has been on the inside of both Israel and Gaza, here is an interview with Nathan Thrall, former Director of the Arab-Israeli Project at the International Crisis Group.
So in eight years, the United States drone program killed between 384 and 807 civilians, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Israel accomplishes that number in one day, every day!
(It should also be noted that the US’s own estimate of the number of civilians killed was between 64 and 116).
I feel like there’s a trend on the street, people who pro-International Jewish conspiracy (right wing) and Pro-Palestinian (left wing) is unconscious sticking together in some rallies.
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