CDR, very nice summation of how we got here. Have to wonder how long Israel has before the shock and horror wears off, and the usual IC, US leftist, Russia and China suspects demand a ceasefire for "humanitarian" reasons. It will likely be up to the Biden administration to either support Israel as they root out Hamas, or join the chorus of "enough". The question of where to put the Hamas "fighters" that you don't kill is a real problem; the Arabs won't take them, Egypt has closed the border with Gaza for years...build large prisons? Still reaching for a real motive here; hatred of Israel only goes so far when you are getting annihilated in response. Did someone break a promise of support when they attacked, or is there something else in play here?
Japan did make a statement. Basically telling both sides to stop fighting. Japan's foreign policy has been fucked since the 1920's, so don't expect much moral clarity there.
Consider what might happen if we had a place like Gaza on the US southern border. In Gaza, Hamas and other groups have periodically for the past 18 years or so, fired missiles into Israel. Just think about what might happen if the Mexican equivalent of Gaza were to fire a couple of missiles into the US - say, into San Antonio, Texas. Would there be calls for reconciliation, restraint, and negotiations? I doubt it. I think the US Air Force would probably respond in a manner that would make the current Israeli response look like an ice cream social. And you can bet that there would not only be an “armed incursion” into Mexico, but a full-on kinetic warfare invasion, the groups doing the missile firing would be dealt with harshly, and there would undoubtedly be civilian casualties, and lots of them.
Now, the Israelis have been called upon by the rest of the world, for the past 18 years to put up with this murderous nonsense, culminating in the present attack, where 5000 missiles were fired, and Hamas troops invaded Israel, taking hostages and shooting civilians in residential neighborhoods - and shooting up a rock festival in addition. Let’s say that Mexican cartels did similar things in Texas, went into small towns like, say, Eagle Pass, along the border - and there just happened to be a rock festival in the vicinity, and they shot that up, killing 260, and wounding 1000 more. And, in addition, they raped numerous young women, killed some outright, and took a couple hundred as hostages. What do you think might happen?
This has been going on since the Balfour declaration. The Arabs didn't want a "Jewish" state. They had no problem with the Hebrew people living there, it was the militant "Jews" that they didn't want.
If this caught the intel community by surprise, then the intel community needs to be fired and new people need to be hired. People who study history and actually watch the people.
When Hamas was elected, I kept waiting for massive attacks on Israel and it finally happened.
All they needed was support from the Ayatollah in Iran. I could even say that us taking out Iraq hastened this, because once Hussain was gone, there was nobody to keep Iran in check.
Remember Iran, the people who attacked the Marine barracks in 1983 and took hostages?
Remember the Revolutionary guards?
Remember Barrack funding the Iranian nuclear program?
Remember Trump defunding them?
Remember Biden reinstating funding?
The other Arab states could have solved this by letting the palastinians move into their countries, but refused to let it happen. These arab countries have funded Hamas and Hezbollah.
I’m always intrigued by lefties who insist they are “puzzled” as to “what they [terrorists] are trying to achieve.”
This is the fantasy of multiculturalists: that the non-Western cultures that they adore - who reject reason and rationalism, and largely are adored by the left for just that - “must” have a… wait for it … rational reason and goal for what they do.
It’s almost as though those on the left are too ignorant to follow a single line of thought to conclusion…. Or to understand the meaning of the prefix “multi” in their favorite fantasy word: “multiculturalism.”
Newsflash to lefties: pre-modern people always kill their tribal enemies. No exceptions exist. This begins as one tribe needing the resources of the other, or wants the other to stop using resources they believe are theirs: food, land, water, women.
… and then becomes baked-in as mythology, ideology, behavior, culture over time.
Supporting pre-modern peoples and being puzzled by pre-modern behavior is just dumb. Looking for rational reasons from pre-rational man is just stupid. But that’s the left...
Great analysis and commentary. I pray the West wakes up soon and that we support Israel as they finish Hamas. Cancer grows unless removed and it’s time for major surgery before it’s too late.
Excellent and well thought out article even if you have some disagreements.
I put the blame for this attack on the Biden administration. The withdrawal from Afghanistan was a disaster. The war in Ukraine has depleted our arsenals and driven Russia into the arms of China. The hostage deal with Iran was an example of Chamberlain-like appeasement. The bottom line is America is neither feared nor respected by its adversaries. Is it any wonder that this attack happened on an ally now? Stealing elections has consequences.
No discussion of the disfunction that permeates the Palestinian society is complete without mentioning :
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees.
The Paly's are the only one with their own agency. Here are some factiods from wiki:
- UNRWA has been accused of hiring known militants, perpetuating Palestinian dependency, demonizing Israel, and funneling money from Western governments to line the pockets of the Palestinian Authority and purchasing arms for terrorists
- they employee 30000 staff.
- budget of $1B
- the per person funding of each Paly is double that of any refugees elsewhere
Hamas, with the support of the local populace, raped and murdered young women, slaughtered babies and took over 100 civilians hostage. Hamas has precipitated the existential crisis it always wanted.
Conquest, de-Nazification, resettlement of the remainder outside of some Oder-Neisse line. Worse if they fail to release the hostages.
CDR, excellent post. As to where we go from here, well, I am an American Jew who made Aliyah back in 2017, so I readily admit my objectivity might be compromised. Here, in no particular order, are my observations:
1. As always, start with geography and objective factors. Gaza shares a border with Egypt, and is heavily urbanized. Cities are notoriously difficult to fight in, and Hamas has ample resources and manpower to fortify extensively. Unless Israel seizes the Gaza side of the border or Egypt cooperates fully, ( not likely) a blockade cannot work.
2. Gaza is very much a nation-in-arms, as the population overwhelmingly supports Hamas. One need only see the glee with which Gazans participated in and enjoyed Hamas atrocities to see this. Hamas weaponizes and uses mosques, schools, hospitals and other public buildings as armories, command centers and launch pads. The customary laws of land warfare mean nothing to Hamas, as they mean nothing to Muslims as a whole. This is total war.
3. The intetnational community, for the most part, will condemn Israel and support Hamas by demanding Israel allow Hamas to use human shields and agree to a ceasefire in the shortest time, while leaving Hamas intact. This would of course be a major victory for Hamas and Iran, which is the goal.
4. Israel would be very ill served by a ceasefire. Israels goal must be the destruction of Hamas and the forced removal of tge Palestinian population as no lesser action will work. To deter future war, Hamas and the Palestinians as a whole must be not only defeated but humiliated. Islam is a shame-honor culture, and as long as the Palestinians ate not utterly beaten they will have the will to keep fighting.
5. Israel cannot afford too long a war or two many casualties. Which is why I believe a short thrust to cut Gaza off from Egypt followed by blockadexand bombardment is the best way to proceed.
Oct 10, 2023·edited Oct 10, 2023Liked by CDR Salamander
"Conservatives have never been the enemy - in the true sense of the word - of their sparing partner liberals. Liberals and conservatives do have a mutual enemy of a free and open society based on individual liberty that I believe they both aspire to, and that would be the left … but … that has yet to soak in."
CDR - you get right at the core of what is upside down about our world today. We've allowed ourselves to become totally aligned around a set of opinions and policy issues rather than any notion of competence, morality, or reason. This works ok in the beginning, when polarization isn't too violent yet. It even makes sense. But it spirals on itself, until you reach our current state of affairs: sane, reasonable liberals (they exist; I'm friends with several) find themselves willingly sharing a bed with nutjobs that would give Stalin pause and want to burn the whole world down. Conservatives of integrity and principle find themselves inside the same wagon circle as deranged and hate mongering extremists, being led by a fat orange narcissist.
I understand it is a pipe dream, but I can't help to dream of a political and social return to a time when one's views on murdering infants was more important to "are you my friend or my enemy" sorting than what one's pronouns are or whether they're proactively offered in a bio/signature block.
General Michael Flynn was sandbagged by James Comey over a phone call with the Russian ambassador as to whether or not he discussed sanctions and his life was ruined. We lost the services of an experienced intelligence officer. Jake Sullivan has demonstrated utter incompetence on numerous occasions and yet he still has a job. Why?
CDR, very nice summation of how we got here. Have to wonder how long Israel has before the shock and horror wears off, and the usual IC, US leftist, Russia and China suspects demand a ceasefire for "humanitarian" reasons. It will likely be up to the Biden administration to either support Israel as they root out Hamas, or join the chorus of "enough". The question of where to put the Hamas "fighters" that you don't kill is a real problem; the Arabs won't take them, Egypt has closed the border with Gaza for years...build large prisons? Still reaching for a real motive here; hatred of Israel only goes so far when you are getting annihilated in response. Did someone break a promise of support when they attacked, or is there something else in play here?
Japan did make a statement. Basically telling both sides to stop fighting. Japan's foreign policy has been fucked since the 1920's, so don't expect much moral clarity there.
Consider what might happen if we had a place like Gaza on the US southern border. In Gaza, Hamas and other groups have periodically for the past 18 years or so, fired missiles into Israel. Just think about what might happen if the Mexican equivalent of Gaza were to fire a couple of missiles into the US - say, into San Antonio, Texas. Would there be calls for reconciliation, restraint, and negotiations? I doubt it. I think the US Air Force would probably respond in a manner that would make the current Israeli response look like an ice cream social. And you can bet that there would not only be an “armed incursion” into Mexico, but a full-on kinetic warfare invasion, the groups doing the missile firing would be dealt with harshly, and there would undoubtedly be civilian casualties, and lots of them.
Now, the Israelis have been called upon by the rest of the world, for the past 18 years to put up with this murderous nonsense, culminating in the present attack, where 5000 missiles were fired, and Hamas troops invaded Israel, taking hostages and shooting civilians in residential neighborhoods - and shooting up a rock festival in addition. Let’s say that Mexican cartels did similar things in Texas, went into small towns like, say, Eagle Pass, along the border - and there just happened to be a rock festival in the vicinity, and they shot that up, killing 260, and wounding 1000 more. And, in addition, they raped numerous young women, killed some outright, and took a couple hundred as hostages. What do you think might happen?
"As with almost all frozen conflicts, they eventually thaw out under the right conditions."
Which is why Russia has no interest in freezing their conflict with Ukraine.
This has been going on since the Balfour declaration. The Arabs didn't want a "Jewish" state. They had no problem with the Hebrew people living there, it was the militant "Jews" that they didn't want.
If this caught the intel community by surprise, then the intel community needs to be fired and new people need to be hired. People who study history and actually watch the people.
When Hamas was elected, I kept waiting for massive attacks on Israel and it finally happened.
All they needed was support from the Ayatollah in Iran. I could even say that us taking out Iraq hastened this, because once Hussain was gone, there was nobody to keep Iran in check.
Remember Iran, the people who attacked the Marine barracks in 1983 and took hostages?
Remember the Revolutionary guards?
Remember Barrack funding the Iranian nuclear program?
Remember Trump defunding them?
Remember Biden reinstating funding?
The other Arab states could have solved this by letting the palastinians move into their countries, but refused to let it happen. These arab countries have funded Hamas and Hezbollah.
I’m always intrigued by lefties who insist they are “puzzled” as to “what they [terrorists] are trying to achieve.”
This is the fantasy of multiculturalists: that the non-Western cultures that they adore - who reject reason and rationalism, and largely are adored by the left for just that - “must” have a… wait for it … rational reason and goal for what they do.
It’s almost as though those on the left are too ignorant to follow a single line of thought to conclusion…. Or to understand the meaning of the prefix “multi” in their favorite fantasy word: “multiculturalism.”
Newsflash to lefties: pre-modern people always kill their tribal enemies. No exceptions exist. This begins as one tribe needing the resources of the other, or wants the other to stop using resources they believe are theirs: food, land, water, women.
… and then becomes baked-in as mythology, ideology, behavior, culture over time.
Supporting pre-modern peoples and being puzzled by pre-modern behavior is just dumb. Looking for rational reasons from pre-rational man is just stupid. But that’s the left...
Great analysis and commentary. I pray the West wakes up soon and that we support Israel as they finish Hamas. Cancer grows unless removed and it’s time for major surgery before it’s too late.
Excellent and well thought out article even if you have some disagreements.
I put the blame for this attack on the Biden administration. The withdrawal from Afghanistan was a disaster. The war in Ukraine has depleted our arsenals and driven Russia into the arms of China. The hostage deal with Iran was an example of Chamberlain-like appeasement. The bottom line is America is neither feared nor respected by its adversaries. Is it any wonder that this attack happened on an ally now? Stealing elections has consequences.
"Harvest day will be upon those who planted, nurtured, or simply allowed the tree to continue to grow."
CDR, that sentence gobsmacked me. It is prophetic, write that down. That day is coming.
No discussion of the disfunction that permeates the Palestinian society is complete without mentioning :
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees.
The Paly's are the only one with their own agency. Here are some factiods from wiki:
- UNRWA has been accused of hiring known militants, perpetuating Palestinian dependency, demonizing Israel, and funneling money from Western governments to line the pockets of the Palestinian Authority and purchasing arms for terrorists
- they employee 30000 staff.
- budget of $1B
- the per person funding of each Paly is double that of any refugees elsewhere
Slaughter of Innocents.
Hamas, with the support of the local populace, raped and murdered young women, slaughtered babies and took over 100 civilians hostage. Hamas has precipitated the existential crisis it always wanted.
Conquest, de-Nazification, resettlement of the remainder outside of some Oder-Neisse line. Worse if they fail to release the hostages.
CDR, excellent post. As to where we go from here, well, I am an American Jew who made Aliyah back in 2017, so I readily admit my objectivity might be compromised. Here, in no particular order, are my observations:
1. As always, start with geography and objective factors. Gaza shares a border with Egypt, and is heavily urbanized. Cities are notoriously difficult to fight in, and Hamas has ample resources and manpower to fortify extensively. Unless Israel seizes the Gaza side of the border or Egypt cooperates fully, ( not likely) a blockade cannot work.
2. Gaza is very much a nation-in-arms, as the population overwhelmingly supports Hamas. One need only see the glee with which Gazans participated in and enjoyed Hamas atrocities to see this. Hamas weaponizes and uses mosques, schools, hospitals and other public buildings as armories, command centers and launch pads. The customary laws of land warfare mean nothing to Hamas, as they mean nothing to Muslims as a whole. This is total war.
3. The intetnational community, for the most part, will condemn Israel and support Hamas by demanding Israel allow Hamas to use human shields and agree to a ceasefire in the shortest time, while leaving Hamas intact. This would of course be a major victory for Hamas and Iran, which is the goal.
4. Israel would be very ill served by a ceasefire. Israels goal must be the destruction of Hamas and the forced removal of tge Palestinian population as no lesser action will work. To deter future war, Hamas and the Palestinians as a whole must be not only defeated but humiliated. Islam is a shame-honor culture, and as long as the Palestinians ate not utterly beaten they will have the will to keep fighting.
5. Israel cannot afford too long a war or two many casualties. Which is why I believe a short thrust to cut Gaza off from Egypt followed by blockadexand bombardment is the best way to proceed.
When the Sunni and Shia aren't busy killing each other they get busy killing Avery Bawdy else.
"Conservatives have never been the enemy - in the true sense of the word - of their sparing partner liberals. Liberals and conservatives do have a mutual enemy of a free and open society based on individual liberty that I believe they both aspire to, and that would be the left … but … that has yet to soak in."
CDR - you get right at the core of what is upside down about our world today. We've allowed ourselves to become totally aligned around a set of opinions and policy issues rather than any notion of competence, morality, or reason. This works ok in the beginning, when polarization isn't too violent yet. It even makes sense. But it spirals on itself, until you reach our current state of affairs: sane, reasonable liberals (they exist; I'm friends with several) find themselves willingly sharing a bed with nutjobs that would give Stalin pause and want to burn the whole world down. Conservatives of integrity and principle find themselves inside the same wagon circle as deranged and hate mongering extremists, being led by a fat orange narcissist.
I understand it is a pipe dream, but I can't help to dream of a political and social return to a time when one's views on murdering infants was more important to "are you my friend or my enemy" sorting than what one's pronouns are or whether they're proactively offered in a bio/signature block.
General Michael Flynn was sandbagged by James Comey over a phone call with the Russian ambassador as to whether or not he discussed sanctions and his life was ruined. We lost the services of an experienced intelligence officer. Jake Sullivan has demonstrated utter incompetence on numerous occasions and yet he still has a job. Why?