And on to world events.
If anyone knows me and talks to me much, you'll know I'm a nerd. Through and through. One thing I always try to keep my head about, though, is current events. Nothing is more infuriating than current events, but still - I keep my eye on them.
So believe me when I go on to say that Israel is, as of today, a state sponsor of terrorism. Hear me out on this; when you strike out at civilians in retaliation against a military strike, you are a terrorist. Soldiers sign up to your army, whether by choice (like the US) or by mandate (usually males at age 18 are drafted into the IDF) with the express knowledge that they defend your nation, and as such are valid targets under international law. If they should
die or be captured, that is agreed upon by all nations as an act of war.
Yes, Hezbollah made a daring cross-border raid, killing and kidnapping Israeli soldiers. Of corse it's understandable that fighting an underground terrorist organization such as Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, or even Hamas, has its certain intricacies unlike a "normal" war, but those idiosyncracies to the War on Terror do not extend to bombing the shit out of populated urban centers with a seemingly indiscriminate mindset. Jesus Christ, the US had seething anger after 9/11, yet we restrained ourselves and didn't go laser-guided carpet-bombing civilians just to make them suffer for their government's lackadaisical approach to cracking down on militants. I mean, if Israel's pissed at Hezbollah, target southern Lebanon. If Israel is pissed at the Lebanese army, bomb the Lebanese army. But don't you go on to say that you're defending yourselves when I see flaming goddamn school buses, and family caravans pockmarked with shrapnel. Fuck, I thought I was looking at Baghdad for a minute. But nope, it wasn't a zealot's carbomb, it was a laser-guided, fin-stablized bomb. Slightly more expensive, a little more flashy, but it has the same effect.
It's the most ridiculous military tactic I've ever seen. "I know guys, first we'll bomb all of the bridges and roads. Then, we'll destroy the airports. Then, we'll bomb every fucking thing we see that looks like it might have bombs inside - and let's be fair, that could be any building with a roof, so we'd better bomb 'em all. Finally, we figure that since all the civilians should've been smart enough to leave by now, we'll assume everyone else is a fucking terrorist and blow them up when we see them! Oh, that minivan with a white flag out the window must be a militant - drop a 500 pound bomb on it." Christ all-fucking-mighty that whole part of the world is going to shit. The US is sitting back not doing anything, saying Israel has a right to defend itself.
Of course Israel has a right to defend itself! But can you honestly say that the wholesale slaughter of civilians is defending itself? It's a disproportionate escalation of hostilities. The stats, last time I heard them, were (civilians) Lebanon - 390 dead, 1,500 injured,700,000 (almost one-fucking-million) displaced (not the mention almost every piece of civilian infrastructure is smashed); Israel - 60 dead, 300 injured, 50,000-100,000 displaced.
There are no easy answers in this situation, but I guarantee you this - it's just going to make Hezbollah, or the organization that rises from the ashes, so much bigger, more aggressive, and entrenched in the Arab world. Way to go Israel, you just multiplied your problems ten-fold in 5 years time. You might as well do yourselves a favor and nuke every fucking country around you including, but not limited to, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and hell, fucking Morocco. Why not, right?
Yup, it's a fucked up time to be alive, my life not withstanding.
So believe me when I go on to say that Israel is, as of today, a state sponsor of terrorism. Hear me out on this; when you strike out at civilians in retaliation against a military strike, you are a terrorist. Soldiers sign up to your army, whether by choice (like the US) or by mandate (usually males at age 18 are drafted into the IDF) with the express knowledge that they defend your nation, and as such are valid targets under international law. If they should
die or be captured, that is agreed upon by all nations as an act of war.
Yes, Hezbollah made a daring cross-border raid, killing and kidnapping Israeli soldiers. Of corse it's understandable that fighting an underground terrorist organization such as Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, or even Hamas, has its certain intricacies unlike a "normal" war, but those idiosyncracies to the War on Terror do not extend to bombing the shit out of populated urban centers with a seemingly indiscriminate mindset. Jesus Christ, the US had seething anger after 9/11, yet we restrained ourselves and didn't go laser-guided carpet-bombing civilians just to make them suffer for their government's lackadaisical approach to cracking down on militants. I mean, if Israel's pissed at Hezbollah, target southern Lebanon. If Israel is pissed at the Lebanese army, bomb the Lebanese army. But don't you go on to say that you're defending yourselves when I see flaming goddamn school buses, and family caravans pockmarked with shrapnel. Fuck, I thought I was looking at Baghdad for a minute. But nope, it wasn't a zealot's carbomb, it was a laser-guided, fin-stablized bomb. Slightly more expensive, a little more flashy, but it has the same effect.
It's the most ridiculous military tactic I've ever seen. "I know guys, first we'll bomb all of the bridges and roads. Then, we'll destroy the airports. Then, we'll bomb every fucking thing we see that looks like it might have bombs inside - and let's be fair, that could be any building with a roof, so we'd better bomb 'em all. Finally, we figure that since all the civilians should've been smart enough to leave by now, we'll assume everyone else is a fucking terrorist and blow them up when we see them! Oh, that minivan with a white flag out the window must be a militant - drop a 500 pound bomb on it." Christ all-fucking-mighty that whole part of the world is going to shit. The US is sitting back not doing anything, saying Israel has a right to defend itself.
Of course Israel has a right to defend itself! But can you honestly say that the wholesale slaughter of civilians is defending itself? It's a disproportionate escalation of hostilities. The stats, last time I heard them, were (civilians) Lebanon - 390 dead, 1,500 injured,700,000 (almost one-fucking-million) displaced (not the mention almost every piece of civilian infrastructure is smashed); Israel - 60 dead, 300 injured, 50,000-100,000 displaced.
There are no easy answers in this situation, but I guarantee you this - it's just going to make Hezbollah, or the organization that rises from the ashes, so much bigger, more aggressive, and entrenched in the Arab world. Way to go Israel, you just multiplied your problems ten-fold in 5 years time. You might as well do yourselves a favor and nuke every fucking country around you including, but not limited to, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and hell, fucking Morocco. Why not, right?
Yup, it's a fucked up time to be alive, my life not withstanding.