More trouble in Mid East

[FishGuy]

Israel is now fighting again with Palestinians in Gaza over the kidnapped soldier and now two more have been taken by Lebanese to which they hold the Lebanon gevernment responsible and are threatening to take action against. Worrying that the whole situation could explode down there.

[space_monkey]

Yeah me too. Seems to be that the world is not in a good place right now.

[capsulecorpjx]

I'm just sick of that region. Fifty years of simmering conflict over a spec of dirt. The only reason everyone is so interested is because its near some holy sites.

They should just have a proper war and get it out of their system.

[Cander]

I don't even know if it is even about land anymore. After this long, you would think it is just pure hatred.

[FishGuy]

At the moment one group has kidnapped one soldier and another has kidnapped 2, so because Israel wants these 3 back many have been killed and injured, I wonder if the kidnappers anticipated this response?

[DeadEyes]

At the moment one group has kidnapped one soldier and another has kidnapped 2, so because Israel wants these 3 back many have been killed and injured, I wonder if the kidnappers anticipated this response?

Of course they have because it is the obvious response. The IDF have no problems killing innocent people if it results in the death of one terrorist, as their previous action have shown.
As with other conflicts of the same nature, it will continue while the people that matter(politicians/military/terrorist) have more to gain from fighting than from peace.

[wiz126]

I don't even know if it is even about land anymore. After this long, you would think it is just pure hatred.

And lets get deeper, On which side?

The israeli govenment doesn't want it. Its the arbs there just keep with the threats, bombs, shooting, kidnaping.

Yes you might open you news TV and see how an israeli soldier shot a 15 or 16 years old boy....Yet they don't say that the boy had a 30+ KG belt bomb around his pants....
You never see an israeli man goes to a shopping center and explode himself, Killing 5, 7+ people do you??.

I am leaving this thread, it just make me MAD

Of course they have because it is the obvious response. The IDF have no problems killing innocent people if it results in the death of one terrorist, as their previous action have shown.
As with other conflicts of the same nature, it will continue while the people that matter(politicians/military/terrorist) have more to gain from fighting than from peace.

This is the most outrages respose I had ever seen. You think that the israli defence force don't care for human life?? Most of the operations are planned very cerfully. You can't expect somthing like what happend yesterday (230 killograms of explosive) thats enugh to blow up 5+ tanks, and all of that was sitting under one tank... I feel sorry for the 5 soldiers

[mendhak]

And lets get deeper, On which side?

The israeli govenment doesn't want it. Its the arbs there just keep with the threats, bombs, shooting, kidnaping.

How long have you lived in Israel? And the Middle East in general?

If you really believe what you just said, then you're as easy to influence as the Arab and Israeli masses (who prefer televisions, rumors and newspapers to do their thinking for them).

Both sides are worse than the other. Peace is an impossibility. The problem is the people, not the Holy Lands.

And yes, I have lived in both places. I got to saw both sides of the pathetic story, nobody gives a rat's rear end about Holy Places. Unless the media tells them to.

[capsulecorpjx]

How long have you lived in Israel? And the Middle East in general?

If you really believe what you just said, then you're as easy to influence as the Arab and Israeli masses (who prefer televisions, rumors and newspapers to do their thinking for them).

Both sides are worse than the other. Peace is an impossibility. The problem is the people, not the Holy Lands.

And yes, I have lived in both places. I got to saw both sides of the pathetic story, nobody gives a rat's rear end about Holy Places. Unless the media tells them to.

"Can't we all just get along?"
- Rodney King (Maybe Bill Clinton too).

[DeadEyes]

You never see an israeli man goes to a shopping center and explode himself, Killing 5, 7+ people do you??.

They don't have to they've got all the hi-tech weapons, I'm sure if Hamas and Hezbollah were equally equip there wouldn't be suicide bombins

I am leaving this thread, it just make me MAD

probably a good decision.

This is the most outrages respose I had ever seen. You think that the israli defence force don't care for human life?? Most of the operations are planned very cerfully. You can't expect somthing like what happend yesterday (230 killograms of explosive) thats enugh to blow up 5+ tanks, and all of that was sitting under one tank... I feel sorry for the 5 soldiers

They care so much for human life they've killed over fifty people mostly civilians because three soldiers were kidnapped.

Looking at the news at the moment things are going to get worse.

[mendhak]

"Can't we all just get along?"
- Rodney King (Maybe Bill Clinton too).

If you really think about it... If everyone just got along, we wouldn't know what peace meant. Conflict is essential for the survival of a species.

[demotivater]

Without evil there would be no good.


This really is not so new, we just get to see a lot more of it than in the past. Nothing is going to change in the middle east for a long time to come.

[FunkyDexter]

I get the impression it's mostly about hatred from the arabs and land from the Israelis. Mind you, anything that can be put in a single sentence is a gross oversimplification.

Israel's already started making noises about the fact that Syria backs Hezbollah and Iran has responded by saying that any action taken against Syria would be considered an act of war. Definitely not looking good.

[FishGuy]

I f I went on holiday to Cyprus do you think I would be able to see any of the Missiles, it looks quite close.

[capsulecorpjx]

I kind of see it from Israel's side.
Having Lebanese/Palestinian terrorist organizations fire missles into your border towns, suicide attack your civilian shops, and repeatdly kidnap your soldiers as a form of blackmail would really get on your nerves. And to rub salt on the wound, the Lebanese/Palestinian government has members of that terrorist organization in their government, while at the same time feigning impotence in being able to stop the attacks.

I'm sure its not about the captured soldiers anymore. Its about that "last straw", and being pissed off that someone is trying to bully or blackmail you into releasing prisoners.

On the other hand, blowing up civilian Lebanese airports, and Palestinian power plants is really messed up and overkill in retaliation. I feel sorry for all the Lebanese and Palestinians living without utilities and at least the one hundred civlians who have been killed so far.

[moeur]

Israel has every right to take the actions they have taken. The question is: Is this the smart thing to do?

I think the actions that Israel has taken were expected by Hamas. They wanted Israel to overreact thus rallying the other arab countries and perhaps gaining some sympathy from the rest of the world.

In this respect Israel has played into the hands of Hamas.


Edit: Hamas not hezbalah

[mendhak]

I f I went on holiday to Cyprus do you think I would be able to see any of the Missiles, it looks quite close.

Missiles cost a lot of money. Nobody can afford to aim a missile manually and guess where they want to hit. Nobody cares about Cyprus.

[zaza]

...except Greeks and Turks.




IMO, we missed the opportunity to sort out the problems surrounding Israel 50 years ago - we now have at least one generation and are onto the second of (orphaned) Arab types who have been brought up hating that country. That's how religion gets started, and we all know where that's got us.
The problem is, both sides have valid viewpoints. Iran and Syria are waging war on Israel by proxy, arming militant groups left right and centre and letting them do the dirty work. The rest of the world is not sufficiently brave / stupid to take them on militarily without direct proof, unlikely to be forthcoming. Or maybe you believe Mr Ahmadinejad and Mr Assad.
Lack of action on Israel's part is just interpreted as weakness and trumpeted as a call for further violence. But...


...the Israelis just can't seem to avoid killing civilians, which does not make them at all popular with the rest of the people in the region. They're caught between a rock and a hard place - action or no action, the results are likely to be the same. So they figure; at least let's get some militants and give our voters something to feel satisfied about in the process.

At the end of the day, you have a group of regional governments out to increase their own lot and play the regional politic game, a fairly large bunch of miscreants and underemployed, ill-educated chaps looking for something to do, preferably involving having a fight, a few obstreperous settlers who think it's all God's will, and everybody else caught in the middle of it all.





Meanwhile, we bang on about extremists and ask them all to play nicely.