Posted on 04/14/2004 2:03:36 AM PDT by Huber
Edited on 04/23/2004 12:06:45 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
On March 16, 2004, one year after the death of my cousin Rachel Corrie, James Taranto, in his Best of the Web Today column, called Rachel's nonviolent efforts to protest the Israeli military's actions in the occupied Palestinian territories an encouragement of a "culture of hate." Mr. Taranto referred to an op- ed piece by Ruhama Shattan, originally published in the Jerusalem Post and reprinted on this Web site, as a "clearheaded tribute" to Rachel.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
The existence of terrorist activity in the Rafah camp is well known, it’s a primary entry point for arms from Egypt. Buildings in the security zone (runs along the Gaza-Egyptian border, it’s illegal to build there to begin with) are used as tunnel endpoints, for storage, as bombmaking facilities, and for sniping at IDF soldiers patrolling the zone. The ISM inadvertently acknowledged she was in the zone when they published the diary of one of her companions.
At the time the IDF was engaged in the demolition of buildings in the zone. Whether there was a tunnel there, a sniper, an arms cache, or nothing is irrelevant. IMO, it’s impossible she didn’t know she was interfering with a military operation, or that terror activities were being conducted in the vicinity. If she didn't, she was incredibly naive, not unheard of in human shields.
Nor any claim that I can remember that there ever was. Israeli forces bulldoze homes of known terrorists -- whether there are illegal tunnels under them or not -- buildings in which terrorist activities are believed to have taken place, buildings under which there ARE illegal tunnels, and nowadays, buildings along the border which MIGHT CONCEAL illegal tunnels. Regarding this latter category, Israel has knocked down row after row of buildings along its border, both before and after Corrie's death.
Israel has a right to secure its borders. If this incident had happened here, we'd all be talking about imminent domain.
So Corrie's cousin is lying. And he knows he's lying. "Oh, those evil Jews killed my sweet little cousin FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER, because there were no tunnels under that house . . . " It's this kind of deception we've come to expect from leftists, and because of it we can be confident Patnaik hates America and her allies just as much as Rachel ever did.
Again, I have yet to see that information reported in a credible site, not that I am saying it hasn't been, just that I like to verify my facts. But I'm not even saying that the tunnel didn't terminate in the house. What I am saying is that even if the tunnel DID terminate there, I find it hard to believe that Corrie knew about it, or that the Palestinians would trust ANY American enough to share that information with her. I stand by my belief for now that she was a stupid person who made a series of dumb mistakes. As such, her death is not worthy of the continued gleeful attention that it gets.
bingo
Do you think people deserve death by bulldozer for that transgression?
I’d agree about the gleeful attention. I don’t know if there was a tunnel in the house. Since the IDF never stated that, I’d guess there wasn’t, though really I don’t see it as an issue one way or another. She knew she was interfering with a military operation, there were two tanks on the scene providing cover for the bulldozer, and I can’t imagine she didn’t know about terrorist activities in the neighborhood, she was living there. It’s likely she was stupid, naïve or both, and made a series of mistakes, it’s also possible she was a partisan, no way of knowing. I’m not sure it’s a joking matter in either case. Nor is she an object of adoration.
No more than I think people who smoke deserve lung cancer, but risky behaviors sometimes have nasty consequences. Corrie had more Darwin Award about her than tragic heroine.
I agree wholeheartedly.
Enough with the Rachael Corrie threads people. Let's move on.
Ever seen a health nut get going on the death of the Marlboro Man from lung cancer? It isn't the suffering that gets people wound up, it's that darned poetic justice.
The Jerusalem Post
June 26, 2003, Thursday
...* Preventing Israel from monitoring and closing off the tunnels Palestinian terror groups have dug along the border with Egypt. When Corrie was killed she was trying to block an IDF tractor carving a path in the direction of these underground tunnels.
Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia)
March 18, 2003 Tuesday
...Before daybreak yesterday, about 30 Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles entered the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
Ms Corrie was among eight protesters at the site -- four American and four British.
Israeli military spokesman Capt Jacob Dallal said Ms Corrie's death was an accident. Soldiers were seeking tunnels for weapons smuggling.
The military said because of the small windows in the giant, armoured bulldozer, the driver could not see her.
The New York Post
March 17, 2003, Monday
...Israeli officials said the protesters were repeatedly warned with loudspeakers to move from the demolition areas, but they followed the bulldozers from site to site to try to block them.
The bulldozers are outfitted to withstand explosive booby-traps as they root out underground tunnels used by terrorists.
Their drivers have limited sight distance because of the armor, which contributed to Corrie's death, the officials said.
Corrie was wearing a brightly colored jacket when she died.
So are you saying that the health nut is justified in getting wound up about a death?
In neither case is it "poetic justice." Neither Corrie nor the Marlboro Man deserved to die for their stupid decisions. The fact that people celebrate Corrie's death here, so incessantly, so cruelly and tastelessly, even a year after the fact, cheapens FR.
Why not? If their stupid decisions led to their deaths, why wouldn't they deserve it?
The fact that people celebrate Corrie's death here, so incessantly, so cruelly and tastelessly, even a year after the fact, cheapens FR.
Here's a suggestion: stop reading them. People aren't spontaneously bringing up the subject. These threads start because a member of her family grabs another 15 minutes at her expense to talk about what a wonderful, giving, peace-loving creature she was. Her bad work goes on, and there's nothing the least wrong with pointing out the difference between the made-for-60-Minutes version and the truth.
After you have some genetic testing done, HOPE your 'lunacy gene' isn't in the upper range.
By your logic, it follows that all people who engage in risky behavior always deserve to die.
Here's a suggestion: stop reading them. People aren't spontaneously bringing up the subject. These threads start because a member of her family grabs another 15 minutes at her expense to talk about what a wonderful, giving, peace-loving creature she was. Her bad work goes on, and there's nothing the least wrong with pointing out the difference between the made-for-60-Minutes version and the truth.
Spare me the self righteousness. As I have pointed out many times on this thread, I don't particularly have a problem with people trying to discredit her family members and get to the truth of the matter. I am trying to do that myself. What I have a problem with is the callous celebration of the death of a human being. The juvenile postings of pancakes, and Tonka toys, that we see on all of these threads. These posts are not original and they reduce us to the level of the opposition.
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