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The Necessity of Israel
Townhall.com ^ | January 2, 2008 | Charles Krauthammer

Posted on 01/02/2009 4:28:30 AM PST by Kaslin

Late Saturday, thousands of Gazans received Arabic-language cell-phone messages from the Israeli military, urging them to leave homes where militants might have stashed weapons. -- Associated Press, Dec. 27

WASHINGTON -- Some geopolitical conflicts are morally complicated. The Israel-Gaza war is not. It possesses a moral clarity not only rare but excruciating.

Israel is so scrupulous about civilian life that, risking the element of surprise, it contacts enemy noncombatants in advance to warn them of approaching danger. Hamas, which started this conflict with unrelenting rocket and mortar attacks on unarmed Israelis -- 6,464 launched from Gaza in the last three years -- deliberately places its weapons in and near the homes of its own people.

This has two purposes. First, counting on the moral scrupulousness of Israel, Hamas figures civilian proximity might help protect at least part of its arsenal. Second, knowing that Israelis have new precision weapons that may allow them to attack nonetheless, Hamas hopes that inevitable collateral damage -- or, if it is really fortunate, an errant Israeli bomb -- will kill large numbers of its own people for which, of course, the world will blame Israel.

For Hamas the only thing more prized than dead Jews are dead Palestinians. The religion of Jew-murder and self-martyrdom is ubiquitous. And deeply perverse, such as the Hamas TV children's program in which an adorable live-action Palestinian Mickey Mouse is beaten to death by an Israeli (then replaced by his more militant cousin, Nahoul the Bee, who vows to continue on Mickey's path to martyrdom).

(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: freedom; gaza; hamas; hamascharter; islam; israel; jihad; quran; westerncivilization; wot

1 posted on 01/02/2009 4:28:31 AM PST by Kaslin
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To: All

Background Link:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2157337/posts


2 posted on 01/02/2009 4:31:22 AM PST by Cindy
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To: Kaslin

Krauthammer hit the nail square on the head with this one. He’s completely right.

Mark


3 posted on 01/02/2009 4:35:17 AM PST by MarkL (Do I really look like a guy with a plan?)
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To: Kaslin

4 posted on 01/02/2009 4:37:06 AM PST by Diogenesis
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To: Kaslin

Then just crush the enemy and get it over with already. Use the weapons we gave you.


5 posted on 01/02/2009 5:09:14 AM PST by SQUID
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To: Diogenesis

That cartoon demonstrates perfectly the absolute moral gulf between Israelis and Arab Muslim terrorists.

And look at worldwide public opinion: overwhelmingly pro-Hamas.

The culture war has gone global. Hitler is laughing in Hell.


6 posted on 01/02/2009 5:32:25 AM PST by elcid1970 (O Muslim! My cartridges are dipped in pig grease.)
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To: Diogenesis

Exactly! Worshipers of Moloch.


7 posted on 01/02/2009 5:44:42 AM PST by AmericanVictory
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To: Kaslin
Excellent commentary except for this:

Israel's only response is to try to do what it failed to do after the Gaza withdrawal...the failure to immediately establish a deterrence regime under which no violence would be tolerated after the removal of any and all Israeli presence...

Hardly the "only" response available and not the right one.

They should take back what they gave away.

How quickly is the only question. How long does it take the typical Palestinian to run, say, across a square mile of Gaza? Double that, to be humane, and phone in the results to the Palestinians. Sort of an audio house-to-house operation. We're bombing your neighborhood this afternoon, start packing, don't even think of coming back, have a nice day.

8 posted on 01/02/2009 6:15:14 AM PST by 668 - Neighbor of the Beast (Happy New Year!)
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