So Americans can sell arms to the PLO I guess. Is there anything Israel does you will not defend? Zimbabwe is an outlaw country. We won't trade with them and the EU has frozen their bank accounts. So what is a country we send billions of dollars in aid to doing selling them military equipment?
Israel was right to trade with apartheid South Africa. The boycott only hurt blacks in the country. Israel is not right to deal with Mugabe. And we should tell Israel to stop. Know of any other countries which sell arms to Zimbabwe, let me know. They should be exposed too.
Americans should be concerned over what Israel does. Most of the world looks on Israel as an arm of America.
That question got me to thinking. The only thing I consistently defend about Israel is its right to exist. I only posted to this thread because you pinged me and I only made the comments I did because the only posts I've seen of yours are similar to this one.
Curious, I searched your posts. You say this is your position;
I also have a problem with Israel's actions in other areas than the mid east and Israel not shutting down the criminal activities for recent arrivals from the Soviet Block. I could, and do, make similiar criticisms of many more countries which are allied with us. Israel is in the news, that is why I comment on these threads.
I'll take you at your word.
Don't start slandering Americans for helping Nazi Germany. We defeated Nazism. There is more than enough stuff to throw back at those who try to pin Hitler on us.
Ford and IBM have been criticized for just such actions - for doing business with the Germans during the war. I can't vouch for the truth of the allegations, but if they are true then they should be criticized and it's not slander. Furthermore criticizing them is not the same as criticizing America, anymore than criticizing Russian Jewish criminals is the same as criticizing Israel. To the extent that either government was complicit in criminal actions they too should be criticized.
That is, if you believe in applying the same standards to everyone.
If Israel were the only country that sold weapons to dictators and tyrants, it would be the richest nation on earth. As it turns out, though, international arms dealing is, in general, a seamy and unsavory business.
While politics figure in, it all eventually boils down to money, and whether they are nationally-owned or private, weapons manufacturers are always looking for customers for their products.
I agree that Israel (and any other nation, for that matter) shouldn't deal with scum like Mugabe. However, even in the context of Zimbabwean politics, it seems rather trivial to focus on Israel for selling these modified trucks to Mugabe when there are much more significant forces at play, both with respect to arming his regime and financing it.
I undoubtedly come across as an apologist for Israel from time to time, as I do support that nation. However, I don't believe Israel to be virtuous beyond reproach.
But then again, my own beloved United States are hardly pure as the driven snow, either. How many dictators have we armed and propped up? A few names, such as Chiang Kai-Shek, Ferdinand Marcos, Shah Reza Pahlavi, Syngman Rhee, Francisco Franco, Chun Doo-Hwan, Nguyen Khanh, Lon Nol, Thanom Kittikachorn, Suharto, Anastasio Somoza, Augusto Pinochet, Manuel Noriega, Pervez Musharraf and, of course, Saddam Hussein come to mind. There are many more, dating back to the 1800s, and that's not even mentioning the assassinations and failed coups we've sponsored over the years.
Does the U.S. track record with dictators and puppet governments justify Israeli commerce with such regimes? No. It is, however, good to bring to light and discuss matters such as these, and important to keep them in perspective, as well.
I suspect there is more than just armored vehicles pouring into Zimbabwe, and not just from Israel.
Imal