You perfectly captured my feelings on the conflict. Considering all the civilian casualties on both sides, plus the extreme subjugation of women and LGBTQ people in Gaza, and the protests of Bibi within Israel, it would be interesting to see how the likes of Hamas, Bibi, the Taliban, the Islamic Republic, and MAGA all rose to power -- eventually cutting off a majority of citizens from having any control over what their military does, while being fully susceptible to the repercussions. I can only imagine the trouble Trump will get us into on the world stage if he wins again, and every awful thing he does will be a reflection on all Americans.
Oh, another migrant caravan? Are they bringing communist marxist fascist leftist critical race theory ideas that will defund the police and force transgender surgeries on school kids performed by shape changing lizard space aliens with Jewish lasers in the Denver Airport after they've dusted the place with chemtrails?
Migrant caravans. At this point this election scare tactic is just lazy.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. He is a journalist, and surely has access to Google. If he googled “Gaza war, proportionality, human shields” he would easily find the following 3 items.
Maybe if you correspond with him, you could forward them to him.
1. John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point:
“In my long career studying and advising on urban warfare for the U.S. military, I've never known an army to take such measures to attend to the enemy's civilian population, especially while simultaneously combating the enemy in the very same buildings. In fact, by my analysis, Israel has implemented more precautions to prevent civilian harm than any military in history—above and beyond what international law requires and more than the U.S. did in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
2. NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence Report
“Hamas’ use of human shields in Gaza”
“Hamas' most common uses of human shields include:
Firing rockets, artillery, and mortars from or in proximity to heavily populated civilian areas, often from or near facilities which should be protected according to the Geneva Convention (e.g. schools, hospitals, or mosques).
Locating military or security-related infrastructures such as HQs, bases, armouries, access routes, lathes,' or defensive positions within or in proximity to civilian areas.
Protecting terrorists' houses and military facilities, or rescuing terrorists who were besieged or warned by the IDF.
Combating the IDF from or in proximity to residential and commercial areas, including using civilians for intelligence gathering missions.
By engaging in these acts, Hamas employs a win-win scenario: if indeed the IDF uses kinetic power, and the number of civilian causalities surges, Hamas can use that as a weapon in the lawfare" it conducts. It would be able to accuse the IDF (and Israel) of committing war crimes, which in turn could result in the imposition of a wide array of sanctions. On the other hand, if the IDF limits its use of military power in Gaza to avoid collateral damage, Hamas will be less vulnerable to Israeli attacks, and thereby able to protect its assets while continuing to fight.“
I have seen war and know how difficult it can be to minimize civilian casualties. Basing my views about the Israel-Hamas war on UK media coverage, I arrived in Israel critical and skeptical of their military operations. What we, military observers with decades of combined experience in leading NATO armies, saw was the most complex and demanding operational environment any of us had come across, including in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Our briefing from the independent military legal directorate laid out in detail the rules designed to protect civilian life. The procedures are at least as rigorous as those applied in the UK armed forces. In addition, the Israeli military carries out civilian evacuations of war zones, forgoing the element of surprise, to which it would be entitled in armed conflict.
Accompanying troops in Rafah, we found that the rules of engagement were being adhered to rigorously and that a significant number of engagements were being aborted because the clearance of civilians could not be verified. The perspectives that we gained indicate that there is balance missing in the reporting of events in Gaza.
I came away from the trip satisfied that the IDF's operations and rules of engagement were rigorous compared to the British Army and our Western allies. War is terrible, but sometimes necessary. And Israeli soldiers are fighting in conditions of extraordinary complexity and risk. It's time for the world to have its eyes opened to that.
The writer is a former deputy supreme allied commander of NATO who served for 38 years in the British Army and saw combat in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.
"BREAKING: Another giant migrant caravan is currently on it's way to storming the US.
Yesterday in Tapachula, Mexico: <picture>"
Riiight.
Tapachula is deep, deep in the south of Mexico, as far as one can get from the US and still be in Mexico. It's like saying the people in San Diego are storming Canada.
If you can't see that these people would target Israel regardless of who is Prime Minister, and that whoever was Prime Minister of Israel, if not Netanyahu, would have done EXACTLY THE SAME THINGS HE IS DOING, then you don't have much of a Yiddisher Kopf.
Netanyahu is not a far right sociopath. That’s disgusting. It’s facile and stupid too. And there are so many questions you didn’t ask. Why didn’t Sinwar build one fucking bomb shelter for the noncombatants? He had so much money about $1 billion for Hamas terror tunnels. What is the meaning of a civilian when Hamas doesn’t wear uniforms? When they embed in schools, mosques, ambulances, hospitals, UNWRA facilities? Why do you trust the so called Gaza ministry of health? It’s Hamas. Duh. Did it dawn on you that murderers and rapists may also be liars?
If that were true, You wouldn’t have bothered to reply 3 times. Clearly what I think is something you concern yourself with. Again and again (and again).
You perfectly captured my feelings on the conflict. Considering all the civilian casualties on both sides, plus the extreme subjugation of women and LGBTQ people in Gaza, and the protests of Bibi within Israel, it would be interesting to see how the likes of Hamas, Bibi, the Taliban, the Islamic Republic, and MAGA all rose to power -- eventually cutting off a majority of citizens from having any control over what their military does, while being fully susceptible to the repercussions. I can only imagine the trouble Trump will get us into on the world stage if he wins again, and every awful thing he does will be a reflection on all Americans.
Excellent article with one exception. There is no doubt that the Palestinians do NOT want a two state solution.
Oh, another migrant caravan? Are they bringing communist marxist fascist leftist critical race theory ideas that will defund the police and force transgender surgeries on school kids performed by shape changing lizard space aliens with Jewish lasers in the Denver Airport after they've dusted the place with chemtrails?
Migrant caravans. At this point this election scare tactic is just lazy.
From a friend...
Wrong, wrong, wrong. He is a journalist, and surely has access to Google. If he googled “Gaza war, proportionality, human shields” he would easily find the following 3 items.
Maybe if you correspond with him, you could forward them to him.
1. John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point:
“In my long career studying and advising on urban warfare for the U.S. military, I've never known an army to take such measures to attend to the enemy's civilian population, especially while simultaneously combating the enemy in the very same buildings. In fact, by my analysis, Israel has implemented more precautions to prevent civilian harm than any military in history—above and beyond what international law requires and more than the U.S. did in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
https://www.newsweek.com/israel-has-created-new-standard-urban-warfare-why-will-no-one-admit-it-opinion-1883286
2. NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence Report
“Hamas’ use of human shields in Gaza”
“Hamas' most common uses of human shields include:
Firing rockets, artillery, and mortars from or in proximity to heavily populated civilian areas, often from or near facilities which should be protected according to the Geneva Convention (e.g. schools, hospitals, or mosques).
Locating military or security-related infrastructures such as HQs, bases, armouries, access routes, lathes,' or defensive positions within or in proximity to civilian areas.
Protecting terrorists' houses and military facilities, or rescuing terrorists who were besieged or warned by the IDF.
Combating the IDF from or in proximity to residential and commercial areas, including using civilians for intelligence gathering missions.
By engaging in these acts, Hamas employs a win-win scenario: if indeed the IDF uses kinetic power, and the number of civilian causalities surges, Hamas can use that as a weapon in the lawfare" it conducts. It would be able to accuse the IDF (and Israel) of committing war crimes, which in turn could result in the imposition of a wide array of sanctions. On the other hand, if the IDF limits its use of military power in Gaza to avoid collateral damage, Hamas will be less vulnerable to Israeli attacks, and thereby able to protect its assets while continuing to fight.“
https://stratcomcoe.org/cuploads/pfiles/hamas_human_shields.pdf
See also:
“Hybrid Threats: Hamas’ use of human shields in Gaza”
https://stratcomcoe.org/publications/hybrid-threats-hamas-use-of-human-shields-in-gaza/87
3. I fought in Iraq — I know Israel is doing all it can to save civilians
General Sir John McColl (The Times-UK)
https://www.thetimes.com/article/e2125279-cc23-4b9e-aeb8-f02191f27c88?shareToken=5457dc755403eb830f0b15ce70c67c6b
I have seen war and know how difficult it can be to minimize civilian casualties. Basing my views about the Israel-Hamas war on UK media coverage, I arrived in Israel critical and skeptical of their military operations. What we, military observers with decades of combined experience in leading NATO armies, saw was the most complex and demanding operational environment any of us had come across, including in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Our briefing from the independent military legal directorate laid out in detail the rules designed to protect civilian life. The procedures are at least as rigorous as those applied in the UK armed forces. In addition, the Israeli military carries out civilian evacuations of war zones, forgoing the element of surprise, to which it would be entitled in armed conflict.
Accompanying troops in Rafah, we found that the rules of engagement were being adhered to rigorously and that a significant number of engagements were being aborted because the clearance of civilians could not be verified. The perspectives that we gained indicate that there is balance missing in the reporting of events in Gaza.
I came away from the trip satisfied that the IDF's operations and rules of engagement were rigorous compared to the British Army and our Western allies. War is terrible, but sometimes necessary. And Israeli soldiers are fighting in conditions of extraordinary complexity and risk. It's time for the world to have its eyes opened to that.
The writer is a former deputy supreme allied commander of NATO who served for 38 years in the British Army and saw combat in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.
"BREAKING: Another giant migrant caravan is currently on it's way to storming the US.
Yesterday in Tapachula, Mexico: <picture>"
Riiight.
Tapachula is deep, deep in the south of Mexico, as far as one can get from the US and still be in Mexico. It's like saying the people in San Diego are storming Canada.
If you can't see that these people would target Israel regardless of who is Prime Minister, and that whoever was Prime Minister of Israel, if not Netanyahu, would have done EXACTLY THE SAME THINGS HE IS DOING, then you don't have much of a Yiddisher Kopf.
.
Thanks for articulating what is also my confusion and despair so well.
Netanyahu is not a far right sociopath. That’s disgusting. It’s facile and stupid too. And there are so many questions you didn’t ask. Why didn’t Sinwar build one fucking bomb shelter for the noncombatants? He had so much money about $1 billion for Hamas terror tunnels. What is the meaning of a civilian when Hamas doesn’t wear uniforms? When they embed in schools, mosques, ambulances, hospitals, UNWRA facilities? Why do you trust the so called Gaza ministry of health? It’s Hamas. Duh. Did it dawn on you that murderers and rapists may also be liars?
Well, there's an open mind willing to consider other points of view and facts that might contradict theirs.
Yes a lot of people should open their minds and consider what I have written instead of the usual slop.
But what you have written *IS* the usual slop. So what is there to consider?
What I am considering is the article I commented on is superficial. I don’t give a rats ass what you think. Ever.
“I don’t give a rats ass what you think. Ever.”
If that were true, You wouldn’t have bothered to reply 3 times. Clearly what I think is something you concern yourself with. Again and again (and again).