As my first thread here, i´d like to divert a bit from the US situation and Bush, that have been discussed AD NAUSEUM before, and thus focus on a diferent part of the world.
And it seems Israel has provided the perfect subject.

I believe most, if not all here, have heard about the assassination of Sheikh Yassin.Act wich has been condemned by the entire international comunity (except the US and Israel itself, of course).
We could discuss how Yassin was a terrorist and died as he lived, but that´s not what i had in mind.
The fact that Israel continuosly resorts to tactics that shoulder together with the terrorists that they sought to destroy, is very serious indeed.
Not to mention that Israel now has to deal with 500.000 palestinians in anger, instead of the small number of activists in arms that existed before.
If ever there was any doubt that Sharon has absolutely no intention of achieving peace, now those doubts have vanished as dust floating in the wind.
Sharon is the main cause for this conflict, dating back to the 60´s and his death squad. He´s the one who brought upon the second entiffada, by parading in the holliest of holly places, devising a plan to bring down the Dome of the Rock. It was also his party and friends who commended the assassination of Ytzak Rabin, the only man who had a chance to end this bloody conflict.
And in final analysis, he´s the one keeping this fire burning, by fueling it with such actions of insanity.
It´s no coincidence that the polls point Israel as the greatest threat to world peace, as it is no coincidence that the man in charge is Sharon...
You know, i used to be divided by the conflict. I sided with the palestinians, but i´ve always condemned their actions against civilians. But now i don´t know. I really don´t know...
The only thing left of Yassin´s body was his head and a shoe, along with the wheels of his chair. The rest was vaporized.
If ever the israelis had a shread of moral ground, that moral ground is gone. Forever.
When the palestinian response hits Israel, i won´t feel the least bit sad for them. Not anymore.
Right now the streets of Israel are filled with celebrations for this man´s death. Sharon has sent his congratulations to the Army for the kill, amongst cheers of "well done" and "wonderfull job"!
How cheerfull do you think they will be when the palestinians send out a tidalwave of suicide bombers in response?
This is insanity...

__________________
"Quincitilius Varus, give me back my legions!"
Emperor Augustus of Rome.

Violence begets violence. Always

Personally, I'm beyond caring about this conflict. As far as I'm concerned, both Israel and Palestine are terrorist states. What's disturbing, though, is the fact that the acts of terror are endorsed not only by their leaders, but also by the general public. Very few Palestinians condemn suicide bombers, just as very few Israelis are against the infamous helicopter attacks. Both Sharon and the Palestinian terrorist orgznizations enjoy overwhelming support of the common people. Neither state attempts any civilized approach to calming the conflict. They have been at each other's throats for more than 50 years, and, apparently, they just don't know any better. They simply deserve each other

__________________

I know you're hoping to avoid getting back into the US/Bush debate with this, but I simply can't help but point out the obvious parallels here. The US (or at least the Bush administration) can't condemn this because we are essentially doing the exact same thing all over the globe right now ourselves. And our general public is generally endorsing it, too.

As to your main point, I think you're right. They have both become terrorist states, just as the US itself now has. And they (and we here in the US, as well) will indeed reap exactly what they sow, in the end, I'm sure.

Here is the perfect cartoon for this thread.

Attached Images

infinity.jpg (22.1 KB, 71 views)

__________________


The best daily political cartoons can be found here:

http://www.csmonitor.com/commentary/index.html

World Peace is an illusion of whomever came up with the word. To my knowledge there has not been a single day since WW2 without a war somewhere in the world... (someone may want to find out how long that exactly has been going on).

Sharon and all his predecessors except Rabin have been bad for the peace process in that part of the world but I agree with each and every comment made thus far: I can not care less any longer as to who blows up whom in that part of the world as neither has the IQ of a jellybean or they would have stopped this crap a LONG time ago....

But then there are those of us that believe peace in the middle east would bring with it the end of the world.... Maybe we are destined to never see peace and therefore mankind gets to destroy the blue planet a little longer.

Well. World Peace has been reinvented repeatedly since time itself began, most likely. One recent notable, and honest attempt at it would perhaps be when Truman and Roosevelt started discussing a draft for an international law, which would eventually become the UN. They thought, if equal principles could be upheld between all states, no action could be taken and be both justified and seen as wrong. Thereby, the vicious circle of violence would be broken. Further, they thought this ideal would be self- sustaining, because of the fact that people would want peace. And apparently, people do, even Bush supposedly wants peace. They did of course accept the fact that there would be outlaws, and that wars would be fought, but they percieved it as essential that these rules, the self- evident rule of equality, should be employed by the ones who were able to. And this was where peace would start, with any civilized state.

I suppose this could be seen as naive. But honestly, to think that it would be possible to create peace by establishing rules that can only be employed by one part, going to righteous war or by eradicating all opposition are much, much worse. Looking at known events in history, it doesn't actually seem possible either.

Yea, Ahmed Yassin, peace lover.
No doubt. Couldn't have anything to do with the Palestinian suicide bombers, encouraged by Yassin, who have murdered nearly 500 people in Israel since 2000.
Hmmmm, murder civilians or not. Yea, I can see your dilemma.
The quicker the better. The sooner this thing is settled, the sooner the US can go back to being the greatest threat to world peace.

I say, "Good riddance to bad rubbish."

@Fatboy:

The last time i looked, it wasn´t Yassin who was sitting at the table across from Sharon.He was not an active participant in the peace process, so i don´t understand your remarks. And this isn´t about Yassin either. I don´t believe anyone has any doubts about who he was and what he was doing. But the problem is Sharon continuaslly sabotaging the peace process, by such insane acts that fuel further violence. As for the 500 dead in Israel, do you think they are worth the 3000 dead in Palestine?
Who´s the better killer here? Who´s targeting journalists, and western activists? Who´s the one ocupying soil that is not theirs? Who has the tanks the planes, the choppers, and a 500.000 troops army?
As i see it, if anyone should take the first step is Israel, and they just ain´t doing it. Sharon doesn´t want peace, because that would mean loosing a whole chunk of territory, and all those settlements and the rich fields for agriculture.
It´s sad to see you siding constantly with the opressor, instead of the underdog. And not just in this issue. Perhaps when you feel it on your skin you´ll get a better understanding of what it means to be opressed. But untill that moment comes, it´s useless to argue.
And don´t worry. The US has his place assured as a world threat, despite what happens in Palestine.
Remember the Axis? Back in WWII? We have the same today. Bush represents Hitler with his big strong army, and his dreams of Imperialism and conquest. Sharon represents Hirohito and the Rising Sun Empire. And Blair represents Mussolini, the dumb puppet being played by the big brother!
History repeats itself, i´m afraid to say...

PS: I love these smilies!!!:thumbsup:

__________________
"Quincitilius Varus, give me back my legions!"
Emperor Augustus of Rome.

You're right, he was an active participant in the war and murder process. I thought I made that point rather clearly in my post. What's your point?
Of course, every time Sharon calls on Israelites to strap on explosives and walk into a pizza joint he's... wait a minute, is that Sharon?
Since 2000? Do you have sources for that ridiculous number? And, no, I don't think 500 dead in Israel are worth 3000 dead in Palestine.
Clearly, Israel is a better shot. They're the scalpel, Palestine is the nuclear weapon.
Huh? I give up, who?
That would be Israel, right? What's your point?
Why should Israel take the first step?
In 2000 at Camp David, Yasser Arafat walked out after being offered a Palestinian state, the Temple Mount, Gaza, almost the whole West Bank and half of Jerusalem. The Palestinians didn't even make a counter-offer. The Palestinians don't want peace, they want the Jews out of the Middle East.
And it's unconscionable to see you shed tears for a murderer. Explain to me why women and children deserve to be blown to pieces.
Oh, goody. I do so hate to be second.
That is the funniest thing I've heard today. Glad you made it to the forum, SwamP-ThinG. You brighten my day.