Provocation And Consequences

The world has now seen the consequences that result in provoking Israel. At the same time, the world is now outraged that Israel took the initiative to defend itself. Of course, the world is also convinced that "peace activists" were involved in attacking the Israeli commandos--not anti-semitic activists, as it now appears.

But I contend that if they were truly "peace activists", they would have chanted and sang Kumbaya when the Israelis entered their ship. Would they not?

I ask this only because they attacked with weapons as if to do physical harm (if not kill them), at the same time expecting the Israelis to not retaliate against them. These are not actions of anyone who loves peace. Maybe they thought bringing a metal bar or club to a gun fight would endear them to the world, even more so than they are already.

If there is honor in fighting this way and it does identify someone as a "lover of peace", why is it that Hamas seeks to lob rockets into Israel?

In today's world Israel is the demon and the Palestinians are the the good guys, despite the fact they have a government that is controlled by Hamas. They are the oppressed, despite the fact they are one of the many forces who seek to push the Israelis into the sea. Instead of living in peace with their neighbors and seeing them as human beings (with a right to live and breathe air on this planet), they want to eliminate them. They want war, they live for it.

In the meantime, has anyone else noticed that since the blockade was implemented, rocket attacks from Gaza have ceased? If we think this out a little, we can see that the objective is being met here. Despite what the enemies of Israel say, the goal is not to put undue hardship on Palestinians, as was evidenced by the shipment sent to Gaza--that was promptly refused. It is to keep weapons out of the hands of enemy forces....nothing else.

We know that Hamas cannot exist in the form of its mission statement, if it cannot make war with its perceived enemy. This is why they wanted to test the waters (no pun intended). They are out of rockets, therefore they are out of the tools of their only trade. Instead of using Israel's economy as a model to pattern their own after, they refuse to do anything that will help themselves out of the poverty they find themselves in.

Their Arab brothers like the Saudis will not help them, either. They want them to stay in poverty, so they can remain bitter about their condition and have Israel blamed for it.

The anti-semitic left and their Islamist allies want the world to believe the ships were carrying good things for the people of Gaza. And who knows? Maybe this particular load was just that.

Be that as it may, if one can think outside the box, they can safely conclude that this was a test run to see if Israel would allow themselves to be provoked. If they could have gotten this into Gaza, weapons would have surely followed.

Either way, Israel was in a no win situation.

They had to enter the ships, even if it was a dry run for something greater later on. If they hadn't, the next shipment could (and maybe would) have been something disastrous for the existence of Israel. We can never know for sure but why should we be skeptical, why should we doubt it when Iran and others have made their anti-semitic threats for years now? Are we so far in denial to think that there is no belief and/or intent, behind their hateful and contentious words?

And.....who knows? Maybe the occupants of the ship that attacked the Israelis had something on board that has yet to be revealed? It's not outside the realm of possibilities, if you consider how much these people hate Jews.

If we can see this, why is the world so inclined to side with these thugs?

That's a good question, one that is very tough to answer. But what we do know is, the world has historically been against the Jews from the moment of their very being. One only needs to read history from accurate sources to ascertain this. Europe has been, even before the Nazis came to power and instituted a genocidal slaughter against them.

We may not know the whys, but right now we can all be certain of a few things. The Turks are showing Europe precisely why it was not a good idea to allow them into the EU. They seem to be the driving force in all of this. We know they have been very vocal, we also know that Turkey has no room to talk after the way they have historically sought to wage war in the region. At one time, they ruled the Muslim world under the Ottoman Turk Empire, and have a ruthless track record of human rights abuses.

Just ask the Armenians.

In fact, one can only wonder how the Turks would feel, if the Israelis (or other outside elements) were to smuggle rockets into Armenia to be used against Turkish towns just inside the border or if weapons were to be given to Kurdish rebels.

My suspicion is they would have killed every last one of the transporters, and asked questions later. Dead men tell no tales. Maybe that's what the Israelis should have done in this case.

Time To Talk Turkey

As he often does, Mustang informs, reminds, explains, and many times, entertains us all with his eloquent and insightful writings. He often outdoes himself and believe me when I tell you, his latest piece is no exception. (Read it first, before reading my rant.)

If you are watching the events unfolding in Turkey, you'll know that we must chart a careful course when dealing its government. They have been a solid ally, from the days of the Cold War up until today. Once you know and understand this, then you can start to think rationally when you think about which battles to avoid.

In this post, entitled Turkishness, Mustangs informs, reminds, and explains. There is nothing entertaining about fooling around and pissing off a crucial ally. But three out four, isn't bad.

You know, his piece got me to think about something in the midst of all of this: If we are serious about our right to self-defense, we must be willing to allow our allies the leeway to defend themselves against the terrorist activities of the PKK.

I cannot speak for Europe, but, I have no idea why they cannot come out and say they do not want Turkey in the EU, if that's the way they feel. I know what I read, and it seems to be something new every time I turn around. To change the rules over and over with the hope, they will get tired and forget about it is just not sound foreign policy.

The EU should say one of two things here. We seriously want you in or we do not. And if they do want them in, they need to accurately state what their issues are and what needs to be accomplished, before a decision can be made. After they figure what it is they think needs to change, they have to be ready for Turkey to tell them to shove it. But if they don't, and they agree to jump through whatever bureaucratic hoop the EU creates, they need to allot the Turkish government adequate time to reach whatever objective, they have decided needs to be met.

But as for America and her relationship with her long time ally, we need to recognize their value and put the brakes to the criticisms (for something we do, ourselves). If not, we join the ranks of those hypocritical nations that govern without sound and consistent principles.

Anyway, if you haven't read it yet, Mustang's post is why I have called you all here. Now, go read it.


Addendum: AC at Fore Left has some food for thought, which I feel ties in with this issue (in an abstract sort of way). With whatever may be coming, now is not the time to irritate Turkey.