> Blue Jeans and Chinos
Monday, July 24, 2006
Proportional Response
Israel is criticized by some for an un-proportial response to Hezbollah's attacks. I am not sure exactly what the proportial response to missiles raining down on Israeli cities targeting civilians should be. Should Israel answer in kind? Should Israel run one bombing sortie for each rocket fired at Israel? Should Israel take hostages? What is a proportial response to terrorism?
Cease-fire. Bolton, US Ambassador to the UN, has pointed out the difficulty of a possible cease-fire with a terrorist organization. What the critics of Israel is really asking for is not a cease-fire but unilateral stop of military operations by Israel while they're under fire. Yeah, right. ¶ 4:13 PM 0 comments
Cease-fire. Bolton, US Ambassador to the UN, has pointed out the difficulty of a possible cease-fire with a terrorist organization. What the critics of Israel is really asking for is not a cease-fire but unilateral stop of military operations by Israel while they're under fire. Yeah, right. ¶ 4:13 PM 0 comments
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Israel's Fight is America's Fight
The fighting in Lebanon continues and it's easy to consider it to be yet another fight far away. But it's not just another fight. This is America's fight too. US is second on Hezbollah's target list after Israel. So, we'll better hope Israel will defeat this savage enemy or we'll better be prepared to deal with it directly. We may have to fight them up close anyway but the nature of the fight will be defined by how Israel will fare.
It's important to remember a crucial moral difference between Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah targets civilians while Israel try to spare civilians by careful target selection and by warning the civilian population. Unfortunately, Israel is not fully successful in sparing civilians and Hezbollah's tactict of hiding behind civilians ensure civilians are harmed. The civilian suffering is heart breaking but there is a moral difference and the Hezbollah has brought this onto its own people.
Is Hezbollah a success story? Hardly, Hezbollah have failed to make Lebanon into an Islamic Republic modeled after Iran, as was its goal. Instead, it is a part of the governmental system. Hezbollah has also failed to impose strict Islamic rules in its communities. It was not very popular.
Instead, Hezbollah has pursued community building with strong social programs. This is sometimes used as an explanation and justification for the increased popularity of Hezbollah. Social development is certainly a good thing, especially in the Arab world where that is a rarity. But it's a false promise if it's driven by a destructive agenda. This is not the first time - Adolf Hitler successfully pursued social and economic development. ¶ 8:22 PM 0 comments
It's important to remember a crucial moral difference between Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah targets civilians while Israel try to spare civilians by careful target selection and by warning the civilian population. Unfortunately, Israel is not fully successful in sparing civilians and Hezbollah's tactict of hiding behind civilians ensure civilians are harmed. The civilian suffering is heart breaking but there is a moral difference and the Hezbollah has brought this onto its own people.
Is Hezbollah a success story? Hardly, Hezbollah have failed to make Lebanon into an Islamic Republic modeled after Iran, as was its goal. Instead, it is a part of the governmental system. Hezbollah has also failed to impose strict Islamic rules in its communities. It was not very popular.
Instead, Hezbollah has pursued community building with strong social programs. This is sometimes used as an explanation and justification for the increased popularity of Hezbollah. Social development is certainly a good thing, especially in the Arab world where that is a rarity. But it's a false promise if it's driven by a destructive agenda. This is not the first time - Adolf Hitler successfully pursued social and economic development. ¶ 8:22 PM 0 comments
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Iran and North Korea Cooperation
It's reported that Iran had representatives in North Korea at the recent missile tests. That change the picture. Imagine Hezbollah or other terror groups with missile technology with longer range and better precision.
¶ 10:21 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Korea - Let the Cool Heads Prevail
North Korea has been a problem for quite a while. Now they test fired missiles on July 4. Can they be more provocative? My gut reaction is that we should bomb the shit out of them on their national holiday. But let's recognize a few circumstances. They're looking for attention. Their long range missile - Tampon II, or whatever it's name is - failed miserably. So, let's deal with the problem but there is no need to rush it.
Key issue when dealing with North Korea is to decide on the end game. Either we're waiting them out and simply focus on managing the problem or pursuing regime change. Of course, we need to nail this issue with our allies and in particular with friends in the area such as South Korea and Japan. ¶ 11:36 PM 0 comments
Key issue when dealing with North Korea is to decide on the end game. Either we're waiting them out and simply focus on managing the problem or pursuing regime change. Of course, we need to nail this issue with our allies and in particular with friends in the area such as South Korea and Japan. ¶ 11:36 PM 0 comments
