naraburns nihil supernum
2yr ago
(text post)
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Israel-Gaza Megathread #2
This is a refreshed megathread for any posts on the conflict between (so far, and so far as I know) Hamas and the Israeli government, as well as related geopolitics. Culture War thread rules apply.
This reminds me of the Afghanistan War, which I've long thought was big mistake, by which I don't just mean we shouldn't have tried to overthrow the Taliban and turn the country into a modern liberal democracy. I mean we shouldn't have invaded at all. The US have just accepted that the occasional terrorist attack of that magnitude is actually not that big a deal.
Hamas' attack was proportionally far worse, but still, even if they could remove Hamas, even if it didn't get replaced with something worse, and even if they didn't inspire more terrorism from other Arabs, it's hard to see how the amount of destruction is worth it. Why not just improve security so that it doesn't happen again? It sounds cliché but I think it's true: the reaction is what they wanted.
Generally, my impression, like many others', is that the Israelis seem far less genocidal towards the Palestinians than vice versa, but that has been much less true in the last week. Many Israelis, especially those in power, seem utterly unconcerned with the welfare of Palestinians generally.
They don't seem to have a plan and this war may turn out to be much difficult than Afghanistan. I think they're acting irrationally out of anger, just like Americans did immediately after the September 11th attacks. I'm surprised how little weight has been given to what I thought were the lessons of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
The risk is that if they do nothing and keep beefing up defenses, eventually Hamas comes up with something the defenses can’t stand and commits a colossal attack (bigger than last saturday’s) or even threatens Israel’s existence in some way.
Destroying Al Qaeda in Afghanistan was probably the right move for the US.
How, exactly, are they supposed to destroy Israel? This is not a very organized group and it really looked like the Saturday attack was basically everything they can muster.
Unless they get their hands on a nuke or something, I just don’t see it(and even then, they can’t build a reliable delivery mechanism, and Iran is probably not willing to give them one because they’re crazy).
Generally, my impression, like many others', is that the Israelis seem far less genocidal towards the Palestinians than vice versa, but that has been much less true in the last week. Many Israelis, especially those in power, seem utterly unconcerned with the welfare of Palestinians generally.
To the modal Israeli, the death of Palestinians is an acceptable cost. To the modal Palestinian, the death of Israelis is a cause for celebration.
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Notes -
This reminds me of the Afghanistan War, which I've long thought was big mistake, by which I don't just mean we shouldn't have tried to overthrow the Taliban and turn the country into a modern liberal democracy. I mean we shouldn't have invaded at all. The US have just accepted that the occasional terrorist attack of that magnitude is actually not that big a deal.
Hamas' attack was proportionally far worse, but still, even if they could remove Hamas, even if it didn't get replaced with something worse, and even if they didn't inspire more terrorism from other Arabs, it's hard to see how the amount of destruction is worth it. Why not just improve security so that it doesn't happen again? It sounds cliché but I think it's true: the reaction is what they wanted.
Generally, my impression, like many others', is that the Israelis seem far less genocidal towards the Palestinians than vice versa, but that has been much less true in the last week. Many Israelis, especially those in power, seem utterly unconcerned with the welfare of Palestinians generally.
They don't seem to have a plan and this war may turn out to be much difficult than Afghanistan. I think they're acting irrationally out of anger, just like Americans did immediately after the September 11th attacks. I'm surprised how little weight has been given to what I thought were the lessons of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
The risk is that if they do nothing and keep beefing up defenses, eventually Hamas comes up with something the defenses can’t stand and commits a colossal attack (bigger than last saturday’s) or even threatens Israel’s existence in some way.
Destroying Al Qaeda in Afghanistan was probably the right move for the US.
How, exactly, are they supposed to destroy Israel? This is not a very organized group and it really looked like the Saturday attack was basically everything they can muster.
Unless they get their hands on a nuke or something, I just don’t see it(and even then, they can’t build a reliable delivery mechanism, and Iran is probably not willing to give them one because they’re crazy).
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To the modal Israeli, the death of Palestinians is an acceptable cost. To the modal Palestinian, the death of Israelis is a cause for celebration.
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