Israeli warplanes retaliating for rocket fire from the Gaza Strip pounded dozens of security compounds across the Hamas-ruled territory in unprecedented waves of airstrikes Saturday, killing at least 155 and wounding more than 310 in the single bloodiest day of fighting in recent memory.
1. Comment by Peter V. (Peter V)— December 27,2008 @ 8:49AM
Ratings:-9+31
The Arab culture suffers from a mental problem that can't be ignored. Many of them have overcome it and stepped productively into the 21st century, but there are pockets of infection where local leaders prefer the "old ways" of bloody violence and absolute rule.
The sorry situation is "enabled" by the ambiguous passages in the Quran that can be interpreted either as bloody murder or generous peace at the will of the reader.
Somehow the Arab Muslim culture will have to come to terms with the disparities of interpretation and square themselves away in compliance with the modern world.
5. Comment by Jim H. (JimHH)— December 27,2008 @ 9:08AM
Ratings:-8+9
[This comment has been removed]
6. Comment by Peter V. (Peter V)— December 27,2008 @ 9:13AM
Ratings:-9+20
The Arab "fighters" seem to have neither basic morality nor military pride. Their chosen style is simply "murderous barbarian," like the Mongols and Turks who destroyed their original culture a thousand years ago.
Poverty and ignorance are endemic in many Arab lands. That is where the infection of irrational violence starts and thrives.
At present there are forces within Araby that resist any attempts to address the poverty and ignorance as threats to their power base.
They need Western ideas to help them free themselves from their ancient mindset.
But in the West, we are of two minds: to respect their culture by leaving it alone to work its own way to international compatibility; or to respect their culture by recognizing our own history in it, so that we can give them a helping hand up, to skip over the horror of civil and religious wars.
7. Comment by Evyn R. (evynrubin)— December 27,2008 @ 9:17AM
Ratings:-20+14
I feel terrible about this escalation. I wish the truce could have been renewed, and deepened, and developed into a real example of co-existence. The harrasment of Israeli civilians by Hamas rockets is wrong, obnoxious, and offensive. Israel's current military operation to crush Hamas is also a step in the wrong direction. More bloodshed doesn't help the situation. Both parties simultaneously standing down is still my vision and I won't drop it.
8. Comment by Betty J. (BettsAZ)— December 27,2008 @ 9:34AM
Ratings:-8+34
The so-called "truce" has been a joke!Palestinian rockets have rained down on Israel throughout this "truce".Only when Israel RESPONDS to terror attacks is the "truce" called broken by this upside-down world.
9. Comment by Manuel C. (emmanuel)— December 27,2008 @ 9:39AM
Ratings:-5+17
My wife and I watched Munich last night and had repeated nightmares. As Catholics striving to understand the conflict, the movie provided much fodder for reflection upon our own religion's transgresions. These things go beyond logic and ideology. There is definite evil afoot infecting all sides, including the United States, which provides funding and other support.
10. Comment by Randi L. (RandiL4546)— December 27,2008 @ 9:42AM
Ratings:-13+18
The first thing we should do is get Jimmy Carter involved in something else so he can't do any more harm to the situation there. Maybe he can team up with Al Gore-aloni (the global warming Don) and do the whole global warming tour.
The only thing that the Plaestinians understand is brute force but that will be Israel's call. I support them in whatever they have to do to stop the killing and terror that palestinians spread out over there.
11. Comment by John V. (Vendetta)— December 27,2008 @ 9:42AM
Ratings:-11+3
[This comment has been removed]
12. Comment by George s. (5245)— December 27,2008 @ 10:00AM
Ratings:-9+24
So #11, Israel slaughters civilians and hamas does not? Talking about oral diarrhea, you just puked up a mouthfull. Remember the terrorists wiil cut off your head even though you pander to them.
14. Comment by John K. (eSleuth)— December 27,2008 @ 10:05AM
Ratings:-6+27
The Hamas is raining missiles on Israel, what do they expect, for Israel just to sit there and take it. I support Israel in the actions it has taken. If Hamas would stop, so would Israel,,,,
15. Comment by John V. (Vendetta)— December 27,2008 @ 10:09AM
Ratings:-24+12
George S. your friends are patriots and you enemies are terrorists.
Don't you think that the other side thinks the same way?
We think that George Washington was a patriot...the British thought that he was a terrorist.
Clue (in case you need to get one)...Had he been defeated, right now, would have beem taught (and believe) that he was a terrorist who was defeated before he could do any harm.
18. Comment by George s. (5245)— December 27,2008 @ 10:31AM
Ratings:-9+24
#15, I don't think Washington Killed and tortured innocents. What would you have Israel do, just sit on their hands and let hamas destroy them? Some people need to get real and less philosophical.
19. Comment by david w. (dbzero)— December 27,2008 @ 10:35AM
Ratings:-7+24
Blatent propaganda by reports describing Arab women and children dying but magically no Israeli collateral damage from Arab rockets. The Jews need another leader like Golda Meir to take extreme retaliatory action against these terrorists .
20. Comment by Burt R. (Burt G)— December 27,2008 @ 10:39AM
Ratings:-14+20
Israel has been fighting these animals for YEARS. We should be taking lessons from them. Instead we are too "PC" while dealing with Islamoterrorists. Heck we even elected one of their biggest friends as presdient!!!!
21. Comment by SJ R. (****)— December 27,2008 @ 10:49AM
Ratings:-7+20
Israel left Gaza in 2005 after a 38-year occupation, but the withdrawal did not lead to better relations with Palestinians in the territory as Israeli officials had hoped.
Instead, the evacuation was followed by a sharp rise in militant attacks on Israeli border communities that on several occasions provoked harsh Israeli military reprisals.
This is what the so-called "hard liners" in Israel (and "hawks" in this country) were warning would happen by giving up Gaza. Another failed left-wing social experiment, this time at the cost of and threat to many Israeli cities and lives.
22. Comment by Connie G. (DesertHiker)— December 27,2008 @ 11:12AM
Ratings:-5+17
With Israeli, Pakistani and Indian violence simmering I really do fear a more escalated global war in the coming few months. And the US is going to get sucked into this one regardless.
25. Comment by Peter V. (Peter V)— December 27,2008 @ 1:33PM
Ratings:-3+13
Tony...a little history here for #24.
Since 1948, sixty years ago, they have gone to war FOUR times and pounded the livin' crap outa the A-rabs whether taking them on all at the same time or one at a time, down they go in an awesome hurry...
BUT THEN the UN steps in to save their collective asses in the nick of time, EVERY TIME! It is pretty disgusting.
You could hardly believe that A-rabs have a self-image of being great warriors in the name of the unbeatable God they named "Allah." Something is desperately wrong with the image. Maybe their Allah is trying to get a message through.
26. Comment by Arnold I. (aindictor)— December 27,2008 @ 2:47PM
Ratings:-2+12
For those of you that can't understand why Israel has resorted to force I can give you 6 million reasons why they will not sit bye and watch missiles rain down on their territory.
27. Comment by Tim S. (bustersdad)— December 27,2008 @ 3:15PM
Ratings:-2+12
Sadly, it seems there doesn't seem to be any "roadmap" to peace in the region. Israel wishes to be allowed to peacefully exist. When attacked, she responds. The response gets a whole lot more press than the blatant rocket attacks into Israel. Perhaps Hammas and Co. have a better public relations firm. If and when those seeking a Palestinian state wish to truly live in peace, it will happen. Until that time...
28. Comment by David J. (Truth)— December 27,2008 @ 3:54PM
Ratings:-2+13
It is sad that the Hamas fighters are so cowardly that they hide amongst their civilians thereby putting innocent people at risk. They fire from homes, near schools, etc... then seek sympathy when 'civilians' are hit.
Hamas is a terrorist organization that needs to be disbanded...anyone who feels otherwise should just read their charter that is filled with hate.
29. Comment by Craig S. (bluesky)— December 27,2008 @ 4:08PM
Ratings:-2+9
Due to the fact that I lack the experience in the pest control business. It is of my opinion that Israel completed and was successful with this long awaited three minute air strike over Gaza.
I do not believe in the numbers of dead or wounded provided by the media.
I only hope that Hamas would heed to this warning. To the people of Hamas's Gaza. Make peace for your own good. Life is good with peace. Hamas, stop being a pest to your own people.
31. Comment by clark c. (beaker)— December 27,2008 @ 6:26PM
Ratings:-1+7
#30 John
Live by the sword, die by the sword. One cannot dish it out and not expect the same in return. The families of the two Israeli girls killed last week could claim massacre. Murderers must have a short memory in order to sleep at night.
34. Comment by Peter V. (Peter V)— December 27,2008 @ 8:30PM
Ratings:-0+7
Beautiful piece Karl 33. It brings to mind the grim fact that A-rabs in their present configuration have lost not only science but also their art. They have tossed it all away in the name of their misinterpretation of God.
35. Comment by Andrew J. (5960)— December 27,2008 @ 11:22PM
Ratings:-1+0
Peter V- In post #1 when you write about bloody violence and absolute rule, I thought you were referring to the obscenities perpetrated on the Palestinians by the Israeli government.
36. Comment by Andrew J. (5960)— December 27,2008 @ 11:30PM
Ratings:-3+0
This attack on the Palestinians is a cheap ploy a month ahead of Israeli elections. It is shameful that some Israeli politicians are willing to kill and wound hundreds of people just to score better in the polls. They know their airstrikes will not stop the rocket attacks. They have used airstrikes before (and bulldozing homes and businesses, and economic strangulation via blockades) and none of it has worked. So why would they do it again? They are not stupid. The one thing to gain is election results.
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Israel launches air strikes on Gaza, at least 155 dead
Israeli warplanes retaliating for rocket fire from the Gaza Strip pounded dozens of security compounds across the Hamas-ruled territory in unprecedented waves of airstrikes Saturday, killing at least 155 and wounding more than 310 in the single bloodiest day of fighting in recent memory.The Arab culture suffers from a mental problem that can't be ignored. Many of them have overcome it and stepped productively into the 21st century, but there are pockets of infection where local leaders prefer the "old ways" of bloody violence and absolute rule.
The sorry situation is "enabled" by the ambiguous passages in the Quran that can be interpreted either as bloody murder or generous peace at the will of the reader.
Somehow the Arab Muslim culture will have to come to terms with the disparities of interpretation and square themselves away in compliance with the modern world.
Report this comment
Israel has a right to defend themselvesand I support their actions.
Report this comment
The Palestinians were warned. What do they expect?
Report this comment
Israel has a right to defend itself. And to think that some of our tax dollars are going to Hamas.
Report this comment
[This comment has been removed]
The Arab "fighters" seem to have neither basic morality nor military pride. Their chosen style is simply "murderous barbarian," like the Mongols and Turks who destroyed their original culture a thousand years ago.
Poverty and ignorance are endemic in many Arab lands. That is where the infection of irrational violence starts and thrives.
At present there are forces within Araby that resist any attempts to address the poverty and ignorance as threats to their power base.
They need Western ideas to help them free themselves from their ancient mindset.
But in the West, we are of two minds: to respect their culture by leaving it alone to work its own way to international compatibility; or to respect their culture by recognizing our own history in it, so that we can give them a helping hand up, to skip over the horror of civil and religious wars.
Report this comment
I feel terrible about this escalation. I wish the truce could have been renewed, and deepened, and developed into a real example of co-existence. The harrasment of Israeli civilians by Hamas rockets is wrong, obnoxious, and offensive. Israel's current military operation to crush Hamas is also a step in the wrong direction. More bloodshed doesn't help the situation. Both parties simultaneously standing down is still my vision and I won't drop it.
Report this comment
The so-called "truce" has been a joke!Palestinian rockets have rained down on Israel throughout this "truce".Only when Israel RESPONDS to terror attacks is the "truce" called broken by this upside-down world.
Report this comment
My wife and I watched Munich last night and had repeated nightmares. As Catholics striving to understand the conflict, the movie provided much fodder for reflection upon our own religion's transgresions. These things go beyond logic and ideology. There is definite evil afoot infecting all sides, including the United States, which provides funding and other support.
Report this comment
The first thing we should do is get Jimmy Carter involved in something else so he can't do any more harm to the situation there. Maybe he can team up with Al Gore-aloni (the global warming Don) and do the whole global warming tour.
The only thing that the Plaestinians understand is brute force but that will be Israel's call. I support them in whatever they have to do to stop the killing and terror that palestinians spread out over there.
Report this comment
[This comment has been removed]
So #11, Israel slaughters civilians and hamas does not? Talking about oral diarrhea, you just puked up a mouthfull. Remember the terrorists wiil cut off your head even though you pander to them.
Report this comment
John V - suggest you are your Hussein-loving friends look up "moral relativism" in the dictionary, as you all wallow in it.
Report this comment
The Hamas is raining missiles on Israel, what do they expect, for Israel just to sit there and take it. I support Israel in the actions it has taken. If Hamas would stop, so would Israel,,,,
Report this comment
George S. your friends are patriots and you enemies are terrorists.
Don't you think that the other side thinks the same way?
We think that George Washington was a patriot...the British thought that he was a terrorist.
Clue (in case you need to get one)...Had he been defeated, right now, would have beem taught (and believe) that he was a terrorist who was defeated before he could do any harm.
God save the Queen.
Report this comment
John V. -- simply pathetic.
Report this comment
These two countries want war in the worst way.
Report this comment
#15, I don't think Washington Killed and tortured innocents. What would you have Israel do, just sit on their hands and let hamas destroy them? Some people need to get real and less philosophical.
Report this comment
Blatent propaganda by reports describing Arab women and children dying but magically no Israeli collateral damage from Arab rockets. The Jews need another leader like Golda Meir to take extreme retaliatory action against these terrorists .
Report this comment
Israel has been fighting these animals for YEARS. We should be taking lessons from them. Instead we are too "PC" while dealing with Islamoterrorists. Heck we even elected one of their biggest friends as presdient!!!!
Report this comment
Israel left Gaza in 2005 after a 38-year occupation, but the withdrawal did not lead to better relations with Palestinians in the territory as Israeli officials had hoped.
Instead, the evacuation was followed by a sharp rise in militant attacks on Israeli border communities that on several occasions provoked harsh Israeli military reprisals.
This is what the so-called "hard liners" in Israel (and "hawks" in this country) were warning would happen by giving up Gaza. Another failed left-wing social experiment, this time at the cost of and threat to many Israeli cities and lives.
Report this comment
With Israeli, Pakistani and Indian violence simmering I really do fear a more escalated global war in the coming few months. And the US is going to get sucked into this one regardless.
Report this comment
Well well, been there and done that, 22.
Many people in the US felt that way in 1939 as war was simmering all over the world in Asia and in Europe. They feared we would be "drawn into it."
In hindsight we should have been tooling and training at full speed KNOWING our part would be essential.
But no, America's peaceniks held out for neutrality, which cost the world MILLIONS of unnecessarily lost lives.
Report this comment
I can't understand why these two nations are still playing around with this tit for tat crap.
Grow a pair, go into an all out battle and settle this thing.
Report this comment
Tony...a little history here for #24.
Since 1948, sixty years ago, they have gone to war FOUR times and pounded the livin' crap outa the A-rabs whether taking them on all at the same time or one at a time, down they go in an awesome hurry...
BUT THEN the UN steps in to save their collective asses in the nick of time, EVERY TIME! It is pretty disgusting.
You could hardly believe that A-rabs have a self-image of being great warriors in the name of the unbeatable God they named "Allah." Something is desperately wrong with the image. Maybe their Allah is trying to get a message through.
Report this comment
For those of you that can't understand why Israel has resorted to force I can give you 6 million reasons why they will not sit bye and watch missiles rain down on their territory.
Sadly, it seems there doesn't seem to be any "roadmap" to peace in the region. Israel wishes to be allowed to peacefully exist. When attacked, she responds. The response gets a whole lot more press than the blatant rocket attacks into Israel. Perhaps Hammas and Co. have a better public relations firm. If and when those seeking a Palestinian state wish to truly live in peace, it will happen. Until that time...
Report this comment
It is sad that the Hamas fighters are so cowardly that they hide amongst their civilians thereby putting innocent people at risk. They fire from homes, near schools, etc... then seek sympathy when 'civilians' are hit.
Hamas is a terrorist organization that needs to be disbanded...anyone who feels otherwise should just read their charter that is filled with hate.
Report this comment
Due to the fact that I lack the experience in the pest control business. It is of my opinion that Israel completed and was successful with this long awaited three minute air strike over Gaza.
I do not believe in the numbers of dead or wounded provided by the media.
I only hope that Hamas would heed to this warning. To the people of Hamas's Gaza. Make peace for your own good. Life is good with peace. Hamas, stop being a pest to your own people.
Report this comment
It's a shame that some people do not recognize a massacre when they see it. It's a really pity for humanity.
The Palestine Review
http://palestinereview.com
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#30 John
Live by the sword, die by the sword. One cannot dish it out and not expect the same in return. The families of the two Israeli girls killed last week could claim massacre. Murderers must have a short memory in order to sleep at night.
Report this comment
Arabs learn to hate Jews with their mother's milk. Until that changes, nothing will change.
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Peace will come to the Middle East when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us.
Golda Meir
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Beautiful piece Karl 33. It brings to mind the grim fact that A-rabs in their present configuration have lost not only science but also their art. They have tossed it all away in the name of their misinterpretation of God.
Report this comment
Peter V- In post #1 when you write about bloody violence and absolute rule, I thought you were referring to the obscenities perpetrated on the Palestinians by the Israeli government.
Report this comment
This attack on the Palestinians is a cheap ploy a month ahead of Israeli elections. It is shameful that some Israeli politicians are willing to kill and wound hundreds of people just to score better in the polls. They know their airstrikes will not stop the rocket attacks. They have used airstrikes before (and bulldozing homes and businesses, and economic strangulation via blockades) and none of it has worked. So why would they do it again? They are not stupid. The one thing to gain is election results.
Report this comment
#36
So Israel is supposed to sit there and be bombarded with rockets and do nothing? You are an idiot....
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