- Joined
- Feb 22, 2006
- Messages
- 216
- Points
- 38
I can see the need and the right of Israel to attack those that send rockets and mortar rounds into their homeland. The indiscriminate targeting of civilians in Israel by Hamas is by very definition an act of terrorism and since it is also sanctioned by the duly elected government of the people of Palestine, as such, it is an act of war. Most civilized nations agree that a country has the right to protect its own people within it's own borders from such attacks and the current view is that you can go after them wherever they reside or choose to hide.
I do however, have a problem with the continued one-sided matter of reporting all actions by Israel as justifiable because they are under attack from Hamas and other terrorist groups. Today we have seen another example of Israel using the fog of war as a means to hide the facts from public scrutiny. I am speaking about the deliberate ramming in international waters of the ship "Dignity", a non-American civilian ship, by Israeli patrol boats. Officially, Israel says it is a mistake or a misunderstanding. The crew and passengers of the "Dignity" see it differently.
This reminds me of the incident during the Six Day War, in June of 1967 when Israel again used the fog of war to hide behind. The attack on the American naval spy ship USS Liberty in international waters at the time, by Israeli Air Force jets and Naval torpedo boats over a very long period of time has always been denied by Israel as a deliberate act of aggression against American naval forces. They said it was all a case of mistaken identity but I believe the facts and more recently leaked documents verify that it was done with all knowledge of the identity and mission of the American spy ship, before and during the attacks. What angers me even more then this political game of who knew what and when, is the complete lack of American military assistance to the USS Liberty. Thirty-four Americans were killed and 171 wounded, for what and who did they perish for ? The fog of war is a flimsy excuse for abandonment by one's own government.
Also, most sad and wrong, was the American governments participation in the cover-up of facts and the continued denial of accountability by both Israel and the Johnson Administration for the outcome of this tragedy. As far as I know, this is still the official position. Once again, the "fog of war" is used to hide behind. Not one of our finer moments in either naval or political history.
This was soon followed by another incident of infamous tragedy, the capture of the USS Pueblo in January, 1968, by the North Koreans. Again, our ship was in international waters and again, the American political powers decided to abandon our flag, our honor and our men for political expediency. I'm sorry to say that in May, 1975, this same behavior was again displayed, this time by the Ford Administration when it abandoned the American Marines on Koh Tang Island after the capture of the "Mayaguez". It seems that the "fog of war" is a convenient excuse to justify poor judgement and bad decisions by our civilian leadership during times of war, either declared or otherwise, usually at the expense of our military members. Perhaps this is why so many of our enemies and some allies as well, feel they can act with impunity against America. Are we a paper tiger ?
Semper Fi
I do however, have a problem with the continued one-sided matter of reporting all actions by Israel as justifiable because they are under attack from Hamas and other terrorist groups. Today we have seen another example of Israel using the fog of war as a means to hide the facts from public scrutiny. I am speaking about the deliberate ramming in international waters of the ship "Dignity", a non-American civilian ship, by Israeli patrol boats. Officially, Israel says it is a mistake or a misunderstanding. The crew and passengers of the "Dignity" see it differently.
This reminds me of the incident during the Six Day War, in June of 1967 when Israel again used the fog of war to hide behind. The attack on the American naval spy ship USS Liberty in international waters at the time, by Israeli Air Force jets and Naval torpedo boats over a very long period of time has always been denied by Israel as a deliberate act of aggression against American naval forces. They said it was all a case of mistaken identity but I believe the facts and more recently leaked documents verify that it was done with all knowledge of the identity and mission of the American spy ship, before and during the attacks. What angers me even more then this political game of who knew what and when, is the complete lack of American military assistance to the USS Liberty. Thirty-four Americans were killed and 171 wounded, for what and who did they perish for ? The fog of war is a flimsy excuse for abandonment by one's own government.
Also, most sad and wrong, was the American governments participation in the cover-up of facts and the continued denial of accountability by both Israel and the Johnson Administration for the outcome of this tragedy. As far as I know, this is still the official position. Once again, the "fog of war" is used to hide behind. Not one of our finer moments in either naval or political history.
This was soon followed by another incident of infamous tragedy, the capture of the USS Pueblo in January, 1968, by the North Koreans. Again, our ship was in international waters and again, the American political powers decided to abandon our flag, our honor and our men for political expediency. I'm sorry to say that in May, 1975, this same behavior was again displayed, this time by the Ford Administration when it abandoned the American Marines on Koh Tang Island after the capture of the "Mayaguez". It seems that the "fog of war" is a convenient excuse to justify poor judgement and bad decisions by our civilian leadership during times of war, either declared or otherwise, usually at the expense of our military members. Perhaps this is why so many of our enemies and some allies as well, feel they can act with impunity against America. Are we a paper tiger ?
Semper Fi
