In the Gaza Strip today, a group of Palestinian terrorists gathered in a farm field and decided to fire several mortar rounds at Israeli civilian targets. One round injured an Israeli woman. Another landed near, but thankfully missed, an Israeli schoolbus filled with children.
In response, an Israeli tank opened fire, killing seven Palestinians and wounding six more.
The headline for the Associated Press story describing this incident reads "Israeli Tank Fire Kills 7 Palestinians".
Another, more accurate headline might read "Palestinians Fire On Israeli Civilians". The most newsworthy event here is an unprovoked Palestinian attack. Without it, there would not have been an Israeli response.
The Palestinians were trying to kill Israelis, but they failed. Israel's retaliation does not become more significant just because its soldiers are skilled enough to hit their targets.
The situation reminds me of a scene from the Whit Stilman film Barcelona, in which Fred, a U.S. Navy officer, is chatting with a European woman at a party:
Woman: You can't say Americans are not more violent than other people.
Fred: No, we're not.
Woman: But all those people killed in shootings in America?
Fred: Oh, shootings, yes. But that doesn't mean Americans are more violent than other people. We're just better shots.
7 comments:
I loved that movie: Fred was so irreverent towards the Euro-Trash. But his being shot by the guerilla on the motorcycle was totally unexpected and shocking.
Hey biker.just a couple of comments, from your ap link.
1.If it bleeds it leads. Yes it was terrorist-militant-palestinian attack, but who died?
2.”Palestinian presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas denounced Israel as the ‘Zionist enemy’ Tuesday — his harshest language yet on the campaign trail' This is just plain sad that these people can't take advantage of Arafat passing and work toward peace by ceasing fire. It seems the Palestinians don't really want peace. If a hardliner is elected by the people of Palestine it is just a continuation of the violence and a tragedy for all the people in that region. Sharon has offered an olive leaf, he can’t hold this offer forever, especially if the militants keep attacking.
3.Were you in the military? By what standard do you define innocents killed, better shooting? A tank firing into a strawberry patch and killing seven kids aged 11-17, and wounding seven others is not "better shots" as you flippantly call it. Scenario: militants plan an attack with homemade rockets fire them and split. You don't have open combat with a tank, it's hit and run. The Israeli soldiers respond by shooting the shit out of a field with innocent civilians there. I am just putting a picture in my head from this news story. Why? Because that’s what happened "Farmer Yehiye Ghaben, 29, said the incident began when five or six masked men fired rockets from the strawberry patch. Farmers took cover, Ghaben said. As the militants were leaving, Israeli troops fired machine guns and tank shells." The bad guys left town, and looks like the ones got shot are innocent too, same as that misfortunate Israeli women. If this is what happened, what it says in the article you linked, that is not "better shots." Even very loosely defined
4.Now remember the Fox thing, I'm sure you get your Fox Right Wing fix in Japan somehow, right? Fair and balanced. It is possible that these kids were militants, I don’t know. No militant group has claimed them, the mother said they were picking strawberry’s. The Israeli soldier: “Lt. Avi Levy, the area army commander, gave a guarded apology. "If we hit innocent Palestinians, I'm sorry for that,"
Now the fair part: it is possible that a bunch of kids staged the attack, and really sad if this is the case, but every indication is that innocents were killed. If it was these kids that were killed, they would have had masks. Or did the other militants stick around to peel the masks off their dead? Unlikely. You should hire someone to read your news before you read it, so you can understand it with out the politically tinted glasses on. *snicker* (sorry couldn't resist a little jab)
Sharon, don't post spoilers without warning people!
I was wondering how long it would take for someone to make your complaint about this post, fast eddie. Thanks for not letting me down.
Operating a tank may not be the same thing as being a sniper, but both are difficult and require skill, training, and practice. And referring to "hitting their targets" allowed me to work in my cool Barcelona reference.
Second, I place no blame on Israel for any civillian deaths. None. Zero.
If you are hanging around in a field where terrorists are launching mortars, maybe you are not really an innocent civillian. Maybe you are helping them. (Unfortunately, Hamas has no qualms about using young kids to do its dirty work.)
But let's assume the some of the Palis killed were completely innocent of any association with or support for terrorists. I blame the terrorists, not Israel for their deaths. By operating out of a civillian area, they invited Israeli retaliation on that area. The blood of the Pali deaths is on their hands.
If you want to be really cynical, you could say Hamas intentionally operates out of civillian areas so that Israel will get negative PR for civillian deaths when it retalliates.
No complaint, just jousting baby! heh. I get the reference, and not cynical at all, realistic in the mind of a terrorist, anything to get more Palestinians on their side. As far as the field I don’t have enough information, but lets pretend, remember objectiveless biker one I don’t have all the facts. I’m Joe innocent at the field picking strawberrys. Strawberry’s grow low to the ground so maybe I’m on my knees looking down. Some kids are there having fun playing, picking some berry’s too. And from behind cover, of some sort, some bushes? A half dozen guys in masks run up and fire off some homemade rockets, then they take off. Next thing I know there’s a tank and soldiers pulls up and starts firing, I’m like “oh shit” I jump in a ditch, and then after all the firing dies down, I hear screaming, I look over and some of those kids are blown up some other people are trying to crawl away. Then soldiers are checking the rest of the field, an ambulance shows up and the medics take these masks off the kids, that got killed and put them in there pocket… Yeah that’s what happened, I forgot those kids had masks on, go ask the ambulance drivers. You think the soldiers secured that field and checked the bodies after ward? Of course.
. Umm “Maybe you were helping them?” Do you think all Palestinians are terrorist? I was at a grocery store shopping one time, and it got robbed, maybe I was helping them. Your reasoning is totally clouded by your political slant. I have no connection to Israelis or Palestinians other then hoping peace breaks out. And that hardliner guy running for office is calling them “Zionist enemies.” I am not ambivalent about calling him a fool. He’s appealing to hate, not desire for peace. You by the same token: Zero, no fault, no blood, it’s all the militants fault. Well you are wrong, both sides are clearly at fault, both sides have their thugs. Not to be insulting at all Japbiker, I’m guessing it’s a good chance you are Jewish. What ever it is, your judgement is strongly clouded by your prejudices.
I was at the library reading about these Israeli grand mothers who volunteer and monitor the check points so Palestinians aren’t treated unfairly . Some people, including the Palestinians want peace so bad they can taste it.
damn posted twice on accident had to delete, well this gives me chance to say "your welcome" Despite disagreeing you are civil as always. And I was thinking you are part of the media, your little blog, maybe it wiil pick up steam. And you can have hard core, what ever they're called, come here and give you big league shit. I mean my modest slant is to be pragmatic.
Since you are someone with finance experience, maybe you could read Neoconomy and review it. I'd like to hear how Bush's tax plan is going to save the U.S. instead of send us all to hell of depression and financial ruin. Just so you know I served 4 years in a Cav Unit with Bradleys and Abrams tanks.
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