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no-one seems to want to address the real-time contexts for this--narratives abour wanting to destroy israel are in the main outmoded--they function to justify irrational responses, like the invasion of lebanon--but they are being abandoned bit by bit. hamas has de facto abandoned this element of its platform.
that hasnt stopped israel from pulverizing the gaza strip.
that action is not about shalit--it is about destroying the palestinian government because they do not like hamas--that action continues, is a humanitarian crisis of significant proportions--and as usual the united states does fuck all to stop it, to influence it.
the follow-up claim is that there can be no negociations because there is no-one to negociate with. (well not directly at least--at an arm's distance, negociations happen.)
meanwhile, 1.5 million people in gaza experience the grinding reality caused by the israeli blockade.
just as they have experienced years and years of brutality at the hands of a regional military superpower, which the palestinians fight using tactics that i deplore, but which i can at least understand.
clearly it is the palestinian groups which are the "terrorists" here. routinised brutality carried out by a state military cannot be "terrorism" right?
you'd have to be an idiot not to connect hezbollah's actions as being linked to what israel is doing in gaza. for the sequence of actual events, look at the graphic i posted earlier--hezbollah launched a rocket attack and took 2 israeli hostages--which is not a good move and i do not condone it--THEN israel invaded southern lebanon--THEN more rocket attacks.
to invade southern lebanon over this seems to me absurd.
completely, wholly absurd.
to cut lebanon off from the world, to destroy the airport, impose a naval blockade, and to bomb suburbs killing 50 in the first day--this seems to me a totally disproportionate response to any sane assessment of the situation.
the americans can say nothing of any substance because their actions in iraq prevent them form saying anything. on what possible basis could this administration make a criticism of israel's invasion of lebanon? so all i see here is the bush administration framing itself out of having any meanignful role in this, except for its usual unqualified support for israeli military actions.
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a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear
it make you sick.
-kamau brathwaite
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