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Originally Posted by aceventura3
I don't know what happened and the truth may prove elusive because even eye witnesses may not know the whole story.
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So far we have definitive evidence the information coming out of Israel is dishonest (edited tapes, lies about people on the flotilla, stories changing), however we still don't have any evidence the witnesses from the aid shipment are lying. This, to me, signals that, if you are to put the word of one party over the other, logic dictates it should be the civilian humanitarians. A lot of people may be uncomfortable with that answer, but it remains regardless.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aceventura3
Why go in guns blazing on this one ship? If what you share is true, we are talking cold blooded murder. Do you think the Israeli government authorized this act of potential murder as described or was it a case of individuals over-reacting?
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Judging by the recent history of IDF reaction to what it perceives as a threat, it seems perfectly reasonable. Please remember, Israel has an admitted policy of asymmetrical warfare, in which they respond much more strongly than what's necessary in dealing with any perceived attack or threat. This flotilla represents a new kind of threat to Israel, one they don't know how to defend against. Consider the case of the young American woman that was run over by an Israeli bulldozer for trying to, using nonviolent protest, stop the bulldozing of Palestinian homes to expand settlements. They didn't hesitate to respond to nonviolent resistance with deadly force.
The simple concept behind the asymmetrical response policy is deterrence. The Israeli government justifies the way it reacts to possible threats with the rationalization that it will deter further possible threats of a similar nature. Consider how it reacted to Lebanon in 2006 or Gaza in 2008. These were not proportional responses by any measure. Similarly, the response to blockade running in the name of nonviolent resistance was always going to be a violent one on the part of the IDF because that's how they respond to anything. What I don't think the humanitarian protesters understood was just how far the IDF was
prepared to go in the name of preventing the next aid flotilla.
The irony is Israel's policy of extreme response is its greatest threat in that it inspires similarly extreme reactions.
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Originally Posted by aceventura3
Again, a fundamental question is why would they take the high risk of challenging trained military (trained to kill), in the dark, with a radio response of defiance, with innocent people on-board (aged and children), and not be prepared for a potential violent response?
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Why? For the people of Gaza. It's the same reason aid workers go into war zones all over the planet, from Darfur to Burma, with the singular mission of helping the helpless. Is it foolish? I can't really say. It's certainly idealistic and it's absolutely brave. The only way this blockade is going to end is if pressure from the rest of the world becomes unbearable, and this incident has certainly set us on that path.
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Originally Posted by aceventura3
I am not arguing the politics of the issue, I am just stating what I now see as obvious given the information made available to me. The motivation has to go beyond food and aid. And if so, what was the motivation - I think I know - but do you insist that it was only food and aid?
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The primary mission was to get aid to Gaza. The secondary mission was nonviolent protest.
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Originally Posted by aceventura3
My questions are simple. I have not read clear responses. Hell, you could even say they where just foolish and reckless. Even if the other party is wrong or responds with excessive force, they should have known the risk and I expect that they did. There was clearly another agenda outside of food and aid - we may disagree on what that is, but how can you honestly take the position that food and aid was the only thing on the agenda?
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So the "agenda" of nonviolent protest against a humanitarian disaster should be condemned? I strongly, strongly disagree. These people risked their lives, and some of them lost their lives, in the name of freeing an imprisoned and abused people. They chose to respond to the Israeli government in a much more brave and selfless way than the Palestinian terrorists who fire rockets. We could all learn a thing or two from the agenda they were pushing.