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Israel's Flotilla Massacre: Made in the USA
Maybe the Obama administration will use this moment to show us a real "change we can believe in" for Middle East policy.
ISTANBUL--When Israeli commandoes launched their pirate-style assault on the unarmed flotilla of ships carrying hundreds of humanitarian aid workers and 10,000 tons of supplies for the besieged Gaza Strip, killing at least nine activists and injuring scores more, part of the operation was labeled "Made in the USA."
Decades of uncritical U.S. support—including, most recently, the Bush-initiated and Obama-implemented commitment of $30 billion of U.S. tax money in military aid to Israel over a decade--has ensured that Israel's military power (nuclear and conventional) remains unchallengeable. A U.S. pattern of using UN Security Council vetoes to protect Israel from accountability for its crimes has ensured that Israel can do whatever it likes with those U.S.-provided weapons, regardless of which U.S. domestic or international laws may be broken. So U.S. complicity in the recent massacre at sea is beyond question.
Israel has long relied on the numerous U.S.-made and U.S.-financed Apache and Blackhawk war helicopters in its arsenal. It's a good bet those were in use in the May 31 assault in international waters. Yet, use of U.S.-provided weapons--even to Israel--is severely limited by our own laws. The Arms Export Control Act (AECA) prohibits any recipient from using U.S. weapons except under very narrow circumstances--for security within its own borders, or for direct self-defense. And no amount of Israeli spin can make us believe that an attack by heavily armed commandos, jumping onto the decks of an unarmed civilian ship in international waters has anything to do with self-defense. (Especially for a flotilla whose leaders made sure to have every boat, passenger and package inspected by European port authorities before they set sail for Gaza to prove there were no weapons on board.)
So if this was not about self-defense, what was it about? Israel has apparently decided that it's better to be perceived as savage than as weak. Here in Turkey, home to most of the dead and injured among the international activists, 10,000 people marched from the Israeli consulate to Istanbul's main square, while thousands more took to the streets in Ankara, demanding international accountability and immediate action to end Israel's U.S.-backed blockade of Gaza.
Pressured by the U.S. refusal to allow its ally to face the global outrage, the UN Security Council failed to condemn the Israeli attack. Instead, the Council issued a presidential statement (which doesn't carry the force of law) condemning "those acts" resulting in deaths, without identifying Israeli responsibility. The Council decision was another indication that so far, the Obama administration remains more committed to protecting Israel from being held accountable for its war crimes than it is committed to international law, human rights and the principle of accountability.
In the first 24 hours after the raid on the Gaza-bound ship, the Obama administration limited itself to expressions of concern and regret for the loss of life, and a polite request to Israel for "clarifications." But maybe this will mark the beginning of a shift in U.S. policy.
Maybe the Obama administration will use this moment to show us a real "change we can believe in" for Middle East policy. Maybe, if the White House hears from enough of us, Washington just might tell Israel that we would rather keep that $30 billion here at home, creating 600,000 new jobs, instead of supporting a foreign military force apparently proud of killing humanitarian workers trying to break an illegal blockade to bring wheelchairs, construction materials, and children's toys to a besieged population. Maybe, just maybe, our government will join the rest of the world in demanding that Israeli leaders be held accountable for their murderous assault.
Maybe something positive could can emerge from so much blood.
- Posted in
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Show All"Maybe the Obama administration will use this moment to show us a real "change we can believe in" for Middle East policy."
IMHO that will never happen. Just look around. We live in a country that is run by a pig headed mean spirited government. We have been fighting a war on drugs that has been going on for decades, blockade on Cuba for decades, and now a multi generational war on terrorism that by its very definition has no end in sight.
The US will blindly support Israel's vicious government until hell literally freezes over.
.......Or until Hell comes to our front door-for real this time.
Maybe if dreams were horses, beggers would ride. I assume this litany of maybes is a rhetorical device. There's a great Inkspots song titled "Maybe".
Bennis writes: "Maybe something positive could can emerge from so much blood."
Like what? I remain pessimistic.
Yeah, and maybe George Bush will turn himself in as a war criminal.
Hoa binh
I would also add and maybe Barack Obama will turn himself into The Hague for the war crimes and crimes against humanity that he has committed against the Afghans and the Pakistanis.
Yes and maybe all the still living Israeli leaders of the last 60 years will also turn themselves in and write letters of apology for murder, ethnic cleansing and lies. It would be interesting to see Sharon's vegetating body (what a symbol!) try to defend itself in front of the tribunal.
It's occurred to me just how very much Israel's policies are "made in the USA." It's not just the fact all their weapons are supplied by the USA and that the USA provides indispensable (and unconditional) diplomatic support in the UN Security Council, or even that the US has been instrumental since day one in establishing the State of Israel.
No, it goes beyond that. If you look at Israel's attitude towards the native Palestinian people who inhabit(ed) the land that is now known as Israel, it very much mirrors the attitude of the European settlers toward the native peoples who once inhabited North America. Israel's policies have been based on subjugation, conquest, displacement, oppression, marginalization and brute force since the very founding of the Jewish State. They have destroyed Palestinians' livelihoods by eliminating olive trees and attacking fishing boats, much as the whites destroyed the livelihoods of Native Americans through the systematic destruction of the buffalo population and the introduction of agriculture in replacement of hunting and gathering.
The Israelis have forced the Palestinians into tiny, unsustainable enclaves like the Gaza Strip and a fragmented West Bank, just as the US government forced Native Americans into tiny enclaves known as "reservations." The Israelis have violated every agreement reached with the Palestinians, just as the US has violated every treaty it established with the North American tribes.
I've truly come to believe that all of Israeli policy is modeled on the racist and genocidal policies of the United States in its treatment of its native peoples. Perhaps this is why the US is so eager to go along with whatever Israel does -- perhaps Israel is nothing but an extension of a Judeo-Christian "Manifest Destiny."
Another similarity/parallel between the respective American and Israeli genocides is the institutionalization of lies in both cases.
Sioux Rose
DC: Powerful post. I tried to say something along these lines in a thread a week ago, and was attacked. A lot of people in this forum want easily delineated good guys and bad guys, someone to unambiguously project their anger and wrath towards. The problem is that every one who demands these accusations of Israel, must also demand same for their own nation and its acts; and much of these behaviors spring from Europe. At the heart of it all is racism or the belief that one group is entitled, by blood line, religion, race, or claim to others' assets... while another is not. It's exceedingly important to deconstruct the arguments and philosophies that lead to hierarchical societies or one will fall to be replaced by yet another.
The time for the Circle has come. Humanity has murdered far too many of its brothers and sisters over the illusion that one "team" is on (or represents) the wrong side. The path to inclusion is not the same (since a few in this forum may not be able to discern this distinction) as demanding that everyone act, believe, dress, and speak along narrow rule-based lines. And therein lies the rub and challenge as humanity moves through The Transition to arrive at a new place in time. In the process of arriving, this multi-faceted organism will be compelled to invent new plans, purposes, possibilities, and promise. The old ways are dying. The center not only cannot hold, it is COMING APART. (I ching #23, which was THE number on 9-11-2001, and will repeat this year on 9-11-2010.)
Siuox,
Do you have a second to explain the significance of 23, both with respect to the I-Ching and to 9/11? You have me very intrigued, especially since 23 was the number highlighted by Robert Anton Wilson in many of his works. Have you ever read anything by him? He was good friends with Timothy Leary, believed quite ardently in the beauty and power of marijuana and psychedelics, wrote extensively on all things esoteric, and was an editor at Playboy Magazine . . . to give you an idea of where he was coming from.
His most famous books were The Illuminatus Trilogy (written with Robert Shea) and The Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy, novels that covered just about every esoteric and non-mainstream subject ever conceived under the sun. Throughout his non-fiction books (especially The Cosmic Trigger books) and various interviews, he repeatedly mentioned how the number 23 kept appearing in his life over and over.
So, like I said, you have me very intrigued.
Sioux Rose
Seventh Son: Thanks for the reference. He sounds like an interesting person, someone I should read.
I had an intimation to take a person's birth date and convert it into one of the I ching's 64 "life-grams," or kuas/hexagrams. I opened the Wilhelm translation/edition to the exact page I was seeking (it's about 700 pages) and took that as an "omen of agreement." That was almost 30 years ago, and I have been using that system on friends & clients since.
Here is how it works:
Let's say someone is born January 15, 1965:
1 (January) + 15 = 16 and the year I count as single digits: 1 + 9+ 6+ 5= 21
Combined, the sum is 37 which merits the I ching Kua of "Family."
This is my own hybrid, and it worked beautifully until we got to 2000, because now every 9 years the same number will duplicated.
9 + 11 + 2001 (3) = 23, which is the hexagram for "SPLITTING APART" in the I ching. I tend to keep a running tab of these items, and basic astrological formations each day; so when I was riding my bike to my favorite coffee shop in St. Pete, Florida that morning KNOWING the number (splitting apart), seeing IT displayed on the TV set in that coffee shop blew my mind.
Synchronicity is something I am more aware of than most because I study the "sign language" that is taking place all the time. I am not specifying splitting apart via violent building collapse this year; however, there is something to numerology and 9 means "climax." Thus what took place 9 years ago may in fact mature on 9-11-2010. (It also adds up to 23.)
It seems that the entire global economy being infiltrated with the faux equivalent of items of inherent worth (derivatives/swaps) is collapsing that system. The morally repugnant sale of major weapons around the world is collapsing efforts towards peace. And our Gulf of Mexico is one of many collapsing ecosystems. Ultimately, these are all connected.
I have sung the mantra of karmic blowback for some time in this forum, and so much of it is already underway. A corrupt organism must collapse so that something else can take its place. I believe humanity is on the threshold of this very thing. And given the metaphor of "End Times," it seems to be taking place in sector after sector; as those living near New Orleans must feel that they've been star witnesses to the death and hopeful resurrection more than once! Perhaps some regions will be spared.
Peace.
Very interesting. Thank you for taking the time to put that together.
I think you would like Robert Anton Wilson. I would imagine any library of significant size near your home would have some of his books. He died last year or the year before.
"I've truly come to believe that all of Israeli policy is modeled on the racist and genocidal policies of the United States in its treatment of its native peoples. Perhaps this is why the US is so eager to go along with whatever Israel does" -- (DC–CPH)
This is correct.
The 'interface' between Israel and America is a 'mirrored' one, where they reflect one another seamlessly.
The image mirroring must be continuous, as Israel is a 'poster child' of the continuing American manifest destiny. This is paralleled (actually duplicated) in the mutually dynamic militarization of both the political and cultural spheres of the symbiotic states.
When America looks in the mirror it sees Israel, and likes what it sees.
Permanent war has now become a veritable raison d'être for both countries. So much so that peace is an incomprehensible anathema, that would signal the very end of the dynamically integrated 'beings' of both terror states. For that is indeed, all they can really do. All they 'know' what to do. Continue into the breach– play out the tropes which defined them from the very beginning.
The ruthless genocidal annihilation and suppression of their native populations is mutually reinforcing, one could almost say, inspirational.
Israel provides a wish fulfilling fantasy of what the U.S. most desires: An exact reflection of its own conduct and history– operating with complete impunity in the domain of blood hysteria.
Together they metastasize a mutually constitutive spectacle of über violence whose expression can only be expansive.
That is the cover for the future use of nuclear weaponry by Israel. It is already 'acceptable' and hence, permitted by the American precedent.
Israel has now so deliberately–and with such obscene gusto– proceeded into and positioned itself in the terra incognita of the unconscionable, that there is no turning back. The table has been set.
Into the maw of extreme, ultimate terror with joy in their miserable hearts!
Well. how about considering how we look on the world stage as Israel's ally. Is appearing strong all that matters to us or do we have enough strength within ourselves as a nation to want justice and desire to be seen as a fair arbiter. By the way Israel isn't afraid to tell us to buzz off when we merely suggest a freeze in West Bank settlements. Maybe we should cut their aid when they attack a US warship or refuse to enter into meaningful road map negotiations and when they slaughter innocents on the high seas maybe we could appear a little bit pissed. It wouldn't do our world image any harm. After all we don't want to appear weak do we--having little Israel pushing us around. Appearance you know is everything.
Maybe Obama will use this for real change..dream on..Obama is carrying the same water Bush was for the real people in charge,the only thing he is a better salesman so far.
'Maybe something positive could can emerge from so much blood.'
This is gumming it. The Obama administration is determined to gum it too.
Now is long past the time to question the validity of this Israel made by Jews and the USA and history. Better late than never. The Jews who have been running the show there have displayed an abysmal ineptitude. Jews who have supported them are either stupid or swayed like little children by loyalty and conceit. It has been an animal reaction to the appalling treatment they received at the hands of the Nazi, who in turn were prior victims of arrogance. Neither was blameless in the preceding years.
But its time to become human. Israel can do it. Despite contortions the huge asset of its Judaism and education can make it achieve greatness.
Let us hope but also prepare for war, for that is arguably what they and the prime instigator the USA have in mind; a collapse into bestiality for which they have been preparing for many years.
Gums are not enough.
Yeah, just like maybe Obama would have used the invasion of Gaza that killed approximately 1400 Gazans to turn a new leaf in US policy.
It's worth remembering, the Germans who saw through Hitler's deceit had no chance of changing the course of the Third Reich. The stranglehold the Nazis had on the German parliament and the German media was airtight.
So too today, the Zionist influence on the US Congress and American media is practically invincible. The best chance for global justice lies beyond the borders of the United States.
Forget the meaningless crap that spews from the mouth of Barack Obama. It's words and actions from the likes of Turkey and Iran that will bring real Hope and Change to a new world of Truth.
"The best chance for global justice lies beyond the borders of the United States." –(zorex)
–Correct.
And only there.
A chance the human world will one day have to take upon itself as a self-reflexive form of absolutely necessary 'chemo therapy' against the inhuman resident.
America may ulcerate– but the puss will rise to surface as it always has, where it cauterizes.
That cauterization, that rejuvenation– can no longer be permitted. Resuscitation cannot be an option.
Israel, now tumescent with decay, rife with evil, revels in it. It too must be ended. There is, as with America, no redemption possible. Those horses left the barn long ago.
But when Ahab goes down with the ship, it is clear, he would take everyone down with him.
That's just the way America works and is.
Don't hold your breath, Phyllis Bennis. Politicians are too afraid to say what Helen Thomas just did yesterday. Somehow being called anti-Semitic is the worst of epithets. And anyone calling the Freedom Flotilla's failure anything but a victory for democratic Israel is anti-Semitic.
As Rabbi Lerner asserts: The best path to peace is a new spirit of open-hearted contrition and atonement, leading to a strategy of generosity to replace the current strategy of military power and domination by Israel and acts of violence or terror by Palestinians. Both sides have co-created this larger struggle, and both sides need to turn to the other in a spirit of contrition and genuine recognition of the legitimacy of the other side's narrative, difficult as that may be for each side to do. It is not power of military prowess nor mobilization of outrage that will solve this struggle, but rather an attitude of love and generosity of spirit that will break the cycle of violence and make possible a rapid solution to the larger conflict.
Of course, don't hold your breath for that one either.
Sioux Rose
DWYER: I agree with this recipe for healing. Thank you for posting it.
JILL: Great post, as usual.
Thoughtful post, Jill.
Mine is much more fed up. I think i am going to stop reading posts on this issue for a while. But yours is refreshing.
Yesterday i started to feel like i was swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.....Inside myself. It gets too ugly and facetious.
That happens when israel is involved. It's like how i feel when i go to marches and demonstrations and people are carrying an israeli flag with a swaztika in the middle. No , not creative and also offensive. And not helpful to anyone.
In other words, i don't care who is mean spirited - the results are just the same old issues with new faces. I don't spew that kind of vemon and i am not going to seek it out online. The Gulf of Mexico is depressing enough......
Peace,
rita
Israel IS the U.S. There is no difference.
I think if people dont get that by now, they are naive beyond belief.
To call it a mere client state (bless Noam Chomsky, and no disrespect), is even under the mark.
We give them military aid. Get it. They ARE the US army based in the ME. They do what dick cheny dreams of doing. Literally.
I have nothing further to say on this subject. It may be my last post on it as well. It is so obvious that i can no longer speak about it without being sarcastic. And that is not my style in any way.
Anyone who thinks the two are not as one also believes that we went to iraq to bring freedom for all. It is that naive as far as i am concerned.
Rave over.
Peace
It may be obvious to us, but a lot of effort goes into the concealment of underlying truths, especially amongst the providers of military muscle. Imperial globalization does not include the total obliteration of all nationalistic and "patriotic" mumbo jumbo while it remains useful to the overall geopolitical stategy. Only the boundaries and instrumentalities of national sovereignties are being expunged for the time being. Other stuff comes later.
Don't give up. The brainwashed and terribly confused proletarians require a lot of patience and understanding.
justice and rita;
the breakdown in natural infrastructure must echo in the breakdown in human infrastructure.
r.b. fuller pointed out that humans develop and learn the way they walk left/right recovering balance thus moving forward. everything that seemed to work is failing, falling over... will/can we recover this time?.. already in 1980 fuller said we had about 10 years to do what he called converting killingry to livingry. ...or the experiment called homo sapiens would fail..already in the 70's he showed that scarcity was an illusion, but it has become operational reality...in terms of health, haruchika noguchi in japan and dr. donald epstein in the u.s. have proven that the whole scientific knowledge external energy based allopathic model is false...epstein speaks of innate intelligence. in agriculture, masonobu fukuoka showed that by understanding the innate intelligence of nature rice and other grains and vegetables could be grown without (in the case of rice)transplanting, soil cultivation, pesticides or fertilizer.
the other step is waiting for us...
.
readytotransform, the idea that Israel is the U . S. A. is utterly ridiculous, and so is the idea that Israel is the U . S. Army based in the Middle East. They're two totally different countries, with two different cultures, and our militaries are quite different. The Israeli military historically, is far, far tougher than the United States military, and, if I'm naive beyond belief, so be it.
independentminded, to each his/her own.
I think the belief in 'countries' is quite naive.
Very 20th century. But whatever floats your boat.
Helps get you into the military, doesn't it?
"Helps get you into the military, doesn't it?"
Ha ha ha!
Made in the USA?
Yes and no. It depends on whether you think American policies are made in the USA.
In fact, money has no homeland and neither do the multinational capitalist financiers of empire, except in the most superficial sense of comfortable and convenient seasonal residency.
The peasants must never be permitted to discern that truth, of course, as "patriotic" flag waving is a very successful strategy whenever dumb military muscle is required for one of their imperial "globalization" crusades. For the moment, at least, the U.S., along with its useful Middle East partner in crime, has the most muscle. The corollary regarding dumbness and it sustenance is left to the reader.
Heh heh. I'm not so sure about that penile thing. One wonders if the "masters of the universe" actually have enough emotive space left over from their primary pursuit to possess that kind of sex drive themselves. On the other hand, they certainly do seem adept at inducing something of the sort in their followers, regardless of gender. :^)
Sioux Rose
Hello Justice, when I hear "Mars rules" it's my clarion call to respond!
It's true that Mars can be associated with the first chakra and the primal urge to fight (or towards flight at strategic times); and that zone IS related to the genitals. However, in traditional astrology Mars rules Aries, the sign of the head, with the ram's tendency to rush blindly into things (usually due to rage) and get its horns stuck.
Were Mars to share power with his Divine cosmic consort and intended PARTNER, Venus, then feelings, or the path to the heart would guide the head/mind so that a fusion or marriage between these two portals might better guide humanity.
When I lived in England, an Aries nation (as is Germany), I found that it was almost a living depiction of Mars rules in that so many were profoundly intellectual, well-read, and given to great vocabularies, but their analysis really did come primarily (I would even say exclusively in those I met) from the head.
Later, when I resided in Puerto Rico, I saw how basic sensuality and animal instints took the place of heady intellectualism.
And I sat in on a talk given by Deepak Chopra that seemed (in an audience of well over 1000 people) to direct itself to my personal experiences. The topic was how different societies expressed emotional connections or a lack of these. Of all the places the study (and/or Deepak) might have related, Puerto Rico stood out as #1 for tactile contact during conversation; and Gainesville, Florida (where I resided at the time, and felt extremely cut off from the people due to the region's intense fundamentalist Christian influence) had the least tactile contacts.
Too many in our world live through their lower instincts or their head; whereas the path to and from the heart is the most rare. It forces us to feel what others feel, to live from that bridge of empathy that is incredibly painful at times.
It is my nature to be generous, and that bridge of empathy is strong in me. So when I spent time in India a few years ago, the PAIN of seeing what people (the masses) there experience, and feeling the poverty was overwhelming. I might have had a few hundred U.S. dollars in rupees, and even if I gave every penny away, it would be equivalent to watering a desert with a teaspoon. Realizing I could do so little motivated me in efforts to educate, and help work to create a more just world where the fiscal have and have-not equation is not so completely out of balance. There is so much, enough to go around. It's that the elites in connection with the pseudo religious authorities have invented bases to take from one to give to another. And as is so plainly on view, they tend to take from those with little to give to those with more than enough.
As human kind (even with reduced numbers) moves through the "tunnel" of the next decade to arrive back into the Light, we will see very different social, economic, and political ganglia forming in the body of mankind. The old ways are dying... how many pass over with them is yet to be seen.
Some in this forum are part of the emerging YET TO COME/MANIFEST essence.
Justice: I, for one, am very glad that YOU are here. You raise the level of discourse every chance you can.
I am curious to know the status of possible Turkish escorts as reported shortly after the siege on the Mavi Marmara (to say nothing of this morning's reports of Iranian backed Red Crescent aid vessels set to launch this week).
If Turkey does offer an escort, things can get really complicated, really quickly. Since this floatilla was in international waters and it was a Turkish ship that suffered the casualties, I am waiting to see how this will be approached as an issue between the NATO alliance.
I was curious to know exactly what obligations the member nations have to one another and this statement is what I found:
"The Parties of NATO agreed that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all. Consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence will assist the Party or Parties being attacked, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area."
It will be interesting to see the US response if Turkey calls upon the member states to help deal with this issue. Given the US dependence on NATO troops fighting in our current quagmires and our "special relationship" to Israel, this seems like a coin toss as to where it will end up.
History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.
~Mark Twain
That reported promise of naval escort was, I believe, based on a single "heat of the moment" statement, since withdrawn or at least softened by Turkish authorities.
What Turkey has done, however, is to lay its case before its NATO allies, at least some of whom are quite unhappy about the alliance's subservience to so-called "U.S. interests" almost exclusively. Almost certainly, there will be no direct NATO military response against Israel, but other repercussions are certainly possible, at least within the alliance itself.
IMO, the greater hope lies in proposals for stronger and more numerous involvement by civil society such as George Galloway's Viva Palestina organization and its proposal for a combined land and sea operation, including a 60-ship convoy later in the year.
__
PLEASE NOTE: So-called "U.S. interests" have nothing whatever to do with the interests of ordinary (i.e., non-corporate) American citizens.
They revised it to escorting future Turkish ships.
That was the last thing I read.
"[W]hy did you bother to make such a silly statement as the above? [...] This kind of wishful thinking is what got Obama elected in the first place ..."
Do you think it may be possible, Professor, that you answered your own question? Or is my cynicism getting the better of me?
If only it were as simple and straightforward as an appendectomy. I fear, however, that the real roots of the disease are much deeper-seated than that in human societal evolution and current mores.
agreed, thanks
"I spoke with the head military lawyer for the IDF, Joel Singer, and I said 'You know, I'm two weeks here. It's clear you people are inflicting Nuremberg crimes on the Palestinians, exactly what the Nazis did to the Jews. What's your explanation?' He said 'Military necessity'. Notice, he didn't disagree with me. I said 'That argument was rejected at Nuremberg when the lawyers for the Nazis made it.' So then he said, 'Well, we have public relations people in the United States, and they handle these matters for us.' "
-- Francis Boyle, Professor of International Law, University of Illinois
"It is one hundred percent certain that 9/11 was a Mossad operation - period."
--Dr. Alan Sabrosky, former director of the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College
WOW! Helen Thomas. Tell us what you really think! Here is a clip you will not see from our Politburo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQcQdWBqt14&feature=player_embedded
Not only has this Israel's massacre made in the USA, but Israel itself is an American (and British) creation.
In 1948 700,000 people were dislodged so this fake entity known as Israel could be created. Like a bacterial infection concocted in a evil scientist's lab, it has been spreading in the Middle East and contaminating everything it touches ever since.
Can this chronic disease be cured? It's difficult to remain positive but remain positive we must.
Phyllis Bennis is delusional: "Maybe, just maybe, our government will join the rest of the world in demanding that Israeli leaders be held accountable for their murderous assault. Maybe something positive could can emerge from so much blood."
Nothing positive has ever emerged from U.S. ties with Israel - except to keep Israel and 2% of the U.S. population content. Bennis even mentions the reasons why things won't change, but she prefers her magical thinking instead.
(1) Between 1955-1992, Israel was the target of at least 65 UN Resolutions. The Palestinians were the target of none.
(2) U.S. Vetoes of UN Resolutions Critical of Israel (1972-2006) are at http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/UN/usvetoes.html
(3) The 2008 Pro-Israel PAC Contributions to Congressional Candidates are at http://wrmea.com/archives/May-June_2009/paccharts_32-37.pdf
If, in fact, U.S. supplied weapons were involved in Israel's murders and boarding of the flotilla ship in international waters, all future military aid to Israel should stop. U.S. taxpayers, me included, should not be complicit in crime.
Duplicate posting deleted.
"U.S. taxpayers, me included, should not be complicit in crime." –(shach)
–Perhaps the distinction I will make here is really one without difference and is of little consequence:
The U.S taxpayer is not merely complicit in a crime which he conveniently sees to be external to him or herself. No. The U.S. taxpayer is incarnate of the crime itself even though it may occur–as is often the case– without either of their knowledge or apparent consent.
But the consent, is still there, a sort of boogeyman, a puppet master, living in the shadows, almost an alter ego. The consent is automatized. A given.
It is morally evasive to continuously attempt to elide responsibility for the crimes of "our" government, which of course, is conveniently and falsely, not constitutive of our 'individual' selves and exists, somehow, apart from us.
The failure of collective conscience is a direct result of a crisis and failure of private consciousness of what kind of country and people Americans actually are in the agglomerate.
Hermetically sealed, bubbled off in the dream time of the unknowing, no politics or ethics, personal or collective awareness, arises to alter the blood equation indelibly inscribed in American history.
That something, that wretched inventory, is almost a pre-cognitive totalization of 'being,' existing as a demiurge or meta consciousness. This is why the themes, tropes and protocols of American history, when examined closely, have not changed much since its inception.
Expiation becomes an impossibility and as in the apocalytic American novelistic masterpiece, "Moby Dick," the entire crew, save for one, goes down with the ship.
And must go down with the ship. As the ship itself must go down.
The last man standing? Ishmael? He has not been seen again despite being rescued.
Except perhaps in Hollywood.
"And the great shroud of the sea rolled on, as it rolled five thousand years ago."
–(Herman Melville, "Moby Dick")
And the white whale was not killed. It is still out there. As the Predator Drones slaughter the innocents. As they always have . Once upon a time, in America.
Excellent comment which goes far to defray the "I'm right, you're wrong" bantering which passes for dialog these days.
Sioux Rose
VASHKAR: Mui profundo! Gracias.
VashkarKim sez: "The U.S taxpayer is not merely complicit in a crime which he conveniently sees to be external to him or herself. No. The U.S. taxpayer is incarnate of the crime itself..."
Then VashkarKim sez: "Expiation becomes an impossibility and as in the apocalytic American novelistic masterpiece, "Moby Dick," the entire crew, save for one, goes down with the ship.
And must go down with the ship. As the ship itself must go down."
Now VashkarKim, it seems you are saying the American taxpayer is responsible for the criminal actions of the American Government. Is this correct? And please, a simple 'Yes' or 'No' will suffice.
Then you say, "Expiation" (atonement) isn't possible and, as in "Moby Dick", the entire crew (the taxpayers) "must go down with the ship. As the ship itself must go down."
Now it seems to me that you are saying the United States government and its citizens must be destroyed, as the Pequod and crew were destroyed by the whale.
Is this correct? Are you calling for the death of all American taxpayers and the destruction of the United States?
Or is there some other, more benign, interpretation?
The Israeli actions seems to be a result of the precedent that George W Bush set: The idea of the "pre-emtive strike." So, I would have to say that the Israeli's Flotilla Massacre was indeed Made in the USA.