Hezbollah has been holding the Lebanese government hostage for years. I find it strange that fighting Hezbollah, a terrorist organization, which have actively propped up military dictatorships responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people (Syria), can somehow result in that nation becoming a pariah state. Hezbollah are another group with no air power, no air defences and limited ground vehicles, actively attempting to engage a regional power with all these things in spades. Then they will cry about it. They could just realise that these Persian fellas, handing them AK47s and weapons from the 80s and sending them to die, perhaps, don't give a flying **** about Arabs.
Knocking out communication is normally the step before an invasion. I’ll be very surprised if Israeli troops aren’t in Lebanon within 24 hours.
Showing your bias again, mate. I remember you refusing to condemn Hezbollah at the time because they’ve never admitted to it despite all the evidence against them and you’ve just done it again. Israel haven’t admitted to these attacks on communication network but here you are holding them guilty and bringing up the dead children again…
My only 'bias' is towards the numbers of dead civilians, which are pretty self-evident ... and those dead kids are not something I've invented ... they are unacceptable and, for me, unnecessary... I have condemned anybody and everybody responsible for civilian casualties in this conflict consistently and without exception... it's simply a fact that Hezbollah have said it wasn't them ... but assuming it was, it would be both bizarre and illogical to think that it was a deliberate act to kill Druze civilians... that serves no purpose whatsoever - so it's likely a misfire... which of course could have been avoided if everyone was around the peace table... ... but there is no equivalence of a misfired rocket with sophisticated airstrikes and missiles aimed at hospitals, schools, designated safe centres, refugee camps, churches and mosques ... those were undertaken knowing that the majority of casualties would be civilians ... Is pretty obvious that Israel are / have been planning a Northern offensive for some time ... so I very much doubt it's pure coincidence that Hezbollahs communication equipment for its members exploded at this time due to mass overheating ... so who else did it? The deaths of the 2 kids were collateral but still tragic ... but still the most emotive factor for the world looking in... Just about every Government in the world, including the US, are now pushing for a total ceasefire and negotiated settlement, but that's the last thing Netanyahu wants - because doing so would means that uncomfortable subjects like illegal settlements and occupation would be raised and, even worse, so would the 2 state solution that the wider world favours... ... and yes, I'm in favour of the 2 state solution personally ... because, IMHO, its the best scenario for a lasting peace in the region.
Neither side want a two stare solution. People in the west can talk about it as much as they like but if neither governing powers are interested then it ain't gonna happen.
If by neither side, you mean the IDF and the terrorist leaders (I regard the IDF as a terrorist organisation itself btw), then you’re right; they don’t want peace. But if you asked the majority of Palestinian and Israeli people, you might get a different response there.
Trouble is mate, humans have been in conflict for eternity, one mans freedom is another mans extremism. Extreme events that if the shoe was on the other foot, they wouldn't hesitate in putting a bullet in your head. Governing bodies, extreme factions rule everywhere whether we like it or not, we don't get a say, not a real say, and when we do it's often based on lies. If someone chose to drag us into a war tomorrow, we would get no say, it would just happen. Yeah we can scream and shout and stamp our feet, but ask young Ukranian men how that worked out for them, ask young Russians what choice they had. We even went to war with Gemany, not once but twice and although the battlefield has moved, the problems exist just the same, nothing has changed, just a different date on the calendar mate. What we might want is like believing in fairies at the bottom of the garden, because that's the sad state of humanity, you got more chance of father christmas coming down a chimney than you have of world peace, just ask those in Sudan or wherever the next genocide will occur. The worlds peacekeepers are also the worlds troublemakers, war brokers for every inch of land. This argument will probably even get dragged into space, once Elon Musk firmly plants an Israeli flag in the martian dust. Other than that mate, we can only die dreaming, just don't stick that sherpherds pie in the microwave mate, you never know it just might explode.
Very true mate - some great points - but hope springs eternal ... even in my lifetime I've witnessed things that I never thought would happen growing up: Peace in Northern Ireland Reunification of Germany End of apartheid in South Africa Break-up of the Soviet Union Leicester City winning the Premier League Liverpool* winning it (after Leicester City) (Serious readers please ignore the last two) Peeps saying it can never be acheived in the middle-east often have an agenda for not wanting it - but that doesn't mean it can"t if there is enough collective will... ... the British occupied Ireland just over 100 years ago ... now we have a separate country a peaceful province and a good relationship between Ireland and the UK ... didn't happen overnight - but did happen ...
Fine post mate - couldn't agree more ... the 'common folk' have had enough of senseless killing .. ... and it's Netanyahu's own people that might finally force him into serious negotiations... any more hostages killed will now sit firmly with him as far as the relatives and many ordinary Israeli's are concerned...
Correct. Israel under the current government has no appetite at all for a two-state solution. Fatah has no interest in its people changing status from refugees to citizens, as the billions in aid money will dry up. Hamas wants the total destruction of Israel (and Fatah). No-one wants it, and even if they did, we are no closer now than we were twenty years ago to anything resembling a coherent proposal to establish two states over three non-contiguous areas of land governed by three different political entities.
Well the break up of the soviet union isn't going too well at the moment and has resulted in thousands of deaths. As for trying to compare NI with the problems of Gaza is just ridiculous. The world changes it's nothing to do with collective will, it's often to do with who has the biggest gun or rocket, peace in NI brought about by the same legacy a total fook up of the middle east namely Iraq, that will be felt for hundreds of year. Even the Roman conquest never lasted, and Leicester's reign was far shorter, a blip by all accounts, actually not even worth remembering, unless you are a Leicester fan of course and make it something bigger than it ever was.
.... I wasn't comparing N.Ireland to Gaza (N.Ireland was legitimate UK territory under International Law - not an illegal occupation like in the West Bank now) - a better comparison would be the Republic ... where a heavily armed war machine wasn't, eventually, enough to suppress the will of the indigenous people ... Apart from Ukraine, many other previous Soviet block territories are enjoying / benefitting from their self rule and being closer to NATO and the EU... Leicester's 'reign' was always going to be a Premier League blip - albeit one that will always be etched on the PL trophy ...but I doubt you'll see that league won with a squad costing under £30 million ever again ... and, whilst I can't speak for any other Leicester fan, the experience will always be 'just perfect' for me!... and I really couldn't give a flying about what other fans think - why should I?
and as I said the Roman conquest never lasted for ever, and neither will NATO or the EU, eventually someone will batter us into the dust, we are just as much part of the problem as the solution, as Yugoslavia found out, our own ideologies absolutely suck at times, bombs of peace and all that shhite and when you resort to bombs it makes you as bad as the rest of humnaity. Even the great superpower of America is nothing but a thug.
Not much to argue with there ... although the Roman's did leave an amazing legacy ... and the roads, the roads... just wow ...fabulously engineered and constructed ... and with names that endure throughout the ages... Have you heard of the Fosse Way?
I wouldn’t say they are excessive given the unique circumstances but for some reason certain middle-class types in suburban England have been cheering for Hamas and totally ignoring Hezbollah’s part in all this for the last year. Hamas are free to return the hostages and surrender at any time.
There are no hostages left mate, they have all been killed by indiscriminate bombs on hospitals and schools where they were being kept safe.
