I have a theory the 12:30s favour the away side a bit. They’ve got a kid on loan from Liverpool who’s meant to be excellent but suspended today. Bit of needle with their manager. Just feels very soft southerners not turning up and losing meekly which has been the case every time I’ve gone there.
Owen Beck promising but think excellent is over the top but yep suspended for i ythink 3 as sure it was a straight red before he got Suarezed
The West is learning that using diplomacy to 'urge restraint' is pointless unless it can be backed up with a credible alternative vision or plan.
This week's attacks by Israel, a combination of intelligence services and air superiority are impressive to say the least. It's threw Hezbollah into complete chaos, destroyed infrastructure, killed leadership and will shortly be followed up by a ground incursion. All while maintaining a full military lockdown in Gaza, rendering Hamas' military arm useless. It's modern technology used to its apex.
Maybe the answer here is to stop messing about with the middle men of Hamas and Hezbollah, and just go straight to the top and take out Iran.
The US doesn't want to anymore cos they fear the power vacuum it would leave. Bunch of Talibanesque groups would pop up. Best to just leave Iran there wasting their time and efforts farting about trying to be a thorn to Israel or Saudi
I reckon all those dead leaders who Israel have taken out are meeting up with their god right now, asking where is this heaven they were promised, only to be told heaven!? I gave you heaven, and look at the mess you've made of it, why would I give you a second heaven, go to the gates of hell.
Well right now, Israel is doing the West's dirty work for them. No point designating groups 'proscribed terrorists' and individuals as 'international menaces' and then doing **** all about it. Iran is a different matter though, not a chance Israel can take it on alone. The sheer distance wouldn't allow for it. They'd need US aircraft carriers to even stage simple raids, let alone attacks to take out the subterranean nuclear facilities. @Welshie is right. The West has learned the hard way that you can't force change on a country. Ultimately the citizens of that country have to be the greatest force of change. We're just a month on from the anniversary of the 'withdrawal' from Afghanistan. The West is still scarred by that absolute debacle, and rightly so.
Much as I despise the man, the fact that Netanyahu finished his speech at the UN General Assembly, got back to his hotel room and authorised the strike against Nasrallah has to be the biggest mic drop moment of the year.
You’re right. And Israel’s actions are probably cementing another generation of people who see them as the aggressor in the region. Extreme leaderships like that in Iran will have been bolstered by all of this. And the next incarnations of Hamas, Hezbollah etc will simply continue to respawn
Time will tell. Red lines have been crossed by both sides. After decades of inertia and apathy, the chemistry shifted on Oct 7th. Painfully, it shifted in a hellish direction. No-one knows what the day after will look like. And as I said above, this is one of the reasons Israel is doing what it is doing. The West continues to 'urge restraint' without providing even an inkling of as to what an alternative path can look like. No reassurances that Hamas won't be allowed to re-arm, that sanctions will be reimposed on Iran, that Egypt will have to massively up its game in policing its border with Gaza, that peace with the Saudis will be put back on the table, that a new Palestinian leadership will take power. These are all perfectly logical and reasonable expectations Israel has in return for 'showing restraint', yet none of them have been forthcoming from the West (or the Gulf States) with any real conviction. No one is presenting a path forward to the Israelis, so they are forging their own.
