In Israel, Questions About the Conflict (Washington Post)

[IndianaGreen]

In Israel, Questions About the Conflict
Public Support, Once Nearly Unanimous, Begins to Fray as Toll Rises

By Molly Moore and Jonathan Finer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, August 5, 2006; Page A12

JERUSALEM, Aug. 4 -- With much of Israel's northern population huddling in underground shelters and Hezbollah proving more resilient than Israeli leaders had publicly predicted, Israel's news media, intellectual elite and public are starting to question the judgment of the country's political and military leadership.

After an extraordinary national surge of unanimity during the first days of the conflict, public support is starting to fray, with some of the nation's most influential voices criticizing political leaders and Israel Defense Forces generals for military strategies they say have failed to protect Israeli citizens.

They blame Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz for trying to lull citizens into a false sense of security, fault generals for relying too heavily on air power to destroy Hezbollah rocket launchers, and worry that Israeli troops may not have been prepared to defeat a force far tougher than Palestinian fighters.

"The public should demand of the political echelon: Stop or reduce the Katyusha rocket fire," the popular daily newspaper Ma'ariv wrote Friday. "Do what you should have done two weeks ago. . . . Bang on the table in front of the white-faced IDF officers, and demand more proposals; think and think again. . . . The time for patience has passed. You have an army, use it, or go for a cease-fire."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/04/AR2006080401763.html

[Vidar]

1. Good to hear there is a public debate there.

[IndianaGreen]

2. We need an American Middle East foreign policy

one in which we put the interests of the American people first! Enabling Israeli aggression in Lebanon and occupation in Palestine harms American interests in the region.

[Tom Rinaldo]

5. Exactly. It's gotten so Clark had to say "I'm speaking as an American"

When Wes Clark appeared as a commentator asked to comment on the Mid East before a live FOX audience on 8/1/06, he literally made a point of saying:

"But what the United States can do to advance our ideals - and I'm speaking as an American now, because that's who I am." Clark had to remind the audience that America has it's own interests, and that America has it's own values to uphold.

Here is the full statement that sentence was a part of:


MIKE JERRICK: So, what you say, may be down to the U.S. versus Iran. So, maybe why isn't that a direct threat to the United States that we need to take action against?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I think that you have to, you have to work through these problems. You know, in most of human history people don't agree, and it's a question of how you resolve the disagreements. We've got long-standing disagreements with Iran. I've been one of those who advocated talking to Iran, and I've said it publicly for the last four years. The administration hasn't. As a result, now when it comes into the fight, it's very difficult to go to Iran. But yes, Israel represents a standard of freedom, a standard of literacy, a standard of Democracy which is unique in the region. But what the United States can do to advance our ideals - and I'm speaking as an American now, because that's who I am. What we can do is, we have to stand for what we believe in and our values. We don't believe in reckless bombing. We believe in humanitarian assistance. We believe in ending quarrels by the peaceful settlements of disputes, and we believe in the use of war only as a last resort. So, we have to follow our own principles, and in the process we should help Israel, but we should also be helping the government of Lebanon and the innocent civilians all through the area.

Edited to include link to the full transcript: http://securingamerica.com/node/1281

[IndianaGreen]

7. That's a great commentary by Clark

Thank you for posting it!

[TomClash]

3. There's more debate in Israel than the US

Americans have become sheep.

[Vidar]

6. Interesting.

[Burried News]

4. The US Knesset needs the same amount of free speech as the

Israeli one.

[IndianaGreen]

8. We have a Reichstag in America

that rubber stamps whatever Bush wants.

[Burried News]

9. I stand correct.ed. The Israeli Knesset has real debate and the

PM must forge alliances. And for better or worse the will of the majority is more likely to be reflected in their system than ours.

[chimpymustgo]

10. Perhaps the Israeli people will reign in their govt war machine.

Surely they don't countenance this slaughter. Since our politicians are useless, perhaps the Israeli's will save us all from the murderous campaign.