kainedamo said:
That really doesn't make sense, read my question again.
The way you talk, you would think Israel were recieving daily attacks before this mess occured. You keep whitewashing over the fact that this is all over two soldiers. Two soldiers - 700 civilians, you do the math.
I think you're a little naive if you think this offensive is entirely due to two soldiers - it's like saying World War I was started
entirely by the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. There are more factors involved than that.
Lebanon has been bombing Israel with rocketlaunchers stationed in the south, so of
course the goverment's been whining for a ceasefire - they don't want Israel to invade and destroy the weapons
they've been using to kill Israelis!
Israel is fighting with an army - they are
not terrorists. They are defending themselves. It's a sad, sad, fact that they cannot afford to be a pacifist nation, but it's true. It's either defend themselves or be pushed into the sea. What alternative do they have kainedemo? Answer me that - what alternative do they have?
Compare them to America - America is surrounded by nations that are peaceful to it. Do the Canadians and Mexicans hate Americans with a burning, religion-fueled bigotry? Would they like nothing better than to wipe Americans off the face of the globe? No.
That's what it's like in Israel - it's a Jewish state sandwiched between virulently anti-Semitic nations. As a nation, it is
literally backed into a corner.
That's why I support Israel. What would they have to do to lose my support? They would have to commit
mindless, motiveless slaughter, actions that are not at all motivated by self-preservation. So far, they haven't done that.
Hey, by the way, can you recall a time when Arab "terrorists" sent leaflets and messages on loudspeakers to the places they were about to bomb, in order to get civilians out in time? Because that's what Israel's doing. Children are dying, yeah - SO? It's a WAR. It happens even when the supposedly "best" of countries engage in it. It's a fact of life.
So, to resume - Israel has no choice. It's actions are fuelled by the need for self-preservation. Hezbollah's motives are bigotry - they still haven't negotiated to return the hostages, even though it could very well end much of the destruction.