Tuesday, January 06, 2009
To state what should be obvious
Jonathan at TR points out that "even the Nation" is now trafficking in absurd lies about the massacre: there are references to the Hamas "coup" in April 2008, during which Hamas is supposed to have thrown out the PA. As a matter of public record, Israel and the U.S. armed and encouraged the hired thugs of the PA to overthrow the elected Hamas government. But the hired thugs were routed, basically because they didn't want to fight.
The more general point is: not only is the massacre of Gaza unjustifiable, it fundamentally lacks even a semblance of non-murderous strategic purpose. It is simply the mass murder of civilians. That here and there some "Hamas" buildings are targeted changes nothing. "Removing" "Hamas" was always impossible, and eventually the operation will end with "Hamas" (which is to say, enraged Palestinians) still in existence.
If there is an identifiable purpose to what is happening, that purpose is inseparable from the indiscriminate slaughter of hundreds and eventually thousands of civilians. The first purpose of the massacre is massacre. And the main occasion for the massacre is Israel's desire to massacre.
References to "Hamas provocation" or "intractable problem," or to "excessive response" or "disproportionate force," are dangerous and misleading. Nothing should distract from the fact that this is an act of terrorist mass slaughter, with mass slaughter as its prime objective.
posted by speakingcorpse : 1/06/2009 12:52:00 AM
The more general point is: not only is the massacre of Gaza unjustifiable, it fundamentally lacks even a semblance of non-murderous strategic purpose. It is simply the mass murder of civilians. That here and there some "Hamas" buildings are targeted changes nothing. "Removing" "Hamas" was always impossible, and eventually the operation will end with "Hamas" (which is to say, enraged Palestinians) still in existence.
If there is an identifiable purpose to what is happening, that purpose is inseparable from the indiscriminate slaughter of hundreds and eventually thousands of civilians. The first purpose of the massacre is massacre. And the main occasion for the massacre is Israel's desire to massacre.
References to "Hamas provocation" or "intractable problem," or to "excessive response" or "disproportionate force," are dangerous and misleading. Nothing should distract from the fact that this is an act of terrorist mass slaughter, with mass slaughter as its prime objective.
posted by speakingcorpse : 1/06/2009 12:52:00 AM
