Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Once again Israel shows it doesn't screw around

gvitaly · 07-16-2014, 11:21 PM

I didn't read the whole thread, but I wanted to (perhaps) add a few points regarding this conflict and why it is so difficult to judge.

As you all know in Israel military service is mandatory(2-3 years), which makes Israelis think about their soldiers as civilians(not professionals making money of it) doing their part. This helps justify in the eyes of many the killing of civilians on the other side as collateral damage. As in its better their citizens will die than ours.
Israel does hit a lot of public infrastructure(including hospitals, schools, etc.) in its bombings. However, it claims that most of the bunkers, rocket factories, ammo storages, built in rocket launchers and so on are located under those places. If its all true or not is very difficult to decide, because we just hear of a death toll that keeps rising.
It is almost impossible to achieve mutual trust, because even though the Hamas controls gaza other organizations can launch rockets even after a cease fire is established. On the other side, Israel will conduct air strikes from time to time just to show its might, or to sabotage a terrorist operation. Again this is all open to interpretation depending on which side you're watching the news from.
Even though it seems like the damage to Israel is small, the economic damage is absolutely huge. Especially when you consider that every rocket they blow out of the sky costs $100k. When you consider that they hit hundreds of rockets, received damage to property from hundreds more, and made thousands of bombings themselves it really adds up.
Israel is not interested in killing or enslaving Palestinians. If Israel wanted it could pass a death sentence to terrorists captured instead of keeping the prisoner and eventually releasing them. Instead of sending flyers and making phone calls to Palestinian regions it will attack (so that civilians could evacuate), they could have just bombed whole neighborhoods. They could have just as easily stopped sending power and water into Gaza. So lets not kid ourselves in that they are trying to kill civilians on purpose. Could they be more careful? probably, but that would require ground forces in Gaza(and quite a few casualties).
Both Hamas and Israel have finite ammo, as soon as they start to run low they will stop firing, and reach a cease fire. Israel is really dependent on the US for both fuel and ammo supplies, so they can't do anything without a green light to attack in Gaza in force. The only problem is that both sides need to look victorious when this war is over. Politics is the same in all countries...

So those are a few thoughts I had on the Issue... I could be biased, because I lived in Israel from 1991-2003, so my thoughts are more consistent with those of the Israeli people. I did try to stay impartial as much as I could, but honestly this new round of fighting seems like just politics. All the leaders of both sides are comfy in their bunkers(already planning future weapon deals), and that's what's important right?

07-16-2014, 11:21 PM	#436
gvitaly Franchise Player Join Date: Jul 2010 Exp:	I didn't read the whole thread, but I wanted to (perhaps) add a few points regarding this conflict and why it is so difficult to judge. As you all know in Israel military service is mandatory(2-3 years), which makes Israelis think about their soldiers as civilians(not professionals making money of it) doing their part. This helps justify in the eyes of many the killing of civilians on the other side as collateral damage. As in its better their citizens will die than ours. Israel does hit a lot of public infrastructure(including hospitals, schools, etc.) in its bombings. However, it claims that most of the bunkers, rocket factories, ammo storages, built in rocket launchers and so on are located under those places. If its all true or not is very difficult to decide, because we just hear of a death toll that keeps rising. It is almost impossible to achieve mutual trust, because even though the Hamas controls gaza other organizations can launch rockets even after a cease fire is established. On the other side, Israel will conduct air strikes from time to time just to show its might, or to sabotage a terrorist operation. Again this is all open to interpretation depending on which side you're watching the news from. Even though it seems like the damage to Israel is small, the economic damage is absolutely huge. Especially when you consider that every rocket they blow out of the sky costs $100k. When you consider that they hit hundreds of rockets, received damage to property from hundreds more, and made thousands of bombings themselves it really adds up. Israel is not interested in killing or enslaving Palestinians. If Israel wanted it could pass a death sentence to terrorists captured instead of keeping the prisoner and eventually releasing them. Instead of sending flyers and making phone calls to Palestinian regions it will attack (so that civilians could evacuate), they could have just bombed whole neighborhoods. They could have just as easily stopped sending power and water into Gaza. So lets not kid ourselves in that they are trying to kill civilians on purpose. Could they be more careful? probably, but that would require ground forces in Gaza(and quite a few casualties). Both Hamas and Israel have finite ammo, as soon as they start to run low they will stop firing, and reach a cease fire. Israel is really dependent on the US for both fuel and ammo supplies, so they can't do anything without a green light to attack in Gaza in force. The only problem is that both sides need to look victorious when this war is over. Politics is the same in all countries... So those are a few thoughts I had on the Issue... I could be biased, because I lived in Israel from 1991-2003, so my thoughts are more consistent with those of the Israeli people. I did try to stay impartial as much as I could, but honestly this new round of fighting seems like just politics. All the leaders of both sides are comfy in their bunkers(already planning future weapon deals), and that's what's important right?