Anonymous wrote:I will say that Israel seems to do quite a few preemptive strikes in self-defense... if one is perpetually offensive, it's hard to see how it's all "self-defense".

Without Hezbollah there, settlers would’ve taken over the beautiful Lebanese Southern coast yeaaars ago.

Even the most bourgeoisie Lebanese in Beirut admit the city would be gone in an hour without Hezbollah.

Lebanon has turned a blind eye to Hezbollah for 40 years because they provided deterrence from Israeli manifest destiny. Israelis have long talked about and some are currently saying they need to take Lebanon “back”. They believe that Lebanon is indigenous Israel and part of indigenous Israel from 5,000 BC or whatever

Hezbollah didn’t even know 10/7 was going to happen and didn’t participate hand in hand with Hamas as they don’t share a land border. It’s somehow getting ignored by Israel that the Russian Wagner Group based in Sudan helped smuggle Russian rpgs and weapons and cash to Hamas via Egypt. 10/7 is Putins birthday.
He supports Hamas. Calling for Iran, Iran, Iran doesn’t hide the truth. Russia and Qatar funded 10/7 and Egypt is the key. There’s a network there in the Sinai that Egypt and Israel keep denying exists

Anonymous wrote:Why didn’t Israel blow up Khaled Meshaals phone years ago?

They let Hamas luxuriate in the Doha hotels and that’s how 10/7 was able to happen. Israel has hard questions to ask itself before it celebrates too soon.
The train has left the station with Hamas and now they can’t reel them in.

Netanyahu planned this to be a small victory
For a demoralized Israeli public after the recent hostage murders. It’s all political theater for points which is nice but again, why didn’t they assassinate Hamas sooner?

Again. The people killed in Lebanon are real people. Just as the Israeli hostages are.

Let’s acknowledge the tragedy. And if the goal of the recent actions is to “protect” Israel I will ask what I did on 10/8: how does revenge killing not inspire hate? Honestly I do not understand.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Middle East is a cesspool of violence. We need to be grateful to not be living there.
It is tragic, but we cannot solve everybody’s tribal warfare
It is time to step back and do nothing, enjoy our lives in a time of peace

Yes and no.

Those terror groups hate America as much as they hate Israel…and we are seeing growing numbers of religious extremists in the US. So, the problem is creeping into our country.

Too bad Bill Maher can’t de-program religious extremists.

Saying Lebanese people hate America or are religious extremists is hilarious. Have we forgotten in Lebanon Muslims and Christians are literally family and niejgbors and live together in Southern Lebanon (where Israel bombed)? Funny how only one faith can’t seem to live with the others wherever they go

Hezbollah.

Hezbollah are terrorists.

Nobody said all Lebanese people are extremists.

But Muslim extremism is a thing…a terrorist thing.

What did Hezbollah do to Israel? Did they kill anybody in Israel? Again, Israel is not focused on what they need to focus on. On day 1 after 10/7, they went to fight Hezbollah first on the ground in the Lebanon. It boggles the mind. All of the Hostages could’ve been recovered alive if Netanyahu entered Gaza immediately and first instead of Lebanon.

It’s like if the US were worried about Viktor Orban of Hungary first instead of Vladimir Putin. Hezbollah aren’t delicate flowers by any means but in terms of immediate threat to Israel, they are probably second-possibly even third on the list (as I think the Jewish extremists Bibi has enabled that refuse to fight in army and are in the WB settlements are a bigger threat to national security than Israel realizes).

How does Israel know there aren’t tunnels inside the West Bank or inside Israel? Israel is focusing so much on ancillary distractions rather than the main target.

I can imagine Hamas is happy over the news Israel is focused on Lebanon. This hurts their global standing more and helps Hamas regroup

I will say that Israel seems to do quite a few preemptive strikes in self-defense... if one is perpetually offensive, it's hard to see how it's all "self-defense".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love how people act as though Palestinians had this unbroken historical record of being the people living in Israel, when the word “Palestine” was coined by the Romans to replace “Judah” when they conquered the Jewish kingdom that was there.

Muslims didn’t move to Israel until the 600s, when the Islamic Caliphate conquered the land. Jews were still there and had been living under Roman rule. Then they lived under Muslim rule.

But let me be clear: Jews have always been there. Always.

Thank you.

The political class in Israel has as much of a legitimate claim to that land as Barney the Dinosaur. FFS, open your eyes. Compare the pasty visages you see when you think of Behin, Meir, Rabin, Sharon, and now Netanyahu, with ANYONE else around those parts.

The people at the controls of the Palestinian genocide have zero claim that wouldn’t be laughed out of a 9th grade biology class.

WTF are you rambling about?

Jews have always lived there. Sorry. It’s just a fact.

Sure, Jews have lived there - along with other indigenous people with just as much claim to the land.

But you? One of the many cretins from Poland or Russia or Ukraine who cosplay Jewish identity? GTFOH.

if you look at history isreal should have more land but gave it back in exchange for peace but that was not honored :

During the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel had captured Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, roughly half of Syria's Golan Heights, and the territories of the West Bank which had been held by Jordan since 1948.[82]

On 19 June 1967, shortly after the Six-Day War, the Israeli government voted to return the Sinai to Egypt and the Golan Heights to Syria in exchange for a permanent peace settlement and a demilitarization of the returned territories.

Right. You mean the war where Israel preemptively struck even though it was clear to multiple intelligence agencies that there was no real threat to Israel at the time?

You don't read much, do you?

Go do your homework and get back to me. I only know this because I read...

I've read this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Days_of_War

It's pretty informative.
Where'd you get your info?

I'll check it out. What's odd is that some of the sources I've read have quoted this guy as having said it probably wasn't necessary.... I believe it was Mearsheimer... I'd have to find the exact reference though and get back to you.

ChatGPT search revealed this:

Moshe Dayan, Israel’s defense minister during the Six-Day War, made statements after the war suggesting that the threat from Syria was not as severe as initially portrayed. He admitted that the capture of the Golan Heights was not driven by an immediate military necessity but rather by a desire to settle old scores with Syria, which had been involved in long-standing conflicts with Israel. Dayan stated, “The Syrians on the fourth day of the war were no threat to us,” and further acknowledged that entering into war with Syria was unnecessary given the circumstances at that point in the conflict .

This reflects a more complex reality than the commonly stated narrative of Israel facing an existential threat from all sides. Some historians and Dayan himself later argued that the situation may not have required as drastic preemptive action, particularly regarding Syria, whose military efforts were relatively limited during the early part of the war

And this.

There is significant debate among historians and analysts about whether Israel was under the threat of immediate attack prior to the Six-Day War of 1967. While Israeli officials at the time, including military leaders, presented the situation as an existential threat, some historical evidence suggests that Israel may not have been under immediate danger of invasion by its neighbors.

Key points include:

1. **Public Statements by Arab Leaders**: Prior to the war, Arab leaders, particularly Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, made aggressive statements, including closing the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping and mobilizing forces in the Sinai Peninsula. These actions were seen by Israel as highly provocative, though there is debate over whether they were intended as a prelude to war or as posturing.

2. **Intelligence Reports**: Some Israeli and American intelligence assessments suggested that although Egypt, Jordan, and Syria were mobilizing forces, they may not have been ready for an immediate coordinated attack on Israel. Moshe Dayan, Israel's Defense Minister during the war, later expressed doubts about the imminence of an Arab invasion, stating that many actions taken by Arab countries were more about defense and bluffing than preparation for an all-out attack.

3. **Diplomatic Options**: Diplomatic efforts were ongoing before the war, with countries like the United States and the Soviet Union working to de-escalate the situation. The presence of these negotiations suggests that there was still an opportunity for a peaceful resolution, which may imply that war was not inevitable at that moment.

4. **Israel’s Preemptive Strike**: Israel launched a preemptive strike against Egypt on June 5, 1967, which decisively shifted the balance of the war. Israel argued that it acted in self-defense, anticipating an Arab attack. However, critics have argued that the Israeli leadership may have been aware that the threat was not as immediate as portrayed, but chose to strike first to secure a strategic advantage.

In conclusion, while Israel certainly felt threatened, and tensions were very high, there is evidence suggesting that the threat of an immediate attack was not as clear-cut as it was sometimes presented. However, the overall political and military climate at the time made a broader regional conflict likely, even if not inevitable on that specific timeline.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Middle East is a cesspool of violence. We need to be grateful to not be living there.
It is tragic, but we cannot solve everybody’s tribal warfare
It is time to step back and do nothing, enjoy our lives in a time of peace

Yes and no.

Those terror groups hate America as much as they hate Israel…and we are seeing growing numbers of religious extremists in the US. So, the problem is creeping into our country.

Too bad Bill Maher can’t de-program religious extremists.

Saying Lebanese people hate America or are religious extremists is hilarious. Have we forgotten in Lebanon Muslims and Christians are literally family and niejgbors and live together in Southern Lebanon (where Israel bombed)? Funny how only one faith can’t seem to live with the others wherever they go

IKR?

So ridiculous how Muslim extremists are hell bent on destroying anyone who isn’t like them.

That’s not true. I’ve felt more welcome as an American in Saudi Arabia and in Egypt than I did in Paris and London.

They don’t shit on people like liberals like to do. They are conservative people but they are friendly and warm to people who aren’t like them which is probably why many Jews escaped anti semitism in Europe and went there over the centuries.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Middle East is a cesspool of violence. We need to be grateful to not be living there.
It is tragic, but we cannot solve everybody’s tribal warfare
It is time to step back and do nothing, enjoy our lives in a time of peace

Yes and no.

Those terror groups hate America as much as they hate Israel…and we are seeing growing numbers of religious extremists in the US. So, the problem is creeping into our country.

Too bad Bill Maher can’t de-program religious extremists.

Saying Lebanese people hate America or are religious extremists is hilarious. Have we forgotten in Lebanon Muslims and Christians are literally family and niejgbors and live together in Southern Lebanon (where Israel bombed)? Funny how only one faith can’t seem to live with the others wherever they go

Hezbollah.

Hezbollah are terrorists.

Nobody said all Lebanese people are extremists.

But Muslim extremism is a thing…a terrorist thing.

What is Jewish extremism? It’s not a terrorist thing.

What about the Lebanese Christian armies that burned villages and slashed babies out of Palestinian Muslim wombs in 83? The Hamas was born out of these incidents. Many were there or had family there in Sabra and Shatila. It’s no coincidence 10/7 had the same purported savagery from Sabra and Shatila massacres done by Jews and Christians.

Terror comes in all religions and for the most part the Muslim world is actually very hospitable to strangers but when something deadly happens to them, they never forget it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Middle East is a cesspool of violence. We need to be grateful to not be living there.
It is tragic, but we cannot solve everybody’s tribal warfare
It is time to step back and do nothing, enjoy our lives in a time of peace

Yes and no.

Those terror groups hate America as much as they hate Israel…and we are seeing growing numbers of religious extremists in the US. So, the problem is creeping into our country.

Too bad Bill Maher can’t de-program religious extremists.

Saying Lebanese people hate America or are religious extremists is hilarious. Have we forgotten in Lebanon Muslims and Christians are literally family and niejgbors and live together in Southern Lebanon (where Israel bombed)? Funny how only one faith can’t seem to live with the others wherever they go

IKR?

So ridiculous how Muslim extremists are hell bent on destroying anyone who isn’t like them.

They wasted alot of the recent past hyper focused on Iran and barking up the wrong tree which is how Hamas was able to spy in Israel and plan 10/7.

Hamas’ ties to Iran and Hezbollah are nominal and not that deep. Israel knows this.

Israel also knows the key to Hamas’ success are Arab countries like Egypt and Qatar with a third assist from Turkey. Iran isn’t really writ large in the Palestinian world. Hamas spent time learning Turkish and Russian, not Farsi

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Middle East is a cesspool of violence. We need to be grateful to not be living there.
It is tragic, but we cannot solve everybody’s tribal warfare
It is time to step back and do nothing, enjoy our lives in a time of peace

Yes and no.

Those terror groups hate America as much as they hate Israel…and we are seeing growing numbers of religious extremists in the US. So, the problem is creeping into our country.

Too bad Bill Maher can’t de-program religious extremists.

Saying Lebanese people hate America or are religious extremists is hilarious. Have we forgotten in Lebanon Muslims and Christians are literally family and niejgbors and live together in Southern Lebanon (where Israel bombed)? Funny how only one faith can’t seem to live with the others wherever they go

Hezbollah.

Hezbollah are terrorists.

Nobody said all Lebanese people are extremists.

But Muslim extremism is a thing…a terrorist thing.

Why has Israel assassinated many Iranian nuclear physicists including Jewish ones? Shouldn’t they have spend the past decade assasinating Hamas instead of killing scientists, babies, and destroying West Bank olive trees. They think they are so big and bad and so smart but their actions prove that they are dumb

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you read reporting, Lebanon wanted these guys gone - they couldn't disarm Hezbollah or form Hezbollah north of the Litani river......so while people may be complaining openly, in private, the Lebanese govt is happy this scourge is so diminished.

Think of it like the Mexican cartels...

Honestly, where is your heart? These are living, breathing humans living in communities with other living breathing humans when their pagers (and who other than militants own pagers - doctors!). Please try to understand this action didn’t just harm “terrorists” but actual people. I have a dear friend who is Lebanese-American. She lived through the Lebanese civil war. She and her husband planned and saved to come to the Us to raise their family away from war and is devastated that her new country (where she works and pays taxes) is sending military aid to Israel to enable it to kill others.

Btw, I am of Jewish descent and NOT a Hamas or Hezbollah supporter. I am also wary of all religious fundamentalism. But not all Arabs, not all Muslims are “terrorists” or “animals” or whatever dehumanizing label people want to use to justify their own acts of atrocities.

Stupid Israelis not just accepting the rockets that Hezbollah is launching at them.

Per Israeli belief, Hezbollah is all but an Iranian ploy so why not go attack Iran? Why are they beating around the bush and scared? They’re waiting for the US to invade Iran for 20 years now. Why not fight your own battle for once?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Middle East is a cesspool of violence. We need to be grateful to not be living there.
It is tragic, but we cannot solve everybody’s tribal warfare
It is time to step back and do nothing, enjoy our lives in a time of peace

Yes and no.

Those terror groups hate America as much as they hate Israel…and we are seeing growing numbers of religious extremists in the US. So, the problem is creeping into our country.

Too bad Bill Maher can’t de-program religious extremists.

Saying Lebanese people hate America or are religious extremists is hilarious. Have we forgotten in Lebanon Muslims and Christians are literally family and niejgbors and live together in Southern Lebanon (where Israel bombed)? Funny how only one faith can’t seem to live with the others wherever they go