Am I wrong for feeling like I do about this?? (USA + Israel)

[phatmonky]

<i>Originally posted by MichelleSeeking </i>1>To be 100% honest I haven't been given a good solid reason for why Israel has taken all of that Palestinian land. I hear tall tales like, "No one lived on that land" and find out: that is not true!

2> So why are we sitting by in silence as another wall goes up???

3>Why are these things going unchecked?

4> Why doesn't America, the Champion of Peace, do anything about it?

5>Why are we pumping money and wepons into Israel instead? 6>Why does our media keep half of the story hidden under a rock?

7> How can we Americans make an honest assesment of the situation under such circumstances?

8>America does interesting things like invade Iraq because Saddam Hussien is supposedly this evil bad guy - while Israel isn't?

9> I'm supposed to look at Saddam Hussein's acts as "evil" but look at Israel's acts as "not evil"?

10>I can turn on TV and watch show after show that goes into great and gory detail about the evil things that Saddam and his sons wrought upon the Iraqi people - but there's not a single word about the evils wrought upon Palestinians. Why is that?

11> I can learn allll about Hitler and the Evil Nazis but uh...where are the shows about the modern Israel being created?

12>It was "wrong" for Hitler to invade Dutch, French, and Belgian land but it "wasn't wrong" for people to invade Palestinian land?

13>It was "wrong" for Saddam Hussein to invade Kuwait but it's "not wrong" for Israel to continue invading Palestinian land?

14>Does anyone see my point here??????

15>And then we watch as after the war with Iraq Dick Chaney gets the bid for oil in Iraq. Hmmmmmm...kinda makes you wonder.

16> Kinda makes you REALLY wonder, doesn't it?

17> So people shouldn't question why I'm here saying, "What's going on?" and thinking that I'm demonizing America.

18>How can I be wrong for questioning such conflicting things? Where are the answers?

19> I'm certainly not getting any from my OWN countrymen - except the rare few that are informed and are able to let me in on what the media keeps under wraps.

20> But then I'm accused of listening to biased opinions.

21> So let me get this straight: the American side of the story isn't biased while the Middle Eastern side of the story is biased...?

22>If we have to hold a country accountable for one thing then why don't we hold another country accountable for the same thing?

My oh my, where to begin..........

1>They haven't taken it all - the reason Israel is in the area is two fold. Jewish funds were buying the hell out of the area before the war of 1967. This was seen as a zionist movement, but let's be honest here. It was totally legal and the Palestinians were selling it. Then the war of 1967 happend (read about it yoruself, I'm not going to give you a whole history lesson). Gaza and the West Bank became spoils of war - This is the by the law reasons. By the letter of the law, Israel is entitled to the land. But by the letter of the law a lot of things would happen that shouldn't. Having land legally, but with other people on it legally is a dirty situation. What do you do with them? Well, Israel kept building settlements on to the areas. During all this fighting from both sides has continued and escalated into the crap it is today. How it started is of no consequence, that is unless we want to go by the letter of the law and let ISrael have the land, but leave hte Palestinians on it - not a very good solution

2>If you'd take the time to read and educate yoruself, you'd know that with the roadmap to peace, we require Israel to stop the wall. Near the end of the 3 month ceasefire we were looking at punishments for the continued building. But now the peace process has been derailed.

3>Like I said, they aren't.

4>Same question.

5>Israel is the reason that we knew half of what the USSR was doing in the middle east. Modern Israel is there because of the US and England. Stripping Israel down would be a death wish as Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq decided to reinact the 7 days war,but hopefully with a different outcome this time. Israel is armed for it's own protection, but even I fully see the misuse in some areas with such privelages. As for money, do keep in mind what I said about loans. For the value of Israel, it does not cost that much to support her......investment vs. return - when Israel makes too much trouble, she'll be on her own. Right now though, there is still hope in my mind that there cna be peace.

6>Because that's not what people want to hear, and because we can more easily empathize with a people needing to defend themselves against terrorist attacks. The media has never been shy about saying that Israel has attacked somewhere - It simply doesn't put the negative conotation on it that you will find in European countries. I personally wish the news was more like this on all fronts - report the events, let the view make up their mind.

7>IF you feel you are being cheated, you have the internet, go read!! There are a million and one news sites and many are in other parts of the world.

8>Saddam is/was a horrible guy. Israel needs to have limits set, and I support them - but how do you tell someone who called a ceasefire not to retaliate to a bomb in their city?

9>Look at them however you'd like, I'm not telling you what to think.

10>People are tired of it - we've been trying actively to create a Palestinian state for the last 15 years. During Clinton's presidency there was nothing but Arafat on TV

11>History Channel - there's things on the middle east, and in specific Israel/Palestine all the time.

12>Question with Assumption - slow down there.

13>slow down. You're assuming.

14>Yes, you need to go read and educate yourself.

15>Oh jeez, you pull that? Look, Dick Cheney, as is standard, has a blind trust with his businesses. He stepped down from Halliburton and all his assets have a power of attorney on them to prevent a conflict of interest - NOW, but Cheney you are thiknign Halliburton. If Cheney was handing over jobs to the company he used to work for, why did Halliburton drop out of the bidding for the ONLY large oil contract to come out of Iraq?

As for smaller jobs Halliburton may have picked up in Iraq - there is a reason they are one of the largest companies in the world. They are the best at what they do.

16>No, because you are assuming something that didn't happen.

17> You shouldn't demonize the USA. We have done more good than could possibly be imagined - should you question things? Absolutely! Such an act is why the US is great and the only way you ever learn anything!

18>Who said you were wrong for questioning? I'm trying to give you some of them

19>Why don't you quit looking to the blind to teach you to see? Personal responsibility will go a long way - educate yourself. The internet is an amazing thing.

20>There's bias everywhere. You must learn to look at both sides and make up your own mind.

21>Who said that?

22>Well, things like the NPT are only valid if you are a signee. Treaty's, conventions, etc. MEan you agree. Therefore, that is a situation in which you can hold two countries accountable in different ways. Or look to N Korea. They should be attacked by the history of Russia/Chechnya, or USA/ Iraq - why aren't we? Because while it would be nice to rid the world of such a man, it's not worth the 2+ million that would die in S Korea as a result. No two things are exact, no matter how much they are. Double standards do exist, and should be handled, but don't believe there's a great parallel just because someone says there is.