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Always Root for the Underdog?
QandO —
Ezra Klein on intentionality versus results: Chait makes a common claim, which is that all analysis of the Israel/Palestinian conflict has to begin from a place of intentionality. "Hamas has a problem with Israel because Hamas believes Israel has no right to exist," he writes. "Israel has a problem with Hamas because Hamas believes Israel has no right to exist. If Hamas lay down all its weapons, Israel would lift its blockade. If Israel lay down all its weapons, Hamas would kill as many Israelis as it could." There’s ...
Open Thread on Israel Strike on Hamas, Part II
Shakesville —
... thread, and I'd be ever so grateful if we could do the same thing again. (If you didn't read the first thread, it's worth a look.) The Guardian: Israeli warplanes destroy Gaza houses and mosque as air strikes continue WaPo: Senior Hamas Leader Killed: Israelis Stand Ready to Invade Gaza by Land New York Times: Striking Deep Into Israel, Hamas Employs an Upgraded Arsenal LA Times: Israel can't bomb its way to peace Ezra: An Occupied Nation and a Threatened One Glenn: More oddities in the U.S. "debate" over ...
Mike's Blog Roundup
Crooks and Liars —
GEORGE W. BUSH, WAR CRIMINAL
James Wolcott: The Good, the Bad and Joe Lieberman
Ezra Klein: An Occupied Nation and Threatened One
The Cunning Realist: Not exactly brain surgery
Foolocracy: NASA Chief to Obama: Please don't fire me! But another NASA employee was thinking about saving more than his own ass
Portfolio: The economic crisis has made 2008 a year to forget. Yet 2009 is shaping up to look even worse. Test your knowledge of 2008's business news headlines.
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The Gaza Ground Operations Begin
Comments from Left Field —
For the last eight days the Middle East, and much of the world, has watched in horror as the Israel/Palestine cease-fire first broke down, and then turned to outright warfare. Well today Israel, in a move that seemed unavoidable, has shifted to “Phase 2″ of their counter-Hamas operation and begun ground operations:
Israeli troops began moving into Gaza on Saturday night, intent on taking out Hamas rocket-launching sites, Israel Defense Forces said.
“We have just a short while ago launched the second stage of the operation against Hamas infrastructure,” IDF spokeswoman Maj. Avital Leibovich told CNN.
“The goal is to try and ...
Just War and Modern Warfare
Ross Douthat —
This Peter Hitchens line seems to offer a tidy distillation of the moral case that's been advanced around the blogosphere against Israel's tactical approach to the war in Gaza: Terrorist attacks on Israel are indeed revolting and
indefensible. But the bombing of densely populated areas, however
accurate, is certain to cause the deaths of many innocents.
How then can it be defended? In what important way is it different from Arab murders of Israeli women and children?
One is directly deliberate. The other is accidental but unavoidable.
I wouldn't say that was a specially important distinction, especially
if you are a victim of ...
