…with this woman:
I…know a Gentile lady who wishes to go to Israel if things “completely go to hell there,” just because she thinks if bombs fall on them, they should fall on her, too. She thinks if humanity lets the Jews go down, humanity is lost.
She is more motivated and braver, and firmer in her convictions than I, but I completely understand the impulse. And I am ashamed of many American Jews who, once again, as in the thirties, don’t see it coming, and continue to support those who not will only allow it to happen, but encourage it.
So, Rahm Emmanuel is like the woman, but more useful, because he actually helped the IDF when the bombs were falling. And then there is the simple fact that he went, as opposed to just talking about it. But you’re probably ashamed and worse by him.
—
Rand, could you clearly spell out how the current situation is as dire as the 30s? Because you juxtapose the talk of bombs with the 30s, I think you are saying that there is an existential military threat to Israel. There might be: an Iranian nuclear bomb (or a terrorist nuclear bomb). I suppose there are other less likely WMD scenarios as well, involving bio weapons, but I think nuclear bombs are the key threat. If you disagree, do you see some other existential threat to Isreal? It sure isn’t Turkey. If you agree, what’s your problem with American Jews? I presume you are saying that Jews voted for Obama, and Obama/Clinton/Gates/Jones/Emanuel aren’t doing enough to prevent a nuclear strike on Israel, and McCain and his administration would have somehow been more effective. If so, how? And what about the Israeli center, what about Kadima? Are you ashamed of them too? Here’s an Israeli editorial on the Iranian threat, published in a leftist Israeli newspaper. Are you ashamed of the views expressed?
Before the Bomb
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/before-the-bomb-1.295267
No, Rahm Emanuel is not like that woman. Rahm Emanuel is endangering Israel (and the USA) by working for a US administration that is making it easy for the genocidal Iranian regime to get nuclear weapons. The fact that he once did volunteer work in Israel does not offset the damage he is doing now.
I take it you don’t think it’s like the 1930s. That’s nice. What if you are wrong? In the 1930s many people failed to perceive the severity of the threat until it was too late. They wanted peace and thought that preparing for war would only make war more likely. They thought Hitler could be, as we would say now, contained. They thought Churchill was a warmonger. They thought that they knew better. They were wrong about everything.
Or maybe you do think it’s like the 1930s, but that the behavior of American Jews, who heavily supported (and perhaps still support) Obama, proves that the situation isn’t as dire as many of us think. That’s nice. What if Obama-supporting American Jews are wrong on this issue? It’s not like they are directly threatened by Iran, or that their kids (with a few exceptions) serve in the Israeli military. It’s not even like the majority of American Jews are that much into Israel any more. Maybe you should consider that the Americans who are into Israel, who are mostly not Jews, are scared.
Bob-1
I’d say things are close to as dire as the 30’s. There are plenty of actors who would be happy to see more Jews killed than Hitler did, And all the recent moves against Israel are designed to de-legitimize any self defense by the Israelis. And since Israel can only exist if can to some extant work with the world, especially in the form of trade and commerce, and a large part of the world is coming to want Israel gone……. guess where things are headed.
But absolutely none of this makes sense if you have a purely materialistic view of the world. That blinds you to much of what is happening around you. WHY do people hate Jews who have never even met a Jew? (A curious phenomenon of current Germany.) Why do people claim to care about Palestinians who don’t even notice when Palestinians are oppressed by Arab countries?
None of the externals are “real” here. The real battle exists within the souls of humankind. Jews are God’s Chosen People. They symbolize obedience to God. Hatred of Jews and Israel is a form of rebellion against God. (One that a lot of Jews indulge in.) What Isreal actually does hardly matters at all.
Hated of America (which usually goes with hatred of Israel) is the same symbolism, but on a lower plane. America and Israel are the two countries which are ideas, rather than racial or linguistic or tribal entities. So both symbolize putting an idea or a high ideal ahead of ones self. Which is….. what obedience to God is.
Your first paragraph generates useful questions: What is the Obama adminstration doing wrong regarding the Iranian nuclear threat? What should they do instead? I don’t think talking to Iran or not talking to Iran will matter much.
Your second and third paragraphs don’t explain anything about the nature of the threat, let alone what should be done about it. I take it you agree that nuclear weapons are the only real threat to Israel.
I think you are wrong about American Jewish attitudes toward Israel — they like the country even when they don’t like the government. That attitude, by the way, is not different from the majority of Israeli voters, who are perpetually dissatisfied, and who would probably be happier with their government and its policies if Israel dumped the parliamentary system and went with an American-style system.)
I’d go with rifle in hand so I can stand beside some of the last true patriots on Earth to face down the barbarians at the gate, shoulder to shoulder.
When you want to deter aggression, Bob, perception is everything. Hitler made his moves because he correctly predicted that the Allies didn’t have the stomach to draw a line in the sand, and would limit their objections to his activities short of actually shooting Frenchmen with mere sputtering protest. He even got away with shooting Poles.
What Obama has done wrong is convey the same kind of weakness. After making explicit promises to betray the Iraqis and Afghanis on a timetable, fumbling the relationship to Pakistan, after dissing our closest allies and bending over for the Russians in return for various fig leaves of nuclear arms reduction, after pussing out entirely on North Korea, it would be very hard for the Iranians to conclude he means it if he proposes any objection to regional aggression. They will conclude that Obama will meet any serious aggression they pursue with pursed lips, offers of “dialogue,” threats to sue, and angry threats to kick ass on American talk shows.
No one thinks he might flip out angrily and order the immediate nuking of Tehran. Not even his friends think that. He’s perfected the art of speaking softly, but the stick he carries is a stick of cooked spaghetti, totally limp.
As for what he could do — nothing. As he’s finding out with all these faux I’m vewy vewy angwy! trips to the talk shows, it’s too late to re-invent himself. He’s Mr. Cool, the dapper intellectual, the appreciator of all viewpoints, the turner of clever phrases. If he had also turned out to be a genius at efficient management, and could pick hot-tempered bastards to use when he saw fit, judiciously, then that would all be OK.
But he turns out to be a real empty suit, with terrible management skills and a relatively useless coterie void of bulldogs. As incompetent and tin-eared as Obama himself is, he’s still head and shoulders above his Cabinet, who are even worse, with the possible exception of Gates at Defense.
I don’t think it matters very much. Very few countries have ever been persuaded to give up nuclear weapon tech, although some have done so of their own accord because it’s so damn expensive. The Persians are a proud and intellectual race; they won’t be persuaded by anything this President and this Congress could do, short of actual war. Nor do I think an Osirak solution from the Israelis is plausible. We are all simply going to have to get used to a nuclear Iran, and trust that the mini-Cold War this implies will prove as ruinously expensive to the mullahs as it was to the Soviets.
1. Not everyone who lives in Israel is a jew.
2. Not everyone who is a jew supports the state of Israel.
3. Religion is willful insanity, seek help.
Mr Twittington,
1) you are correct, there are many loyal and patriotic Israeli Arabs, who generally are even more prone to shoot first and ask questions later (the driver of the bulldozer that ran over Rachel Corrie was an Israeli Arab).
2) You are also correct, there are many self-hating jews out there. There were also jews who hid their identities and were officers in the Third Reich. Neither type is correct or loyal, there are selfish, self centered, self serving, yellow bellied cowards in all cultures.
3) Religion is not Ethnicity. Seek help for your clearly evident bigotry.
Mike, please don’t confuse me with Mark Wittington, just because we share the last 6 letters in our last name doesn’t mean we’re the same person.
I find the fact that you associate non-Zionism with self-hatred kind of telling. There’s plenty of jews that are quite proud of their heritage but simply believe the state of Israel is a terrible mistake.. just as there are plenty of non-jew non-arab people who think the same thing.
Are you saying its not about religion? Really?
Trent, the conflict is absolutely not about religion. It is about a lot of things, like democracy vs repression, and it is especialy about ethnicity, but most Israeli Jews are secular and religiously tolerant.
The confusion comes about because Judaism is a religion but being Jewish is a question of ethnicity. You can square the circle if you come to realize that many converts to Judaism are really converting to an ethnicity (every convert I ever met did it because they were marrying someone Jewish, and they had family concerns in mind as opposed to a concern over religous doctrine. They’ll jump through a rabbi’s hoops, but their family, not God, is what is on their mind – otherwise they’d find it easier and just as satisfying to become a Unitarian!)
I also think you are wrong about Jewish worldwide attitudes toward Israel. There are a few Jews who feel the state of Israel is a mistake — some for political reasons, and some for religious reasons (they think Jews should wait for the messiah) — but I believe the overwhelming majority of Jews support the idea of Israel, and are simply arguing over policy questions — questions such as whether 55% or 85% of the settlements in the West Bank should be removed, not existential questions. I can’t prove it to you without citing polls, but before we start discussing polls, do you agree that the “plenty” of Jews you’re referring to are a small minority?
What I find telling is that disagreements over Israeli policy are interpreted as non-Zionism. Rand often leaves me with the impression that he is ashamed of how the majority of Israelis think, even if he doesn’t realize that the majority of Israelis think this way.
I thought we were talking about jews in the US.. and the last time I heard a poll it was that the vast majority of US jews felt Israel wasn’t the US’s problem.. just like the majority of US citizens do. In regards to ethnicity, when white folk think like that we call it racism. I think I almost have more respect for religious motivated wars than I do for ethnic motivated wars. On the other hand, the democracy vs repression thing is something most Americans can get behind, and find it terribly distasteful when the US props up a dictator or bows out a fight for democracy.. and I for one have never really understood it.. isn’t democracy bad? May no individual right be denied for the greater good. Wasn’t that the point of the Constitution? Whatever, democracy, rah rah rah, saddle up.
and in regards to ethnicity vs religion…
Ethnic groups: Jewish 76.4% (of which Israel-born 67.1%, Europe/America-born 22.6%, Africa-born 5.9%, Asia-born 4.2%), non-Jewish 23.6% (mostly Arab) (2004)
Religions: Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004)
Now I’m not crazy good with this social sciences stuff but to me it seems that all ethnic jews are religious jews. Just for shits and giggles, here’s Iran:
Ethnic groups: Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%
Religions: Muslim 98% (Shia 89%, Sunni 9%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha’i) 2%
So umm, if you’re saying the aggressors are in Iran and are motivated by ethnicity what ethnicity is the bad one? Those evil Persians? As I said, not a big wiz on the social sciences but if I had to hazard a guess I’d go with the whole Muslim vs Jew thing.
Trent,
Your statements don’t make for a contradiction, and you do illustrate the problem with interpreting polls. Americans (including Jewish Americans) say “That’s not our problem!” when confronted with an international conflict that doesn’t directly involve them (like, say, Burma, or East Timor) until someone makes an argument that it really is our problem to solve after all. I think you’re just pointing out that Jewish Americans will always affirm that they care first and foremost about America’s interests. But that’s quite a different question from whether Americans (including Jewish Americans) support Israel’s existence. But beyond all that, the fact is, America and Israel are close allies and there is no call from any significant number of Americans for this to change ( regardless of Rand’s scary rhetoric!)
The more interesting distinction is between “support for Israel” (common in America) and “support for particular Israeli policies” (always controversial, both in America and in Israel itself).
Just as an aside, a state department official recently pointed out that Israel is one of the few countries in the world whose armed agents are allowed inside the state department’s security perimeter when American officials come to visit.
An American is apt to say “Yes, Israel has a right to exist”. A Jewish American is apt to be supportive of the massive foreign aide America gives Israel, but they’ll justify it (to themselves, mind you) by
Please ignore the last paragraph — I meant to cut it. It would have explained why American Jews think that supporting Israel is in America’s strategic interest.
I’m not sure we’re disagreeing. I think most jewish americans, are just like most americans, and think Israel needs to stand on their own two feet – which, btw, I think they’re more than capable of doing without any help from the US (or us “allies” that you bastards inevitably drag into your adventures).
Israel exists.. that’s a fact.. so the question is not whether they have a right to exist but whether anyone has the right to destroy them, and to me there’s no question, no-one does. But that doesn’t mean the rest of the world has the obligation to defend them.. which is what this lady Rand empathizes with seems to think.
Trent: ” to me it seems that all ethnic jews are religious jews.” You’re wrong. Similarly, most muslims in Bosnia aren’t religious.
Here’s a thought experiment: Say everyone in Israel converted to Islam. I think the fighting would resume minutes later. Or, say everyone in the whole middle east converted to Judaism. Jews in Israel would get big happy dazed smiles on their faces, but a few minutes later fighting would indeed resume. There are (or were) competing viewpoints over what to do with the land.
About Iran: the fight with Israel isn’t over ethnicity — it is completely artificial — created by the Iran’s leaders so that an external enemy would create internal cohesion.
How do you explain the statistics then?
if humanity lets the Jews go down, humanity is lost
Agree with it or not, that’s the issue, period.
I don’t care what religion. I don’t care what ethnicity. Israel is a land that wants peace and their neighbors want genocide.
No nation that wants peace can stand idle regarding genocide.
End of story.
Rand often leaves me with the impression that he is ashamed of how the majority of Israelis think, even if he doesn’t realize that the majority of Israelis think this way.
A majority of Israelis (something like seventy percent) don’t think that Barack Obama has their interests at heart.
Which neighbors want genocide, Ken?
Egypt has a peace treaty with Israel and is cooperating on the Gaza blockade.
Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel and has a free trade zone. They actively suppress anti-Israeli views in their media and have disrupted Palestinian activities that try to use the Jordanian state to garner legitimacy.
In 2008, Syria and Israel both confirmed they were privately negotiating for a peace treaty with Turkey as a mediator.
Hezbollah is still in conflict with Israel, but they do not speak for all of Lebanon. Nor does Lebanon have the capability to prosecute an offensive war.
Relations with Turkey are at their lowest point in decades, but Turkey is also a NATO ally and its army has a strong tradition of secularism that would likely stymie any attempt to ignite a religious war.
Iraq and the states of the Arabian Peninsula have neither the interest nor the capability of war with Israel.
This leaves Iran. While Ahmadinejad speaks a lot of horrible rhetoric about Israel, it is the Supreme Leader and his Guardians Council that are the real levers of power within Iran. They control Iran’s nuclear program and its strategic forces. Their primary concern is the retention of their power, something that Ahmadinejad actually threatens because of his eagerness to pick a fight.
The mullahs know that we and the Israelis know how to trace the origins of a nuclear weapon. They know what our response would be if they ever attacked Israel with a weapon of mass destruction. They’re power-hungry, not mad.
Bob-1 asks:
What is the Obama adminstration doing wrong regarding the Iranian nuclear threat? What should they do instead?
They should annihilate the Iranian regime. Wipe it out. Completely. Any regime whose official slogan is “Death to America!” — repeated endlessly at mass rallies — and who is working to acquire nuclear weapons should to be inflicted with “Death from America”.
That’s exactly how we successfully dealt with the last nation of religious fanatics hell-bent on global domination — the Shinto-inspired, death-worshipping, suicidally-religious fanatics of Japanese Imperialism.
The discussion about whether the current era is like the ’30s–and whether people like Bob-1 would recognize it if it were–reminds me of something William Buckley often referred to: Albert Jay Nock’s remark that it would be useful to write an essay on how one would recognize the Dark Ages if one were living in them.
I guess the presence of rampaging barbarians in one’s midst might be a clue.
There is one factor about second-decade 21st century being the 1930’s.
Germany was, and is, an economic and technological powerhouse. Back in the day, it was top-of-the-heap in terms of conventional military — the U.S. was clearly “bested” by the Germans in WW-II — think Kasserine Pass. In WW-II, Germany was the Confederacy and the U.S. was the Union, and the Confederacy was better militarily on almost all levels . . . except for the preponderance of industrial capacity that ground the other side down.
In the current Long War, the “other side which is politically incorrect to name” has minimal industrial capacity, they are not Germans in the work-ethic department, and they have demonstrated an utter incapacity to fight a modern conventional war.
On the other hand, the Other Side sits astride The Oil, something Germany tried for but couldn’t pull off. Iran can probably get the Bomb, and undertaking that requires the infrastructure of a major industrial state, in part because someone has “done it” before, in part because of collaboration with others (Khan Network? North Korea), and in part because they are devoting everything to the effort and impoverishing their people in the process.
Then there is the Asymmetric Warfare thing. The Other Side has perfected the Human Cruise Missile. It is a kind of sick human infrastructure kind of thing. It is not a bunch of guys sitting around and saying let’s blow ourselves up for the cause. There has to be a leadership cadre engaged in recruitment, indocrination, selection and training of the “soldiers” to pull this off.
We are talking about a culture which has never had the German and Confuscian-style obedience to authority working for it, so to get their Human Cruise Missiles to have a high success rate when everything else military doesn’t work for them (I might include the insurgent warfare angle — if they were anything like the Vietnamese, they would be beating us in insurgent war, but instead, it is a close thing, but it wouldn’t even be close if they were good at it).
Which neighbors want genocide
So no missiles. No bombs. Just paradise.
No problem then. Yeah, I buy that.
A majority of Israelis (something like seventy percent) don’t think that Barack Obama has their interests at heart.
We could argue over how the poll asked the question,etc, but lets not. Instead, let me ask you this: what policy pursued by the Obama administration is not supported by a majority of Israelis? What policy differences do the Democrats have with Kadima?
what policy pursued by the Obama administration is not supported by a majority of Israelis?
Here’s an answer:
Asked whether they would support Obama imposing a plan dividing Jerusalem and removing the Jordan Valley from Israeli control, 91 percent of Israelis who expressed an opinion said no and 9% said yes, according to the poll of 503 Israelis, which was taken by Ma’agar Mohot on Sunday and Monday and had a 4.5% margin of error.
By the way, about the same time (April 2010), the Palestinian’s where asked the same question, and while there was more support for Obama’s policy initiative, they still rejected the idea over 2 to 1.
As for Kadima, there is this from the platform references in wikipedia:
Jerusalem and large settlement blocks in the West Bank will be kept under Israeli control.
See the poll question in the link.
You didn’t answer my question, Ken, by responding with a non sequitur. I didn’t say it was “paradise.” I just pointed out that your hyperbole has no place in a serious discussion of geopolitics.
Leland,
Ha ha ha! You joker! Look at the headline: “Poll: 91% against Obama imposing deal” “Huge majority against forced plan to divide J’lem, cede Jordan Valley.” Look at the first line of the article: “A huge majority of Israelis would oppose an attempt by US President Barack Obama to impose a final-status agreement with the Palestinians, a poll sponsored by the Independent Media Review and Analysis (IMRA) organization found this week.”
Well, no kidding! If you polled a bunch of Americans about a *forced* plan by a foreign country (say, Canada) to *impose* upon the American public things like Mom, baseball, and apple pie, a huge majority would reject that plan too!
—
But there might be a useful nugget of a point in your comment, one that might even show that you’re right and I’m wrong after all. That would be fine – I’d like to know the truth. I believe that various majorities of Israelis have been in favor of one or another comprehensive peace plans that involved dividing Jerusalem. I believe that a majority of Israelis accept that most settlements will have to be withdrawn, that Jerusalem will have to be split into Palestinian and Israeli sectors. But I don’t have links to polling to back that up – it is just what I recall reading. So lets look it up. But wait — political parties in Israel as well as groups in America play various word games to describe Jerusalem, East Jerusalem, the settlements near Jerusalem, and so forth. You can be for keeping “Jerusalem and larege settlement blocks under Israeli control”, but still be in favor of East Jerusalem (or whatever you want to call it) being the capital of the Palestinian state. Right now I’ve got to run, but later I can provide you with a glossary if you like. Lets look into it without rancor.
Oh , and I guess it needs to be said: there never was a plan by Obama to impose a solution. You found an example of push polling. Those Isrealis do politics just like we do! Bye!
You didn’t answer my question
I did, with ridicule.
Which neighbors want genocide
There’s a huge difference between the official positions of governments (and a religion that promotes lying) and what they allow to happen. I believe Gaza is getting missiles from Egypt. Somebody is supplying them.
What neighbors? Egypt, Jordan, and Syria are neighbors that all attacked Israel at the same time. They got there asses kicked, but they did attack didn’t they?
A majority of Islam members agree with attacks on Israel and it’s destruction. Not surprising since the central tenant of that religion is the destruction or servitude of all non Islam.
What neighbors? All of them, by my count.
So, Bob, is this a push poll?
Must be more of that “smart diplomacy.”
Trent Waddington Says:
June 11th, 2010 at 1:18 am
and in regards to ethnicity vs religion…
“Ethnic groups: Jewish 76.4% (of which Israel-born 67.1%, Europe/America-born 22.6%, Africa-born 5.9%, Asia-born 4.2%), non-Jewish 23.6% (mostly Arab) (2004)
Religions: Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004)
Now I’m not crazy good with this social sciences stuff but to me it seems that all ethnic jews are religious jews. ”
Welp, you’re not crazy good at all. There are a number of Baha’i Jews, and even a small number of christian jews (aka Jews for Jesus) but they tend to get looked down on. My own family is part jewish, my uncles side practices Judaism, my fathers side is Catholic.
It is true that ultraorthodox jews claim if you aren’t ultra orthodox, you aren’t a jew, but there are orthodox jews, conservative jews, reformed jews (which is about as religious as members of the church of england, i.e. hardly at all) as well as a large number of entirely atheistic jews. Its the atheists, oddly enough, who were the largest supporters of the Zionist socialist agenda originally, while the ultraorthodox jews opposed the formation of the state of Israel on the argument that only God had the power and authority to recreate the State of Israel…. Once it was done, though, that was a mute point, they were as happy to return home as anybody.
So no, only some ethnic jews are religious jews.
troll bait:
what policy pursued by the Obama administration is not supported by a majority of Israelis?
troll’s EPIC FAIL, fixed:
Well, no kidding! If you polled a bunch of
AmericansIsraelis about a *forced* plan by a foreigncountryPresident (say,CanadaObama) to *impose* upon theAmericanIsraeli public; things like Mom, baseball, and apple pie., aA huge majority would reject that plan too!Yeah, no kidding.
Mike, then explain the statistic please… sheesh, it’s not too much to ask.. there’s the same number of ethnic jews as there are religious jews.. it’s right there in the stats. If you’re going to say there’s some minority swapping then it has to be less than 0.1% otherwise it seems like an awful coincidence that the numbers are identical.
Facts cannot be disputed by anecdotes.
it seems that all ethnic jews are religious jews
It does not seem entirely surprising that 76.4% of ethnic jews are jewish. This says nothing about the religious breakdown within that group.
The category is religions; not religious jews. Not all christians are religious for example.
I’m sorry, I should have said, 100% of jews being jewish is not surprising. I wasn’t clear above.
Facts cannot be disputed by anecdotes
Actually, one good example can refute a ‘fact.’ Actually, it’s the only way.
Trent,
Try being a little less banal and spend a few grey cells thinking. Just because I was raised catholic doesn’t mean I go to mass every sunday, do confession, etc etc. I haven’t been inside a catholic church in years and wouldn’t mind never being inside one again in my life other than for weddings and funerals. The statistics still count me as “catholic” even tho I am in no way religious. I think the bible is a rather inaccurate history of the myths and superstitions of one particular ethnic group. I believe in evolution, and the big bang, and that the Red Sox are the best baseball team, while the Yankees are the spawn of Satan. The first two beliefs are informed by science, the last two are a matter of faith that isn’t part of the catholic communion.
Likewise, the census department thinks I am a Native American because I told it I was (I happen to have been born in the US, which in my opinion, counts as Native American), and that I am a latino because of the italian side of my family, since the latin language was created in Italy. They both show up in the US census stats, and are equally meaningless to your assertions about the religiosity of jews in Israel.
And yes, I agree in advance that faith that the Red Sox are the best baseball team in the history of the world SHOULD be part of the catholic communion.
ken,
Do you actually know any Muslims? I don’t think you do. You are twisting the views of extremists to represent those of the religion as a whole. Certainly none of my Muslim friends and colleagues have any interest in genocide or subjugation.
As for geopolitics, Egypt was the first of Israel’s neighbors to sign a peace treaty with Israel and enjoys significant military aid from the United States, as a result. Egypt is not going to jeopardize the gravy train, especially when keeping groups like Hamas contained is beneficial in regards to its own internal security issues.
Your idea about the missiles coming from Egypt makes for interesting conspiracy theory, but little else. Qassam rockets were actually designed by Hamas engineers and intended to be easily and quickly produced from local materials. The propellant is a solid mixture of sugar and potassium nitrate. The warhead is whatever explosive they can get their hands on. Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds rockets are similarly produced locally. The rockets aren’t terribly sophisticated, but they don’t have to be.
Jordan has enjoyed a similar normalization of relations with Europe and the United States since backing off from an aggressive posture towards Israel. There’s nothing in an invasion for them. While most of the Jordanian public is opposed to the idea a permanent Jewish state, most of the Jordanian public is Palestinian by ethnicity. Even so, a majority of Jordanians also supports a two-state solution.
Syria is under new management, if you hadn’t noticed. President Bashar al-Assad, son of the late Hafez al-Assad, is more interested in economic development, which undercuts the activity of Islamic extremists that the Syrian government has been trying to purge for decades. Despite their saber rattling, Syria has abided by the UN-enforced ceasefire since 1974 and the talks with Israel initiated in 2008 continue.
Seven out of ten of Americans think Iran already has nuclear weapons. Four out of ten favor military action. By your logic, Iran would be justified in thinking the US wants war.
You are twisting the views of extremists to represent those of the religion as a whole.
No, what I’m actually doing is paying attention to the many polls that show again and again that the rank and file mostly agrees with the ‘extremists’ suggesting that within Islam these are not actually extreme views.
I happen to believe that most people are like most other people and aren’t extreme in most of their views. This would include many Muslims.
But I also know that Islam is not a natural progression from Christianity or Judaism. It was founded by someone that makes Charlie Manson seem mainstream. It’s core beliefs are the destruction or servitude of all others. Lying is a sacrament.
Intimidation it’s main weapon. I will not be intimidated, nor will others.