Thoughts from VDH.
Also, “White House issues condemnation of attack that Biden funded.”
[Monday-morning update]
Mark Steyn: Proportionate on gang rape.
Israel declared war on Hamas, but they know that the real war is with Iran. And I suspect that behind the scenes, despite whatever public statements the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia says, they’re coordinating.
[Update a while later]
We are up against an Axis of Devils.
[Afternoon update]
What’s behind Obama’s silence on Israel?
The usual.
“Hamas consigns Pax Americana to history books.”
[Update a while later]
Thoughts on Israel’s existential war.
Ethnic cleansing works. Not a great solution, but it’s a solution. It’s unclear that there is any other. And it’s a long tradition in that region.
And if an ethnicity is to be cleansed, crazy me, I think it should be the one that brutally murders and rapes innocent civilians, films the atrocities with the victims’ own phones, and uploads them to their social media, and produces nothing but misery for its own people, rather than the one that made a desert bloom, created a modern industrial western democracy, and takes great care to avoid civilian casualties.
But maybe that’s just me. Judging by what you hear on campus, and from some Democrat representatives, it probably is.
[Update late afternoon]
Mark Steyn again: Partying on.
[Tuesday-morning update]
When people tell you who they are, believe them.
[Bumped]
Gaza should cease to exist as a sovereign entity, ASAP.
If it did, it would be run by the HAMAS terrorists like it is now.
How is that an improvement?
Not if Israel occupies Gaza.
Then it would be called Israel, not Gaza.
Again
Israel should build a better wall and make Hamas pay for it. Also take back control of Gaza’s border with Egypt. Gaza itself is worthless.
Hence Gaza would “cease to exist as a sovereign entity”
Again
The Biden Administration seems terrified that people will directly link the $6 billion ransom payment to the attack. They keep trying to denounce the idea, asserting that the money we freed up can only be spent on humanitarian items like food and medicine. Do they think we’re all a bunch of 12-year-olds who don’t know how government budgets work? There is income and expenses, and income goes to the general fund, from which expenses are paid out. There is no direct linkage between the two.
It’s like some taxpayer claiming that none of their taxes go to the Pentagon, just green energy programs, or vice-versa.
And of course Trump, Pompeo, and many others screamed at the $6 billion ransom payment, because all it does is put a $1 billion price tag on Americans abroad. And sure enough, Hamas took a whole lot of hostages.
Ok George. Why don’t you take your ball and go outside and play for awhile. Be in before dark, because mom will have supper ready then.
Carpet bomb them, salt the earth. Make Gaza a lifeless scar on the land for the next thousand years to stand as a warning. Kill every member of Iran’s government.
Why are people that do this allowed to live?
Democrats have mobilized their entire activist network to counter protest demonstrations in support of Israel. Democrat allegiance lies where they send their money and lawyers.
After watching how Democrats acted during covid, the violence they organized in the streets against political opponents, their abuse of government power to persecute dissidents, and their defense of what happened over the weekend, it is clear they would treat their fellow Americans the same way Hamas treated the Israelis.
It could be that when wwiii breaks out, America will be fighting on both sides.
VDH’s X post won’t load. was it blocked?
Huh. It works for me.
Hmmm. I can’t get anything on X on this browser. Nothing at all. My phone doesn’t have that problem. I don’t understand this.
“Israel Now Wants As Many Citizens Armed As Possible Reversing Their Strict Gun Control”
“There’s no such thing as the “Right to Feel Safe” in the constitution. It doesn’t exist; it’s a made-up right by people who don’t understand the constitution.
The closest right we have to the idea of feeling safe is the Second Amendment because it was written to protect your right to adequately protect yourself and this country.
You see, Israel doesn’t have a Second Amendment, and they are very restrictive when it comes to citizens owning and carrying guns, to the extent that the percentage of citizens who actually own guns is about 2%. The video underscores the importance of the right to bear arms and highlights that even Israel’s National Security Minister is now advocating for citizens to arm themselves during this time of crisis, as he tweeted:
“Today I directed the Firearms Licensing Division to launch an emergency operation to allow as many citizens as possible to arm themselves.” ”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK6Y-Y8D5co
“Israel Loosens Strict Gun Control Laws To Arm ‘As Many Citizens As Possible’”
“Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir announced Sunday in Hebrew an emergency declaration that will “allow as many citizens as possible to arm themselves.” Currently, a mere 1.5 percent of the civilian population has a license to own a gun.”
https://thefederalist.com/2023/10/09/israel-loosens-strict-gun-control-laws-to-arm-as-many-citizens-as-possible/#:~:text=While%20a%20citizen%20can%20still,can%20now%20purchase%20a%20firearm.
IMHO too little to late; but better than nothing I guess.
The difference between Israel and the US is that the former’s compulsory military service means that the vast majority of the population in Israel likely understands gun safety, rules of engagement, and can likely also hit a target. That’s a far cry from letting Cletus, Olie, and Lena grab them some guns and a’go huntin’ fer the enemy.
IMHO, of course…
By American standards, almost no foreigners are very practiced with firearms. Rural folks grew up shooting.
“By American standards, almost no foreigners are very practiced with firearms.”
But to Johnny B’s point, most Israelis probably are practiced in the use of firearms because of said compulsory military service. That would presumably eliminate the “gun safety” objection. Which begs the question why are the general citizenry of Israel (considering the obvious threat of terrorist attacks on civilians) disarmed by the State?
If I was President I’d do something a bit bizarre. I’d declare that any Israeli can hop online and order anything they want from any US gun store, who would be allowed to ship guns and ammunition directly to Tel Aviv or Haifa or Jerusalem where the Israeli government would do any necessary checks on the buyers. Ten or twenty million guns are easy for the US, but Israeli gun stores can’t possibly meet the demand.
And I have no idea why Israel would model their gun policies on someplace like Germany or New York or Chicago.
If you have a reason that Israel should leave one stone standing atop another in Gaza, you should probably communicate it to them today. On the off chance they haven’t thought of it, before the point is moot.
‘Ethnic cleansing’ does indeed have a very long history in that area. I believe the Assyrians were the first to use it by repeatedly moving large numbers of people from their homelands to other areas where they would be likely to disappear into the majority local population.
I believe that the Samaritans were one of the populations that was moved into the area when the Northern Kingdom was wiped out. They tried to ‘fit in,’ but only to a limited extent.
Although the UN will call it “ethnic cleansing”, Israel and the US will call it “resettlement”. It won’t be voluntary. The real issue for Israel will be moving their people into Gaza and finding those among the Jewish population willing to live there permanently. Much of the existing population will have to be deported and dispersed throughout Israel to make that a reality. I suspect it will happen this time.
A map of Gaza circa 2003 shows a significant presence of Jewish settlements within.
What has been will be again… -Ecclesiastes 1:9
What exactly would we be talking about here? Killing somewhere north of two million people (frex, carpet bombing Gaza with napalm)?
No. Not killing. Relocating yes. We’ll know Israel is serious about this when encampments start getting constructed around the country. Funny thing about this. I think they’ll find huge resistance to resettlement among their Palestinian brothers on the West Bank. Because that’s Palestine Authority formerly PLO not Hamas. Apparently the two “brothers” do not get along too well.
We got about 8 million or so new US residents since Biden took office. Mostly in our big cities. So it seems doable to me.
FYI B29s firebombing Tokyo under Operation Meetinghouse in WWII took out about 100.000 civilians on a single raid in March 1945.
20 such missions would get up to the target number assuming casualties are linear. But that was using less sophisticated targeting methods and planes with a lot less payload’s capacity than a B52.
But construction in Gaza is largely steel & concrete. Its hard to get that to burn with Napalm alone. However CTF delivered in flourine sparged copper bombs wouldn’t have a problem igniting either.
Largely this is moot. The IAF I don’t believe has wings of heavy bombers.
I’m purposely excluding nukes because you want the territory to remain habitable for the new residents.
Hence the powerplant runs out of fuel. Not bombed. If it’s destroyed, that will be Hamas.