Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Israel's Blockade Defended By Conservative Activists

I disagree with the blockade Israel has against the Gaza strip.  I understand their logic and I disagree.  It reminds me of the Berlin Blockade after World War II, in which the Western Allies (including America) were denied access to sectors of Berlin under their control by the Soviet Union.  The Western Allies worked hard to supply the city, leading to the initiation of the Berlin Airlift, which contributed to the end of the blockade.

Now conservatives are quick to condemn the friends of the Palestinians for trying to break the blockade to administer aid to the impoverished region.  People like John Smithson at The Midknight Review argues that the current American administration had abandoned Israel, leaving Israel to fend for themselves.  This kind of logic seems to be invading the conservative mentality, and that is put all disagreements aside, ignore the federal government, and do whatever you want - just consider the actions in Arizona or Sarah Palin's recent tweet to Bobby Jindal.

Smithson argued that Israel had never broken a treaty or peace  and has been under constant assault from radical Islam, but I beg to differ.  I would like to point to this particular instance where Israel broke it's own cease fire, attacking a media building, and considering Israel's policy of restricting the media from the region, it makes Smithson's claims seem that much more plausible (do to the lack of news), if it wasn't for those inconvenient facts that seem to pop up.  Smithson also seems to forget that Israel hasn't really tried to warm up to this presidency.  Obviously feeling a void from the close relationship with Obama's predecessor, I guess one can understand why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel (who served in the Israeli Army during the First Gulf War) "self-hating Jews."

Now Israel is saying they will take more action against future attempts.
Israel will use more aggressive force in the future to prevent ships from breaking the sea blockade on the Gaza Strip, a top Navy commander told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

"We boarded the ship and were attacked as if it was a war," the officer said. "That will mean that we will have to come preparedin the future as if it was a war."
Weren't the Israeli's the ones to board the vessel in international waters?

Do conservatives believe America should be Israel's lapdog?

Smithson also made the claim that both Israel and America are not imperialist nations, but I feel like I should question the existence of Puerto Rico, Guam, Hawaii, Alaska, or pretty much any of the other territories America acquired and continues to retain outside of the the original thirteen colonies...

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