Vrede too wrote: ↑Thu Oct 26, 2023 12:14 pm
O Really wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 7:48 pm
Long ago I suggested - with at least a little seriousness, that the rest of the world build a big fence around that area and name it Thunderdome. Two go in, only one comes out. Have at it, guys. Settle a thousands year feud and let's all be on with it.
We desire the oil and radioactive fallout would likely come out, too.
Unscientific
WLOS poll:
Do you think Israel’s response to the Hamas terror attack is appropriate?
Yes 86%
No 14%, including me
With special dispensation given to the wisdom of those whose name starts with "V", I would venture to say the vast majority of those who clicked an answer to that very vague question are not in the least qualified to answer. I would guess that most of that 86% looked at the atrocities committed by Hamas, determined them to clearly be evil and find the most "appropriate" response would be to squash them. OKfine. If "them" is Hamas, but do you suppose they know what percent of Gazans are Hamas and that prior to the attack, Hamas wasn't even that popular?
F'rinstance:
The argument that the entire population of Gaza can be held responsible for Hamas’s actions is quickly discredited when one looks at the facts. Arab Barometer, a research network where we serve as co-principal investigators, conducted a survey in Gaza and the West Bank days before the Israel-Hamas war broke out. The findings, published here for the first time, reveal that rather than supporting Hamas, the vast majority of Gazans have been frustrated with the armed group’s ineffective governance as they endure extreme economic hardship. Most Gazans do not align themselves with Hamas’s ideology, either. Unlike Hamas, whose goal is to destroy the Israeli state, the majority of survey respondents favored a two-state solution with an independent Palestine and Israel existing side by side.
Continued violence will not bring the future most Gazans hope for any closer. Instead of stamping out sympathy for terrorism, past Israeli crackdowns that make life more difficult for ordinary Gazans have increased support for Hamas. If the current military campaign in Gaza has a similar effect on Palestinian public opinion, it will further set back the cause of long-term peace.
So, if they knew that, would they still think squashing everybody is "appropriate" And if the question were re-phrased to be "Do you think the 70% of Gazans who are not active members or supporters of Hamas should be starved, burned out of their houses and bombed into oblivion?" would we still get that 86% approval?
And if they knew that Hamas people don't wear nametags and have 300 miles of reinforced tunnels in a 141 square mile space, do you suppose they'd still find carpet bombing and sieging to be "appropriate"? Do any of them remember how effective that was in Vietnam?
More examples of people wanting quick one-size fits all simple solutions for complex problems.
x 13.
