From an article1:
The situation would not be nearly so desperate if Israeli and Palestinian hard-liners had merely imposed this misguided jaunt through Hell on one another, if they had locked themselves in the moral equivalent of a phone booth and agreed to duke it out to the last man -- who would then, preferably, quickly take his own wasted life.
That neither side has opted for such a course is no surprise. Both are expert in the art of terrorizing the helpless and murdering the innocent. Their preferred modes of "combat" differ outwardly, with one camp fond of suicide bombings and the other leaning toward hi-technology mayhem that allows its assassins to kill from a safe distance.
In the only context that matters, though, their goals and methods are strikingly similar. Both aim to strike fear into the hearts of civilian populations, and both do so by snuffing out human lives. (
link)
Jacobus Reardon pretty much says it all in this column.
Complete text of the article,
Only people power can end the carnage, by Jacobus Reardon
Welcome to the edge of the abyss, where the wise know not to tread but the zealous dance to the tunes of graveyard whistling.
Just when everyone with an undiseased brain was hoping against hope that the "road map" could salvage peace from the maw of war, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have chosen to engage in a fight to the finish, and the bodies are piling up on both sides.
The situation would not be nearly so desperate if Israeli and Palestinian hard-liners had merely imposed this misguided jaunt through Hell on one another, if they had locked themselves in the moral equivalent of a phone booth and agreed to duke it out to the last man -- who would then, preferably, quickly take his own wasted life.
That neither side has opted for such a course is no surprise. Both are expert in the art of terrorizing the helpless and murdering the innocent. Their preferred modes of "combat" differ outwardly, with one camp fond of suicide bombings and the other leaning toward hi-technology mayhem that allows its assassins to kill from a safe distance.
In the only context that matters, though, their goals and methods are strikingly similar. Both aim to strike fear into the hearts of civilian populations, and both do so by snuffing out human lives.
Neither has an excuse for its strategy.
Are Palestinian militants so badly outgunned that suicide bombings are all they have? Even if that were so (Hizbullah's success in southern Lebanon proves the fallacy of this argument), then why not restrict the attacks to Israeli security forces?
Israeli attacks only cause civilian casualties as a result of "collateral damage"? Then why do the dead and wounded bystanders always outnumber the dead and wounded "terrorist masterminds"?
Meanwhile the buses and the cars and the children keep getting blown up.
Where are those still among the living who know that a dead body is not Palestinian or Israeli, not Muslim or Jewish, just dead? Where are those still capable of thinking clearly enough to see that no two peoples deserve to be led, represented, or tied down by slaves to such blind fury? Where are those who still have the legs required to hit the streets in protest against the depredations of both sides? Where are those with the arms necessary for the brandishing of placards that call for an unconditional cease-fire? Where are those whose hearts are still beating and have not yet turned so cold as to ignore the suffering of the demonized "Others"?
The Palestinian experiment with self-governance is still very much a work in progress, and freedom of speech is by no means guaranteed. Now is the time for the Palestinian people to lay down their own law by demonstrating that they should not, cannot and will not tolerate the threat posed to their future by unnecessary violence.
Israelis, by contrast, have engaged in a decades-long dalliance with democracy but have never consummated the relationship because their ruling class is dominated by soldiers masquerading as statesmen and intimidated by shamans posing as clerics. Now is the time for the Israeli people to vote "with their feet" and demand that their government end its policy of provocations.
Between and above the Israelis and the Palestinians lies Washington, a powerful beast that has all but forgotten the principles of justice and self-determination that inspired the founding fathers. Now is the time for the American people to take back what was supposed to be a government of their own making by demanding that it fulfill its promise at home by acting firmly and fairly abroad.
Governments of all stripes tremble when their peoples speak out, but only when the latter understand the awesome power they wield over the former. Whether one's inclinations lie to the left, the right or the center, there is no easier assumption to adopt, no easier conclusion to draw, than that peace is better than war.
The revolting display now being played out is filled with -- and ultimately fueled by -- charlatans who pretend to know and obey the will of a god who could only be dismayed by their delusions and appalled at their readiness to invoke a higher power in the service of wanton slaughter. The standard-bearers on each side claim to "know" that scripture entitles them to everything they want and allows, no, requires them to slay those who would challenge their "rights."
This is not monotheism. It is savagery at its highest pitch and in its basest form. Better to start tossing the odd virgin into a volcano. At least that strategy for "appeasing the gods" tends to limit the number of mortals who have to prove their status so that a few demagogues can lay dubious claims to mystical promises.
[Jacobus Reardon is tired of people dying for nothing.]
reference=http://www.yellowtimes.org/article.php?sid=1417&mode=thread&order=0
The Clipboard: Only people power can end the carnage