Look at this picture:
As Palestinians, Muslims, and basically every other group that dislikes you around the globe look at pictures like this, what makes you think they will ever stop attacking you? All you are doing is convincing them that they are right and encouraging them to be more set in their ways than ever. Haven’t we been down this death and destruction trail over and over and over and over?
I get that you cannot allow Hamas to continue to bomb Israel at will. But what you need is for the Palestinian people, as well as your other neighbors, to see it as a problem. From my point of view, bribery would have been the best thing. Give them something that Hamas cannot. Money. Lots and lots of money. (Yes, I know you gave them some territory. I can’t buy food with a handful of dirt). The good news is that you are a very wealthy country so money is no object. Is it “caving into the terrorists”? Who cares? You just want this to be over with as do many others in the region.
When you have pictures of injured children, it does not matter what country you are from. You are immediately the bad guy. (Even when you try to play it off as merely propaganda). And let’s face it Israel, you weren’t the most beloved country in the world to start with. This latest jaunt into “enemy” territory is going to be good for several more years of fighting. It is one thing to dislike your neighbors…like we in the US get fed up with the Canadians. But when you hate your neighbor with a white hot intensity, nothing good will come from it.
Using a bazooka in a knife fight, while effective, makes you look like little more than a bully. You are supposed to be the grown up in the confrontation. You are supposed to reach out politically across the world and build a coalition that will help defend your borders and protect your interests. But because of these rather frequent over the top outbursts, it is hard for your friends to defend your actions.
At this point, you are in too deep to turn back. You basically have to completely wipe out Hamas and ask, “Who wants some of this next?” Fear is a powerful weapon and it may be all you have in your favor at this point. No one wants to touch this so you will probably be free to go as far as you want. Just keep this in mind. Every person that already didn’t like you now will hate you forever. That’s at least another 2 generations worth of violence. Are you right in what you did? Maybe, but you will pay a heavy price.
Oh, and if you are waiting for a guy with the middle name of “Hussein” to help, it might be a long wait. However, we do appreciate you taking the “most hated nation” target off of our back…even for a little while.
EDIT: Submitted by Liz. (I understand the point about the Palastinian hiding behind the baby. But why did the Israeli guy bring a baby carriage to a gunfight?)
Posted by tannerleah 
