A year after President Bush declared major combat operations over in Iraq, the war in Iraq has finally ended. In case you don’t know, the US lost.
Also over is my brief and very skeptical love affair with Sharon. If Likud voters want Greater Israel, they’ll not only get it, they’ll live to regret it.
While on the topic of Abu Ghraib, does anyone know of any soldiers of any country punished severely (i.e., long prison term or capital punishment etc.) for war crimes against the enemy by their own military? As Diana Moon points out, Lt.Calley of My Lai does not count since he served only 3.5 years in house arrest and was pardoned by Nixon. I am looking for soldiers who actually served their sentences.
“Also over is my brief and very skeptical love affair with Sharon.”
No one should have a love affair with him. Yuck. But I want to re-emphasize the fact that Likud is 2% of Israeli society.
Your other question is very interesting, and I may look into it.
Incidentally, I’d be delighted to have a cup of coffee, or something, with you, sometime. Just saying.
Yeah, the hell with Likud – but it’s the Likud members you should be blaming for the vote, not Sharon. The thing to blame Sharon for is that he’s apparently knuckling under to the Likud membership rather than doing the courageous thing and calling an election. Hopefully someone will force his hand.
hey. Likud is full of right wing ultra nationalist zionists.
What i cant understand is that Sharon himself set up these settlements and now wants to dismantle them and move away from 3 million+ palestinian refugees. State of Israel is no state it is illegally set up because the Jews have been pushed around for ages and they thought they would just ruin another country by using that as a stay place.
Gary: Thanks for looking into the soldiers and war crimes issue.
I would be honored to have coffee/beer/etc. with you. Just as soon as I can figure out where you live. 🙂 Was it Colorado? One of the 12 states I haven’t visited yet (a stopover in Denver doesn’t count).
Anyway, it would be great to get together whenever we are in vicinity. I am dividing my time between central Jersey and Atlanta nowadays. Let me know when you are visiting these parts.
Gary, Jonathan: I blame Likud members, not Israelis. Unfortunately there is no way for only Likudniks to suffer the consequences of such stuff. Sharon made the right decision to leave Gaza, but I still can’t understand how a sitting prime minister can lose his own party vote by such a huge margin and still be in office.
wasim: Likud is generally considered to be the “greater Israel” party. However, remember that Sharon implemented the Sinai settlement evacuation as well.
About your comments about Israel and Jews generally, I would suggest you read some more history.
I still can’t understand how a sitting prime minister can lose his own party vote by such a huge margin and still be in office.
Me neither. If Sharon were a man, he’d walk out of Likud with as many MKs as would follow him and call an election, but he isn’t a man. The next time he puts Israel’s welfare above his own political survival will be the first.
that Likud is 2% of Israeli society.
Where’d you get that from? If you are referring to actual Likud party members I’m sure it is greater than that.
but I still can’t understand how a sitting prime minister can lose his own party vote by such a huge margin and still be in office
Nota bene: I will defend Sharon, conditionally and temporarily. (A first.)
Wait before you condemn Sharon. This is a non-binding resolution. The situation is very complicated. Sharon is waiting for the dust to settle before he acts. He is waiting for that portion of Middle Israel that isn’t completely shellshocked to mobilize in favor of the pullout.
Diana: About 60,000 Likud members voted and I remember reading somewhere that the turnout was about 50%. That means a total of about 120,000 Likud members. I think there are about 4 million people of voting age in Israel. Hence, Likud members are about 3% of Israeli voters. Obviously, Likud supporters are much more than that.
That was my point in asking for a more precise accounting…but in the final analysis I don’t think it matters that the Likud party members are only 3% of the country’s population. It seems that when the chips come down, both sides revert to radical tribalism.
The Day the Iraq War was Lost
Phil Carter in an excellent article in the Washington Monthly Nov 2004 issue: A generation from now, historians may look back to April 28, 2004, as the day the United States lost the war in Iraq. On that date, “CBS…
The Day the Iraq War was Lost
Phil Carter in an excellent article in the Washington Monthly Nov 2004 issue: A generation from now, historians may look back to April 28, 2004, as the day the United States lost the war in Iraq. On that date, “CBS…
War Crimes and Military Justice
War crimes happen in all wars. And are rarely punished appropriately. There are structural reasons for that which are unlikely to change. This is one more reason why war should be the last resort.