Rice: It's Time for a New Middle East

[sparten]

Israels entire economy is based on a Free Trade Agreement with the US.

Transalation? The US pays Israel a lot of dough to buy Israeli products. Also they gaurentee loans made to the state by third parties. You should check out Israels debt someday, as a % of the GDP is is larger than most countries.

103%.

The whole country is unviable.

 

[Sid]

One of the biggest reason for US support of Israel is the Evangelical Right. They believe they have to keep Israel as it is and further nurture it so that Armageddon can take place as said in the Bible.

 

[ali ahmad]

you are right sid...they are preparing for armagedon....thats why they are looking for a new middle east....they wants have nice grip on the area where armagedon will take place.....

 

[TexasJohn]

One of the biggest reason for US support of Israel is the Evangelical Right. They believe they have to keep Israel as it is and further nurture it so that Armageddon can take place as said in the Bible.

Oh yes! as a matter of fact I had a huge argument ( contructive - not hostile) with some " born agains" when I pointed out to them that the nation of Israel the Bible refers to is not the same nation of Israel. These are European transplants - post WWII. They took on the ancient name and occupied the same territory. Ancient Israel had 12 tribes. The "jews" were the of the tribes of Judah and Levi only. Basically all Israelites are not Jews!

Of course, "bubbas" down here don't know that! they think they are helping " God's chosen" people - whatever that means. I also asked them about the remaining 10 tribes of Israel. Where are they settled now? vacant, dull looks is what I got, along with a, "what do you mean"?

 

[sparten]

Actually the correct name would be Hebrews.

 

[TexasJohn]

Actually the correct name would be Hebrews.

The tribes of Judah, Levi, and Benjamin were called the hebrews. You are right there. They were the "religious police" tribes. However, the term jew is reserved for the tribe of Judah only. It's gets confusing - the first use of "Jew" in the Bible, is when the kingdom of Judah and Israel are at war with each other!

 

[Neo]

Oh yes! as a matter of fact I had a huge argument ( contructive - not hostile) with some " born agains" when I pointed out to them that the nation of Israel the Bible refers to is not the same nation of Israel. These are European transplants - post WWII. They took on the ancient name and occupied the same territory. Ancient Israel had 12 tribes. The "jews" were the of the tribes of Judah and Levi only. Basically all Israelites are not Jews!

Of course, "bubbas" down here don't know that! they think they are helping " God's chosen" people - whatever that means. I also asked them about the remaining 10 tribes of Israel. Where are they settled now? vacant, dull looks is what I got, along with a, "what do you mean"?

Good post John!

We should have a thread about this.

 

[parihaka]

It has to be the UN, but with proper firepower and rigourous ROE's. Like te PA has in the Congo.

LOL, that's a contradiction in terms. Look at the current UN 'Observer' force. Unarmed, hezbolah firing off rockets 3 metres from their positions, no point in them being there yet Kofi (may his soul rot in hell) won't let them out. So we're stuck. The only forces capable of mounting an effective buffer zone are precluded by their nationality/race.

 

[KashifAsrar]

Whatever be the current situation, one thing is clear that Jews can not live in peace, untill they have peace with muslims, all over the world. Their hostilities and crimes against the muslims, world over, just shows the low level of their self confidence and fear.
We, The MUSLIM UMMAH would overcome them very soon, INSHA-A-ALLAH. At the moment Muslim, as a whole must try to build and raise their defence, reasearch and development, economy and try their best to build a defense alliance simmilar to NATO. They must also share the R & D results with muslim coutries all over the world. A shared knowldge is in the benefit of Muslims in particular and world in general.
REMEMBER: UNITY OF MUSLIMS IS THE ONLY DEFENCE FOR ISLAM AND MUSLIMS WORLDOVER. In the long run nothing else would work !!
Kashif

 

[sigatoka]

Kofi (may his soul rot in hell) won't let them out. So we're stuck.

What do you have against Kofi Anan? The U.N. troops there have been sent by their govt. the U.N. didnt force them. Kofi Anan is a diplomat, he doenst have an army (apart from what nations pledge).

You can't critise those who are powerless.

 

[sparten]

He's been on WAB too long.
In the Congo, the PA has armour, art, as well as Cobra's to enforce its will. The poor sods in the UNIFIL, barely have MG's.

A proper force such as the above, is needed.

 

[Officer of Engineers]

You guys do realize that Annan was the one who counter-manded then MGen Romeo Dallaire's pre-emptive strike against the Rwandan Genocide consipirators. In hindsight, the last chance anyone had at stopping that genocide.

As for the Congo, let's say the belligerants ain't strong enough to dictate UN terms ... and the Pakistanis had learned how to cheat.

As for the ROEs, those are PakArmy's, not the UN's. Check it out.

 

[sparten]

After Somalia, the PA follows its own ROE's. Those damned Italians did not show up when needed. Why do you think 19th Lancer was dispatched to Somalia in the first place? First time ever that an ACR was ever sent on a UN mission, now they are a standard part.

And they saved the Yanks tail.

 

[TexasJohn]

Good post John!

We should have a thread about this.

You mean like ancient Israel and where are they today?

 

[parihaka]

What do you have against Kofi Anan? The U.N. troops there have been sent by their govt. the U.N. didnt force them. Kofi Anan is a diplomat, he doenst have an army (apart from what nations pledge).

You can't critise those who are powerless.

See the Colonels response about Kofi. He is far from powerless, for instance it is under his aegis that hezbolah has been able to re-equip and dig in in southern Lebanon, despite numerous reports from UNIFIL.

He's been on WAB too long.
In the Congo, the PA has armour, art, as well as Cobra's to enforce its will. The poor sods in the UNIFIL, barely have MG's.

A proper force such as the above, is needed.

And I seriously doubt that the UN under Kofi Annan is capable of mounting a force capable of enforcing the peace. The only reason a New Zealander wasn't amongst those killed at the observer post was because he was pinned down by fire and couldn't relieve them as he was meant to.
Just what the UN was and is thinking maintaining a presence where the soldiers have no weapons in a war zone, and have been reporting a Hezbolah buildup for years when the UN was supposed to be enforcing the exact opposite is beyond me, as is why you'd want the UN to administer a new force after such blatant incompetance.
I suggested NATO or ABCA because both have the capabilities to deploy and ROE's that would enable them to enforce the peace, if you can come up with another solution I'm more than open to persuasion.

He's been on WAB too long.

Oh, and no need to sulk just because you've been getting your *** kicked:biggrin: