The Full Plate
As the U.S. watches BP continue to foul the Gulf of Mexico and criticizes Obama for not using his superpowers to plug the damn hole, crises are unfolding around the world that need attention.
North and South Korea
In March, a South Korean warship was hit by a missile and sank, killing 46 sailors. Investigators determined that the missile was from North Korea. South Korea cut ties with North Korea and issued some tough rhetoric:
The tough measures, announced in an address to his nation, were bound to ratchet up pressure on the isolated Pyongyang government and add a new flash point in U.S. relations with China.
“Fellow citizens, we have always tolerated North Korea’s brutality, time and again. We did so because we have always had a genuine longing for peace on the Korean Peninsula,” he said. “But now things are different. North Korea will pay a price corresponding to its provocative acts.”
Lee then said that “no North Korean ship will be allowed to make passage through any of the shipping lanes in the waters under our control” and that “any inter-Korean trade or other cooperative activity is meaningless.”
North Korea then announced it would cut all ties to South Korea. North Korea expelled all South Koreans working in North Korea and South Korea is dropping pamphlets into North Korea. Relations are at their worst in a long time.
Israel and Turkey
The crisis began when Israel fired on a flotilla of boats carrying supplies to Gaza, killing 10 people and wounding 50 more. Israel has a blockade of shipments to Gaza, but the ships were in International waters and one of the ships boarded was the Turkish ship Marmara. Israel is currently holding 480 activists from the flotilla.
Israel claims that the raid was justified and there have been major protests around the world (Juan Cole has a round-up). The biggest casualty will be the Israel-Turkey relationship:
Turkey yanked its ambassador from Israel in protest Monday and backed out of joint military exercises. As demonstrators took to the streets to demand revenge, Turkish leaders unleashed fiery rhetoric against Israel.
“It should be known that we are not going to remain silent in the face of this inhumane state terrorism,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. He denied Israeli allegations that there were weapons onboard, saying the ships were carefully screened.
At the United Nations, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called Monday “a black day in the history of humanity.” Turkey demanded Israel apologize and return the bodies of the dead — most believed to be Turkish — as well as the wounded to their homelands.
To further complicate matters, Turkey is a member of NATO. NATO has called for an emergency meeting today. There may be more confrontations to come because Turkey is sending more ships with aid to Gaza.
Tags: Crisis Management, International Relations, President Obama
Hope and change ?
What does that even mean, FBH? I realize you’re not the deepest of thinkers, but you could at least try to form an intelligent thought.
I fear it would die of lonliness, pandora.
Obomba is a president who consistently fails to be proactive about anything. He is a man who lets events control him rather than even trying to control the events. There is no reason to be surprised anymore when other national leaders and leaders of multi-national corporations treat him like a pushover.
Why is BP still in charge?
BP = Barack Petroleum
Certainly there has to be a way to get relief supplies into Gaza without Israel taking another one of her preemptive strikes due to their justified fear of rearming Hamas.
Israel is a victim of their own unwillingness to work out a solution, as the Gazans suffer from unbelievable deprivation.
They are victims in terms of their increased isolation, now from Turkey who condemns this Israeli attack, and from the Egyptians who have lifted their piece of the blockade of Gaza.
Now Israel has only the US. Who else?
The next preemption will probably be Iran. Then ….
This continuing progression of hostilities is never ending, it seems.
A good start would be for Israel to generate good will by stopping the expansions into East Jerusalem and on the West Bank, and for Hamas to once and for all stop the rocket and mortar attacks.
Then maybe we can all help the suffering Gazan civilians.
Israel abducts over 700 civilians, including some US nationals, killing 10, in international waters.
Obomba has nothing to say and his US Sixth Fleet has nothing to do.
Certainly there has to be a way to get relief supplies into Gaza
Israel has spelled out the rules for allowing humanitarian aid to Gaza, which the ships chose to ignore and cause a provocation instead.
Gaza sympathizers should pray for the success of the blockade, because the alternative is all-out war on Gaza.
The blockade has been fairly successful at limiting attacks on Israel from Gaza. Gazans have choices to make if they want to end the blockade.
Instead of figuring out how to defy the blockade, Turkey and the UN should be helping Gaza negotiate an end to the blockade. None of Gaza’s neighbors recognize the legitimacy of the Hamas government.
Perry, I like your thinking. Unfortunately, this was “suicide by cop,” meaning that the blockade runners knew there would be trouble in trying to run the blockade. I think that if a third party (Red Cross, UNICEF, etc.) would be the mule to bring in the supplies, there would not be any problem. And Hamas must recognize Israel’s right to exist. Until that happens, we’re going to see more and more of this.
“suicide by cop” ?
Homicide by cutthroats .
MJ is totally into blaming victims.
There are millions of tons going in every day. Israel invited this group to participate in one of those runs, but the condition is that they would be subject to inspection. We have found out why they didn’t want this inspected. It had rocket making materials on board.
You know the type used to kill Israeli civilians who do nothing more menacing than walk out of their homes.
MJ is actually right about this one. I guess it happens. I wrote a post on it early this morning, but it won’t publish until noon because I have to keep a certain flow to the blog. You may find it interesting. I tap into some of the foreign press to get both sides’ response.
There’s a lot to criticize on both sides of the issue of Israel and Palestine, as far as I’m concerned. I wonder WTF Israel was thinking in this case, the optics are terrible for them.
David, I doubt there were rocket materials on board, unless real proof emerges. I think the purpose of this ship was to cause a provocation that would end the blockade, clearing the path for future ships with actual rockets on board.
There are three parties who can end this blockade:
1. Israel unilaterally
2. The international community, by pressuring Israel, and
3. The Gazans themselves,by negotiating recognition and peace
The problem is, whichever party ends the blockade takes upon itself the responsibility for future attacks on Israel from Gaza. Who do you want to assume that responsibility? Whichever party you choose has its downsides.
In the meantime, Israel is facing attackers from Gaza and is under no obligation to let their caterers through.
The aid ships set off from Turkey at the weekend, insisting that their cargo was desperately needed by the residents of Gaza, despite the fact that Gaza receiving many times more humanitarian aid each week via Israel. The ships were also carrying many items Israel is trying to keep out of Gaza because they have been used in the past by Hamas to built rockets and bunkers.
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=21192
Delacrat – unless you’ve walked in my shoes and my Israeli family’s shoes, don’t affix blame. The IDF is hardly cut-throat. They are protecting a county that has had to fight for it’s very existence since it’s founding.
A1 – you’re not worth even responding to. Your mouth moves, sounds come out, but you say nothing.
“Israel abducts over 700 civilians, including some US nationals, killing 10, in international waters.
Obomba has nothing to say and his US Sixth Fleet has nothing to do.”
Find me the last US president to criticize Israel. It doesn’t happen. Democratic or Republican.
Comment by anon on 1 June 2010 at 9:49 am:
I’ve disected anon’s standard zionist B. S.
Certainly there has to be a way to get relief supplies into Gaza
Oh…. spare us your crocodile tears !
Israel has spelled out the rules for allowing humanitarian aid to Gaza, which the ships chose to ignore and cause a provocation instead.
It is simply taken for granted Israel has a “right” to “spell out the rules” for other people.
Gaza sympathizers should pray for the success of the blockade, because the alternative is all-out war on Gaza.
The real alternative is for Israel to comply with Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and get out of the occupied territories and start building bridges with their Arab brothers, instead of US Congressmen.
The blockade has been fairly successful at limiting attacks on Israel from Gaza.
It has not been successful at limiting attacks going the other way. But anon is doesn’t give a F#7k as long as non-Israeli’s get killed.
Gazans have choices to make if they want to end the blockade.
Which are …..what? anon does not say, because Gazans don’t have choices. They have bad neighbors.
Instead of figuring out how to defy the blockade, Turkey and the UN should be helping Gaza negotiate an end to the blockade.
Zionists like to say what the “Turkey and the UN” and indeed, the world should do.
None of Gaza’s neighbors recognize the legitimacy of the Hamas government.
As if a government’s legitimacy flows from foreigners, not the people it governs.
The real alternative is for Israel to comply with Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and get out of the occupied territories
How will that help Gaza? Israel is not occupying Gaza. Gaza now has political independence, but is not making good choices with it.
The Security Council has yet to come to grips with the fact that Israel has neighbors committed to its destruction as a state policy.
Hamas staged a coup, plain and simple. They are not the legitimate government of the PLA. UN Resolutions 242 and 338 are bullshit – always were and always will be. If Israel must give back territory it won in a war, then I suggest the US and other countries around the world do the same. Until that happens, these resolutions are not worth the paper they’re written on. And yes, Israel does have the right to spell out the rules, as these rules keep weapons out of the hands of Hamas, weapons that are used to kill innocent Israelis everyday.
And you need to stop using Zionist as a pejorative. Here’s a very good definition of Zionism.
It has not been successful at limiting attacks going the other way.
Actually, it has. Fewer mortar and rocket attacks from Gaza, mean fewer retaliatory raids and counter-strikes are launched from Israel. The blockade has made Gaza safer. Hungrier and more miserable, true, but they can negotiate and end to the blockade whenever they want.
A blockade is a hell of a lot better way to wage conflict than shooting.
The current Israeli government isn’t very helpful, I’ll admit. Rightwingers are wrong everywhere in the world. The settlements need to go.
Interesting while an American Colonel, and humanitarians from 20 nations were attacked viciously while sleeping yesterday morning by zionist Israel….not a word of that human tragedy on this blog.There were 16 people slaughered not 9 reported in the US corporate owned zionist papers.
Israeli attacks are an on-going zionist initiative of expulsion and extermination since 1947, and not in the least “counter” or “retaliatory”.
Expulsion? Gaza residents would LOVE to get expelled. They are packing up and running for the Egyption border to get the hell out of Gaza.
Extermination? I don’t think you know what the word means.
We all need to thank delacrat for his revisionist history lesson on Israel.
Only 23 comments so far? The crazies are slacking.
Comment by anon on 1 June 2010 at 2:08 pm:
Expulsion? Gaza residents would LOVE to get expelled. They are packing up and running for the Egyption border to get the hell out of Gaza.
Oh. You know Gazans “would LOVE to get expelled.”
What an imbecilic presumption !
You base that on what all your many Gazan friends and acquantances have told you?
Well, if you want to know if residents of Israel “would LOVE”, use the same logic and post your question on a Hamas website.
Don’t encourage the crazies, nemski.
Comment by itsallacomedy on 1 June 2010 at 1:42 pm:
Interesting while an American Colonel, and humanitarians from 20 nations were attacked viciously while sleeping yesterday morning by zionist Israel….not a word of that human tragedy on this blog.There were 16 people slaughered not 9 reported in the US corporate owned zionist papers.
itsallacomedy,
Israel is a sacred cow.
To be 21st century american liberal, one must identify with an habitual human rights violator and not human rights activists.
Which explains why liberalism, (and this blog), is in such a sorry state.
Oh. You know Gazans “would LOVE to get expelled.”
What an imbecilic presumption !
You base that on what all your many Gazan friends and acquantances have told you?
It’s Hamas keeping its people in. Read the story and see which way the guns are pointed:
“itsallacomedy”? A second new alias, with the old biases unchanged.
When everyone who doesn’t leap to the same conclusions as you is labeled a Zionist just for failing to share your biases … you just might be an anti-Semite.
MJ: So far, a nation based on Judaism seems no improvement on states based on Christianity, Islam or any other faith. For many of us, Zionist is indeed a pejorative. Sorry.
Israel complains about its neighbors wanting to destroy it while Israel goes about actually destroying its neighbors.
MJ sez: HRC and other Gay Rights organizations are responsible for DADT and DOMA.
MJ sez: Unarmed relief workers in international waters are responsible for the Israelis killing them.
See a pattern?
A1 – shouldn’t you be wanking off somewhere while we adults are having a discussion?
Israel complains about its neighbors wanting to destroy it while Israel goes about actually destroying its neighbors.
The countries that made peace with Israel are doing rather well right now.
Geezer, have you ever heard of cultural Judaism? Many Jews in Israel and around the world not only view themselves as having a unique religion, but as a cultural, separate ethnic people. That is what Zionism is about. Israel was NOT founded as a theocracy – it is the only democracy in the Middle East.
I know, MJ. In your world, irrelevant personal attacks substitute for using facts to defend your indefensible positions.
Hey, I thought Iraq was a Democracy, too.
Hey Geezer the oldest lamest argument in the book. It might help if you actually wanted to discuss this topic. Go to FreeGaza.com they had a live feed which anyone could watch as the shit went down. You might also know that there are huge protests in Telaviv..those arent palestinans protesting but Jews for Peace, Jewish Voices for Peace. Yesterday in Manhattan, Rabbis were marching and protesting with people of concience. Attack away when you cant win an argument with facts you can always use the word anti-semite. News Geezer, Palestinans are semites too! Whatever your understanding of the issue is this is a fact. Those ships were in international waters, one was under an american flag, those on board were asleep when attacked. Every container was checked not only by Turkey but by Spain before they left. This was an outrageous attack on peaceful and humanitarians who want to break the years old seige on the Port of Gaza. Israel had a hit list too one of the idiots dropped it. Its not in Turkeys possession…so fire away.
“Israel complains about its neighbors wanting to destroy it while Israel goes about actually destroying its neighbors.”
you’re right a1. Those kikes should just let everyone kill them like in the 40s
News Geezer, Palestinans are semites too!
LOL, here we go with the genetics lesson again.
Anti-Semitism is defined by its long and painful history, not by the gene pool.
If I wanted to discuss this topic, “itsallacomedy” aka “just kidding” and “SRC,” it wouldn’t be with you. Your screeching screeds are bad enough, but when you start casting Zionist aspersions about newspapers, can your offensive statements about Jewish bankers be far behind?
MJ: I read enough from the Middle East to know that plenty of West Bank settlers cite the Torah as their claim to the land. Spin that however you want; I view it as the same offensive crap right-wing Christians in this country spout. A pox on both their houses.
I struggled for years to understand both sides, but I have reached the conclusion that both sides are happy with the way things are. Very sad. That said, if this escalates I will move my children to Canada before allowing them to get involved in a mess that neither side wants resolved. Frankly, both sides are wallowing in this.
Geezer, the vast majority of Israelis (85%) are non-religious and consider themselves cultural Jews. The settlers on the West Bank and elsewhere are a huge minority. And I don’t trust the evangelicals who have their “Stand With Israel” organizations as their stated goal is to convert all of the Jews. They see their support for Israel as a way to get their foot in the door.
Pandora, I agree with you. What Israel needs is another Yitzhak Rabin, of blessed memory, who was willing to do the unpopular to finally bring peace to this part of the world. Unfortunately, leaders like Rabin usually end up being assassinated by some extremist.
What Israel needs is another Yitzhak Rabin, of blessed memory, who was willing to do the unpopular to finally bring peace to this part of the world
What the US needs is another Eisenhower to tell israel to get out of the lands they’ve stolen.
Again with the revisionism, delacrat? And if you’re referring to the Suez Canal conflict of 1956, that was a Franco-British operation that Israel supported with troops and MI. I guess in defending herself, Israel is finally telling other countries to STFU. They would have captured Damascus in 1973 except Kissinger warned the Israeli government not to.
And again, when we give back the lands our government has stolen since 1621, then we can tell others to do the same. Until then, STFU.
Frankly, both sides are wallowing in this.
*
But the Palestinian babies are the ones who are anemic and ‘food insecure’ etc.. Obama, to his great credit, has decided to back an independent, transparent, impartial investigation of the problem.
The settlers on the West Bank and elsewhere are a huge minority.
But who have an outsized political influence in Israel.
Daniel Larison (one of my favorite bloggers and a full-fledged conservative one at that — but one in complete possession of his own mind and principles. Not a guy influenced one whit by the conservative entertainment complex.) has been writing about this today and provides (as usual) plenty to think about:
Self Destructive “Self-Defense”
The Gaza Blockade
This Is Winning?
The Turkish Alliance
Comment by pandora on 1 June 2010 at 6:04 pm:
“I struggled for years to understand both sides, but I have reached the conclusion that both sides are happy with the way things are.”
Pandora,
“…both sides ” … That is just not true.
Here’s a site that can end your confusion.
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/
delacrat – that website is a FAIL. No facts, nothing to back up any of the statements. Just because it’s on the Internet doesn’t make it true. You only see the “truth” you want to see.
No MJ. It is not a fail.
You can hardly have come to that conclusion in the 5 minutes from when I posted, to when you replied. 😉
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/
Also your shrill cry @ 9:05 for me to “STFU”, is every indication that you are very afraid that the truth about Israel will come out. Well, too bad. because israel’s latest war crime, can’t be explained away as “Israel is defending itself”. Think about it.
If any other nation had attacked such ships and passengers, no one would believe that nation was “defending itself”.
Oh, Please. Just the very beginning “synopsis” about the founding of Zionism is a huge fail. Herzl never wanted to establish a Jewish homeland in the Americas or Africa. The British offered Uganda which was rejected and there was nowhere in the Americas. The Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the League of Nations mandate to Britain in 1922 guaranteed a Jewish homeland in Palestine, which had been part of Trans-Jordan.
And your website reference just goes downhill from there. It is a FAIL. And my STFU to you is not shrill – until you can come up with some independent historic facts to back up your baseless claims, then you really do need to STFU.
Israel is killing unarmed people(some possibly US citizen, like you) in international waters, …and you’re prattling about what Herzl did a century ago?
delacrat – you seem to be the one who was trying to give the history lesson. I was just correcting your misinformation.
geez MJ–you having a sleepless night too?