Israeli Veterans of Gaza War Speak Out
 

TEL AVIV — The war last summer between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip left more than 2,100 Palestinians dead and vast areas reduced to rubble. On Monday a group of Israeli veterans released sobering testimony from fellow soldiers that suggests permissive rules of engagement coupled with indiscriminate artillery fire contributed to the mass destruction and high numbers of civilian casualties in the coastal enclave.

The organization of active and reserve duty soldiers, called Breaking the Silence, gathered testimonies from more than 60 enlisted men and officers who served in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge.

The soldiers describe reducing Gaza neighborhoods to sand, firing artillery at random houses to avenge fallen comrades, shooting at innocent civilians because they were bored and watching armed drones attack a pair of women talking on cellular phones because they were assumed to be Hamas scouts.

The director of the group, Yuli Novak, called the rules of engagement in Operation Protective Edge “the most permissive” they have seen and amounted to an “ethical failure ... from the top of the chain of command.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...303_story.html

I suppose all of the soldiers speaking out are self-loathing and/or anti-Semites.

No not anti-Semitic. Like you however, they seem to have forgotten who flew the jetliners into the WTC. They have apparently forgotten who the terrorists are.

But that's OK, everybody gets to have their ignorant opinion. At least in Israel. A Palestinian who questions Hamas in public is taken out into the street, shot in the head, and as a message to anybody else who believes in free speech, his corpse dragged around the streets of Gaza City behind a few ratty motorbikes. How nice.

http://img.eajc.org/data/image/new_n.../34644_big.jpg

For some reason, finn just can't seem to figure out who the bad guys are.

Palestinians?

Don't be an arbitrary pissant your whole life, eh john. Arab terrorists work for you OK? If you need me to say Arabs or Muslims, or Islamofacists, or Bedouin rug traders are the bad guys, just let me know. I'll be happy to use the terminology you prefer...unless you prefer Israelis, Americans, or any other non-Arab, non-Muslims, non-Islamofacist ethnic or religious group...which I will not be willing to do.

How about them Blackhawks, eh?

It seems to me that you should say what you mean. It also seems to me that you mean Muslims or maybe Arabs since many Palestinian activists are Christians..... or maybe Muslims and Arabs since not all Muslims are Arabs. In other words, it seems to me that you're perfectly happy tarring an entire group with blame for the actions of a few. I find that to be, um, worthy of comment.

Would you be cool with it if I were to say that Pam Geller is no different from any other Jew?

John, you can say Pam Geller is no different from any other kike if you want to. You think I give a shit in Mario Savio's hat what you say anymore? Do you not recognize sarcasm when you hear it? And stop asking for moronic clarification will ya? You know good and goddamn well what my opinions on this subject are.

But how's about them Blackhawks, eh?

And really john. You believe there are any Palestinian Christian activists who are strapping 5 pounds of gelignite to their asses and blowing a few dozen innocent people to shreds in a Haifa open air market because they know that when they die a martyr they're gonna get to be sitting at the side of the baby Jesus and get 72 virgins along with it?

Not me. I'm not believing that for a nanosecond.

That sarcasm one's a cutie. Anyway someone hops on that, you've got 'em.

Well to be honest, it's a sarcastic expression of what I believe.

Screw the Blackhawks.

Screw hockey.

And screw Chicago.

(My ex wife is from there. I have a difficult time with objectivity where Chicago is concerned.http://politicalchat.org/offroad/ima...ies/tongue.gif)