Background / Israel's new dread: Spreading war to Syria

[bemildred]

More threats. Little Assad doesn't appear to be
interested in taking the bait, so far. Some of the comments
are interesting.

---

Sharon's deputy prime minister, Ehud Olmert,
hinted darkly Tuesday that Israel had
coordinated with its ally Washington further
steps against Damascus "in spheres to which
Syria would be well advised to listen."

There was no longer just cause to retaliate in
"proportional responses," Olmert stressed,
saying that no reprisal was proportional to the
murder in cold blood of 19 innocent people,
including children and babies. Israel would no
longer be limited in its responses, he said.

Olmert said "the Americans have twice passed the
Syrians very harsh warnings" regarding Syrian
support for terrorism. "In my view, it would be
very well worth the Syrians' while to pay
attention to these warnings, because the price
they could pay could be heavy."

---

Sharon, giving no quarter, told the mourners:
"Israel's might must be drawn ready and
prepared at every moment. We must always
improve and foster the decisive, qualitative
edge of that might, both in the spirit of our
fighters and in the tools of warfare, as though
the next war were just around the corner."

Haaretz

[cprise]

1. And what's the big deal about Syrian national security?

Those Arabs/Negroes/Chinks are all the same anyway. They should all just move to Saudi Arabia so the Israelis will be left only with their own homicides.

[bemildred]

2. I don't quite see how that relates to the story?

[cprise]

3. It just struck me that the double-standard

...against Syrian and Lebanese security is a lot like the comments you see here on DU for stories from sources like Al-Jazeera: "Well, just look at the source."

It turns out, none of the Arab sources are worthy of their respect.

[bemildred]

4. That's a bit clearer.

My experience is that most people believe what they choose
to believe, and they filter out information that conflicts
with what they want to believe, unless reality clubs them up
side the head about it, and even then they often still believe
that they were really right all along, and it was just bad luck
or a fluke that did their preferred point of view in.

[vierundzwanzig]

5. The most important part

is a sensible decision-making process about what you choose to believe and what hot. It is a very scientific method. You establish a hypothesis and from that hypothesis you attempt to interpret the facts. If the hypothesis doesn't jive with the facts, it is poorly conceived and you have to make adjustments until you come up with something that explains all the phenomena.

I believe I have done so for myself and it generally matches 'The Big Picture' or whatever that is. It may cause me or many others to rant on this forum for sheer anger at what is going on (and I do not count myself into the group of 'peaceniks' any longer as the Cherokee Indians would not have avoided the Trail of Tears by having a peaceful sit-in).

It's a dog-eat-dog world out there and it rains weapons of masss destructions on Gaza. Don't think for a moment that the guys dropping the biological warfare for a moment give a flip whether what it hits is armed struggle, a guy just trying to make a living or his kids.

-------------

End rant. At least it sort-of related to the previous post.

[bemildred]

6. The most important part

is having the mental cojones to look at the things
you fear the most without flinching. Where you cannot look
you are blind.

Fear is the mind killer
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see it's path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

-- The Bene Gesserit Litany of Fear from the novel Dune by Frank Herbert


Having said that, it's also a good thing to keep track of
your opinions so you can recognize when you have been wrong.