Israel-Gaza War (and Iranian Distractions)

How long can this go on? There is a fleet of warships with no purpose other than to shoot down the odd (relatively cheap) missile the Houthis may or may not choose to fire.

Military contributes 5.5% of global greenhouse gases. Not sure if the two wars going on right now have increased that number..

If it’s warming up, then why not move Israel to Greenland, maybe 3D print Jerusalem and build one there? While we’re at it, Canada has a lot of space thawing out too, so do same with Ukraine. China can then look for Liebensraum in Russia and they can both knock the crap out of each other with unconventional weapons. ME shithole countries will fight each other over some religious BS, except for the Saudis who will be golfing.

Why not move Palestinians and Russians? Why is it always suggested that the victims are the ones who must be punished and make concessions to the attackers? That's like demanding a rape victim move to a different city, instead of punishing the rapist.
Now maybe Ukraine can't ultimately defend itself from Russia, and will fall, but Israel has been holding it's own against genocidal neighbors for decades. So the only one that may have to ultimately concede is Ukraine. And if Iran were to develop and deploy nuclear weapons against Israel, I'm fairly certain the US, if not also other Western countries, would bomb it off the map. That's how you handle aggressors. You remove their capability and/or will to ever attack again, as was done to Japan in WWII.

(Jan 2, 2024 04:34 AM)Syne Wrote: Why not move Palestinians and Russians? Why is it always suggested that the victims are the ones who must be punished and make concessions to the attackers? That's like demanding a rape victim move to a different city, instead of punishing the rapist.
Now maybe Ukraine can't ultimately defend itself from Russia, and will fall, but Israel has been holding it's own against genocidal neighbors for decades. So the only one that may have to ultimately concede is Ukraine. And if Iran were to develop and deploy nuclear weapons against Israel, I'm fairly certain the US, if not also other Western countries, would bomb it off the map. That's how you handle aggressors. You remove their capability and/or will to ever attack again, as was done to Japan in WWII.

Purely selfish my friend, I wouldn’t want the ME bad guys anywhere near me or my descendants. Every Ukrainian probably has a relative living in Manitoba so they would just reunite. Russia and China probably will have go at each other so don’t need that close by also. Another place that might be worthwhile to Israel, once it’s warmed up, is Antarctica. Either that or start colonizing Mars or moon just to get away from it. Exclude the ME terrorists and suppporters, don’t let them roam the solar system, be like having Klingons acting like Suez ship pirates in outer space.

(Jan 2, 2024 05:29 AM)Zinjanthropos Wrote:

(Jan 2, 2024 04:34 AM)Syne Wrote: Why not move Palestinians and Russians?

Purely selfish my friend, I wouldn’t want the ME bad guys anywhere near me or my descendants. Every Ukrainian probably has a relative living in Manitoba so they would just reunite. Russia and China probably will have go at each other so don’t need that close by also. Another place that might be worthwhile to Israel, once it’s warmed up, is Antarctica. Either that or start colonizing Mars or moon just to get away from it. Exclude the ME terrorists and suppporters, don’t let them roam the solar system, be like having Klingons acting like Suez ship pirates in outer space.

The problem with that kind of thinking is that you'd be removing the only moderating or buffering forces in the region. Without Israel, terrorist states would proliferate unchecked... and eventually seek to target Western countries, as their next biggest proclaimed evil. Without Ukraine, Russia is that much closer to invading further west into Europe.

So this notion of punishing the victims is shortsighted and would likely lead to less regionally isolated wars or attacks.

Today the big news is a high-precision Israeli drone strike on a building in downtown Beirut Lebanon where a high level meeting was taking place between Hamas and some other terrorist leaders. Among those killed was the deputy head of Hamas Saleh Al-Arouri. According to reports, three others were killed as well.

Predictably, Hamas supporters aren't pleased and there are loud demonstrations all through the West Bank.

This photo shows how precisely targeted the Israeli strike was, and how good their intelligence was in this instance. Israel obviously knew exactly where and when the meeting was held.

More FAFO

Saleh Al-Arouri (Hamas photo)

The rifle prominently displayed in front of him as a prop in the photo appears to be an American M4 carbine, the standard US Army and Marine rifle. Which raises the question, how did Hamas get them? Apparently some idiots supplied them to the Palestinian Authority, the supposed good-guy Palestinians. The Israelis objected that they would quickly find their way into the hands of bad-actors, and this seems to be evidence of that. Other possible sources include the Afghan Taliban who inherited huge numbers of these and may be selling them to friendly Islamic militants. Or Yemen, whose army used them until the overthrow of Yemen's US friendly government during the "Arab Spring". Many of the former army's weapons probably ended up in Houthi hands.

Try searching "m4 carbine for sale" - could fine upstanding US citizens be supplying Hamas?

Quote:This photo shows how precisely targeted the Israeli strike was, and how good their intelligence was in this instance. Israel obviously knew exactly where and when the meeting was held.

I imagine Hamas is checking on who didn’t attend meeting but I think it may be more of listening in. How? I couldn’t tell you and I don’t think everyone in Gaza likes being under the Hamas boot or loves being a human shield.

(Dec 31, 2023 09:42 PM)Yazata Wrote: London's Sunday Times is reporting that a major announcement will be made within hours that the US, UK and an as-yet unannounced European country (rumored to be France) are in final preparations to undertake a "major military operation". The operation will include "hundreds" of missile and air strikes against targets in the portion of Yemen that the Houthis control.

Apparently this is the announcement. It's distinctly underwhelming.

Interestingly, France isn't included but Germany is. Plus nine additional signatories, some of whom are unlikely to participate in any military action against the Houthis. Getting them on board might have been why the announcement was delayed and why it's apparently been dialed back from announcement of military action to 'strongly condemn what the Houthis are doing and give them yet another sternly worded warning'.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room...ce=twitter

Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews. The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways. We remain committed to the international rules-based order and are determined to hold malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks.

Rumors are swirling in Israel that hospitals throughout northern Israel have been alerted to expect large numbers of wounded.

If that turns out to be true, it may be indication that military operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon may commence soon.