In the summer of 2000.....under intense American pressure, Israel was forced to cancel the sale of the Phalcon advanced airborne early-warning system to China. When it was forced to choose, Israel settled for maintaining close ties with Washington.
SOURCE
Wednesday 2 June 2010
USA never says 'No!' to Israel?
Untrue.
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2 comments:
With an awareness of right woos left, I'm in definite agrrement with you about hypocrisy. Turkey being critical of Israel for human rights abuse is a crystal clear example. As you point out, twats like Rivero are always spreading their run for the hills, it's the Joos nonsense. Yet, Israel truly is in the wrong with their activities in Gaza. This latest episode makes no sense. It's like Israel wants to be isolated from the international community.
UN calls for inquiry into Israel flotilla attack
Well, the suffering of gazans/palestinians/arabs is "wrong", no doubt. But doubtless many Israelis support the action in some fashion - probably hoping to achieve something positive for themselves, like defence, rather than to explicitly cause suffering. I don't know - and I don't know what any viable solution would be. They're not listening to me, anyway.
I don't mean to offer support for Israel's actions over the flotilla, or justify their position on Gaz, or anything. However, I can't get angry about this flotilla situation because what did people seriously expect to happen? The article you link to says the blockade has been maintained 3 years already - why do people think Israel is just going to backdown now for an aid convoy? The convoy was clearly a provocation - with more to come. In many ways it was (and continues to be) a stupid thing to do, even if brave and possibly honorable and well intentioned.
But it isn't the way to deal with armies - you are just going to get hurt - and it's inevitably going to raise tensions. Get a large group together and go and try to shutdown an American nuclear weapons site? See if you get any better treatment?
And what's the next ship trying this called? The Rachel Corrie. I don't think this is wise - it's stupid. Brave, but dumb and provocative. And kinda hypocritical when Turkey is itself engaged in 'combatting terrorism' over a regional territorial/cultural dispute with the Kurds - which comprises similar violence and oppression etc.
I was furiously opposed to British involvement in Iraq invasion - but if I gone there and stood in front of the tanks, what would have happened? It's silly to not expect retribution - no matter how "right" one might feel. And it's silly too to then be outraged at retribution. What do people expect? There must be better ways? That question points to the real problem imo - how to make our own countries and the international community behave more responsibly without resort to violence - how to make relations humane?
S: This latest episode makes no sense. It's like Israel wants to be isolated from the international community.
Well, I think it makes sense if we see the flotilla as a provocation, and assume the violent outcome wasn't planned. A highly unfortunate outcome....brought about by the flotilla's provocation, which is in turn a response to Israel's actions over Gaza etc, which is a response to blah blah blah.
People want to see it in black and white - good and evil. I don't think it can be seen through that distortion. (But I don't know, I'm essentially ignorant of the problems - but so are most people who readily fall into desperate support for one side or the other.)
It's dumb to imagine Israel/Israelis as "evil"....likewise Palestinians. It's too simple to say "Israel is wrong and Palestine right" or vice versa. Though doubtless the onus and greater responsibility lies with Israel as the (massively) greater and dominant power.
Clearly all this anti-semitism makes it much harder to properly criticise Israel, not easier. I'm not surprised they see international condemnation as singling them out. It does smack of prejudice - as if the state of Israel plays a scapegoat role amongst states similar to the role of jewish as scapegoats in societies.
It's all very sad - and makes me feel utterly hopeless, scratching around for some solution. Why does it have to be like this? How can it be different, realistically?
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