Blaming Hamas Rockets is an Excuse

First, Hamas is a political party that functions similarly to the Irish IRA, which had military, social and political wings.

Second, the most recent truce was broken by Israel on November 4, 2007 when they entered Gaza to conduct a targeted assassination raid. No rockets were being fired at that time. After several more targeted assassination raids, murdering twenty three Palestinians, resistance from Gaza was expressed by firing rockets at Israel.

Third, for two years Israel has conducted a siege on the Gaza Strip. This came after the US and Israel waged an increasingly brutal campaign against Hamas, despite its legitimate parliamentary election victory in 2005. This ended when the US and Israel attempted to provoke a Palestinian civil war by arming and training members of the Pelestinian Fatah party. Their attempt failed when Hamas exposed the US/Israeli coup plot and used force to eject Fatah party leaders from Gaza .

Fourth, the rockets initially fired from Gaza, in response to the targeted assassinations by Israel, were weak, home-made devices typically with warheads weighing about 5 kilograms (11 lbs)[1]. This compares with farm more powerful weapons being used by Israel. It's true that Palestinian weapons have marginally improved since 2006, but this link comparing only the Apache helicopter armaments to Palestinian rocket, not describing F-16 jets, drones, tanks, navel artillery, it's clear that Israel is applying disproportionate force, that is killing scores of Palestinian civilians.

Fifth, other Palestinians resisting the Israeli occupation, including Fatah members, are also firing rockets. It's not just Hamas.

No rockets are being fired from the Palestinian West Bank, yet Israel conducts routine military operations in that area resulting in Palestinian deaths.

The rockets from Gaza are a provoked excuse by Israel to get rid of the democratically elected Hamas, because Israel and the US cannot get rid of Hamas via the democratic process. This is the lesson of the current Israeli/Palestinian situation.

The following 7 min video is not for the faint of heart. I simply feel obligated to demonstrate my opposition to Israel's collective punishment and other violations of international law. I don't blame Hamas for the images in this video. Hamas is standing up for democratic principles. How many times have we seen this play out in history?

Gaza Children, Why were they Killed?

Psssst... Do Something

• Contact the Broadcast Media
  
• Contact the Newspapers
  
• Contact the US Senate
  
• Contact the House of Representatives

Sources:

[1] http://www.weaponsurvey.com I cant' vouch for this site.

We Watch Them Lie

We watched the White House lie about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and al Qaeda's ties to Iraq, and we knew were were being lied to.

We watched Press Secretary Scott McClellan lie about the White House's role in leaking CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity, and we knew we were being lied to.

Yesterday, we watched State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey lie about the US's role in attempting to over throw the democratically elected Hamas-led Palestinian parliament, and we know we are being lied to. Read Casey's hollow words, punctuated by transparent attacks on the credibility of the source, Vanity Fair:

The story alleges that there was some kind of secret plot on the part of the U.S. government to create an internal conflict within the Palestinians, specifically an armed conflict. That's absurd. That's ridiculous. I said this morning that I think Vanity Fair should stick to arty photos of celebrities since clearly, at least in this instance, their efforts at serious journalism leaves something lacking.

We know it is Tom Casey, and the US State Department, that has no credibility. We are living in a failing state, when power of legitimacy has given way to the use of force. Hamas knows that all too well. Hamas knows that the US and Israel have intentionally provoked the home-made missile attacks, to break Hamas's unilateral cease fire and be able to point at Hamas and say, "We have a right to defend ourselves," another hollow statement. Because the US and Israel provoked the rocket attacks, the Hamas rocket attacks have a logical basis of legitimacy, as in "You asked for it," literally.

I for one am tired of watching them lie. It's for that reason, and the logic of stopping impunity, that I devote some of my time to ensuring that Bush, Rice, Rumsfeld, Cheney, and a long list of others live the rest of their lives fighting off war crimes charges. They can run, but they can't hide. We'll smoke them out. They won't rest until they meet their maker.

Sources:

Voice of America, US Denies Plotting Hamas Overthrow, David Gollust, State Department, March 4, 2008.