Does World War Three Approach

Carrera

I somehow figured this would happen. I had a hunch the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians would ultimately come to crisis point and the conflict would draw in other countries.
Israel is now broadening it's offensive on 2 fronts and the U.S. has warned Iran and Syria.
It would seem the U.S. is going to stick by its ally Israel but is hoping the E.U. and Russia won't go in the other direction diplomatically.
My gut feeling is that Russia (at a push) will probably side with the U.S. and Israel whereas the E.U. may be split down the middle.
However, if the U.S. and Russia collectively side with Israel, there is cause for Iran and Syria to think carefully before getting entangled in the conflict. I believe that Israel, the U.S. and Russia between then have a heck of a lot of fire-power. Even India might have some weight to throw in.
Is this now a case for deciding whose side you're on? It seems like countries may now either be with Israel or with the Arabs? Sure there are grey areas but if conflict results, sides are chosen.
Comments?

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"Everybody has a philosophy. However, what philosophy you have is a matter of choice, and most people don't make a conscious choice with regard to what philosophy they accept."

ptlwp

"and you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction......"

Maj. Barry McGuire - Eve of Destruction

The eastern world, it is exploding
Violence flarin’, bullets loadin’
You’re old enough to kill, but not for votin’
You don’t believe in war, but what’s that gun you’re totin’
And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin’

But you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

Don’t you understand what I’m tryin’ to say
Can’t you feel the fears I’m feelin’ today?
If the button is pushed, there’s no runnin’ away
There’ll be no one to save, with the world in a grave
[Take a look around ya boy, it's bound to scare ya boy]

And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

Yeah, my blood’s so mad feels like coagulatin’
I’m sitting here just contemplatin’
I can’t twist the truth, it knows no regulation.
Handful of senators don’t pass legislation
And marches alone can’t bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin’
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin’

And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

Think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
You may leave here for 4 days in space
But when you return, it’s the same old place
The poundin’ of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don’t leave a trace
Hate your next-door neighbor, but don’t forget to say grace
And… tell me over and over and over and over again, my friend
You don’t believe
We’re on the eve
Of destruction
Mm, no no, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

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"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing." Sir Edmund Burke

2FAST4U

I believe we are all doomed....I'm afraid this is the beginning of the end............

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Eldrack

No, world war three will not happen. Anyone who declares war on Israel declares war on the US and I can't see the UN staying out of such a conflict for too long, especially if it is a cut and dry declaration of war against Israel. It would last a matter of weeks and would be so one sided that it wouldn't qualify as a world war.

darkboong

As far as I can tell Israel/US hold all the aces, namely about 200 Gigatonnes of Nuclear weapons that they tell us all that they really want to use. Things are looking a bit bleak from the point of view of the Arab world. Israel can kill who it wants with impunity. All that happens when Israel attacks civillians is that some of the world will make tut-tut noises as they plot to gain control of the Arab oil.

Israel doesn't even bother to make a compelling case anymore, they just say that a house full of kids is a terrorist target. Airport, terrorist target. Bridge, terrorist target. School, terrorist target. Beach, terrorist target. Foreign Ministry, terrorist target. Appartment block, terrorist target. It appears as though the sole criteria for selecting a "terrorist target" is that it lies outside of the 1967 border. MK's are openly advocating genocide in the Knessett.

In practice what will happen is that hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of Arabs will be shot, burnt, gassed and nuked as the US & Israel move in to take control of the oil fields. No doubt there will be some spectacular acts of retaliation, a few more bombings in Europe and the US, nothing that raises the mortality rate over and above the deaths from road accidents or heart disease. What may happen as a result is that European & US will broaden their attacks on the Middle East, perhaps even launch some massive strikes using stand-off weapons.

The Western media has conflated Arab and Terrorist so often that it's fair game for anyone speaking for an Arab to be lambasted as being "Naive" or a "Terrorist" with little if any censure, question or ridicule. I fear that there will be is too little global opposition to prevent the massacre that Israel is setting in motion with it's reckless attacks on it's neighbours.

We have far less to fear here in the UK than the poor sods who live next door to the Knessett.

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Free Beer !

ptlwp

The answer my friends; is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind.

"Nobody's right, when everybody's wrong." Neil Young

__________________
"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing." Sir Edmund Burke

jhuskey

Can you guys wait until the tours ends before the world ends? I want to see who wins. Some things are just more important than life!

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Sobriety is over rated!

ptlwp

Honestly, like having kids, there is just no right time for a war!!!!!

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"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing." Sir Edmund Burke

Carrera

The Beeb showed a citizen of Israel being interviewed and he said no country in the world would have put up with those rocket attacks for so long and he has a point, I guess. From what I gather, Israel seems to have just about had enough of the suicide bombings, kidnappings and the rocket- attacks that have been hitting populated areas.
My view is Hamas has led the Palestinian people to a blind alley. I think Palestinian people had an opportunity for peace, a state of their own, international support and funding and a chance to build democracy. The election of Hamas has seriously set back that process. This is a Party that lives in the past and seems filled with negativity, hate and self-destruction. This wasn't a Party to bring the Palestinian people forward and establish some kind of co-operation with Israel.
Really I blame Hamas for the war and, yes, I feel sorry for the Palestinian civilians who are caught up in it all too.

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"Everybody has a philosophy. However, what philosophy you have is a matter of choice, and most people don't make a conscious choice with regard to what philosophy they accept."

Carrera

Well, you know the story of Noah. If you're all nice to me, you can all board my boat two by two and even stick your bikes on board. Then we can all float our way to safety.
While WW3 brews up, yes, I'm painting my boat in squall blue and there's just me and the ducks out there.
I've had dozens of races with bike-riders too on the way down to the boat. Jeez,last week I was passed by a dude who crept up on me but the snag was I was carrying 12 kilogramms of baggage (paints and tools) in my rucksack. Still, I had to try and catch him. I was held back for a time by this damned car which allowed the guy to extend his lead. It was a blazing hot day and I had to fight like hell to try and lock onto his wheel. What a race that was!

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"Everybody has a philosophy. However, what philosophy you have is a matter of choice, and most people don't make a conscious choice with regard to what philosophy they accept."

Carrera

I confess I sometimes wonder why I'm the only poster from the U.K. who doesn't support the Arabs in this conflict but actually takes the side of Israel. I also wonder why cyclists particularly seem to support pro-Arab policies.
I mean, I find the opposite situation on other websites. To prove my point that I'm not the only guy who takes the side of Israel, here is what I found on the B.B.C.:
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thr...1222&#paginator

"Israel's military response is certainly NOT barbaric. Targeted assassinations, although sounding ominous, do exactly what the phrase means - it targets ONLY the terrorist, aiming to avoid collateral deaths. Hamas and Hezbolla are the real barbarians - hiding among their women and children, knowing that the IDF’s hands are tied by rules of engagement. Hamas loves it when Palestinian civilians are killed - its' the only argument they have for continuing the Jihad, since Israel left Gaza & Lebanon.
Sam Green, London"

"My heart goes out to the families of the Israeli soldeirs.
Stay strong your sons are on the side of good against evil.
mike knowles, london, United Kingdom"

"So now Lebanon has joined in the kidnapping of Israeli's. It's time Israel took off the gloves and hammer those that seek to destroy them. All the peace efforts on Israel's part have not worked. The Arabs don't want peace, their goal is the total destruction of Israel and it's people, period."
Victor Perry, Toronto, Canada

"The two soldiers where abducted on Israeli soil in a one sided action by a Hizballah which is part of the Lebanese government. This is a deliberate act by Hizballah\Lebanese gov to provoke war. Do not complain afterwards that Israel is reacting in a disproportionate manner.
Ali Dali"

"Given that both Hama's and Hizballah's stated aims are the destruction of Israel (ALL of Israel, not just area's occupied post '67), the only way peace will occur is when Hamas and Hizballah are completely and utterly destroyed.
Don't believe me? Go read both of their 'charters'. Stated goal of both: Complete destruction of Israel.
Darryn, Chicago, USA."

"At last there is a meaningful response, well done Israel.
[Steve_MacD], Boston MA, United States"

"For 10 years Lebanon has allowed a terrorist organisation to opperate from it's soil. Now they've gone too far and forced Israel to respond, and everyone acts surprised.
Sorry Lebanon. You shouldn't start a war you can't finish.
Matthew Shostak, Brighton, United Kingdom."
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thr...1222&#paginator

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"Everybody has a philosophy. However, what philosophy you have is a matter of choice, and most people don't make a conscious choice with regard to what philosophy they accept."

2FAST4U

I think it may come to that....I am serious...this is the end of times my friend!

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darkboong

The BBC's "forums" are even more heavily censored than this one... You will find very few views or substantiated posts that contradict BBC stories there because they choose not to publish them.



Demonstratably false. They targeted civillian infrastructure and civillian residential areas and they kill civillians. Even on occasions where the IDF have "targetted" a set of individuals in the open they have more often than not killed civillians too. The number of civillians killed in that manner by the IDF vastly outweighs total number of Israelis killed by Palestinian terrorist attacks during the Intifada.

However, you won't see that response to the post because it has not been published... It doesn't even matter if you provide multiple independant sources of evidence to back up your argument, if the BBC doesn't want the world to hear it, it will quietly censor it.



Jeez, I wonder if he bothered research into what the leaders of Hamas have said on that matter over the past decade. Clearly not, because he's repeated what the Israeli politicians claim about Hamas, rather than what Hamas has actually said.



I don't believe he has actually read the Hamas charter. He certainly hasn't understood it, or paid attention to the statements of Hamas leaders.

To summarise : All rather naive regurgitation of propaganda with zero evidence of any effort to actually research into the subject beyond repeating the more palattable slogans emerging from the Knessett.

What galls me is that these people give no impression that they are even aware that MK's have been openly calling for the "Obliteration" of Gaza and the West Bank for *decades*. You, for example, insist that the Palestinians are solely to blame for the lack of Palestinian state. Consider this : It has been over 50 years since Israel was formed, at no point did Israel ever accept the notion of a Palestinian state. In fact they have actively opposed it, never ever agreeing to it explicitly, and actively breaking agreements by building settlements, military bases, and occupying Gaza and the West Bank for the entire time.

If you can provide any material evidence of Israel's goodwill towards that idea then now is the time to present it. BTW : Words and handshakes don't count, I am asking for material evidence, or "Facts on the Ground" as they like to call them.

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ptlwp

I think that anti Jewish sentiment as been so much a part of history that all the begging the popes have done, all the trying to stop it and bring people around have proved as fruitless and the chances for peace in the middle east. So long as people do not see people as human beings, frought with pain and sorrow and along with the human emotions that prevail: hate, anger, revenge, reciprocal action, things will not ever change very much, especially when it comes to religious issues.

That being said, I am hopeful that in someone's lifetime, peace shall be achieved and all people shall get along as the Family of Man.

Truly, life is a one shot deal to do good, and live and let live and democracy, with all its inherint possibilities for less that perfection, and what in this world is perfect, anyway...is a good way to give everyone a try at self determination. I for one, cannot see how governments elected that are compassionate and non violent could not make for a much better world. Unfortunately, the wish for the kind of power that presidents and tyrants are made, carry with it...........bigger chances for megalomania, by what the job calls for. The untimate Catch 22, if you will.

Most all of us wish it weren't so...that life were as fair as a ball game with instant replay but we have not made it that far, quite yet.

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"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing." Sir Edmund Burke