question for M and Chris Alger

Could someone please explain to me why the Isreal v. Palestine conflict has become such a prominent piece of kitsch in the conservative v. liberal debate here in the US? Why do conservatives always side with Israel? Why do liberals always side with the Palestinians? Why do Americans give f#!@ about what goes on over there? Sounds callous I know but horrible things happen all the time in all corners of the world.

His views are here for eveyone to tead. It's very obvious.

probably its (the discussion in the media) a staged event.


but a lot of money flows between israel and washington, so theres your answer.


brad

More Zionist conspiracy! Mr.Alger would be proud!

what? theres really no power group that has interest in the palestinians. so im saying maybe some people just play devils advocate.


as to why theres support for israel, well, theres multibillion dollar ties between israel and US, and multimillion between israel and our politicians (look up PACs and see who the top special interest groups are) .


do you dispute any of this?


brad

Good questions. I don't know.

For me, the problem is unique in that its history reaches back many millenia and the issues of past political eras still get played out in this conflict. To understand it fully one needs to study the history of the region going back thousands of years. This cannot be said about many political conflicts of today. The history of this conflict is tied up in colonialism, "east-west relations", European Nationalism, Pan Arabism, WWII, etc.. That makes it very unique. Most of the land disputes of the colonial era are gone today, whereas this one persists. The fact that it is fought in the holy seat of two of the largest religions on the planet adds to people's interest as well.


Plus, because Israel is supported heavily by the U.S. I think Americans should care about their actions. I think it is a useful yardstick for measuring America's tolerance of agression and violence in an ally's behavior. To stand by while they assassinate people, bulldoze homes and police stations, torture prisoner's, hold people without trial, etc.. is an indictment of U.S. foreign policy. We cannot claim to have high moral standards regarding human rights worldwide if we continue to support this behavior.


That is my opinion.


KJS

Fine. You get rid of the terrorists and we'll make Israel stop doing that stuff.

just for the record, when the US starts to hold people without trial, torture and assassinate its own citizens, etc., then im definitely going to be a terrorist.


brad

1. If that should ever come to pass, please keep your attacks to the real targets: governmental, military or political figures. Don't go kill some little girl having a birthday party or innocent families at random. See the difference? Our founding fathers would have been terrorists had they savagely killed the families of those who supported Britain. Instead they showed some logic and human decency, and attacked the enemy soldiers while leaving the families of the Tories pretty much alone.


If you were to start killing other folks who were merely people eating cheeseburgers in a McDonald's because the US had turned into a tyrranical regime, you would be an even greater moron and a greater sinner than the oppressors. That is what I have against terrorists: they are IDIOTS who target the WRONG PEOPLE, people who have NOTHING whatsoever to do with their "beefs" (pardon the pun please;-)). This is an unforgivable sin against humanity and one of the stupidest actions anyone could ever conjecture.