Oh you like country music too, huh? Let's dance.
"Israel acted in its best interest in the Yom Kippur War. But they were still pressurized heavily by the US gov't."
What did I say different?
The US "pressurized" [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]. Israel's best interests coincided with what Washington wanted. And Washington knew that. And Jerusalem knew that. They both come out spit 'n shine! Whaht do you find impossible to understand exactly?
I did not say "Washington nevr presses Israel". I said that Washington will never pressure Israel to do something against Israel's interests! The AIPAC has quite a pit bull's hold on American policies and administrations to allow for anything different.
"The Suez War further proves you wrong."
No, the 1956 war actually proves my point! The Americans "pressurized" [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] Britain and France inn that war; Israel's "pressurization" was a collateral effect -- the first and only time that Israel was obliged to step back on account of Washington's orders. (You have some ways to catch up on yer History!)
"I do not simply dismiss the testimony of the survivors [of the USS Liberty] , but I would not expect them to say anything but that it was deliberate since they lost many friends."
Fair point. But the facts are on the survivorts' side. Why do you think there has never been a serious inverstigation (a total shame, this) by the United States? This doesn't just smell cover-up, it stinks to high heaven.
"An objective look at the tragedy along with 13 total commissions on the incident shows that it was an accident. Given that it was during the six day war, is it not possible that this was the case? Also what logical and supported reason is there for Israel to do this?
Israeli warplanes fired at the hapless ship USS Liberty not once or twice but repeatedly and from close range. The ship was no spy ship. She was not hiding her identity. On the contrary, it was flying her flags and showing off her colors for all to see. Especially so on account of the nearby war going on!
The USS Liberty survivors and whose who assist them in their efforts did not just whine and complain and cry black tears for the lost ones. They have assembled meticulously the sequence of events (
link) whereby the war crime perpetrated on June 8, 1967 becomes blatantly obvious.
[ QUOTE ]
...At approximately 0600 hours (all times local) on the morning of June 8, 1967 an Israeli maritime reconnaissance aircraft observer reported seeing
"a US Navy cargo type ship," just outside the coverage of the Israeli coastal radar defense net, bearing the hull markings "GTR-5".
(Source : IDF History Report, Exhibit 2-678:
"The [Israeli maritime reconnaissance aircraft] patrol’s mission was to detect ship movements before vessels could enter coastal radar detection range.
...
Meanwhile, the "Nord" plane which had been patrolling the sea had landed and [at 1050 hours local time] the observer was debriefed by Lt. Commander Pinchasi, a navy representative at [Israel] Air Command. The observer reported spotting the marking GTR-5 on the ship’s side. Lt. Commander Pinchasi checked the marking in a "Janes" manual and learned that the reference was to an intelligence ship named "Liberty".")
[/ QUOTE ]
"Israel was established as a Jewish state because of the need for a homeland and the survival of the jewish people."
At some point in time, Israelis have to acknowledge that what for them was a historical moment of salvation and national joy, was also a catastrophe for the local inhabitants of the place. Until now, Israel has acted like an apartheid state, by denying the self-proclaimed national identity of those locals, denying them basic rights in the place who live (for those who still live in Israel), denying to those who left the right to return home, denying that these people even exist! Israel has engaged in systematic acts of barbarity against the locals for five decades; it has also won all the wars it waged against its enemies; it stands, as it always stood more powerfully militarily than all the Arab front-line states
combined!
There is nothing for Israel to fear except itself. It is a living anachronism among western democracies, a throwback to the nationalist, irredentist ideologies of the 19th century which predictably caused so much bloodshed in Europe for a hundred years.
Israel is winning its wars, small and big, and losing its Jewish soul.
And it's not just me saying this...
link