The shocking news the world woke up to today, as the Washington Post reports on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War of 1973:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Saturday that “we are at war” after Hamas militants from Gaza launched a surprise, multipronged attack across central and southern Israel, killing an estimated 200 Israelis and wounding many more.
The assault began early Saturday when Hamas launched thousands of rockets toward Israeli cities and sent militants into Israeli territory overland and by using paragliders and speedboats. Gunmen seized control of pockets of southern Israel, taking hostages and leaving bodies of civilians in the streets.
The Israeli air force launched airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 232 people were killed and 1,697 wounded in Gaza.
This is by all accounts the largest attack by Islamic militant group Hamas at least since the unilateral withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip in 2005. In addition to the symbolism of launching this attack on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, foreign policy analysts suggest that Hamas may be trying to disrupt ongoing peace negotiations between Israel and Saudi Arabia modeled on the Abraham Accords signed by Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
If you’re looking for deeper analysis of the situation, there are lots of authoritative foreign policy experts to turn to and we don’t pretend to be one of those. With respect to the politics surrounding these events across the globe in Colorado, we can report that today’s attack was instantly seized upon as partisan rage fuel by Republican usual suspects led by distinguished foreign policy scholar Rep. Lauren Boebert. You might not have heard, but geography is part of the GED exam:
Fortunately, Democratic Rep. Jason Crow, the University of Denver Law graduate and Bronze Star-decorated combat veteran, that is someone actually qualified to comment on foreign policy matters, was quick to debunk Boebert’s totally inaccurate but per usual rapidly-spreading misinformation:
This is false. And grotesque politics amidst a horrible situation. Facts:
1.Not ONE PENNY of that money has been transferred. All still in Doha.
2.These funds will NEVER go to Iran.
3.The money can ONLY be used for future purchase of humanitarian supplies.No friend of Israel… https://t.co/DmL6tfrC1C
— Rep. Jason Crow (@RepJasonCrow) October 7, 2023
It’s another case where the GOP’s obsession with turning every headline into a stick to beat their political opponents with backfires once we take just a moment to verify if what they are saying is in fact true. In Rep. Boebert’s case, everyone should be aware by now including her allies that nothing she says can be taken at face value, whether the subject is foreign policy or vaping it up in a crowded theater.
And now we’ll turn discussion over to our readers with hope for a swift end to the violence.
The whole world should be able to agree on that.
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"Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you."
So, Bimbo Bert has weighed. How long before the Squad weighs in about how Hamas is the real victim here?
Frankly, I was a little surprised by Bimbo Bert. Aren't her people the assholes chanting, "Jews will not replace us"?
I stand corrected.
For now, at least, the squad leader who usually speaks on Israeli/Palestinian issues has put out a statement condemning Hamas.
Ilhan Omar Reacts to Hamas Assault on Israel (msn.com)
Kudos to Representative Omar for calling out terrorism when it happens!
I thank Rep. Omar for this. As a culturally Jewish (but actually half-Jewish) guy, I have to think this attack helps nobody useful. Netanyahu will get a boost for a repressive regime, hundreds of civilians on both sides look as though they have died, and peace is farther away than ever.
Representative Omar is doing exactly what more people need to be doing: Calling out terrorists that share our beliefs.
It's much easier to call out terrorists that we don't identify with. We can call them evil and demonize them and justify violent retaliation on them cuz they're the "Them". It's much more difficult, and much more effective, when we can call out the people with similar identities who commit terrorism.
Terrorism is a strategy, not an ideal. If more people and organizations called out terrorists that share our ideals, we could have less terrorism.
Where the fuck was Mossad?
Asleep at the wheel, apparently. That they couldn't see this coming reminds me of the claim some made after 9/11 that "we could never imagine them flying planes into the WTC," despite the fact that an episode of the Lone Gunmen that aired in March 2001 involved a plane being flown into the WTC. Not all terrorist actions can be predicted, but . . . . Definitely an intelligence and defense failure by Netanyahu's administration. Sadly, everyone in Israel, Gaza, and probably the West Bank will suffer. And Israel's democracy will become even less democratic in the process.
How the American Left Sees the War in Israel – POLITICO
How Droll: Politico Opines on the American "left"?
I'm imagining David Brooks going to a coffee shop in the lower East Side, ordering a latte, and interviewing hippies who voted for Obama.
We don't have to imagine the content. We can read it?
"How Matt Duss, A Former Top Foreign Policy Aide to Senator Sanders, Sees the War in Isreal" is a better headline.
I imagine most in the American Left see the war in Israel like most Americans who are uneducated about ongoing issues in Israel. We don't know what is going on!
Thanks. Politico is such a laundry basket for Republican Party leaks, that I am suspicious of any of their articles, especially ones claiming to speak to the "left".
So in this case they define "left" as a former policy aide to Bernie Sanders. That is a step up from Obama the magical Kenyon, the radical socialist Democratic Party, or the marxist-leninist AOC.
Anyone claiming to know the beliefs of millions of folks about a war that is less than 48 hours old is blowing smoke cuz that's impossible.
So, unless is comes out of the cake hole of one of those shills at Talking Points Memo, it's just right-wing bullshit?