But, just one Pffffft and ‘Ol ‘shit for brains’ GWB went to the front of the line to join people like Hitler, Stalin and Attila-the-hun. Add baby Satan Israel’s totals under (Ben-Gurion, Moshe Dayan, Sharmir, Begin, Sharon and Olmert) and you have some real ‘weiners!’

Political assassination is amoral behavior and it’s repugnant. It is a denial of participatory democracy. It repudiates our basic concept of human and civil rights: the right for all to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I apologize for repeating myself, but: as long as Israel continues to act in such an aggressive manner, it will serve as a model for behavior by other states and polities.

The US still is subject to modified Israeli military and surveilance models, we seem, as well, to be following Israeli rules in Afghanistan.

The killings in the Iraqi region, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel, and Palestine endanger many more people than the inhabitants of those countries.

The actions of our allied governments endanger us by harming others.
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I was thinking that It seems equitable for Israel make the following exchange for Gil Shalit, and for killing the police of Gaza:

1.) Stop killing people

2.) End assassination of political representatives.

3.) Stop killing the cops

4.) End military detention of Palestinian residents throughout Israel/the Territory; observe judicial boundaries for legal prosecution of alleged crimes, and cooperate in customary legal procedures for prosecuting accused criminal activity.

5.) Release Palestinian residents in detention for other than criminal offenses; establish cause for detention, guarantee timely trial, with representation for defense, timely release or sentencing; Maintain a transparent legal process throughout.

6.) Release sequestered Palestinian property, income and assets.

6) Release control of all border crossings to a multinational force; reduce number of checkpoints to the liocal norm for terrain, with wresponsibilty for all inhabitants of Israeli/Palestinian territory.

7) Nationalize roadways and establish additional forms of transportation where indicated by demographics

8.) UN guaranteed access to coast and interior areas for all inhabitants; remove economic and physical restrictions on enterprise, transportation.

9.) Share arable land; revoke covenants restricting housing and banked land, with equal access for all inhabitants.

10.) UN Adjudicated arable land and water rights for all inhabitants. Nationalize for-profit enterprises for electricity, water, sewer, etc.

This largely is a description of my social environment and the rights I hold as an inhabitant of my state.

(I posted this elsewhere also,; came back to post a different comment. Which will follow.)

If people were ever appointed to Knesset seats you know they’d be bought & sold w. impunity. Do don’t get all holy on us.

There are many more corrupt pols in Israel than there are those fighting them.

You lie about the West Bank & Gaza. Israel has access to this territory at will. If it wants to arrest someone there let it send in troops & do so.

Right. And while they’re there, they should send a car to pick up Gilad Shalit. He’s probably ready to come back by now.
Maybe Israel could take lessons from how to arrest dangerous armed men from Janet Reno or Wilson Goode.

It’s true that Israel has a problem with corrupt politicians and it’s also true that today there are many forces fighting corruption, but we still are not at the stage where the position of Senator is auctioned off at e.bay.

The Republican admins were not anymore ethical, they just avoided being dragged into such high intensity conflicts involving direct use of US forces. Until the last admin obviously.

I’m still struggling to work out the difference between these kind of attacks and Israeli targeted assassinations A. Stein

Responsibility for the drone planes dispatched by the US government is held, and acknowledged, by the President and the very visible members of his administration. It isn’t pie in the sky to say the President is accountable to the voting public.

I take responsibility for the drones and I want the US out of Afghanistan (and to disengage militarily from Iraq. ) Perhaps the Israelis consider themselves individually responsible for targeted assassinations? Certainly there is enthusiastic support voiced by some individuals. Perhaps my sense that the public vote is of less importance to Israeli military activity is an artifact of my own insularity. Is the IDF responsive to the Israeli government or does the IDF run that government? My conclusion is the latter, because so many Israeli leaders advance through the military to political office.

I consider acceptance of personal responsibility for my government’s actions, in part, to include accepting the likelihood of retribution that could target me personally, although enacted impersonally. The picture of the grieving child Richard posted after the Mumbai attacks comes to mind: children are innocent. I don’t feel innocent, don’t consider the US or it’s allies to be innocent. I’ve seen too many pictures of grieving Palestinians, have no difficulty imagining grieving Iraqi and Afghani, and Vietnamese, Cambodians, etc.

Even though I disagree with the invasion of Iraq and the execution of Sadam Hussein, military invasion by allied armed forces, followed by public trial and execution of people against whom evidence of capital crimes is substantiated is quite different from elected officials demanding the assassination of the political representatives of other polities as Israeli leaders repeatedly do (without compunction, or concern for the political rights of the individuals who elected those representatives, much less the political rights of those elected.)

Which doesn’t answer the question of what the difference is between the military aggression of a drone plane and that of a targeted assassination. I don’t think there is much difference.

I think what is different, Alex, is the level of acceptance for such activities by the populace of Israel and that of other allied countries. The allied drone flights are protested by the Afghani and Pakistani, with the expectation of a response. The Israeli targeted assassinations are a commmonplace occurrence and we have had demonstrated how little attention is given to Palestinian deaths.

I consider the utililzation of drones to be adapted from Israeli military models, as I do the Patriot Act, as well as the creation of the current concept of “terrorism”, widely accepted in the US, the UK and in South America, which resulted in large scale arrests and imprisonment of people without evidence sufficient, in the US, to sustain their incarceration, as well as the “accidental” shooting of unarmed and innocent citizens by the police of various nations because of suspected terrorist activities. All of which resulted in consequences within the US that included reinstatement of legal rights for those detained by the US for terrorist activity and repudiation of torture. If the miscarriage of justice has not been eliminated, justice is no longer considered secondary to national security.

It is notable for me that an enormous number of Palestinians are detained by the Israeli government without any expectation for evidence of wrongdoing, or for other legal activity considered essential, by US standards, for maintenance of individual rights.

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President Bush is gone; Obama’s now responsible. The juggernaut of war goes forward. Despite my desire for hope, I wouldn’t quantify it in terms of expecting Obama to act as I desire. It doesn’t seem realistic to expect him unilaterally to stop the flight of drones today or yesterday.

I consider it imperative for the US to cease military aggression against Afghanistan. Some months less than four years remain before the next election and a continuation of such activity will result in my voting against Obama.

There seems plenty of likelihood that evidence exists of transgressions by Bush et alia that could and should be grounds for criminal prosecution. I don’t think that’s going to be true of Obama.

Hope does spring eternal.