Opinion
Israel promotes imperialism
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In its July attack on Lebanon, Israel again demonstrated its willingness to murder innocent civilians. Rather than negotiating for the lives of its two soldiers, Israel decided to "turn Lebanon's clock back 20 years," in the words of Israeli army chief of staff Dan Halutz. Among the hundreds of civilian casualties were 56 in the village of Qana, a town with no Hezbollah presence. As Independent journalist Robert Fisk reported from Qana, "[T]here was no doubt of the missile which killed all those children yesterday. It came from the United States, and upon a fragment of it was written: 'For use on MK-84 Guided Bomb BSU-37-B.'"
Indeed, the U.S. leant a hand in this slaughter, expediting the delivery of laser-guided missiles to Israel, and stalling a cease-fire resolution in the UN. However, it was not the first time the U.S. unleashed its Israeli enforcer.
The unique relationship America has forged with Israel has not come cheap. Israel receives more than one-third of all U.S. foreign aid, more than all U.S. aid to sub-Saharan Africa. While hunger and disease are rampant in Africa, Israel has an advanced economy, with a per capita income comparable to Europe. Israel boasts the fourth largest air force in the world, which recently sprinkled American-made cluster bombs over Lebanon. The U.S.'s incredible charity to such as wealthy nation is baffling to many.
In return, Israel plays a unique role for the U.S., as a hired thug in the Middle East. In 1953, when the CIA overthrew the democratic government of Iran and installed the U.S.-friendly Shah, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz offered "The West is none too happy about its relations with states in the Middle East … But if for any reason the Western powers should sometimes prefer to close their eyes, Israel could be relied upon to punish one or several neighboring states." Israel proved its mettle to the U.S. in 1967, attacking the left-wing Egyptian government and easily defeating Egypt, Syria and Jordan. After the Six Day War, U.S. aid to Israel quickly multiplied.
Over the years, Israel has been willing to prop up U.S.-friendly dictatorships in the Middle East and around the world. In 1970, the Jordanian monarchy crushed Palestinian guerillas, while Israel provided cover from Syria. In Iran, Israel trained the Shah's secret police, and sold U.S. aircraft to General Suharto in Indonesia, which he used to kill 200,000 East Timorese. In 1977, Israel broke the international arms embargo against apartheid South Africa, and Israeli military officers trained white soldiers to fight black "terrorists." Time and again, Israel has served as the U.S.'s middleman to regimes too murderous for the U.S. to aid directly.
Israel's reliability as an enforcer is rooted in the colonialist nature of the Zionist state, originally conceived as a colony of the British Empire. Like America today, the British valued control over the region for its oil and proximity to the Suez Canal, and accepted the Zionists' offer to become "a portion of the rampart of Europe against Asia, an outpost of civilization as opposed to barbarism." The Zionist immigrants assisted the British by putting down Arab rebellions, including a general strike in 1936. After WWII, with Britain weakened and abandoning its colonies, Zionist militia established Israel as an independent state, by expelling 700,000 Palestinians from their own land.
The dispossession of the Palestinians is what makes Israel America's most reliable ally today. Unlike Jordan or Egypt, Israel is a state where the majority of citizens are effectively colonists in a hostile region, while the indigenous people are relegated to second-class citizenship or exile. Although the colonists are fanatical defenders of their "homeland," they are an embattled minority and rely on the patronage of the world superpower.
In this light, it is easy to see how support for Israel and the occupation of Iraq are linked. To secure its interests in the Middle East, the U.S. must also rely on Arab regimes, such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia and its new puppet government in Iraq. Israel serves as the lead enforcer, keeping the others in line. Without Israel, one former U.S. general estimated that it would cost $125 billion to maintain an equivalent force in the Middle East, and that Israel was worth "five CIAs." As Ha'aretz predicted in the 1950s, Israel has become America's watchdog.
For enemies of U.S. imperialism, the lesson is clear: to oppose American occupation in the Middle East is to oppose Israel. If we want to see an end to Bush's wars for oil, we must build an antiwar movement that challenges the so-called "war on terror," and defends the right of Palestinians and Lebanese to resist Israel's aggression.
The International Socialist Organization is having a meeting called "Axis of Empire: Why the U.S. Supports Israel's Terror" at 7 p.m. Wednesday Sept. 27, Memorial Union (T.I.T.U.).
Paul Pryce is a member of the International Socialist Organization and a UW junior.
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Stop beating around the bush and just admit that you don’t like Jews!
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Typical anti-Israel comments by a member of a socialist organization. Arab and Islamo fascist terrorism is never a factor in their thinking. America and Israel are always to blame.
They never let the truth get in their way.
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Did you read the news and find out there were’t 56 people in Qana? When you don’t use facts in your first 2 paragraphs, people stop listening :)
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The USSR had over 6 million casualties in WWII. Why didn’t we have enough pity to carve out a state for them in the Middle East?
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Not surprising, coming from a member of the ISO. Enough about Jews and Israel for awhile. It’s Iran we need to sorry about!
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Preventing Israel from attacking is simple - just don’t attack Israel first.
No concessions by Israel seem enough to stop the murders of Israel’s women and children by their enemies, but then Israel is unwilling to concede that all Jews should be killed - as demanded by their enemies.
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Too bad using civilians as human shields results in such carnage. I think that there are rules against using civilians as human shields. But then Israel’s enemies don’t observe any rules - submit or die is their only rule.
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It’s no surprise that today’s Inter-national socialists (“inter-Nazis” if you will) are allied with Islamo-fascism in their global “struggle” to exterminate Jews.
Students should think carefully before signing up with these glorified skinheads who organize campus demonstrations against America's effort to defend its citizens and allies against the forces of international terrorism and anti-American hatred, responsible for the 9/11 attacks.
This country has been too tolerant towards the treason of today’s inter-Nazis. If patriotic Americans were more vigilant in the defense of their country— if they called things by their right names; if they confronted today’s inter-Nazis about the seriousness of their Krystalnaght-style street riots (euphemistically called “anti-war protests)— they might catch the attention of students who are well-meaning, yet utterly misguided. And they might stop a few from deluding themselves about these neo-Marxist enemies within.
This appeal is also for those of you who are out there today attacking your country, full of your own self-righteousness, but who one day might also live to regret the shameful legacy of what you’re doing today. http://www.zombietime.com/hallofshame
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Why no mention of the terrorist activities of the arabs? Why no mention of Hezbollahs kidnapping of Israeli soldiers? Why not mention the fact that Hezbollah and Palastian terrorists purposefully attack civilians? Israel has no desire to harm anyone. But when Hezbollah launches rockets from neighborhoods, they know that Israel will strike back and inadvertantly kill civilians. You use the term zionism, then I will use the term arab terror. Arab terrorists need Israel to kill arab civilians, it helps their cause. So the terrorists launch attacks from civillian areas.
Jordan and Egypt have treaties with Israel, and Israel has not attacked them. Why is this? It is because Israel wants people. The West wants peace. George Bush wants peace. If Bush is the bad guy, what does that make Houssein? What does that make Hezbollah? “Resistance fighters” who kill women and children?
Peace in the middle east would be achieved with muslims behaved in a civilized manner. Sadly, this isn’t so. Muslims are more interested in spreading their barabaric religion.
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Oh, please! I’m not going to argue that Israel didn’t overreact, but how about at least mentioning that the whole thing started when Hezbollah terrorists crossed the border into Israel and kidnapped two soldiers? How about mentioning that the Lebanese government has refused to take control of Southern Lebanon? How about mentioning that Hezbollah controls 23 seats in Lebanon’s 128 seat parliament and that their action was an act of war under international law?
Let’s at least pretend to be balanced here!
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Great column! Too bad Mr. Pryce will be immediately tagged an anti-Semite.
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If the the Jews would just agree to slavery in Egypt or captivity in Babylon then the whole problem would be solved.
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How long do we have to coddle a sovereign country before we can withdraw support. It seems to me that 60 years is long enough for a country to “sink or swim.” Thirty percent of our foreign aid budget is ear-marked for Israel. We are sending $5 Billion per year, over $13 million PER DAY, to another country just to exist.
Is this what we’re going to have to do to keep Iraq afloat? I guess we’ll see in 60 years.
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The anti-semitism in the leftist movement and our own Democratic party is truly frightening.
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How long do we have to coddle a sovereign continent before we can redeploy to a relevant theatre of operations? Afterall, European fascism is all but extinquished; unlike the virulent Islamo-fascism US forces are battling alongside our Israeli allies today.
62 years after the invasion of Normandy, perhaps it’s time America redistributes our German and French NATO budget among our real allies in the War on Terror— Britain, Australia, Canada, Israel, etc.
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Shabbat Shalom bitches!!
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Great column. It’s really hard to say what’s unpopular. This is freedom of speech is about. The U.S. govrernment will never even QUESTION Israel, no matter what it does. How can Israelis justify terrorizing an entire race just as they were terrorized in WWII? It’s so, so sad. History is really cyclical.
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This guy needs a caliphate to live in.
He’s on the side of the islamic resistance movements, especially Hizbollah.
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This is absurd…this article isn’t saying anything about “jews” … its talking about Israel and its atrocities. Seriously, people are tired of the “say anything bad about Israel and you are an anti-semite” ..bullshit…its old and we are tired of it.
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“but how about at least mentioning that the whole thing started when Hezbollah terrorists crossed the border into Israel and kidnapped two soldiers?”
How about mentioning that Hezbollah crossed the border in response to Israel crossing their border to kidnap Lebanese civilians?
And you wouldn’t know it by reading the “liberal” media, but there were protests in Israel opposing the war, and Israeli troops are pretty pissed off. Not to mention that even after Olmert was forced to create a probe into the attacks on Lebanon, Israeli press has ripped on him for not going far enough to investigate his mistakes.
I guess these Jews are just anti-Semitic and anti-Israel, and the campus right knows what’s best for Israelites.
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Mr. Pryce,
It is time you learn a little history. First off, Israel is not the native land of the Palistineans, it is predominantly Jordan. Arafat (Arafat was from Egypt, however) and company tried to take over territory in Egypt and Jordan, both countries kicked some butt for doing so. They were FORCED to go to Israel (the only country that would let them in by the way). The claim that Israel occupies Palistinean territory is blatanly false. But then again, my history is probably an instrument of the zionists.
Unfortunately, government education does not seem to teach history any more, so I suggest you research what happened in Nazi Europe before WW II and what is happening now. You are supposed to learn from it so as not to repeat mistakes. World leadership is too blind to see the similarity between the 1930’s (and early 40’s) and now.
The governments of the world were afraid to condemn Hilter and gave into him on a routine basis. The attitude was, give him what he wants, he will not hurt us. He kept taking Europe by storm, everyone kept appeasing. Same thing is happening now, only the enemy is a whacked out segment of a culture (not a country) that will only rest when the whole world follows their beliefs (sounds like Hitler’s vision of the world, the only difference is a race is not the issue, it is religion).
Did I address the column? Nah, but most your column is historically inaccurate and insanely slanted. I think if you take the time to learn a little history, you will realize how ludacris your column is.
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It’s amazing the effect one rapper from the Dirrrty South can have on the ability of Americans to spell ‘ludicrous’.
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“How about mentioning that Hezbollah crossed the border in response to Israel crossing their border to kidnap Lebanese civilians?”
So when Nasrallah said that Hezbollah started it, he was lying?
If you anti-Semites can’t get your stories straight, why should we trust anything you say?
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“The USSR had over 6 million casualties in WWII. Why didn’t we have enough pity to carve out a state for them in the Middle East?”
Because they already have their own country, moron!
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“The anti-semitism in the leftist movement and our own Democratic party is truly frightening.”
That’s funny… all the Jews are in the Democratic party and in the left… I guess that’s because whatever we say, the Right always knows best. Neo-cons need to put aside their apocolyptic prophesies and start listing to what Jews really need.
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Man, I remember when the radical right was the only enemy of the Jews. Now the radical left is in on it! Will Jews ever get a break?!
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Just read a few comments, it’s sad that anytime a report with TRUTH & UNBIAS (like this one) comes out, some people either can’t understand it or they just denying the truth for their gain. We can look at the matter as US (west) is using Israel or the other way around. Look at the thousands of US soldiers died in Iraq for ISRAEL. Now days some things appears to be opposite. The WAR on Terror seems to be better understood as Terror on WAR. Under the name of Terrorist, and war on Terror, it grants US & ISRAEL the license to unlimited blind killing, mostly the innocents. We then wonder why those people don’t like us. It’s not the freedom they don’t like; it’s not the democracy they don't like. It's the UN-Just killing, occupation, and oppression they don't like.
WAKE UP AMERICA, we will not support ISRAEL till they comply with the international law and return the land they OCCUPIED. Let's fight the Terror and un-just from our within first. The world is way too miss-led by some and we have the responsibility to set things straight.
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In closing to all students out there: be careful when joining or associating with these types of student-organizations. Putting membership in a “socialist” group like the International Socialist Organization could give your resume a one-way trip to the garbage can when potential employers see it.
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Gee, where would anyone get the idea that ISO “anti-war” street riots are anti-Semitic? http://www.zombietime.com/hallofshame