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When the Atrocious Meets the Atrocity [1]

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Date: 2023-10-13  

Days after the 9/11 attack on America by Saudi terrorists, George W. Bush stood amongst the ruins of the World Trade Center Towers, flanked by first responders, and declared, “I can hear you! I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you,” replied Bush. “And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.” Then, with the blessings of the United States Congress, save one, Barbara Lee (D-CA), America promptly invaded the wrong country. Eventually, the dominoes fell, the stabilizing balance of power in the region shifted, and ISIS brought about atrocities not seen in the world since the Holocaust. As a result of anger, pain, and revenge, the U.S. response was misdirected and deemed atrocious after 20 years of death and destruction.

Few would quarrel with the righteous indignation of Israel’s people or its government’s right to defend and avenge the invasion, murders, rapes, and degradation of its sovereignty. The argument now is about how Israel responds. The estimated number of Hamas terrorists among the Palestinians in Gaza is reportedly about twenty-five thousand. The population is about 2.2 million. It would take time, but with the resources of the Shin Bet and Mossad, the Israeli equivalent to the FBI and the CIA, targeted attacks to destroy the leadership of Hamas can be achieved. It took ten years, from 2001 to 2011, before former president Barack Obama ordered the kill shot that eliminated Osama bin Laden—the architect of 9/11. Subsequently, hundreds of thousands still died, and the occupation of the Middle East lasted another ten years.

Amidst a resurgence of the phrase “never again,” reminiscent of the aftermath of the Holocaust, Israel’s retaliation runs the risk of literal overkill. United States Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has called for wholesale death and destruction. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) wants to –level the place. “We’re in a religious war here. I am with Israel; do whatever the hell you have to do to defend yourself — level the place.” Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN) has also hinted at a Holy war, referencing a military assault yet to rain down on Gaza as “Old Testament judgment.”

Those are the words of an apocalyptic religious nihilism worthy only of terrorists. Israel hopefully remembers that over half of the Palestinians who they decided first to deny water, food, and power are innocent civilians, including women and children. In the hands of evil men, power is a weapon that results in attacks like those on the kibbutz of Israel.

American Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged the unwavering support of the U.S. while also warning of death to innocent civilians, both Israeli and Palestinian. Although the United Nations disagrees and calls “impossible” the logistics of the 24 hours the Israeli government has given 1.1 million residents of the Gaza Strip to evacuate south, Israel is poised to strike regardless of the death toll. Undisputedly, the sympathy of the free world is with the people of Israel, but a tit-for-tat massacre may turn those sympathies into scorn. Vengeance is a powerful motivator, but as the adage states, it is a dish best-served cold.

Vote Against Guns

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