I somehow managed to miss this canonical example of Israeli thinking a few weeks back:
[Former government press adviser and air force colonel Uri] Dromi admitted that the administration will struggle to win hearts and minds if footage of those suffering in Gaza continues to be shown. “When you have a Palestinian kid facing an Israeli tank, how do you explain that the tank is actually David and the kid is Goliath?“
Just to keep firmly in mind that this isn’t a hypothetical he’s talking about, let’s take a look at this menacing Goliath facing down brave, plucky David:
And recall another Goliath from history (though in this case David was fortunate enough to have a few friends):
When you finally manage to contain your gag reflex, it’s worth considering that only the latter of these photos is one of the most famous of the past century. How can this be? What a perplexing conundrum!
[ Thanks to Ben White for pointing this out, in an article that’s worth a read. ]
The Distant Ocean 
Very good article, and beautiful, sad pics. Thanks.
LikeLike
Obama’s first confirmed kills?
LikeLike
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090123/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan
What is this here??? wtf??
I am confused…
“Pakistan’s leaders had expressed hope Obama might halt the strikes, but few observers expected he would end a tactic that U.S. officials say has killed several top al-Qaida operatives and is denying the terrorist network a long-held safe haven……
…The United States has staged more than 30 missile strikes inside Pakistan since August last year — a barrage seen as a sign of frustration in Washington over Islamabad’s efforts to curb militants that the U.S. blames for violence in Afghanistan and fears could be planning attacks on the West…”
LikeLike
I see that you found it too, save…
LikeLike
Obama’s first confirmed kills?
Gee, and he was doing so well up until Wednesday.
LikeLike
I also like this quote from the same Mr. Uri Dromi:
“Only when you don’t win the war decisively, that’s when you need the PR war. I would rather win the real war.”
So how’s the “real war” goin’ for ya, Uri?
LikeLike
SteveB: I imagine he’s glad at the number of subhumans who his government killed, but at night, sometimes, he’s haunted by a feeling that he could have done more.
John: I started browsing Ali G clips after reading the last post, and I found some familiar faces. I hadn’t realized Nader raps.
LikeLike
Obama orders drone attacks–its about 3:00 AM. I’m going to sleep, but, came home and checked email and found this from antiwar.org:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5575883.ece
LikeLike
StO: Yeah, contrary to what many people think, Nader’s got a great sense of humor.
LikeLike
This is from today’s NY Times:
Israel has contended that the bombing is a way to drive a wedge between the people and Hamas, but it seems to be having precisely the opposite effect. A tunnel manager in his 30s named Mahmoud said he had felt closer to Hamas since the war, because, however flawed, Hamas was the one group that stood up to Israeli aggression.
Gee, who could have predicted that? In Americans, this refusal to yield to foreign aggression would be considered heroic, but since it’s being exhibited by Palestinians, it’s just more evidence that they’re all crazy fanatics in search of martyrdom.
And here’s Mahmoud the tunnel manager explaining the need (and desire) to smuggle goods from Egypt by tunnel:
Palestinians, he said, standing in a striped sweater and brown pants, feel like second-class citizens in Israel, and contraband goods can help them feel first class.
“When I bring a salad, I see that my son eats it and finds it good, it makes me happy,” said Mahmoud. “It makes me feel human.”
Obviously, this strange desire to “feel human” must be crushed.
LikeLike
I wish I could remember the article Iread, it showed a little Palestinian boy, carrying a huge bag of “goods” (it said), as gifts from Hamas, and, that, the world “community” (wasnt a very thorough story–or maybe I am not a thorough reader), had given Hamas $52 million in aid to distribute.
Pres. Obama says that we might give aid to Abbas, whom neither the the Palestinian authorities ,nor, the people accept.
Hamas has been democratically elected, partially thanks to Dubya, am I right? So, wont “aid” to Abbas be seen are an insult? How is George Mitchell on this? I know Holbrooke is terrible.
Wouldnt it sortve be like someone sending “help to us” through Dubya or Bill Clinton?
There is just alot I do not know abouit this situation.
LikeLike
Yes, K, it will be perceived as a statement that the precondition to receiving aid is surrender. Obviously nothing has changed.
LikeLike
John: It is my humble personal opinion that you should link to KDelphi’s Times Online article at ATR. There’s been sort of a lull in posting there, and there’s obviously more Obama-bashing to be done.
LikeLike
“Israel has contended that the bombing is a way to drive a wedge between the people and Hamas,”
It’s fascinating that people like Tom Friedman say this (approvingly) and the NYT says this in its news stories. Every now and then people in the MSM and government openly admit that they are using terrorist logic, but it seems to be more out in the open with this Gaza war than it ever has been before. I remember thinking it was a rare and revealing glimpse into the real motivations behind our actions when Barton Gellman wrote a Washington Post story (June 23, 1991, I think) which said that our bombing of civilian infrastructure in the Gulf War was meant to pressure Saddam by hurting civilians. Unnamed Pentagon officials said this. And now and then Tom Friedman would admit that the sanctions were meant to hurt civilians, and he did that famous bit of gloating over our bombing of the Serbs in 1999. Some Israeli officials admitted they were targeting Lebanese civilian infrastructure in 2006. But I remember this kind of thing because more often, people would deny that Western governments ever had any intention of hurting civilians–more commonly they’d say it was all the fault of our enemies that innocent Iraqis or Lebanese died.
There’s still some of that denial going on with Gaza, but there’s also quite a bit of this open admission that Israel was trying to “persuade” Palestinians to turn against Hamas. I don’t know what to make of this increased level of honesty. In some cases I think they think nobody will notice that it means Israel is practicing terrorism. And with some NYT readers, they are probably right.
LikeLike
Every now and then people in the MSM and government openly admit that they are using terrorist logic…
True, but how long before they admit that “terrorist logic” doesn’t actually work? (As the multiple examples I’ve collected over in comments at ATR indicate.)
LikeLike
save the oocytes–hmmm, I didnt even know what that was…atr…I didnt think I was “obama bashing”–I am just trying to serve as a counterweight to prevailing opinion..
LikeLike
K, I’m with you, not criticizing you. ATR is A Tiny Revolution, Jonathan Schwarz’s site.
LikeLike
I’ve botched the link. This should do it, though. I thought I saw you commenting there a few days ago, and I wanted to throw out a welcome.
LikeLike
sto–I was teasing–I keep forgetting that there is no inflection—sorry. I shouldve gone ; )…or lol…Thanks, hello..
LikeLike
I guess everyone saw the BBC report (on Truth Dig) about the Israeli govt promising to protect soldiers from war crimes—if someone commits war crimes, they shoudl be prosecuted.
But, I am very disturbed that, here, we have the “little fish” in prison, while Bush goes hone to “refill the coffers”–his words! Lindey England, with an IQ of approx. 80, sits in prison while her baby (by Charles Taylor–the psychopathic guard) waits for her. Gawd, what are we doing…
It is called a war crime because it is a crime.
LikeLike
Obviously, this strange desire to “feel human” must be crushed.
Yes, not to mention this influx of terrorist salads.
LikeLike