Yep, it was a case of mistaken identity. All of the charges to the contrary rest on assertions that the flag was flying, it was a clear day, etc. In other words, that it shouldn't have happened. Yet things that shouldn't happen do. If it weren't so, there would be no accidents or mistakes at all in the world.
Before you post links "proving" otherwise, don't bother, I've seen 'em - instead just post a believable motive why a country at war with all its neighbors which were backed heavily by the USSR, would deliberately attack the only ally it had in the world. Just a credible motive is all I ask for.
Re. Iraq, do a little thought experiment. Pretend Israel never came into existence. Would we have no interest in the Persian Gulf? Would Saddam Hussein have been less aggressive toward his neighbors? The answers are obvious. The only difference I can conceive of is that in the absence of Israel there would be less institutional resistance on the part of the conservative Arab regimes (think Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, etc.) to cozying up to and depending upon the US. And the result of this is that we would be even more closely identified with these regimes than we are now. And we would have gotten involved in the Persian Gulf much sooner. |
