To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (147392 ) 5/22/2002 2:56:37 PM From: tejek Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 1585956 Ted, <My position would be is to tell Israel to get rid of Sharon and the Likud party, or accept that we cut off the $3 billion spigot.> Why is no Arab nation telling Palestine to get rid of Hamas and the terrorist groups, or accept that they cut off their aid? Ten, for the same reason we don't tell the Pakastani dictator, our ally in the war on terrorism, that he must have free elections. Besides, how much you want to bet that if the Palestinians had their own country and a chance to get a head that the Hamas would go away real fast?That is exactly my point, that Israel is being hindered by the free world while the terrorists, led by Hamas, get to do whatever the hell they want. I don't understand why you don't get that Israel is hindered by no one accept her own people. Sharon did not pull back some from the WB because of world opinion but rather there is fracturing of opinion once again in Israel. The Likud party wants more drastic action taken and the moderates want less. An example of this fracturing can be seen in the current battle over the budget.......over this issue, Sharon fired a number of his cabinet members. Apparently, on this matter, Sharon is relying more on the moderates in the Labour Party as opposed to the Likud. Here's a link:news.bbc.co.uk The Israelis are unified in they want the bombings to stop and some action taken in that regard. However, that's as far as it goes. There are some who want the action to be extreme and there are others who want less. Israel is like any other democracy. And I don't care how dire their situation is. The terrorists are waging unconditional war, and they are not going to stop until Israel is no more. No, I don't believe it. And the reason is first off, it would be very difficult for them to defeat Israel. Israel is a superpower, at least in the Mideast. Her army and airforce are some the best in the world. Secondly, if they did attack Israel and its was going badly for Israel, they know that the US and Britain, at least, would come to her aid. Thirdly, the terrorists are fighting with antiquated weapons......why do you think they rely on human bombers? There is no way they could come up to the standards of the Israel military. There are more reasons but this emotional argument has so much traction that its impossible for people to be rational about the issue. They only way Israel can be eliminated is thru a nuclear devise and one that big would take out much of the Mideast and put a real damper on world survival.< I know you don't believe that, but Israelis sure do, Yes, the Israelis make real sure that we know that they believe. The Israelis have a great deal of credibility with this country and they use in any way that advances their cause. and they're the ones who have to look out for strange guys wearing bloated jackets and boarding buses or entering shopping centers. As we are having to do now.....Bush and company are telling us over and over its only a matter of time. I can't wait til when they start lifting our personal freedoms over this issue. But that's another issue. In any case, the threat of suicide bombers whether here or in Israel is all the more reason to be sure we are supporting Israel for the right reasons and that Israel's aggressive behavior is for the right reasons. ted