"...it's not the training to be mean but the training to be kind that is used to keep us leashed best." ~ Black Dog Red

"In case you haven't recognized the trend: it proceeds action, dissent, speech." ~ davidly, on how wars get done

"...What sort of meager, unerotic existence must a man live to find himself moved to such ecstatic heights by the mundane sniping of a congressional budget fight. The fate of human existence does not hang in the balance. The gods are not arrayed on either side. Poseiden, earth-shaker, has regrettably set his sights on the poor fishermen of northern Japan and not on Washington, D.C. where his ire might do some good--I can think of no better spot for a little wetland reclamation project, if you know what I mean. The fight is neither revolution nor apocalypse; it is hardly even a fight. A lot of apparatchiks are moving a lot of phony numbers with more zeros than a century of soccer scores around, weaving a brittle chrysalis around a gross worm that, some time hence, will emerge, untransformed, still a worm." ~ IOZ

May 31, 2010

Chutzpah, Or How Lies Get Their Running Legs

"Nice Guys Finish Last  

Noah Pollak - 05.31.2010 - 12:52 PM 
 
To my mind, the most astonishing thing about the flotilla disaster is that the IDF sent its elite naval commandos into a highly charged potential combat situation that was being closely scrutinized by the world media — armed with paintball guns.

The intent, of course, was to show that Israel wished to avert escalating the confrontation and merely sought to bring the ships to port, transfer their cargo to Gaza, send the “peace activists” home, and bring this mini-drama to a close. But the results were catastrophic.

Instead of proving Israel’s good intentions, the commandos found themselves unable to take control of the terrorist blockade runners, who knew, of course, that any bloodshed and violence that followed the Israeli boarding party would be laid at the feet of the Israelis. Armed with the proper equipment, the naval commandos could have done precisely what they are trained to do — take command of a ship decisively and with great speed. This can only be done when the men boarding the ship are able to immediately neutralize their opponents and establish complete control.

But the Israeli commandos obviously could not establish complete control. They fast-roped into an ambush and were beaten and stabbed. Would this have happened if they had real guns in their hands? Probably not.

Those who sent an elite unit into a hostile confrontation armed with toy weapons made an incredibly stupid decision. And a uniquely Israeli one. In recent memory, Israeli military action has been violent but not decisive, bloody enough to provoke the outrage and condemnation of the world (at this point, a stubbed toe will do), but not enough to actually change facts on the ground (the Hamas and Hezbollah wars being prime examples). These halfhearted wars and battles have earned Israel demerits in world opinion without enough to show in improved strategic position. Exit question: How many new flotillas to Gaza are being planned right now in Europe, Turkey, and the Middle East?"

Read this a few times, this piece of hasbara shite.

The problem with this Israeli act of state terrorism, see, has got nothing to do with the fucking storm trooper raid on a humanitarian convoy. Worry your heads not one bit about goons murdering sleeping women and men.

The problem, according to the venomous ass above, reaches far wider and deeper than all that.

Israel's own Order of the Totemkopf didn't do bloody damned well enough. They failed to bring the requisite amount of brutality, death and suffering to the ships' decks.

Too nice, he suggests. Israeli stormtroopers acted with too much restraint.

And found themselves caught in an ambush.

Yep.

The whole goy world, right now, has its knickers in knots because they just don't understand how nice and restrained Israel's leadership has so far (halfheartedly) acted, when it really ought to have done worse, and more often, and again and again and again.

You've read it yourself. Right there in English.

And you know what?

This little narrative will spread, will infect the airwaves, playing right into the pre-colonized expectations of Christian Zionists, American "creatives," and the propaganda mill out Los Angeles way.

So that, I imagine, a couple weeks down the road, Israel and the United States will strengthen their "historic friendship," perhaps with a little pushback against...well...you pick. Syria? Hizbollah? Lebanon proper? Iran?

Or perhaps another go at Gaza?

And do not count on much from Imperial Barack or his High Consigliere, Secretary Clinton. They cannot rightly condemn what happened in the Mediterranean, when they sign off on this same ugly business of empire every day and night, in Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.


h/t Newshoggers

10 comments:

Jay Taber said...

Few of our colleagues and associates understand the principles of psywar http://www.publicgood.org/reports/pdf/Principles_of_Psywar.pdf

Jack Crow said...

Like this?

http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=177047

M said...

Wait, what the fuck? Is he saying Israeli soldiers killed 19 people with paintball guns?

And this shit, this fucking shit

These halfhearted wars and battles

made me want to punch the computer screen. They killed 19 innocent people. They target children and civilians in Gaza and kill them when they are not starving them. Halfhearted wars and battles? Plague be upon your house, you fucking piece of shit.

M said...

Jack, I'm sorry for the swearing, but this just made me really fucking mad.

Jay Taber said...

Most humanitarians realize our enemies lie, but they haven't a clue about how to fight back effectively. It's all part of that pious posturing will win the day nonsense.

Jack Crow said...

ASP,

Swearing is acceptable, of course. As Spartacus notes, and adeptly, part of how we are kept in place is with a double standard. We are asked to behave nicely, while the bosses can do whatever they please.

We cannot fight back effectively so long as we think it's inappropriate to give voice to our just and rightful anger. And even, our rage.

Jack Crow said...

On the "paintball" guns:

http://www.newshoggers.com/blog/2010/05/pepper-guns-or-assault-carbines.html

Jay Taber said...

Even among those who vent their rightful rage, almost none are aware that psychological warfare is a proven science, used adeptly in advertising and propaganda. Thus when they violate the basic precepts of pyswar, i.e., repeating an enemy's talking points ad infinitum, they are entirely oblivious to the harm they are doing.

Part of that arrogance and ignorance going hand in hand sort of thing.

Jack Crow said...

Spartacus,

That's what happened to AIM, especially after Alcatraz.

Jay Taber said...

One of my favorite stories about AIM is when they occupied a Bureau of Indian Affairs building, and while the rowdies prepared to whoop it up burning BIA files, a more circumspect Hank Adams shuttled the records off to the trunk of his car.

Some of these were later used to make claims against the feds for ripping off Indians. Like Adams said later, they were going to destroy the evidence.