Live by the bomb, die by the bomb: Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah since 1992, was killed yesterday in an Israeli airstrike on the terror sect’s headquarters in a suburb south of Beirut.
All Netanyahu has done is ensure an entire generation of Lebanese and Gazan kids will hate Israel forever with the white hot heat of a thousand burning suns. It will never end.
Lucian, this will be a conundrum for America...probably forever. Are we a nation of laws or not? Are the laws only for our citizens or do we belong to the people of this planet? If we assassinate a person in another sovereign nation have we violated international law? Is it legal? Would it be "tit for tat" for another nation to assassinate one of our generals or our president?
One could apply your phrase "live by the bomb, die by the bomb" to any of our last several presidents. They have used drones to kill, along with innocents when the war head explodes. Bush called that "collateral damage."
I state the aforementioned because strong arguments can be made for all positions. And I do not have an answer.
It looked like the IDF Air Force took out at least one square block, with hundreds of residents, using (educated guess) 2000 lb. bombs. This was done to kill one shithead, a guy who will be replaced by another shithead within minutes. Sixty years ago I used to think Israeli Intelligence was really smart,.
One part of the pager/comm radio op worked. It did force Hezbollah to decide between waiting for replacements or opening up their comm. They choose unwisely. Of course, they were nudged into it with all the noise coming from the IDF readying for a ground incursion. Pressure can result in panicky decision-making.
-Agree, the chicken with the head cut off has finished running around before the next man up appears on the scene.
-2000lb for 2men (1 being a IRGC General) Wonder how many times Bibi asked for MOABs since 7Oct.? My money is on Bibi getting >2 if Trump is elected.
-IDF has to be exhausted. They're not built for 12 straight months of armed conflict. That includes equipment.
There was a school of thought, once upon a time, that people would get tired of all the killing, death and destruction, but I guess those thoughts are now considered, 'quaint'.
Reminiscent of the Hundred Year War but this instance is more than two sects fighting. Too much money and power at stake here. Too many geopolitical rivalries.
Here's my dream: the young people of the Arab world cast off the old ways of thinking, join the modern world, expel the dictators and terrorists, and start figuring out how to develop functional, equitable, and economically viable societies. They also let go of their hatred of Israel and the notion that it is an illegitimate country. In the meantime, the Israeli people defang Netanyahu and the religious right, start dismantling the settlements on the West Bank, and reach out to the rest of the Arab world in a problem solving mode.
I replaced the "young people of the Arab world" with "the young people of Israel" in my mind, so it made sense. If Israelis want Arabs to let go of hate, they have to change their behavior...radically.
I don't think of assassinations as have scores of dead written off as "collateral damage." One shooter, one weapon, one round, one kill -- that's an assassination. Add a little for sloppiness if you have to involve amateurs.
Israel moved past assassinations and legitimate targeting a long time ago, and Netanyahu seems to think that it tastes very good.
Netanyahu is working with Trump either via Kushner or directly to continue and to escalate his war of genocide thru the election. Not only does it keep him out of prison, it hurts Biden and by inference Harris, but sets Trump up as the great negotiator when he posits the cease fire that hands Gaza and the West Bank to Jared to develop luxury condos, but gets the Saudis (co owners of Trump with Putin) to sign a peace deal.
You must be aware, sir, that those rockets, missiles, etc lobbed at Israel don’t actually land there. Israel has an extremely accurate missile defense system - they call it Iron Dome. Up until yesterday the NYT confirmed no serious damage or injuries from this supposed massive escalation - which, on the side of Iran, Hezbollah, is largely symbolic, because they also know none if this stuff is going to land unless Israel wants it to. Everyone seems to know this except most Americans and, disappointingly, otherwise interesting opinion columnists like yourself. The team with the most firepower might not win, but the team with the overwhelmingly greatest defense pretty much always will. Needless to say, there are no missile defense systems that come even close in Lebanon or Gaza. Time for the rest of the world, but mainly the US, to take their foot off the scale perhaps? It has worked before.
How sad is it that are many children, some not even born yet, who are, or will be groomed to blow themselves up in in the years to come…..all in the name of various religious groups.
This I found provocative: "Von Clausewitz wrote that war is politics by other means." I can't decide whether this idea is logical, or like calling a colonoscopy a nap.
[EVERY single time you think he can't get worse, he gets more scrambled, self-righteous, mendacious, and cosmically absurd - like some crackpot Bond villain with a weird cult following]
" Trump is no rookie when it comes to faking his resume and honoring himself: He created a phony Time magazine cover, putting himself on the cover, and hung it in several of his golf clubs.
Here’s a transcript of Trump’s word salad from the campaign event at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan on Friday:
“So pretty much, as we’ve been saying ... and what I want to do is, I want to be able to ... look your business. Years ago in this area, I was honored as the Man of the Year. Was maybe 20 years ago, and the fake news heard about it. They said, ‘It never happened. It never happened.’ And I didn’t know who it was. It was a group that honored me as Man of the Year. The fakers back there ... see the fake news ... but they said, they said, Oh. And they looked at it, you know, they said it never happened. But I said, ‘I swear to you, it happened. It did happen.’
“I was Man of the Year, and I came and I made a speech and said, ‘Why do you allow them to take your car business away? Why do you allow it to happen? They’re taking your business away.’ And I didn’t know too much about ... all I know is they were taking your car industry away from you. They said it never happened, and lo and behold, somebody said, ‘I remember the event,’ and then we found out, and we had everything. We got the awards. We had everything. It did happen, but I gave a speech, which at the time was pretty controversial.”
Twitter/X and media outlets again provided evidence that Trump’s claim has been debunked many times, and you can find the links here."
I will survive existentially, until November's decision, in part through the Criterion Channel, just today I watched The Marriage of Maria Braun / Dir. by Rainier Werner Fassbinder, and The Last Picture Show, / Dir. by Peter Bogdanovich:
“If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first."
THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD, TRACTATE SANHEDRIN, PORTION 72, VERSE 1
This ancient proverb has guided Israel since before its declaration of statehood on May 14, 1948; it is how this small nation has survived while surrounded by peoples who want to wipe it from the face of the earth. You would think that Israel's enemies would have learned by now that aggression against Israel will trigger fearsome and overwhelming retaliation — sometimes at once, sometimes many kilometers down the road to hell, always lethal. Hezbollah and Hamas are reaping the whirlwind, as well they should. But how does it kill prejudices and hatreds that began with Isaac and Ishmael? How does one kill an idea? Excellent piece, Lucien. Thank you.
It was reported years ago and still widely believed that Malcolm Kerr, the father of Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, was killed in the Beirut bombing in 1983. He was actually shot and killed outside his office at the American University of Beirut in January of 1984 by members of the Islamic Jihad Organization which was closely tied to Hezbollah.
Lucian, don’t you think it’s interesting that the IDF and Bibi have been able to snuff out these leaders but cannot find the hostages? They still have not located the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, although recent news indicates he is somewhere in Gaza. These extremists, Hamas, Hezbollah, and ultra Orthodox Jews believe in “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. That’s because they are MEN!! There will never be peace in the Middle East as long as all of these savages exist.
Great point, the hostages seem to have been largely forgotten as we all focus on the next shiny object. As long as Bibi remains in charge this will never end, as LTK said an idea can't be assassinated.
Say and do all sorts of repugnant things to each other.
I was heartened by Lucian's take, particularly I am so distressed at "co-lateral damage. It's as if the extremists have take hostages, and the level of violence and destruction is growing exponentially. I am truly concerned about where we are going, and when we will reach out expiration date.
Please forgive me for my offense remarks. I can take them down if you prefer!
All Netanyahu has done is ensure an entire generation of Lebanese and Gazan kids will hate Israel forever with the white hot heat of a thousand burning suns. It will never end.
This is very true. The Palestinians will never forgive Israel. Note, I said Palestinians, not Hamas.
Lucian, this will be a conundrum for America...probably forever. Are we a nation of laws or not? Are the laws only for our citizens or do we belong to the people of this planet? If we assassinate a person in another sovereign nation have we violated international law? Is it legal? Would it be "tit for tat" for another nation to assassinate one of our generals or our president?
One could apply your phrase "live by the bomb, die by the bomb" to any of our last several presidents. They have used drones to kill, along with innocents when the war head explodes. Bush called that "collateral damage."
I state the aforementioned because strong arguments can be made for all positions. And I do not have an answer.
Total killed since the shooting began is over 40,000 people.
This stopped being a Just War five days after it began.
Bibi is as mentally damaged as his friend trmp.
We sufficiently defended Israel’s right to exist a year ago.
Bibi should be on his own now.
I despise what he has done, and I am not fond of him.
Amen,
I'm with you!
Thank you for broadening my knowledge of this topic. I am woefully ignorant and appreciate your writing here.
I understand it. But I don’t understand the lack of cooperation, and compassion.
It looked like the IDF Air Force took out at least one square block, with hundreds of residents, using (educated guess) 2000 lb. bombs. This was done to kill one shithead, a guy who will be replaced by another shithead within minutes. Sixty years ago I used to think Israeli Intelligence was really smart,.
One part of the pager/comm radio op worked. It did force Hezbollah to decide between waiting for replacements or opening up their comm. They choose unwisely. Of course, they were nudged into it with all the noise coming from the IDF readying for a ground incursion. Pressure can result in panicky decision-making.
-Agree, the chicken with the head cut off has finished running around before the next man up appears on the scene.
-2000lb for 2men (1 being a IRGC General) Wonder how many times Bibi asked for MOABs since 7Oct.? My money is on Bibi getting >2 if Trump is elected.
-IDF has to be exhausted. They're not built for 12 straight months of armed conflict. That includes equipment.
There was a school of thought, once upon a time, that people would get tired of all the killing, death and destruction, but I guess those thoughts are now considered, 'quaint'.
Reminiscent of the Hundred Year War but this instance is more than two sects fighting. Too much money and power at stake here. Too many geopolitical rivalries.
Yup. Began when folk forgot what the term bellum stultum means,
What means that pray tell!
No just cruel, criminal really.
Here's my dream: the young people of the Arab world cast off the old ways of thinking, join the modern world, expel the dictators and terrorists, and start figuring out how to develop functional, equitable, and economically viable societies. They also let go of their hatred of Israel and the notion that it is an illegitimate country. In the meantime, the Israeli people defang Netanyahu and the religious right, start dismantling the settlements on the West Bank, and reach out to the rest of the Arab world in a problem solving mode.
I replaced the "young people of the Arab world" with "the young people of Israel" in my mind, so it made sense. If Israelis want Arabs to let go of hate, they have to change their behavior...radically.
You pose: "Assassination or act of war or both?"
I don't think of assassinations as have scores of dead written off as "collateral damage." One shooter, one weapon, one round, one kill -- that's an assassination. Add a little for sloppiness if you have to involve amateurs.
Israel moved past assassinations and legitimate targeting a long time ago, and Netanyahu seems to think that it tastes very good.
He's become bloodthirsty, it seems!
Netanyahu is working with Trump either via Kushner or directly to continue and to escalate his war of genocide thru the election. Not only does it keep him out of prison, it hurts Biden and by inference Harris, but sets Trump up as the great negotiator when he posits the cease fire that hands Gaza and the West Bank to Jared to develop luxury condos, but gets the Saudis (co owners of Trump with Putin) to sign a peace deal.
I agree with you 100%.
YUP! $$$$
You must be aware, sir, that those rockets, missiles, etc lobbed at Israel don’t actually land there. Israel has an extremely accurate missile defense system - they call it Iron Dome. Up until yesterday the NYT confirmed no serious damage or injuries from this supposed massive escalation - which, on the side of Iran, Hezbollah, is largely symbolic, because they also know none if this stuff is going to land unless Israel wants it to. Everyone seems to know this except most Americans and, disappointingly, otherwise interesting opinion columnists like yourself. The team with the most firepower might not win, but the team with the overwhelmingly greatest defense pretty much always will. Needless to say, there are no missile defense systems that come even close in Lebanon or Gaza. Time for the rest of the world, but mainly the US, to take their foot off the scale perhaps? It has worked before.
If we spent all the money we send to Israel on our own country's needs, America would be a better place for all. Not in my name Bibi!!
How sad is it that are many children, some not even born yet, who are, or will be groomed to blow themselves up in in the years to come…..all in the name of various religious groups.
Religion is the opiate of the people.
This I found provocative: "Von Clausewitz wrote that war is politics by other means." I can't decide whether this idea is logical, or like calling a colonoscopy a nap.
Ah, liquid demi nap, but then the rude wake up!
I originally came on here to post this link:
www.nj.com/politics/2024/09/man-of-the-year-tells-lie-of-the-year-trump-drives-into-a-delusional-ditch-when-asked-about-cars.html
[EVERY single time you think he can't get worse, he gets more scrambled, self-righteous, mendacious, and cosmically absurd - like some crackpot Bond villain with a weird cult following]
" Trump is no rookie when it comes to faking his resume and honoring himself: He created a phony Time magazine cover, putting himself on the cover, and hung it in several of his golf clubs.
Here’s a transcript of Trump’s word salad from the campaign event at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan on Friday:
“So pretty much, as we’ve been saying ... and what I want to do is, I want to be able to ... look your business. Years ago in this area, I was honored as the Man of the Year. Was maybe 20 years ago, and the fake news heard about it. They said, ‘It never happened. It never happened.’ And I didn’t know who it was. It was a group that honored me as Man of the Year. The fakers back there ... see the fake news ... but they said, they said, Oh. And they looked at it, you know, they said it never happened. But I said, ‘I swear to you, it happened. It did happen.’
“I was Man of the Year, and I came and I made a speech and said, ‘Why do you allow them to take your car business away? Why do you allow it to happen? They’re taking your business away.’ And I didn’t know too much about ... all I know is they were taking your car industry away from you. They said it never happened, and lo and behold, somebody said, ‘I remember the event,’ and then we found out, and we had everything. We got the awards. We had everything. It did happen, but I gave a speech, which at the time was pretty controversial.”
Twitter/X and media outlets again provided evidence that Trump’s claim has been debunked many times, and you can find the links here."
I will survive existentially, until November's decision, in part through the Criterion Channel, just today I watched The Marriage of Maria Braun / Dir. by Rainier Werner Fassbinder, and The Last Picture Show, / Dir. by Peter Bogdanovich:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marriage_of_Maria_Braun
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Picture_Show
Over 3000 films up there. The field is open for the films that summarize the Trump cult and Trumpist /
populist neo-fascism, and you better believe they will be made.
Israel is trying to sucker the US into bombing Iran. Been its goal for you. Netanyahu is trying to continue this "war" to stay in power.
The hostages are mere pawns in this.
So Joe, stop this shit. Stop the weapons flow..That's our play here...
I doubt there are any hostages still alive.
“If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first."
THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD, TRACTATE SANHEDRIN, PORTION 72, VERSE 1
This ancient proverb has guided Israel since before its declaration of statehood on May 14, 1948; it is how this small nation has survived while surrounded by peoples who want to wipe it from the face of the earth. You would think that Israel's enemies would have learned by now that aggression against Israel will trigger fearsome and overwhelming retaliation — sometimes at once, sometimes many kilometers down the road to hell, always lethal. Hezbollah and Hamas are reaping the whirlwind, as well they should. But how does it kill prejudices and hatreds that began with Isaac and Ishmael? How does one kill an idea? Excellent piece, Lucien. Thank you.
Amen. Now I can make peace with my Orthodox rabbi.
I am an ardent Zionist with low tolerance for those who don't respect the rights of others.
It was reported years ago and still widely believed that Malcolm Kerr, the father of Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, was killed in the Beirut bombing in 1983. He was actually shot and killed outside his office at the American University of Beirut in January of 1984 by members of the Islamic Jihad Organization which was closely tied to Hezbollah.
Lucian, don’t you think it’s interesting that the IDF and Bibi have been able to snuff out these leaders but cannot find the hostages? They still have not located the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, although recent news indicates he is somewhere in Gaza. These extremists, Hamas, Hezbollah, and ultra Orthodox Jews believe in “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. That’s because they are MEN!! There will never be peace in the Middle East as long as all of these savages exist.
Great point, the hostages seem to have been largely forgotten as we all focus on the next shiny object. As long as Bibi remains in charge this will never end, as LTK said an idea can't be assassinated.
Now, now. Let's not lump MEN of a certain inclination into one jello mold.
Their wives are only too willing to bear their children and cook for them.
Each to his or her own! You don't want to fall into the category of self-hating Jew.
Or worse: man-hating wo-man.
Babette, I will never be accused of being a “self-hating Jew”, believe me! Oh and some MEN already disrespect woMEN.
Men and women of all sorts of stripes . . .
Say and do all sorts of repugnant things to each other.
I was heartened by Lucian's take, particularly I am so distressed at "co-lateral damage. It's as if the extremists have take hostages, and the level of violence and destruction is growing exponentially. I am truly concerned about where we are going, and when we will reach out expiration date.
Please forgive me for my offense remarks. I can take them down if you prefer!
No, don’t take them down. I can handle it. Look, all of this is disheartening and maddening. We are rightfully on edge. My best to you.