I've thought quite a lot about the two main news stories of the day, the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine and the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East. I can't help but draw some parallels and, within them, a significant double standard. In the Middle East, Hamas, a universally acknowledged terrorist group, controls Gaza and has consistently scored an 'F' in "works and plays well with others"...no matter who those others might be. Hamas fires rockets into Israel non-stop. Israel retaliates against LAUNCH SITES with surgical precision and provides pre-strike warnings, yet men, women, and children are used purposefully as human shields and they die. So, according to many, Israel is an awful country and, by the way, 'Israel' includes all Jews everywhere! Hamas would kill them all if it were possible. For now, take what I've just written as a given and read on.
In Ukraine, meanwhile, we have yet to be definitively provided with all of the facts on what happened to Flight 17 nor heard any admission from those responsible for such a heinous crime, and it was a crime! We've been told the plane was shot out of the sky by a Russian missile clearly capable of a high-level mission (the plane was at 33,000 feet flying about 800km/h). That would likely have been a 'BUK' SA-11. A recorded radio exchange heard around the world is said to be from 'pro-Russian rebels' inside Ukraine telling their superior they’d shot down an aircraft and “f----d up”. We already know these so-called rebels have this capability because they’ve previously claimed success downing two military aircraft in like fashion during the prior week.
In Ukraine, meanwhile, we have yet to be definitively provided with all of the facts on what happened to Flight 17 nor heard any admission from those responsible for such a heinous crime, and it was a crime! We've been told the plane was shot out of the sky by a Russian missile clearly capable of a high-level mission (the plane was at 33,000 feet flying about 800km/h). That would likely have been a 'BUK' SA-11. A recorded radio exchange heard around the world is said to be from 'pro-Russian rebels' inside Ukraine telling their superior they’d shot down an aircraft and “f----d up”. We already know these so-called rebels have this capability because they’ve previously claimed success downing two military aircraft in like fashion during the prior week.
This is no rag-tag rebel group. You can't stroll into ‘the missile emporium’, swipe a
credit card, and buy the sophisticated and expensive armaments needed to shoot down high altitude, high performance military aircraft - this equipment was purposefully supplied to the 'rebels' and speculation is that Russia and Putin are behind it. These are serious weapons and they can/did
take out a civilian airliner as easily as a hot knife goes through butter.
Launching such monstrosities can be done at the push of a button on a control panel from a mobile launcher. Any child could do it. But, targeting the missiles
is entirely another matter. Radar acquires all airborne traffic (aircraft) displaying the targets on a
screen – anything from a small Cessna to a giant Boeing 787 will show up -- however, only trained technicians
with significant tactical and communications training can possibly distinguish between the blips.
My belief is that the so-called pro-Russian rebel group is nothing but a proxy for higher
interests…if not, how did they get their hands on this weaponry? Think Hamas and Iran and let your mind wander...but not too far...say, to Moscow! Moreover, the
“kills” scored on military planes surely served to embolden these idiots only days before one
of their missiles locked onto Flight 17. To use their own language, they
“f----d up”…and, wow, killing 300 innocent people makes that a vastly understated description of what they are responsible for.
We all
feel genuine heartbreak and despair as we reflect on the deaths of the unwitting victims in a conflict that was not theirs; in a country they didn’t know; and that was carried out by incredible incompetents in control of devices they had no business operating.
Interestingly,
this has, for the moment, overtaken the Israel/Gaza story and the decision by Israel to amp up that engagement by deploying ground-based forces. My reason for
raising it in tandem with the Malaysian Airlines disaster is simply this…over
the past several weeks, Israel’s precision approach to destroying Palestinian missile
sites (e.g. bedroom windows, schoolyards, hospitals, etc.) has resulted in the deaths of innocent victims too. No matter that these poor men, women, and children perished when they were used by Hamas as
human shields to be martyred for PR purposes. For now, let’s just accept that they were indeed victims –
exactly like the people aboard Flight 17. However, using a single, deadly, hi-tech projectile, the shooters in Ukraine snuffed out more lives in an instant than those lost in Gaza to that point - about 300 lives gone with a single shot!
Let's be clear...terrorism is what Hamas practices and self-defense is Israel's understandable reaction. Hamas has the blood of innocents on its hands. The parallel is that the 'pro-Russian rebels' are equally terrorists with blood on their hands using deadly weapons and, it would strongly appear, with Russia behind them. Whose hands are bloodied now?
My question is will the same people around the world who so readily deny Israel’s right to self-defense have even a single word of condemnation for Russia and its' proxies in their aggression against 300 souls aboard Flight 17? Will there be any negative sentiment even close to the invective hurled constantly at the State of Israel and Jews the world over? Everyone knows who is behind the 'pro Russian rebels'...so, will Russia and Putin be vilified for causing the deaths of innocents in any way resembling how Israel and all Jewry are assigned responsibility for the disaster that is Gaza? And beyond that, while Israel acts in self-defense and Russian proxies did not, will anyone even acknowledge that?
Let's be clear...terrorism is what Hamas practices and self-defense is Israel's understandable reaction. Hamas has the blood of innocents on its hands. The parallel is that the 'pro-Russian rebels' are equally terrorists with blood on their hands using deadly weapons and, it would strongly appear, with Russia behind them. Whose hands are bloodied now?
My question is will the same people around the world who so readily deny Israel’s right to self-defense have even a single word of condemnation for Russia and its' proxies in their aggression against 300 souls aboard Flight 17? Will there be any negative sentiment even close to the invective hurled constantly at the State of Israel and Jews the world over? Everyone knows who is behind the 'pro Russian rebels'...so, will Russia and Putin be vilified for causing the deaths of innocents in any way resembling how Israel and all Jewry are assigned responsibility for the disaster that is Gaza? And beyond that, while Israel acts in self-defense and Russian proxies did not, will anyone even acknowledge that?
I wouldn't bet on anyone being taken to task in any serious way for the savage act over Ukraine and I wouldn't bet either on hearing criticism from the citizenry that, by its' inaction, allows such treachery in utter silence. Besides, Israel and Jews are ready targets and the facts are always secondary. Being Russia is just using might to bully whomever it chooses with no regard for what anyone thinks. Being Israel is different. The haters exist because it always goes far beyond just being anti-Israel, doesn't it?
Peter
Peter
No comments:
Post a Comment