However, Charles, your second paragraph is wise and a good summation of what's happening in the World today.

Are you going to answer my question? or is this duck time? Would it be ok for me to launch missles at your home every so often just because I don't like your name? It's a simple question.

I am afraid in this case, you are very wrong. YOu may not agree with Leauki, but you will be hard pressed to find anyone more informed on these issues than him.

And I agree with him.  Blaming the victim for the criminal's behavior is no way to have the criminal stop his crimes.  The people do have a choice, stop shelling Israel.  ANd if it is the "innocents" that are getting killed, they have 2 choices as well.  They can get rid of the criminals or move.

You dont blame the police for crime in your neighborhood.  They are not doing it, they may not be preventing it, but then neither are you.  In this case they are trying to stop it.

the only reason that this conflict is never ending, is because israel is too moral to commit the collatoral damage needed to end this conflict. The united states has done so multiple times, such as in WW2 against japan and germany, and also against the native americans. The russians have done it countless times, the chinese, every european country has done it... Israel is unique in its AVOIDANCE of civilian casualties, to the point that they are incapable of winning. And they are demonized for it.

War crime - training child soldiers

Not a war crime - shooting back at child soldiers

War crime - using civilians as human shields

Not a war crime - killing civilians used as human shields to get at the person who is hiding behind them and shooting at you

Also not a war crime - killing civilians by accident even if they are not anywhere near any combatants due to a mistaken identification.

Of course, those are what the countries of the world hold THEMSELVES to, not what they hold israel to, if israel calls off most attacks on military targets due to proximity to civilians, and occasionally hits a civilian, well, that is a war crime, because there are special definitions for israel.

PS. The us nuked japan. And in vietnam 20 million vietnamese civilians died, which was 10% of tht total population of 200 million, and also was orders of magnitude more than the amount of combatants killed (on both sides, american casualties numbered in the 50 thousand).

If you think those things above that are not warcrimes should be considered warcrimes, than israel is the LAST in the list of countries to be tried... Where there are murderers and rapists (other countries, if you change the definition of warcrimes) about you don't put a pickpocket (israel, if you changed the defintions of warcrimes) on a public sham trial... well YOU DO because the people conducting the trial are the murderers and rapists... but its not just.

Ok.

I have actually been in one of these wars. I was one of the people shot at. If I were an Arab, you would cry for me. As it is, you never even cared enough to ask whether I have lost friends or family in the last eight years of shelling.

I have no problem with you crying over Arab deaths and ignoring Jewish victims.

But to call me "uninformed" seems a bit outlandish.

Have you ever even been in Israel, given that you feel so competent about making lots of statements about Israel's motives?

I think you have hit the nail on the head.  Today's society (for the first world - the third world still has to work 7x24 to eke out an existance) is said to be very lazy.  And have too much idle time on its hands.  That is neither good nor bad, just a reality.  But that idle time has allowed them to become more informed (at least superficially) and to "care" about others outside of their responsibilities more.  And in that, they seem to think that there is a way to wage a humane war. And that everyone "could just get along if we had a daily hug".  The danger here is demonstrated both in the US, Europe and Israel, that when a war is needed, they no longer understand the basic concept of it.  To eliminate the enemy's capacity to wage war against you - so they "feeL" the war should be sprinkling daisies over houses to force the others to see the error of their ways.

Israel, being caught in teh first World, is suspectible to this thinking and pressure.  And that is why they have not done what every nation did before the advent of mass hysteria and delusion.  They are trying to wage a "humane" war.  Basically a losing proposition.

What everyone else fails to grasp is that there is a very simple solution to all of this!  Have the warring ARabs stop attacking Israel!  War over and all can go home!  The solution is simplicity itself, but do you see any of these Israel bashers ever even attempting to broach that solution?  Not even Obama has stated that.  And in 5 days he will be the leader of the largest economy in the first world.

I find it humane to have lots of bunkers and allow people to use them.

And I still don't trust Hamas' numbers. Plus I am unwilling to blame Israel for all the deaths, given that I have seen videos of Hamas preparing a school with explosives.

LW, how do you know that the majority of children were not killed DIRECTLY by Hamas in one of the schools they blew up?

I wonder how the fools that yell "InHumane" can doubt that if they wanted to, the Israelis could cleanse the Gaza completely.  Instead of counting a thousand the total would be millions.  And all the Hamas would be among them.  yet they restrain.  Why?  They are "trying" to wage a "humane" war.  Which has 2 problems.  One is that war is not humane and cannot be (Ever see Star Trrek - A Taste of Armegeddon?  even that was not humane even though it was clean!).  The second is that those they are trying to appease will not be appeased with any thing less their their erradication - in other words they are playing to the wrong audience.

Reply: Moderateman: If you shot at my house I'd drop a bomb on yours---it's called overkill and the Israelis are masters of overkill.

Other replies to Leauki : Pc problems.tomorrow.

That is an interesting statement considering that of all the wars in the region the one involving the Israelis costs the fewest lives on either side.

yes, yes it is humane. Israel could have literally wiped out all the millions of them living there in under 3 days, simply by TURNING OFF THE WATER.

Thats right, israel is the ONLY source of water for gaza.

If they actually did disregard "humanity" they would have done it a long time ago.

err, seems its only half a million in gaza. Statement still stands though. If israel was to turn off the water, the only way for them to get water is to have it shipped it from overseas through the ocean, or from egypt (building large scale seawater to freshwater conversion facilities takes years, so it simply cannot happen in time).

Leauki, as you are not as well informed as you think you are, about Israeli weapons, or their use of them---and considering they bombed the UN HQ as well as a hospital yesterday---I shall no longer discuss these matters with you. In fact any comments are welcome but I shall no longer post.