Thursday, June 03, 2010

Fast-Roping 101

From The Daily Dish blog - how not to assault an Aid Convoy...


My own thoughts on what happened on the Mavi Marmara on its way to Palestine: First - Israel completely over-reacts as usual to shoot first and ask questions later. I'm certain that they did not set out to kill all those people, but they are more than prepared to shoot anyone who gets in their way. This was a reckless and botched operation that even their expert spin doctors can't camouflage under the cloak of terrorism. Prime Minister Netanyahu is in the News saying "This wasn't a love boat, this was a hate boat" - what an idiot. You just increased recruitment into Hamas. Secondly - what were those people on the ship thinking - don't they know you shouldn't fuck with the Israelis? Since when do knives and clubs beat machine guns and grenades? Did they expect the Israelis to just sit back and say "Welcome to Gaza, park your ship wherever you want to"? Have they ever watched the News? Israelis will invade you if you fire a rocket at them. The leaders of this flotilla bear some responsibility for what happened - even if it was just naivety.

An Irish boat, the MV Rachel Corrie, is on its way to Gaza as I write. They should withdraw, or go to an Israeli port. The point about the blockade has been made, Israel is a pariah among nations today, no more lives should be wasted by provoking Israel into another confrontation. Stop now.