The “Muslim world” and its friends caterwaul constantly that America never gives its leaders and its people fair consideration, that it doesn’t treat them as “full partners” in various and sundry “dialogues” and “processes,” and that it unfairly favors the literate and liberal Zionist regime that causes all the world’s problems. It’s really quite a thing to see, for they don’t merely have a problem with this tilt, but with any assertion of self-defense by either the U.S. or Israel for any reason. Thus the very concept of the war on terrorism is considered objectionable by Muslim populations: The effort by the United States, and the West in general, to undermine the power and capacity of terrorists is considered an offense, for the obvious reason that it is directed at, well, terrorists.
So it’s not surprising that the usual suspects are outraged, shocked, horrified at Israel’s long-overdue (strategically, if not tactically and logistically) assertion of its fundamental right of self-defense. Read this story, and see how many times you search for an actual argument based on fairness or some sense of shared humanity before you give up, as usual:
In Turkey, more than 5,000 people held an anti-Israel rally in Istanbul, waving Palestinian flags and burning effigies of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President George W. Bush. Also in Istanbul, club-wielding police broke up a small demonstration by protesters who hurled eggs at the Israeli Consulate . . .
Israel’s weeklong aerial bombardment of Gaza and the start of the ground offensive Saturday against Hamas have drawn condemnation across the Muslim and Arab world and news coverage of the invasion has dominated Arab satellite television stations.
Thousands in cities from Tehran to Damascus have also taken to the streets to protest the attacks, which have killed about 500 Palestinians and wounded more than 1,600, according to Gaza officials.
In some cases, the protests of the past week were as directed against Arab governments as much as Israel, with many criticizing their perceived inaction or lack of sufficient support of the Palestinians.
On Sunday, the leaders of Egypt and Jordan — the only two Mideast Arab countries to sign a peace agreement with Israel and maintain diplomatic ties — condemned the ground offensive and called for an end to Israel’s onslaught in Gaza.
I’m not saying it’s surprising that they don’t share my view, or that of the Israel government, that this campaign was justified. I’m pointing out that not a single leader, protester or other representative voice is heard in this article by Lebanese reporter Bassem Mroue (more here) explaining why — given the objective fact that Israel has been under bombardment from this territory for months, by the ruling government of it, and no one has said or done anything to stop it — Israel’s actions cannot possibly be justified. Read the rest of this entry »
