And he’s 100% correct.
Thank you so much.
This is way more complex than it's getting credit for.
It always has been.
Anyway, I miss having a better leader. He was just so presidential. Not perfect, but no one can be.
he was a piece of shit. an eloquent neolib piece of shit. easy to reminisce about the better times when the last 2 presidents have been trash.
Even the dead children?
What does this even mean?
They're trying to do a "gotcha." What they mean is, "Are even the dead children responsible for the situation they were in?"
It's a fallacy; appeal to emotion. Obviously the dead children aren't reading this, or hearing the words that "all of us are complicit." Instead of thinking as a rational person would that the audience being addressed by those words are the people to who that phrase would apply, they did a rapid-fire, emotion-based response because they want to feel right and superior, instead of taking the mature, nuanced approach.
@roofuskit
That's what I thought when I saw the headline but he's actually talking about state actors when you read the context:
“All this is taking place against the backdrop of decades of failure to achieve a durable peace for both Israelis and Palestinians, one that is based on genuine security for Israel, a recognition of its right to exist, and a peace that is based on an end of the occupation and the creation of a viable state and self-determination for the Palestinian people,” he added.
This is bad news for Israels current course of action. When the guy who was popular (enough that the current guy could "best friend" his coat tails into office) starts saying this stuff loud enough for everyone to hear, it's intentional. This looks like more subtle public distancing and changing of narrative.
The former president argued that it was important to acknowledge multiple seemingly contradictory truths: Hamas’ actions were “horrific,” but “the occupation and what’s happening to Palestinians” were also “unbearable.”
Obama previously spoke out on the conflict, saying in a statement that any actions by Israel that ignore the human cost of the war against Hamas “could ultimately backfire.”
Israel and it's supporters should be sobered by this soft diplomacy. It's very much aimed at them and the timing should make it clear that they are being isolated.
This is bullshit. Israel's response is completely disproportionate. 2000+ children are dead in Gaza.
I don't see where Obama said anything about things being proportionate, and I don't know what "proportionate" has to do with the fact that heinous acts have been taken by both sides.
There's no "both sides" to this anymore. Almost ten times the people have been killed by Israel with almost all of them being civilians.
How many times can you poke a bear before it decides it's done?
It's not an excuse. Israel's actions are absolutely disproportionate. I can argue either side, but that's exactly the point. Nobody's hands are clean. You don't have to condone Israel's actions to understand they were provoked.
There can never be peace without both sides admitting some fault. Two wrongs don't make a right. 9061 wrongs don't cancel out 1400 wrongs. That's not how any of this works.
What do you suggest Israel does? What do you suggest Palestinians in Gaza do? Until you think a little bit deeper, you can't just say dismissive, pithy things that only favor one side.
This isn't a sports team. You can't just pick a side and cheer for them no matter what.
There’s no “both sides” to this anymore. Almost ten times the people have been killed by Israel with almost all of them being civilians.
Israel has killed ten times the people compared to who? Oh yeah, the other "side", who also has killed a bunch of civilians.
You seem to not understand what a proportionate response in war is. Israel's goal is extermination of the terrorist threat in Gaza, their actions are proportional for those goals. Not lost in the calculation is the terrorists saying they intend on continuing their terror attacks on civilians, making a ceasefire all but impossible to institute.
The question of whether or not it's humane or ethical is a different question that should be debated.
Terrorists consider civilian casualties to be a scorecard. Hamas benefits when there's Israeli civilian casualties. Hamas also benefits when there's Palestinian civilian casualties.
That's the whole point of taking hostages isn't it? To force Israel into a ground campaign which will cause Palestinian civilian casualties.
The military forces of civilized nations don't consider civilian casualties to be a victory no matter which side it's on. They have an objective and need to achieve that objective while minimizing civilian casualties. The objective of the IDF is to free the hostages. They will make an effort to minimize civilian casualties. But they must achieve that objective even while know civilian causalities are a certainty even when they make an to keep those casualties to a minimum.
This is the nature of war. And this is a war Hamas started. And remember there could be significantly fewer casualties (and a humanitarian ceasefire) if Hamas released the hostages.
But they won't do that because their objective is to maximize the number of Palestinian casualties because many people look at those casualties and become angry and want to support them.
Netanyahu will lose power because of 1400 Israeli deaths. Both Israeli and Palestinian civilian casualties are considered to be a failure by Israelis.
Both Israeli and Palestinian civilian casualties are considered a success by Hamas. They are psychopaths that know how people react to these numbers.
Constantly bombs refugee camps, schools, and hospitals This is just war, bro. Yeah we have the 4th most sophisticated and accurate military on earth but we just can't help hitting civilians who just happen to be a minority in their own land...
Dude, the logical hoops you'll jump through to justify a genocide is extremely concerning.
Holocaust scholars all over the world have even condemned the bloodshed.
This isn't the cost of war. It's punishment. It's imperialism.
Honestly, the whole truth of the situation is that the subjugation and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians was a direct byproduct/prerequisite of the creation of the Israeli state. We will get nowhere if nobody addresses this fundamental aggravant at the heart of this conflict, that formed the basis for the militarized apartheid system that exists there today. These are just pithy quips about "nobody's perfect" coming from somebody with olympic swimming pools of blood on his hands.
The reality's that the only people with the real vision to create peace in this situation have long been sidelined from the political discussion. I'm really encouraged looking at stuff like https://www.odsi.co/en/ that actually understands the fundamental problems going on here. We'll get absolutely nowhere listening to the political establishment in the U.S. or Israel that spent most of the last century manufacturing this situation.
Funny they never say this kinda shit or act upon it when they have any actual power. Like Eisenhower and his military industrial complex speech.
It's also pretty rich coming from guy who thought drone collateral was not a problem in Afghanistan.
He's lucky we wasn't president during the last time there was a huge Israeli-Palestinian blowout, otherwise he'd have a 1:1 comparison with Biden.
Voluntarily releasing reports on civilian casualties doesn't seem like they thought it wasn't a problem
the babies on respirators in gaza hospitals are.
Hamas is hiding in their premature baby bodies
Both sides may have fault however there is a fundamental difference between Israel and Hamas. Hamas is a relatively small terrorist group from a region (Gaza) that has been oppressed and had food, water, and electricity limited (even before the war). Meanwhile Israel has one of the largest militaries and occupies Gaza. The death toll and injuries are not even compatible nor the sheer scale of the war crimes committed by Israel.
Have you considered that if Gaza didn’t have terrorist groups they might a functioning society and government?
Have you considered that Gaza wouldn't have terrorist groups if the people had basic human rights?
Well, given that the reason Gaza is occupied is because of the terrorist groups, I think order of operations is somewhat disputed.
This is 70 years of tit for tat. My point is that both parties here are wrong.
There is no good or bad guy, just two bad guys.
Well thought out response from someone who knows how to captivate an audience. I miss his leadership even if there were some key flaws during his terms (e.g. the gross overuse of drone strikes).
Ultimately, no president is perfect but I also believe their ability to be a figure head who can make the public look inward, from time to time, is important.
Trump did nothing to lead. He just spread anger and hostility. Biden, while he means well, has never been the beet public speaker (both in presence and in avoiding putting his foot in his mouth).
I'd rather have an effective leader than a charismatic one. I don't elect presidents to assuage my fee-fees, and the fact that the rest of the population does is the problem.
It's unfortunate but charisma is a very important component in contemporary American politics. I think that's largely the reason Hillary lost the election. Trump is not as qualified as she was but he is much more charismatic. I think it's because people don't care enough to do stay informed and research candidates. So they make emotional decisions based on the stupidest criteria. The biggest example is one of the factors that got George W elected/reelected, "I'd rather have a beer with him than the other guy" .
“It’s complicated” is no excuse to be arming an already powerful nation with our tax dollars to make the situation more “complicated.”
If it’s so damn complicated, maybe we shouldn’t be sending arms and tax dollars directly over to Israel, but rather send humanitarian aid to both sides instead.
Taking a side in a complicated conflict of which many people don’t fully understand is an unwise decision, and using tax dollars to arm one or even both sides of a conflict we don’t fully understand is unethical.
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