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I am appalled by the report I just saw, as Israeli forces have liberated a village overrun by Hamas they discovered babies that were beheaded by Hamas terrorists. Kill them all.

Yeah, it's bad. I try to remain stoic while attempting to get the facts and assess the situation, but this is some horrific stuff. This attack was designed to provoke an emotional response, and it certainly worked on me. I can't imagine being close to the event. But could there be anything more satisfying to this evil than seeing the leadership of the most powerful nation in the world openly weeping on live TV? Somewhere on our path to modern Western society, it became tolerable for full grown men to lose their composure and put their weakness on full display when representing a superpower during a 60 second news segment. Process your grief elsewhere, then man up and demonstrate that we are a nation of strength, not weakness, and give the public faith that we can make sound rational decisions during dangerous times. It's like looking over at the other cockpit and seeing your lead crying just before you launch a night tac LL formation airdrop in mountainous terrain. WTF? Kirby crying may not be a huge deal in itself, but it affirms my suspicions that this administration is going to fuck this up as bad as everything else in the last 3 years.

Honestly I’m glad so much of this barbaric shit is now readily available on Twitter, etc. Nothing that has happened in Israel is new to the world, it’s just the average 1st world civilian actually has seen it/heard it described in detail for the first time. Maybe this will actually wake up all the latte-sipping meat bags that evil is in fact real, it’s everywhere, and we should actually do something about it. Kill everyone in Gaza, destroy all infrastructure. If the civilians haven’t left after the more than ample warning, fuck ‘em. Zero sympathy.

Israel needs to capitalize on the world's brief sympathy and wipe out Hamas once and for all. Bulldoze Gaza. It is clear that Hamas and Israel cannot co-exist peacefully.

Lesson of Rolling Thunder vs Linebacker II. Measured responses promise continued fighting.

I’m shocked they would try something so underhanded.

Writing some excuses as to why its OK for innocent children to be decapitated and set on fire. I am tired of Beta Males and stupid bitches fucking up the world. Send them to Gaza as peace keepers. Please go. Put your money where your mouth is. Show us how to solve this problem with peace and understanding. They will applaud you. You will change the world with your hollow words. Remember abortion (killing of some sort of helpless creature inside of a woman)? War is like abortion for adults. Here is your time to shine with your Palestinian lovers.

Great post. Top line quoted for truth; I too, have said "kill them all" but assume mature people know that statement applies to combatants not civilians. But it's worth mentioning, as it is a key distinction between our side and theirs. Radical jihadists mean "kill them all" in the genocidal sense. That said, the definition of 'combatant' must be revised for wars against unconventional forces hiding behind civilians and collateral damage is inevitable.... the blame lies on Hamas for that result. I have no idea where an average Gaza resident is supposed to go. Not to be harsh, but don't elect Hamas if you don't want to be in this position. I realize their choice at the ballot box was an illusion as Hamas had the guns and wouldn't allow true opposition. Unfortunate situation with no easy answer. Hamas is willing to let every Palestinian child die... I hope it doesn't come to that but how do you fight an adversary bent on genocide without eradicating them? As for Iran, a few days ago I was incorrectly hung up on the Sunni/shia divide and didn't realize how close the collaboration already was. Hamas is proud of the Iranian support; wow. I'm out of my depth, but I do think for the US part we won't do anything. Could be wrong, but I'd guess we lack the appetite to hold Iran directly accountable for US deaths.

All valid points but my thought is if you’re dealt a shit hand, do something about it. Same thing applied to Afghanistan. All these young men that are poor helpless victims that do nothing to improve their situation don’t get much sympathy from me. My depression era grandfather fought in WW2 with no high school education and died after building a million dollar business and raising a family. He also was part Lakota Sioux who looked like Sitting Bull. Definitely didn’t help much in South Dakota. Having said that, I won’t pretend that a dude with brown skin in post WW2 America had it harder than kids in Gaza. Hell, look at what Israel did from the literal first day of existing as a country (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Arab–Israeli_War). They’ve fought for it against the surrounding Arab countries. In my mind, if Hamas views what they’re doing in the same light as fighting a war against Israel, then they can get wrecked again. If their chosen tactics are what have been displayed, they don’t deserve anything but to be exterminated. If they want to improve their lives, then join the 21st century, stop letting Iran treat you as a sacrificial lamb and puppet, and adopt some of this love and peace I keep hearing all these people tell me Islam is all about.

I remember watching a young civilian truck driver getting his head sawed off in Iraq by some haji with what appeared to be a semi-dull knife when I was a young punk. If I could have enlisted at that age I would have. I get the rage at the atrocities that have occurred. However, I don’t understand some of the comments regarding civilians in Gaza. Based on some quick googling, elections were last held in 2006, and Abbas has delayed new ones for the last 17 years. Egypt has also blockaded Gaza since 2007. My knowledge is limited here, so I’m happy to be educated if required. However, if the above is true, where the fuck are these civilians going to “get out to”?I guess they could start swimming. An entire generation has grown up with zero input into who controls where they live, and since the average age is ~18 years old, I have a hard time blaming them for elections in 2006. I’m not saying Israel shouldn’t go on a haji hunting spree, but I absolutely have sympathy for the innocent civilians that will be caught up in this with nowhere to run.

Seeing videos of babies getting murdered and kids getting burned alive can have an affect on people. Myself included. I don't think showing humanity in the face of that is the worst thing in the world.

This whole situation is terrible obviously, but I personally am having a very difficult time finding a lot of sympathy for Gaza at this point. They elected Hamas a decade and a half ago to be their representative government. Their goals and methods have been consistent for way longer than that. Look at the Hamas charter if you're curious about what they're really pursuing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas_Charter) Something something reap what you sow.

You're wearing some form of Punisher paraphernalia as you type that aren't you?

Infuriating. White House spokesperson John Kirby cries like little bitch. This is the face of our nation when confronted with chaos, conflict, and evil? What an embarrassment. https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1711827979784122690?s=20

Remember on Billy Madison, when he grabs the chubby kid by the cheeks and tells him to cherish where he is forever? That.

I read the last couple pages and got roughly this out of it…

I reverse read the last two pages of this thread and was genuinely shocked to see that HeloDude’s multi post libertarian flex stemmed from essentially defending a dude who killed dogs with jumper cables. What the actual fuck? And libertarians wonder why they get no traction politically.

Click bait title. That dude is not speaking for “Iraqi Forces” in that speech. More like a regional political leader/borderline sectarian insurgent group head. Break, break. I laugh every time I see young liberal white women protesting on behalf of the Palestinian cause. Talk about being completely clueless supporting a deeply misogynistic culture. But as long as it supporting something that’s involving people with brown skin, it must be the right thing!

They really want a round 3, eh?

Well, you wouldn’t want their citizens to own ARs, Tavor’s, etc…according to the left in the US, those are weapons of war that ordinary citizens shouldn’t be able to own.

That was fast. https://www.flightradar24.com/MOOSE41/325b1d3d

Not remotely what I am referring to. But cool dude, you seem to be really interested in a dick measuring contest. Have fun with that. I’m only here to say America is capable of doing what needs to be done, the only question is what does our current crop of leadership decide to do. I do not concur with implications that we’re not capable, that’s all I’m saying.

good ol' geopolitics. There'll never be peace in that god-forsaken (pun very much intended, as a secular humanist mind you) infertile soil part of the Levant. As to Hamas' angle, my bet is they're making an accelerationist (poor bet) play to get Israel to carpet bomb Gaza, and get all the critters to come out the woodwork. It's already started in the Golan Heights, again. The neoliberal west is pretty much in lockstep with the israeli status quo apparatus, so I think the guerrilla overplayed their hand, even from an accelerationist pov. Non-state actors tend to be short-sighted like that though. In the end, the apartheid will persist, the bystander pawns will perish on both sides of the border, the status quo will prevail. The Israeli/Palestinian chasm makes Anglos' handling of the Native American "question" seem courteous in the macro. Yes, I'm being slightly incendiary for effect, but it's not too far off. My 10 year old asked me where that was going on, while I was listening to it in the car. After I explained where the Levant was and a 5th grade explanation of the history of tensions, he promptly said to me: "oof, good thing we live in place where bombs are not falling on top of our houses". Small and salient observations thru a kid's eyes, for what many in the Americas take for granted indeed. I promptly and simply agreed with him. I certainly don't take his assertion for granted.

I believe you can judge someone by who they call their friends. Hamas considers Iran, China, Russia, North Korea, The Squad, etc. their friends (and vice versa). All evil and wicked. That should tell you all you need to know.

Well then. Seems like this is all going swimmingly. Good thing we have strong, savvy, and decisive leadership in the US. Over-under on real actions in the Taiwan straits before the next US election?

This morning, Israel has invoked Article 40 Aleph, a formal declaration of war, for the first time in 50 years. (1973, Yom Kippur). 9/11: Nine-eleven of 2023, that is. Biden and Blinken authorize $6 Billion in funds to Iran. The next day, Lester Holt interviewed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and pressed him on how the funds would be spent. Raisi said: “Humanitarian means whatever the Iranian people needs, so this money will be budgeted for those needs, and the needs of the Iranian people will be decided and determined by the Iranian government.” Now, we have Iranian backed Hamas launching an unprecedented attack into Israel, kidnapping and slaughtering civilians. There are numerous videos and unconfirmed reports of Hamas terrorists wielding US made weapons with some claiming they are grateful to the people of Ukraine for allowing Hamas to purchase them. The Taliban is claiming they are sending fighters to Palestine to destroy Jerusalem. But, where will they get the weapons and equipment? Now, the US is working out emergency military aid to Israel. Billion dollar solutions to our Billion dollar fkups. So Israel is going to absolutely lay waste to Palestinian territories, which will most definitely inflame the Islamic world and shred the Abraham Accords. Will Israel finally go after Iran? Will they be able to do it without massive US support? The collapse of Afghanistan, The invasion of Ukraine, and The war in Israel. All of these things, in addition to the domestic issues of inflation, unchecked immigration, insane levels of debt have accelerated in a very, very short period of time under the current leadership of the US. I suppose we get what we're willing to accept.

Awesome job by those FedEx dudes, ATC too…

I think it’s dumb to apply viewpoints hyperbolically both directions. I think you’ll find that the views you’re so riled up about are not as well held as you think. Even Ocasio-Cortez condemned the Palestinian support protests - one of the most “leftist” people you irrationally despise. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna119687 I think that Rep. Tlaib and Bush are morons and wrong. They are capitalizing on human loss to get political points. Honestly, they’re sickening. Simultaneously, I think the Harvard students who released a letter are technically correct, albeit still wrong about when to talk about this - Israel has contributed to Israel-Palestine instability via effectively running an apartheid state. But it doesn’t excuse terrorist acts. I honestly see how f’d politics is from a Palestinian perspective, and I think you can too. US, EU, and Israel all deciding to admire the problem that Palestinians were effectively living in a penal colony for the last few decades contributed to this occurring. I also see how Palestine are morons and didn’t accept multiple potential compromises over the last 40 years.

There are extreme leftists that are supporting small scale demonstrations that conservative media are significantly overblowing to play on YOUR (specifically) feelings and keep up the narrative that we are mortal enemies and diametrically opposed. Even Ocasio-Cortez condemned the demonstrations supporting Palestine. My point was that he wasn’t going to find someone on this forum that is pro Hamas’s actions. Because it’s a very rare viewpoint right now, including democrats or liberals. Everyone I know is fucking sickened.

Just want to point out that folks like you are why alternative viewpoints don’t engage, and why this place has gently flowed back into being the echo chamber it’s always been. Here’s a pretty comprehensive view of why people believe that Israel is still oppressing Palestine, although I know this will be dismissed for no logical reason: https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/MDE1551412022ENGLISH.pdf Want to be clear, I don’t support Hamas or anyone who does. You seem to be getting your parties in a wad, but you don’t even understand why.