AP is reporting that Israeli ground troops are entering Gaza

That's coming from Fox. CNN is reporting lifestyle shows. I guess they're just going to ignore it.

I posted it as it broke on CNN.;):hi: I don't know how you can watch Faux for anything - I've never watched it for over a minute and I blocked it form my cable box.

A small column of Israeli military vehicles, backed by combat helicopters, rolled into the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, a Palestinian witness said.

The witness, a resident of the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, said the column crossed the boundary fence under darkness. The witness could not immediately say how deep the Israelis penetrated into Palestinian territory.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L3471462.htm

The purpose of arial attacks is similar to the traditional purpose of artillary: to soften up the enemies defenses in preparation of a ground assault. Soldiers on the ground can route out the terrorists with a lot fewer collateral damage than aircraft can.

forces have had in Iraq in regards to "collateral" damage!

Hardly a civilian killed...

:sarcasm:

but you already knew that

What were the objectives in Iraq, again? You know, the officially stated objectives?

WMDs? Remove Saddam? Free elections?

What are Israels objectives in Gaza?

Rockets? Remove Hamas? Free elections (oh wait, that's how they GOT Hamas... ok, maybe FIXED elections, yeah, that's the ticket!)

BTW, the real objective in Iraq was oil, the real objective in Gaza is ISRAELI elections.

and you seem to understand the differences well enough to spin around them

which invasion is which objective, in your mind?

I know it's always the first thought that comes to my mind... kill for peace.

And the real reason for this invasion... and the real reason for the US invasion of Iraq, are not "spin".

And I did not say there would be no unintended casualties. I can't really call collateral damage here "civilian casualties" because civilians are the ones shooting the rockets.

If you really think Israel is going to stop with alleged "terrorists," you're out of your freakin' gourd. To them, nearly all Palestinians are terrorists.


My case in point: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4758666



Oh - and it's root, not route.

I realize that what I can only call ivory tower liberalism will not allow some of us to believe that the weaker party to a conflict can be at fault, but they can be. (I tend to be more end-result oriented in my liberalism rather than ideologically oriented to answer the anticipated ad hominem response.) Besides, terrorists are generally well-educated, middle-class religious fanatics and not the very poor.

And yes, I realize war is horrible. Unfortunately, being attacked over and over again does not leave one with any reasonable choice in the matter.

Anyway, the alternative is to continue bombing until terrorists stop shooting rockets. Since they are shooting them during air raids, it is pretty clear that is never going to happen.

I guess you are right about the spelling. I'm afraid I have a pretty loose grasp on spelling sometimes. Whoop-dee-shit.

That looks really good to Muslims I'm sure. Bush is such a man of action. Another brilliant foreign policy debacle by the man who brought us Iraq and the roadmap to peace. Seventeen more days if the world can survive it.

That's why Iran instigated this to begin with.

Iran (virtually all Shi'a) has very little influence over Gaza Palestinians who're Sunni.

and the main source of their money and arms.

Hamas and Hezbollah attack when Iranian intelligence tells them to attack, and I believe they've given those orders largely because they perceive George Bush to be weak, inattentive, and distracted by his maniacal obsession with conquering Iraq.

Your posts make you seem like an expert on Middle East affairs. Are you?

except what he said on the campaign trail.

Nah. It's to "protect" lives and the border. Just like it did in Lebanon. And, it does in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sure. Positively.

:sarcasm: :sarcasm:

:cry: