Doesn't this sound a whole lot like the U.S. takeover of Native American lands here in America in our own history?
Even Achtung Bono's arguments about making the desert bloom are representative of white American arguments back in the 1800s. The Native Americans were "wasting" the land any way--better to let white folks have it who could make "proper use of it."
The Native Americans were also viewed a savage group of people who only wanted war and refused to accept peace when it was offered to them.
On the bright side for hardline Israel, if they prevail, in another 100 or 200 years all of this will be forgotten.
Or at least it won't matter any more. It'll just be history book stuff.
Those arguments, about America in the 1700 and 1800s are ridiculous.
When anyone brings them up, they have surrendered the argument.
It is a confession that their cause is illegitimate.
Why????
Because in the 1700, and 1800s, there was all kinds of wrong actions and behavior. Why not argue for child labor laws, and slave labor to build the infrastructure, railroads, etc. That is/ was the standard in the 1800s.
Now if you want to come out of the dark and into the light of the 1900s and 2000s.
What is the standard? WW1, Germany and the AXIS powers, captured territory and displaced people. The world united against, this taking of territory and pushed them back.
WW2, again aggressors were pushed back, and the victors
did not annex their conquered territories. Unless you want to site the Soviets and Eastern Europe? Does Israel want to say they follow the Communist Soviets, that were eventually fought back in the Cold War and had their empire crumble?
And we have Iraq and Saddam expansion into and taking of Kuwait. Should that have been allowed to stand? The Imperialists Japanese expansion into and taking Asia and the Pacific?
And when I did visit Japan, Japanese people did tell me that their expansion during the 1930s and 1040s was no different than the U S expansion into the West.
That is was their manifest destiny.
All through the 1900s it has been going the other way. Expansionism, wrong, Manifest destiny, wrong. Occupation, wrong.
Israel's arguments about the 1800s are morally bankrupt.
And as for the hope that with time 200- 300 years from now this will be forgotten and Israel will be looked at the same way as the U S and their taking of natives' lands.
That was the same thing the White South Africans thought they could pull off in South Africa. And it worked through the 1960s through most of the 1980s. They got that far with the US, Reagan, Cheney and the like labeling the ANC, terrorist, communists, and killers of innocent people. Cheney and Reagan would have been fine with Mandela being executed.
Finally the West stopped supporting them and they had to deal with Mandela the terrorist and reach an accommodation.
