Obama Tells Netanyahu US Is Worried About Worsening Conditions In Gaza, Civilian Deaths
Source: Associated Press
July 27, 2014 - 3:20 PM
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama is telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States is growing more concerned about the rising number of civilian deaths in the Gaza war that is entering its third week.
The White House says Obama and Netanyahu spoke Sunday about the ongoing violence in the region and the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza. Obama also reiterated that Israel has a right to defend itself and condemned Hamas' rocket attacks.
Obama says a lasting peace will ultimately require a demilitarized Gaza and dismantling of terror groups. The U.S. president is also pushing for an immediate, unconditional cease-fire that would allow Israeli and Palestinian civilians to return to normalcy.
Read more: http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/268802261.html
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)BillZBubb
(10,650 posts)"Bibi, my friend, whenever you are ready to stop defending, it would be good. Thank you so much for taking my call."
AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)I wasn't until yesterday. I may have read a bit about it the day before, but not until yesterday did I figure out what it is about. I wonder how many DUers have a clue as to what Israel's stated reason is for going into Gaza. Interesting how people have opinions, strong opinions, without knowing the facts or the motivations of those about whom they have the opinions. It's really odd.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)ForgoTheConsequence
(4,868 posts)He must be an anti Semite!
BillZBubb
(10,650 posts)It wasn't much concern.
bettydavis
(93 posts)calimary
(81,238 posts)Glad you're here! I use your quotes all the time! (Actually, it's the Bette Davis quote about the dead and Joan Crawford - "you should never say bad things about the dead, you should only say good. Joan Crawford is dead. Good." I apply it to ronald reagan quite - um - LIBERALLY!)
Okay, this sounds utterly superficial for the thread topic here, but I would hope somebody in our government would think it worth considering nonetheless.
Has ANYBODY considered how Israel may risk losing the PR war?
YES it's PR. Pretty superficial, alright. But when it comes to building a consensus of world opinion - which is a BIG concern, if I were president, I'd be speaking to Netanyahu about that as well.
This issue has been an issue for decades. I don't know if there even IS a solution. Seems to me, it seems this is an unsolvable problem as it's laid out now. Two different sets of people fighting over one piece of land. They each lay claim to it. They each have reasons and justifications. And nobody's giving an inch. And whichever side pushes hardest and exacts more pain - the other side gains the sympathy and fired-up motivations for revenge. The offensive tactics of one side beget revenge response from the other side, and new hard-liners determined to settle scores.
And it's been that way, in one form or other in that part of the world - for centuries! Millennia! I don't know if there even IS a solution that's satisfactory to both sides. Makes me wonder if we need to start applying some different thinking to the problem.
Do we do what a mom would do (what I myself would advocate, from my mom-dum) - which is basically - "OKAY KIDS. If you can't play nice and share your toys and share your playground - THEN I'M TAKING IT AWAY FROM BOTH OF YOU!!!!!! Then, NOBODY gets it!!!!! How 'bout THAT???" And I realize that in this case - that approach is rather, um, impossible. Although I am tempted to advocate that Jerusalem be taken over and established as a universal city, the capitol not just of some religion or some country but of Planet Earth, and as such, belongs to EVERYBODY AND NOBODY. And I'd move the UN headquarters there as a visible sign of same. And further, I'm absolutely sure that NOBODY would like that and both sides would probably declare a jihad against those among us who'd done that, and all one would really end up with is another gigantic international shitstorm.
I just don't see a way out of this. Unless - do we try to reclaim a certain-size chunk of land from the Mediterranean Sea? So some of those in this conflict can have some land to claim for themselves? Then redraw the boundaries so both sides have sea access and port potential and all that? YES it would be ridiculously costly. But measure that against what costs are already being incurred - in life and treasure, seemingly with no end in sight. How much do each of those bombs cost? How much - a cost of casualties and what that leads to in terms of fired-up militants and jihadists? Any way you look at it, there's gonna be an extravagantly high cost in terms of sheer money. But I find myself wondering about reclaiming land and whether that might be an approach worth taking. If both sides don't get something to win, something of value to take away, you're never gonna solve this, and there's always gonna be strife and always gonna be trouble and always gonna be squabbling and always gonna be war-making and terrorism and violence and destruction and needless death.
Trying to think a way out of this, or around this, or through this, using the same approaches and ideas and negotiations and pleadings that haven't done squat so far - seems like a losing strategy. We're stuck in this mode of being in a deep hole, and the only way we see out is to keep digging. And no matter what kinds of fancy shovels and earth movers and multiple armies of helpers we throw at it, we're still just digging ourselves down deeper. But hey, let's look at this other new kind of shovel. It has a diamond tip! That ought help...
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)cosmicone
(11,014 posts)Jack Rabbit
(45,984 posts)[center]
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LoisB
(7,203 posts)politicman
(710 posts)I always used to see Obama as courageous, ready to withstand all kinds of pressure from every corner to avoid wars, and find better ways to deal with situations.
YET even Obama kowtows to Israel, showing who really controls the lever of powers in the U.S.
This is a guy that by all accounts Obama dislikes, YET Obama is too scared to criticize him or his country and demand that they cease slaughtering civilians. Unbelievable
I wish he could say the truth -Like Jimmy Carter. (JC) We have an apartheid situation. WTFU people. This isn't anti-Semetic- this is about truth plain and simple. Turn it all into a religious Disneyland where the UN administers the holy land. It can belong to everyone and no one. You can visit, but the park closes at 10. Then there's no reason to fight over it.
Stonecarver.
Response to Purveyor (Original post)
1000words This message was self-deleted by its author.
jaysunb
(11,856 posts)and I'm a strong supporter of the President.
AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)Not our sort of world where gravity w alls toward the ground or water is wet.
Earth_First
(14,910 posts)I need a wire transfer. Immediately."
SnakeEyes
(1,407 posts)And Toronto was indiscriminately sending rockets into Buffalo and surrounding US cities and you were responding militarily, would you care what another head of state had to say about it?
elias49
(4,259 posts)I might start to care what everyone thought. But, then again, I'm not Bibi.
happyslug
(14,779 posts)That would be a better similarity. Canada would not be permitted to import or export anything. It water would be stolen by the US and when they protest, even if the protest is peaceful, the protest is called an attack.
Or, and anything north of Toronto is considered by the US, US Territory and any Canadian who even tries to go to those lands OR the US proper is considered a Terrorist.
delphi72
(74 posts)I wonder if POTUS has called Hamas leader Khaled Mashal and is telling him to stop storing/firing missiles into Israel in and from schools, hospitals and other civilian locations. Just sayin'