Which is why I clearly and carefully marked my original terminology -- that "militarily" an IDF victory was assured. You didn't seem to read, or comprehend very well.

So Israel had a military victory against Hizbullah? By what measurement? What was meaningfully accomplished (militarily, that is)? By all accounts, weren't they simply resupplied by Iran? Did the ranks of militants not grow? Is Hizbullah in a current state of weakness? Somnolence?

So what measurement will you employ when declaring "military" victory for the IDF in Gaza? Will the rocket fire end? Will the number of militants decline? Will Gazans simply lay down and die to please Israel, since that nation's military might is too fearsome to oppose?

Let me be generous and add that a military conquest, absent political and economic elements that benefit the subjected, is not conquest at all. Which is why we get to see this stuff on television every few years or so. And the above, by the way, assumes a quiescent population willing to be conquered. That's not the case here and no one, not even you I suspect, would be willing to bow down to a conqueror.

today/tonight at the ChicagoSunTimes (at least I think so). Here's my last post at that site (and so to bed):

mac32: "May God Help Us All."

I would add, "from the merciless stupidity of murderous advocates such as myself." You seem content to elide the facts on the ground (which I'll repeat: Israeli control of Gazan land, air and sea corridors, effectively denying this oppressed people necessary food and medical supplies) while writhing with fear over anti-semitism.

"Discussion on approach and ramifications can be had, but not supporting our greatest ally in defending itself from thousands and thousands of random rocket attacks is nonsensical and ridiculous."

And yet not a word about that Israeli vise, which I mentioned above, that chokes the lifeblood of a people. So where is this discussion you mention? I haven't heard word one.

"The FACT that the much of Asia, the Middle East, and the UN constantly condems (sic) Israel for its reactions is another example of how dangerous, irrational, hateful, hypocritical, and scary the 'World' really is."

Dangerous, irrational, hateful, hypocritical and scary. You might think of these words as you encourage Israel to continue its policy of squeezing the life out of the Palestinians that "live" (which is much too polite a word to describe their attempt to merely survive) in Gaza and the West Bank.

Because Jews are taught the absolute sacredness of all human life (yes, I know you folks who know nothing about Judaism are rolling your eyes), the idea of expanding settlements seemed elegant. Basically, you blow up my child in a discotheque with a bomb, I'll respond by building another house on what used to be your land. I think that idea was persuasive.

A few things about this: obviously, this notion of the "absolute sacredness of all human life" is regularly on display in the relations between Israel and the Palestinians, but thanks for the reminder. Second, my eyes are only rolling at the notion, implicit in your comment, that one must be Jewish to understand the importance of life's sacredness (you'll deny, probably, that you said anything of the kind, which is why I used the word implicit). That's merely a religious variation of our cursed belief in American exceptionalism.

PDA: Rather, they have been about the American reaction to these events, and how looking at this reaction can inform our understanding of the American political/media complex. I find this much more interesting than another 1000-comment spiral into "Greenwaltz is a self-hating Jew" vs. "Israel did 9/11." I know it'll only be another few pages before the Troll Wars take over the comments section, so please, can't we discuss the actual post?

I completely agree and have been frustrated (more than is usual) with the comments the past few days. There's this weird, what, pathology (?) that seems to take over. It's truly mysterious to me. In any case, a nice kernel from today's post is this:

More to the point: for those who insist that others put themselves in the position of a resident of Sderot -- as though that will, by itself, prove the justifiability of the Israeli attack -- the idea literally never occurs to them that they ought to imagine what it's like to live under foreign occupation for 4 decades (and, despite the 2005 "withdrawal from Gaza," Israel continues to occupy and expand its settlements on Palestinian land and to control and severely restrict many key aspects of Gazan life). No thought is given to what it is like, what emotions it generates, what horrible acts start to appear justifiable, when you have a hostile foreign army control your borders and airspace and internal affairs for 40 years, one which builds walls around you, imposes the most intensely humiliating conditions on your daily life, blockades your land so that you're barred from exiting and prevented from accessing basic nutrition and medical needs for your children to the point where a substantial portion of the underage population suffers from stunted growth. (my bold)

I do believe, with eyes rolling, that half this planet's population is in need of a remedial course in the fundamentals of being human (course material will include my soon-to-be-released book Humanity for Dummies).