From today's NYT - play the Is That Justified? game:

An Israeli civilian was killed Wednesday in a rocket attack by Hamas militants from Gaza, the first such fatality in nine months.

Unjustified. Despicable. Heinous.

In a second Israeli airstrike carried out amid the rocket fire, two Palestinian youths were killed and 12 other civilians were wounded, Dr. Muawiya Hassanein, director of emergency medical services in Gaza, said.

Justified.

How did I do?

Unless/until the United States/Israel equation becomes more thoughtfully constructed,better assembled and actually fairminded and balanced we Americans will stand to be linked with what Israel is doing in/to Arab Palestine.

If indeed there is to be American Empire in West Asia it is certain the fatally flawed and error infested USA/Israel relationship that now exists must become much more based on fact based conduct,balance and fairplay. On both American and Israeli willingness to scale the Israeli/Arab Palestine conflict,the brutally repressive Israeli occupation of Arab Palestine and the blatant illegal stands Israel takes much better than what has taken or is taking place.

One can understand how Israelis who oppose current Israeli policies and actions in Arab Palestine end up being shunted aside as we Americans after November 2006 elections were given more war via the "surge" despite this outcome being contrary to what that election revealed and communicated.

Surely the Bush WH and any ideas it has about American Empire and Military Glory are fully exposed as frauds and fraud ridden.

The Iraq Debacle fully exposed as a fraud on/at many levels of observation and inquiry.

One can hope wiser Israelis who are prepared to follow and act on better instincts will prevail.

As for we Americans we can not afford another four or eight more years of lazy,error ridden,dishonest American Empire conduct.

This 21st century will only become more complicated as it unfolds. This American Empire will have to evolve and become much smarter and wiser on several fronts or it will not flourish but decline and fall.

Very well stated view and framing from GG once again. Came by late but as always very thankful for the visit.

You're very good at this, and God knows plain speech is desperately necessary about this and many other hypocrisies, but I have to tell you that when I read your last comment, I thought that tears -- tears of rage, tears of grief -- must be the only possible response.

I don't know why, but just for a moment, I saw not the argument, but the dead -- a composite of many photographs and films served up to me over the years of atrocities committed all over the world, from the heaps of bodies along the sunken road at Antietam to the mangled children of Iraq.

Bebop, who has seen the real thing, warns us virtually every day of what it is we are praying for when we pray for victory. It isn't so easy to turn away from our enmities, but in the end, it's the only decent course. That's why I favor negotiations. There will never be a winner in this lottery, unless everyone agrees to buy a ticket.

I believe that there are rituals of trust which can make this possible, and people on both sides who are willing to endure them. As you say, the polls show it, and reason demands that we acknowledge them. To do otherwise is not only lazy and immoral, but also suicidal.

From today's NYT - play the Is That Justified? game:

An Israeli civilian was killed Wednesday in a rocket attack by Hamas militants from Gaza, the first such fatality in nine months.

Unjustified. Despicable. Heinous.

In a second Israeli airstrike carried out amid the rocket fire, two Palestinian youths were killed and 12 other civilians were wounded, Dr. Muawiya Hassanein, director of emergency medical services in Gaza, said.

Justified.

How did I do?

Hamas lets people fire rockets into Israel, knowing full well that people like Glenn will have no real problem with it because they're not very good rockets. Israel responds with better rockets and ends up killing civilians who are near the launch sites because they know there's no real penalty for doing so because others feel those A-Rabs deserve it.

Wonderful. Three people are dead and there's no chance of it stopping because both sides feel they can get political points off of getting their own people killed.

The Pro-Palestinian solution. Israel shouldn't respond to rocket attacks. In fact, they should hand over the ports to Hamas so they can bring in better rockets just like Hezbollah did in So. Lebanon.

The Pro-Israeli solution. Israel should go back into Gaza, thereby angering the entire Arab world, killing scores or hundreds of Palestinians. But, the rockets might stop and the few Jews that would of been killed by them would get to live out their lives. Besides, they were asking for it.

I'm a big fan of yours Glenn, but in this case you're part of the problem

I don't know the answers to either, but am interested in what others think about that.

Haven't a clue. All I can say is that his views strike me as utterly unique, incisive, logical. Therefore of unique value.

I haven't read your (GG) piece on Buckley yet, but I do remember a fun clash between Chomsky and Buckley on Buckley's show, could be 35 years ago or more. If I recall accurately, Chomsky got the better of Buckley, which hardly ever happened. A segment of that show can be seen on a film about Chomsky, widely available for rental. Netflix has it for sure.

One other thing regarding comparison of Buckley and Chomsky. If Chomsky has been marginalized over much or all of his public/political career, I think Buckley was marginalized at the end of his. Buckley must have found this very painful, seeing his beloved conservatism pulling away from the dock, loaded to the brim with more animals (and more bizarre ones) than Noah's Ark. People who Buckley surely despised--including most of those writing memorials to him today.