John G. wrote: >Israel has been attacked by terrorists - it is the >God-given right to Israel, and enshrined in the UN >Charter, that Israel has the right to defend itself. >Since Arafat either can't or won't control the >terrorists, Israel has the right to defend itself - >especially since Israel has already tried the >"withdrawal of forces and negotiation" route and was >rewarded with my terrorism. >
John, by using the term 'god-given right' you may be inadvertently clouding the issue, thanks to the biblical and religious connotations involved. Both the Arabs and Jews claim religious preference grants them the right to live in Israel. So, to clarify upon what I think you're saying for Jeroen: To survive, a country must be able to establish borders and be able to defend them. If a country cannot defend / maintain its borders it can't exist, so this becomes their first priority. Israel was established by the UN as a sovereign country. It has an obligation to prevent its citizens from being murdered, and an obligation to maintain and defend defensible borders. These priorities must be held above all others in order for it to survive. This holds true for *any* sovereign country. BTW, John, as a member of the Dutch Defense Ministry, Jeroen ***must*** be aware of these concepts. I highly doubt that after this much time or arguing with him, you're going to effect a change in his attitudes or stance on this issue. I suggest you let it go, because, once again, you and he are now doing nothing but goad each other in a never-ending spiral as each of you tries in vain to prove your points. What are you trying to accomplish by bashing at each other onlist? Are you succeeding? Jon _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.
