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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   29676 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of December 18, 2023

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People just correctly identify total surrender by any side as impossible and correctly don't consider impossible options.

Also, the US has leverage on Israel and no leverage on a Hamas that's already maximally sanctionned. So only the former's conduct is even up for debate from their point of view.

And those Arab countries that are in the converse situation really don't want to draw any attention to the fact that they're looking the other way.

it would be considered decided by now, and Gazans would be suing for peace.

Nonsense. The Taliban didn't surrender to overwhelming American might. This isn't how asymmetric warfare works, the lack of a definite end to conflict is the main weapon of the weaker force.

Also, the US has leverage on Israel and no leverage on a Hamas that's already maximally sanctionned.

Not at all, Hamas is fully dependent on NGO aid to maintain its rule. There is almost no government in the world that would be easier to smoke out with a US led coalition that does the easy thing of "doing nothing."

This isn't how asymmetric warfare works, the lack of a definite end to conflict is the main weapon of the weaker force.

And hence at second-level, the absence of a power structure that can end the conflict is itself a weapon of asymmetric warfare.

So far Hamasniks have been surrendering just fine. They’re also perfectly capable of dying en-mass. Only their leadership in Qatar remains untouchable to us (Israelis) for now, but hopefully that will change once the hostages are out, or at least accounted for.

Shit like this is why I roll my eyes at the /pol/-trolls who try to paint Israel as being uniquely duplicitous for a US ally.

Like, tell me you don't know shit about middle-eastern history or politics without using those words.

It’s very clear that most people opining on the subject couldn’t even point to it on a map, let alone speak of any history. However, I can’t just roll my eyes and move on, since eventually this will come back to bite us (Israelis) in the ass.

Israel as a major industrialized nation is probably ahead of France in the list of non-Anglo US allies. The amount the French stole with sexy women stationed in airports is much more than Israel ever took.

The amount the French stole with sexy women stationed in airports is much more than Israel ever took.

I think you're right and given that the Vietnam War started as the US bailing the French out of their colonial fuck-ups I'd say they owe us a whole lot more than whatever's on the books.

They’d probably say the US owes them more for independence.

I'd say that debt was paid off after the US bailed them out of back-to-back world wars.

Paid in full saving them from the Germans. Twice.

Oh no ze Germans are coming, we can't just let them make trains come on time and grow our GDP!

Can you imagine if the French soccer team was full of blond-haired, blue-eyed men instead of beautiful diversity?

Indeed.

An insurgent doesn't need to win, they just need to not lose.

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