Hawaiian

They didn't have to. Unlike Hamas, Japan surrendered. It's in your world history book.

You talk like you are a seasoned combat veteran who has experienced the horrors of war. Training and actually being involved in combat is not the same thing. While training may prepare you not to let fear and apprehension take over it happens, even to the bravest. Just saw Thaibeachlover's post about the deliberate shooting of hostages. This applies to him, too.

What happened to the three shot hostages is similar to friendly fire. Tragically, it happens. Avoidable? Maybe. Depends on the circumstances. My neighbor, a Vietnam veteran, told me how he was fired upon when his chopper went down. He was caught in the crossfire when air rescuers came to his rescue. Fortunately he was not hit and lived to tell me about it.

What a bunch of double talk. It's no secret Israel is well equipped as you state. To throw all of that at Hamas would result in complete annihilation of everyone and everything in Gaza including all the women and children many are screaming about, including you. Already there are accusations of genocide. No, it is not necessary to kill every Palestinian in the world to destroy Hamas. That's not hyperbole, more like complete BS. Seems like you never read my post about Hamas losing support from Gazans. When the Allies defeated Japan in WWII, the Japanese population had great fears of retribution from the occupying forces. To their surprise, what was left of the Imperial Army leaders were tried and convicted as war criminals. The emperor was allowed to remain on his throne, albeit, stripped of his power. General Douglas MacArthur gave strict orders to the troops that the Japanese were to be treated respectfully with harsh punishment for any offenders. The U.S. even imported food to supplement the meager food supply. Seven years later, the occupation formerly ended. Japan was now a democratic, demilitarized state on its way to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the U.S. Given the chance there is hope for the Palestinians. But first, they need to denounce Hamas and work with Israel and her allies in order to move forward. The hate you mention may remain in one form or another, but cannot be enacted if the Palestinians want to move forward. Only people with your negative mentality will stop any meaningful progress.

The support in Gaza for Hamas is beginning to erode. Maybe pro-Israeli propaganda, but I have recently seen videos of Gazans complaining about Hamas, some even going as far as claiming Hamas has destroyed Gaza. One video showed a very successful Palestinian business in the West Bank who attributed his success to working with Israel and not fighting them. In fact, he even has a second home in Israel proper. Are these people traitors to Hamas? Depends which side you are on. If Hamas had used all of their foreign aid for improving the water and sewer systems and other infrastructure instead of pouring millions into constructing the tunnel system there might not be such widespread of hate of Israel. A hungry population is a dangerous population. It might have given Israel more of an incentive to put more effort into creating a two-state solution.

Big difference here. America wasn't fighting for their survival. Israel is. This is why Israel is determined to destroy Hamas. Have you noticed that Egypt and Jordan are keeping a low profile. Even Saudi Arabia has only complained in a low key fashion. Turkey, on the other hand, has moved from a secular government to a religion oriented one. It's Erdogan's strategy to remain in power. Turkey, not long ago, was quite pro-West and pro-Israel. Autocratic Erdogan has reversed that. As long as the mullahs control Iran there will be turmoil in the Middle East. Eventually, they will lose their grip on the country and much of funding of terrorists in the region will dry up. When that happens, the who Middle East will benefit, including Israel. That day cannot come too soon.

The line from Pete Seegers "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" always reminds me "When will they ever learn."

The back and forth argument about the amount of children being killed and war crimes involving children is really nonsensical from my point of view. All of these deaths are tragic, young and old, Jew or Palestinian, but difficult to avoid when guns and bullets are used to settle grudges and disputes. For you nitpickers, "guns and bullets" is an expression that means a whole lot more.

Good to see that you acknowledge the lack of experience. I too, have no workable answer. The out of proportion loss of life is something the Israelis are well aware of. From a military standpoint this is to be expected since 99% of the action is taking place on "enemy" soil. From a political standpoint this is bad publicity.

So, exactly what do you propose the Israelis do differently? As far as I know there is no fool proof way to stop Hamas without innocent lives being lost. Israel is in a damned if they do and damned if they don't situation.

You don't hear of shelling coming from the Golan Heights anymore. Hmmm, I wonder why?

Some people are never happy unless they are making waves. Besides, you and I know, Israel has a Mediterranean coastline to defend.

Israeli warship deployed to the Red Sea. https://breakingdefense.com/2023/12/israel-sends-new-advanced-saar-6-warship-to-red-sea/

To remove any ambiguity, the U.S. carrier has its own sub escort and the Israelis are most likely doing recon.

A few days ago I read they had a sub there. Not sure if anything else has been added. From my navy experience I would say they working together with the U.S. forces there. U.S. carriers never operate without an accompanying sub and other surface vessels. I was stationed on a radar picket destroyer and we often pulled plane guard duty. If things really heat up the most likely scenario is a joint task force will be formed with allied ships.

Since you posted this things have really escalated. More commercial vessels have been fired upon with several being hit. The second and fifth ranked shipping companies, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, have halted further shipping through the Red Sea/Suez Canal. This not only affects Israel, but also a host of countries relying on this route. The U.S. and at least three of her allies are patrolling the area with more countries planning to get involved. This is serious, folks.

Thank you for pointing out the hypocrisy. I have often commented to my friends why Obama never, or very rarely, mentions his white heritage. This seems to be a common trait among many biracial activists promoting a race based agenda. They pick and chose whichever blood quantum serves their purpose. I see this every day in Hawaii. People with a fraction of Hawaiian blood claiming to be a Native Hawaiian fighting for their rights. There are over 800 separate programs exclusively benefiting the Native Hawaiian community and they claim they are under served or being treated unfairly. I am of mixed heritage and am proud of every drop of DNA I have. It pleases me that my children have the same attitude. Thaibeachlovers, when I poke fun of your nationality, it is all in jest.

Nothing like a scrap between a Kiwi and an Ozzie.

Term limits are supposedly to prevent the establishment of a dynasty. In Biden's case, it's like an Obama's third term, albeit a four year interlude. The only thing missing are the speeches by the "great orator."

I DO KNOW there is a difference between suspicion and allegation.

So, anything in the U.S. Constitution that you disagree with is a fluke. The Electoral College was established by the U.S. Constitution along with the rules that govern it. There are also rules on how to amend the Constitution. And there's a stool and an appropriate hat waiting for you.

Wow! Control your emotions before you have an accident, too.

You certainly have a knack for distortion. Sorry, I don't have the ability to converse in Kiwi English.

Evidently, you didn't get the message or completely misunderstood it. Seems like a sly way to deflect.

Why would I. Read the news release again. Reuters says the Houthis claim the Strinda was transporting crude oil to an Israeli terminal, but Strinda's Norwegian owner says the cargo is biofuel feedstock, not crude oil, heading to Italy. If the ships owner is caught falsifying information they could void their insurance coverage, so I would tend to believe them and not a bunch of terrorists. As for the possibility of a Israeli stopover after offloading it's cargo in Italy, that seems to be off the table for now. Maybe the Norwegians should contact you for advice. LOL who