Hamas strike on Israel - Threadbans in op - mod warning in OP updated 19/10/23

Believe me when I say you don't want a multi-polar world, because the other prospective "pole" - ie. China, Russia, India, Iran, is a nest of vipers which cares nothing for freedom or humanity or justice. It is an axis of despotism.

We only have a choice between a world in which that Russia/China/Iran axis, largely backed by India, rules, or a world where the post World War II western order is the pre-eminent power. Those are the two choices. It's **** but it is what it is.

The post World War II western order, ie. the US, Europe, Australia, Japan, South Korea etc., is clearly the preferable one. But it depends on being moral. It depends on being seen to uphold justice. If it doesn't do that, it collapses. Post World War II decolonisation had to happen because justice demanded it. But too many times, the post World War II western order has only focussed on interests, not justice. It has got involved in insane wars of aggression, coups. Israel/Palestine is the festering sore where interests threaten to undermine the west's moral authority once and for all.

What Israel has done and is doing is a moral outrage. That what Hamas did on October 7th was a moral outrage doesn't change the fact that Israel has committed moral outrages for decades and is doing so again. Israel/Palestine can not be solved by blunt Israeli force. It can not be solved by occupation. It can not be solved when the west so refuses to act as honest broker.

This double standard - the enabling of this moral outrage which will inflame the world by its injustice - is what will destroy the west and usher us into an era where the vile despots of Russia, China, Iran and elsewhere cosplay as human rights defenders and "anti-imperialists" while in reality being the most imperialist bastards on the planet, and their agents in the west will rise too, and large sections of western populations will buy their bullshlt.

No it isn't. Israel chooses to be in this situation. There is not an existential threat to Israel, Israel is armed to the teeth. Israel has suffered a massacre somewhat like the US did on 9/11. Further massacres can be prevented by proper security measures, and the rationale for further massacres can be dampened by good faith political engagement with a view towards resolving fundamental injustices.

The US's reaction to 9/11 was a disaster. It would have been far better off doing nothing. Rage and revenge against an ideology is not a strategy. It's a recipe for a much greater disaster. It's a game of whack a mole that can never end.

Beyond the people of Gaza and Palestine who are obviously the primary sufferers of Israel's mindless reaction of rage and revenge, it will be Europe and the US who feel the geopolitical brunt of this folly. And any chance of freeing the hostages, is, very sadly, almost certainly gone because of it.

The US and Israel both believe that US and Israeli lives are worth far more than Palestinian lives. The US and Israel expect/ed the world to believe that loss of US and Israeli lives in terrorist attacks necessitated the loss of many more Arab lives in retaliation. The US and Israel believe that when Arab lives are obliterated, it shouldn't mean anything because "Oh well, those Arabs are used to it. They know no better. But we aren't used to our people losing their lives. It's different for us." Arab lives are worth about the same as used toilet paper as far as the US, Europe and Israel are concerned.

In the west, among politicians and media, it's fear. The "electric fence". You simply don't go near these topics for fear of the backlash. Sayeeda Warsi on Question Time on Thursday night was the only person of prominence I have seen bring it up. It's really only Israel's Haaretz who are prepared to challenge Netanyahu on it.

Netanyahu should be gone and he should be gone weeks ago. He is an integral part of the problem. But the whole of the Israeli right wing are also an integral part of the problem, and they will never go away.