We will support our friends

I broke my "I do not watch the debates" rule for Josh's birthday and watched the Foreign Policy Presidential debate with him. I was not surprised by anything I heard, and continued to be disappointed by the rhetoric from both sides about how we will stand by our friends, Israel NO MATTER WHAT. I know I'm pretty left leaning, but I just don't get this unwavering support. Let review some facts: Yes, Israel is surrounded by unfriendly nations, but they have one of the most sophisticated armies in the world. From independence on, they have fought and defended themselves, but they have won, and taken more territory in the process. They are better armed, with better intelligence, and have the support of the rest of the world. They have the political will and permission to do basically what they want. Which explains why, even though Palestinians are the largest and longest group of refugees in the world, basically living, as Noam Chomsky describes as in "open air prison" on the Gaza Strip, the world turns a blind eye to Israeli aggression or explains it away as "self defense". Explain to me how 150 missiles to 15 rockets is SELF DEFENSE? To me, it seems to be a disproportionate response. We have lessons and solutions to conflicts such as this, as long as we are willing to stop claiming Palestians to be terrorists and Isrealis our friends.

Trying to constrain actors from celebrating who they are, from being recognized with respect and dignity, and from being secure from cruel, barbaric treatment meted out to them solely because of their involuntary membership in certain racial, ethnic, religious and/or other groups, may turn out to be a catastrophic disaster for all concerned in the long run. This may turn out to be the case, no matter how apparently expeditious, functional, "cheap" or otherwise justifiable the constraints may be in the short run. (Source)