Israel

Israel was founded the year I was born. That means that the people who resettled there have almost died out. People the ages of my grandparents and parents are the ones whose families were murdered wholesale by Hitler's policies.

Israel started with a great well of good will from the west. Its immigrants ha a huge amount of moral stature, and a will to never again be victimized.

But what is it we see now? My sympathy is growing shorter and shorter. Sure, "Never to forgive, never to forget!" is a stance that many people in the Middles East have. This actually makes Israel a great deal like its nearest neighbors, who think that Spain still belongs to the family of Islamic territories.

Of course "Let's be suicidally stupid!" is another description of the behavior by nations of that region -- and Israel is not an exception.

They are treading awfully close to rogue status. What -- they think that if Bush can do it, so can they? [Just another argument for indicting Bush, Cheney and the other outlaws, IMO.]

No. Killing children, targeting civilians and international targets is just plain over the line. Israel has to stop behaving like everything it used to despise. They have pretty much used up all the moral high ground their ancestors bought. The actors now are new generations, and they have wasted the capital bought by the blood of their ancestors. If they are criminals now, they have to be stopped.