Turkey // Current TV

David Cameron: Israeli blockade has turned Gaza strip into a 'prison camp'

Cameron is on a visit to Turkey and repeated comments he used in the House of Coomons... more

Mcellie
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BBC News - Goldtrail collapse leaves Britons in Greece and Turkey

A British tour operator has collapsed leaving thousands of holidaymakers abroad, the... more

irishlonewolf
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Iran Sanctions a Slap in the Face to Other Countries Too

In a Washington Post op-ed, former Senator Charles Robb and retired General Charles Wald -- the Chuck & Chuck show -- align themselves with those for whom sanctions against Iran are not enough. It's not that they don't welcome the sanctions that President Obama signed against companies that provide gasoline to Iran, as well as again financial institutions that handle Iran's nuclear transactions. But without "a broader and more robust strategy. . ." they write, "sanctions alone will prove inadequate to halt Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. ... Similarly, even many supporters of the new U.S. law acknowledge that without multilateral participation and enforcement, Iran will continue to evade many of these new U.S. restrictions and acquire gasoline . . . beyond the reach of U.S. law."

First, no matter how targeted sanctions are, the ruling classes always seem to find a way to pass the hardships they cause along to the public. Besides, it's true that sanctions are as unlikely to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons as they are Burma from improving its human rights record (or, for that matter, developing nuclear weapons as well).

As Alastair Crooke wrote at Foreign Policy: "No one really believes sanctions will force a change in Iranian policy; nor will they improve the chances of renewing real negotiations." But the "single-minded furor to impose these sanctions. … speaks to us about something other than Iran." In part, "the rush to sanctions [was] hurried forward to torpedo the Turkish and Brazilian" nuclear fuel swap deal those states brokered with Iran.

This "speaks to us about rising American fears . . . about the evaporation of deference toward American leadership, and the concern about the rise of 'the new powers.' In fact, Crooke notes, the "bringing forward of sanctions were intended to 'stiff' two of these new powers -- Brazil and Turkey." [Emphasis added.]

While many of us on the left agree with Chuck & Chuck that sanctions will once again prove ineffective, few of us would see eye to eye with them about a solution: "The stakes are too high to rely on sanctions and diplomacy without credibly preparing for a potential military strike as well."

Then they add: "We cannot fall prey to the inertia of resignation." If I were charitable, I wouldn't have included that last line. It's just too funny, though, how flat their attempt at a rallying cry falls. Even more humorous -- in a vein as bleak as it is unwitting -- they write:

"An even more likely scenario, however, is that Israel would first attack Iranian nuclear facilities, triggering retaliatory strikes by Iran and its terrorist proxies. This would put the United States in an extremely difficult position. [It] could be dragged into a major confrontation at a time not of its choosing."

Do you catch their meaning? The United States should bomb Iran to keep Israel from bombing Iran. I think we've caught Chuck & Chuck in a true "Are you even listening to yourselves?" moment. All frivolity aside, it's discouraging that in the 21st century a strategy such as bombing Iran is being discussed in U.S. policy circles. It's just so, I don't know, stone age.

Meanwhile consider what the New America Foundation's Michael Lind wrote at Salon in How I learned to stop worrying and live with the bomb.

"Genuine great power status today requires massive, expensive conventional forces. Iran would be much more alarming if instead of trying to obtain nuclear weapons it were building up a first-rate navy, a long-distance air force and an enormous army capable of occupying one or more of its neighbors. The fact that it is not doing so suggests that the nuclear weapons capability it evidently seeks is for deterrence, not offense."

I'm the last one to make excuses, as some progressives actually do, for Iran developing nuclear weapons. But if the world is doomed to grow ever more nuclear, Lind's observation can be the source of some small measure of solace.

http://www.fpif.org/blog/iran_sanctions_a_slap_in_the_face_to_other_countries_tooIn a Washington Post op-ed, former Senator Charles Robb and retired General Charles... more

myfastweb
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Report: Obama Warns Turkey Against Flotilla Probe

British Arabic-language daily al-Hayat reports that President Barack Obama warned... more

The_Global_Report
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1 year ago
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Göbekli Tepe: Older Than Stonehenge, Pyramids, Anything

When people think of ancient temples, they often think of Stonehenge, which most... more

Billy_Tarter
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1 year ago
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38 comments

Europe poised to commit suicide, admit Turkey into EU

Turkey would immediately become the largest state in the EU. Rapidly Islamizing Ankara... more

crystalman
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1 year ago
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GORDON DUFF: Israel Planned Iran Attack From Caucasus Base : Veterans Today

Israeli Ruse Allows Use of Turkish Air Corridor A DOOR NOW CLOSED By Gordon Duff... more

Monkey_Films
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25 “miracle” Foods That Burn Fat All Over

A diet based on these amazing foods will slim you down in no time!

CutestPrincess
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Turkey: Israeli Inquiry Into Flotilla Raid of No Value

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says an Israeli investigation into... more

The_Global_Report
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1 year ago
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Drug trafficking via Turkey on the rise

Turkish authorities confiscated 31 percent more illegal substances in 2009 than the... more

Flare_Network
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1 year ago
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Sacred Geometry Movement

The yin/yang, Star of David, and flower of life symbols are three of the most... more

jkw077
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Iran Throws Down Gauntlet, Offers to Escort Ships to Gaza

New information is trickling in now that Iran has entered the fray by offering to... more

Brent_Tesnertille
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1 year ago
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Gaza Blockade Protest

Protesters gathered in Los Angeles over the recent events with the Blockade... more

Metolius
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1 year ago
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Erdogan tells Israel in Hebrew: Thou shalt not kill

[Turkish PM defends Hamas, calling them 'resistance fighters'; Turkey mulls... more

bmltv
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1 year ago
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Israel says "Talk to The Hand; What About - NO - Don't You Understand" ?

Despite pressure, Israeli PM firm on Gaza blockade

------JERUSALEM – Israeli forces seized a Gaza-bound aid vessel swiftly and without meeting resistance on Saturday, preventing it from breaking a naval blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory days after a similar effort turned bloody.
Israel has faced mounting international pressure to lift the blockade since Monday's deadly confrontation aboard a Turkish aid vessel headed for Gaza. But it stood by the embargo — which it says is needed to prevent the Islamic militant group from getting weapons — even as the Obama administration called the current restrictions "unsustainable."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the blockade in remarks following the takeover, saying it was meant to keep weapons out of the hands of the Iranian-backed Hamas and he would "not allow the establishment of an Iranian port in Gaza."
The 1,200-ton Rachel Corrie, which was carrying 11 pro-Palestinian activists, nine crew and hundreds of tons of aid, was intercepted in international waters, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from Gaza's shore and was being escorted to the nearby Israeli port of Ashdod, the military said.
The military said Saturday's takeover began at 12:15 p.m. Israeli time (0900GMT) and took just minutes.
Footage provided by the Israeli military showed three small navy vessels pulling up to the Rachel Corrie. In a second segment, footage from an Israeli aircraft hovering about the cargo ship showed the activists sitting down in the middle of the top deck.
Military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich said the ship's captain had gathered the passengers in one area of the vessel, presumably to avoid violence. She said commandos clambered onto the boat by sea, instead of descending from helicopters as occurred on Monday when nine activists were killed.

MORE-----------
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100605/ap_on_re_mi_ea/gaza_blockade;_ylt=AjKz97XgbwRYzIB5ITLczyas0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNkbG4wMGs2BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNjA1L2dhemFfYmxvY2thZGUEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwMxBHBvcwMyBHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3J5BHNsawNkZXNwaXRlcHJlc3M-Despite pressure, Israeli PM firm on Gaza blockade ------JERUSALEM – Israeli... more

remanns
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1 year ago
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New Ship Heads to Gaza, and Israel Vows to Stop It

Via AP ISTANBUL (AP) -- An aid ship trying to break the blockade of Gaza could... more

joshuaheller
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1 year ago
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Double Standard Watch: Israel's actions were entirely lawful

Although the wisdom of Israel's actions in stopping the Gaza flotilla is open to question, the legality of its actions is not. What Israel did was entirely consistent with both international and domestic law. In order to understand why Israel acted within its rights, the complex events at sea must be deconstructed.

First, there is the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which included a naval blockade. Recall that when Israel ended its occupation of Gaza, it did not impose a blockade. Indeed it left behind agricultural facilities in the hope that the newly liberated Gaza Strip would become a peaceful and productive area. Instead Hamas seized control over Gaza and engaged in acts of warfare against Israel. These acts of warfare featured anti-personnel rockets, nearly 10,000 of them, directed at Israeli civilians. This was not only an act of warfare, it was a war crime. Israel responded to the rockets by declaring a blockade, the purpose of which was to assure that no rockets, or other material that could be used for making war against Israeli civilians, was permitted into Gaza. Israel allowed humanitarian aid through its checkpoints. Egypt as well participated in the blockade. There was never a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, merely a shortage of certain goods that would end if the rocket attacks ended.

The legality of blockades as a response to acts of war is not subject to serious doubt. When the United States blockaded Cuba during the missile crisis, the State Department issued an opinion declaring the blockade to be lawful. This, despite the fact that Cuba had not engaged in any act of belligerency against the United States. Other nations have similarly enforced naval blockades to assure their own security.

The second issue is whether it is lawful to enforce a legal blockade in international waters. Again, law and practice are clear. If there is no doubt that the offending ships have made a firm determination to break the blockade, then the blockade may be enforced before the offending ships cross the line into domestic waters. Again the United States and other western countries have frequently boarded ships at high sea in order to assure their security.

Third, were those on board the flotilla innocent non-combatants or did they lose that status once they agreed to engage in the military act of breaking the blockade? Let there be no mistake about the purpose of this flotilla. It was decidedly not to provide humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza, but rather the break the entirely lawful Israeli military blockade. The proof lies in the fact that both Israel and Egypt offered to have all the food, medicine and other humanitarian goods sent to Gaza, if the boats agreed to land in an Israeli or Egyptian port. That humanitarian offer was soundly rejected by the leaders of the flotilla who publicly announced:

"This mission is not about delivering humanitarian supplies, it's about breaking Israel's siege on 1.5 million Palestinians." (AFP May 27, 2010.)

The act of breaking a military siege is itself a military act, and those knowingly participating in such military action put in doubt their status as non-combatants.

It is a close question whether "civilians" who agree too participate in the breaking of a military blockade have become combatants. They are certainly something different than pure, innocent civilians, and perhaps they are also somewhat different from pure armed combatants. They fit uncomfortably onto the continuum of civilianality that has come to characterize asymmetrical warfare.

Finally, we come to the issue of the right of self defense engaged in by Israeli soldiers who were attacked by activists on the boat. There can be little doubt that the moment any person on the boat picked up a weapon and began to attack Israeli soldiers boarding the vessel, they lost their status as innocent civilians. Even if that were not the case, under ordinary civilian rules of self defense, every Israeli soldier had the right to protect himself and his colleagues from attack by knife and pipe wielding assailants. Lest there be any doubt that Israeli soldiers were under attack, simply view the accompanying video and watch, as so-called peaceful "activists" repeatedly pummel Israeli soldiers with metal rods.

Every individual has the right to repel such attacks by the use of lethal force, especially when the soldiers were so outnumbered on the deck of the ship. Recall that Israel's rules of engagement required its soldiers to fire only paintballs unless their lives were in danger. Would any country in the world deny its soldiers the right of self defense under comparable circumstances?

Notwithstanding the legality of Israel's actions, the international community has once again ganged up on Israel. In doing so, Israel's critics have failed to pinpoint precisely what Israel did that allegedly violates international law. Some have wrongly focused on the blockade itself. Others have erroneously pointed to the location of the boarding in international waters. Most have simply pointed to the deaths of so-called peace activists, though these deaths appear to be the result of lawful acts of self-defense. None of these factors alone warrant condemnation, but the end result surely deserves scrutiny by Israeli policy makers. There can be little doubt that the mission was a failure, as judged by its results. It is important, however, to distinguish between faulty policies on the one hand, and alleged violations of international law on the other hand. Only the latter would warrant international intervention, and the case has simply not been made that Israel violated international law.Although the wisdom of Israel's actions in stopping the Gaza flotilla is open to... more

HotIsraeli
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1 year ago
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The Terror Finance Flotilla

The convoy of ships allegedly trying to bring aid to the Gaza Strip was organized by a... more

HotIsraeli
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1 year ago
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Irish Aid Vessel Plans to Pass Through Israel's Gaza Blockade -- 'Most Serious Consequences' Promised If Passengers Harmed | | AlterNet

Reportedly due to land on Wednesday, Ireland's chief political leader offers... more

Monkey_Films
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1 year ago
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Turkish Navy to Escort More Ships to Gaza

Turkey has announced that they will send more ships to aid Gaza, and that this time... more

Billy_Tarter
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1 year ago
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424 comments

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