Israel On The Offensive

http://news.aol.com/article/hamas-leader-killed-in-israeli-strike/232890

For the past week I have watched the news as the anchors report on the increasingly aggressive action of Israel. Israel has begun air strikes in Gaza and has been clearing out Hamas and its leaders. In fact, last Thursday during an air strike, Israel bombed the home of one of Hamas’ leaders killing him, all four of his wives, and ten of his twelve children. Now Israel has moved an impressive number of troops to the border with what looks to be preparations for a ground invasion.

I believe that these actions are completely justified. The Israelis have put up with missile attacks from Hamas led groups in Gaza for some time and I am glad to see some retaliation from Israel. Negotiations have been tried but the facts are that you cannot negotiate with evil. You cannot have successful negotiations with an enemy who has sworn to God that they will wipe you off the face of the earth. They may obey the treaty for a short time but then they will continue doing what they are doing now. Personally, I am glad that Israel has started pushing back. For more information on Israel’s battle with Hamas, follow the link at the beginning of this blog.

-J. Heffley

The green zone in Iraq’s hands

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7806812.stm

Well, my friends, it is official. The US government has turned over military control of the green zone (the area where the government headquarters and embassies reside) to Iraq’s government. This act is a major step in our troops coming home from Iraq. With this move in place, we will now begin to see a decrease in troops guarding and patrolling areas in Iraq and an increase in our soldiers coming home.For the sake of historical record, I would like to point out that this major act in diplomacy happened under our current president George W. Bush.

-J. Heffley