A World Upside Down

I've been fascinated with public opinion on the Gaza flotilla fiasco since it began. It seemed pretty obvious to me that even the IDF commandos who boarded the (Turkish) Mavi Marmara on May 31st were ill-prepared for the reaction they experienced. There are still those who believe that the ship was actually what it purported itself to be. In other words, a ship of persons driven by purely humanitarian motives. It might sound arrogant, especially since I'm not Jewish, but I believe that there are plenty of experienced, weary and battle-hardened IDF soldiers who still don't recognize the level of hatred that exists for them in the eyes of Islam, and particularly in the hearts of Islamic extremists.

The hatred was demonstrated when dozens of militants on board proceeded to attack the IDF commandos with stun grenades, metal rods and with knives. They even charged one commando and tossed him over the side of the ship. The skirmish became quite bloody, and some nine militants were killed and others were injured. The international media largely treated the event as a one-sided and unprovoked aggression by the Israeli government upon some selfless humanitarian agents for good. I've been a martial artist for twenty-six years. I could do a lot of damage with either a metal rod or a knife. I think it's a testament to the IDF's training that there were no fatalities among them.

The film footage from the debacle is stunning, and though people can see before their eyes what happened, it seems the only entity that they can see to blame for what happened is that of the Israeli government. This despite the fact that Israel offered to allow the six flotilla ships to offload their aid materials to trucks and drive them into Gaza. Rejected. This despite the fact that Israel repeatedly warned the flotilla that it would not be permitted to reach Gaza. Ignored. Since a spokesperson for the effort stated that they would be "breaking Israel's siege" against the Gaza Strip, it also seems pretty plain that their intention was to provoke Israel to the point of active response. It worked. Israel was left with little choice. Yet the press largely insists that Israel is the villain here.

In retrospect, it doesn't look like there was much of a military threat posed by the flotilla. That wasn't the goal however. The threat to Israel's securtiy yet again, was political. I think Benjamin Netanyahu's position was practically impossible. Give the European and Turkish sympathizers and Islamic extremists the incident they wanted, or protect the Israeli citizenry from a potentially high security threat? He did what he had to do. So many people have said that the ships should have been allowed to dock as they have in the past. That's just ducky, unless there's a dirty bomb on board. The Israelis have no way of knowing whether something like that's a reality unless they check it out, and would it be better to check that out at sea--or on dry land so much closer to the population centers?

So the Israelis choose to repel down ropes from helicopters to board the ship in the water. For doing that, for acting in the best interests of their tiny country, it looks like they are being condemned by most of the world. It looks like any hope of restoration between Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his country is gone. Even America seems to be giving them the stiff-arm as they look for supporters. Admittedly, diplomacy is a tough nut, but who will have the courage to look at the situation objectively and see the truth? It isn't likely to come from Ban Ki-moon or through the auspices of the United Nations. Any investigative entity involving the U.N. will likely disintegrate into another investigative enterprise that devises diplomatic ways to suggest that Israel is a nation of occupiers who ought to give all of their land back to the Palestinians.

I wonder if any of those in power have bothered to listen to the ship's radio sound-bites that were released from the hours prior to boarding the Mavi Marmara. Crew members from the Mavi Marmara aggressively rejected the warnings of the IDF and told those listening to "Shaddup. Go back to Auschwitz." The IDF was told, "We have permission from the Gaza Port Authorities to enter." They were also told, "We're helping Arabs, going against the U.S.. Don't forget 9/11 guys." Charming.

This is the mentality we are dealing with. They are hateful, violent and fanatical. So why is the world siding with them? Don't be mistaken. The world is siding with these people. This country is decidedly inflicted with a short-term memory problem. The terrorists are having to remind not only us, but the rest of the world about 9/11. If you're screaming at your screen----I haven't forgotten either, but a lot of us have very faded memories of that day. They've been clouded over by the Michael Moores, the Rosie O'Donnells and the Joy Behars out there and all of the other rebels without a clue. They've been softened by an incredibly short amount of time and other memories. New York City is prepared to allow the Cordoba House project at Ground Zero to go right ahead. It's supposed to foster good relations between the West and Muslims at large. Right.

I haven't forgotten Muzzammil Hassan. He's the man---the Muslim man who founded a television station in Buffalo, New York to counter Muslim stereotypes, and thereby bridge the ideological gap between Muslims and non-Muslims. His station was called "Bridges TV". He started it in 2004 as a way of responding to the 9/11 attacks. He looked like anyone else in a suit and tie. His intentions seemed good. Seemed good. He sort of lost credibility however when he beheaded his wife "Aasiya" in February of 2009. She'd had the audacity to file for divorce from him months earlier.

Now, out of the tens and tens of people who read this blog---there might be another set of people shaking their heads at the screen. Yes. I know there are "nice" Muslims. I've met them. In the same way that there are nice "Christians" I have met. People who accept the trappings of their religion without any real depth of knowledge about what true faith in Jesus Christ is. They are "pick and choose" about what they believe from the Bible, and most have not really read it or studied it. It is no different with Islam. There are those who believe it is the "religion of peace" simply because peace is what they want---not because by any stretch of the imagination that peace is what true Islam devises or espouses. I am a fundamentalist Christian. I believe that the Bible means what it says, and says what it means. The Muslims who attacked the IDF commandos are fundamentalist Muslims. They believe that the Qur'an means what it says, and says what it means---and they act on it.

I am not surprised in the least by any of this. I've paid attention to history. The Qur'an hates freedom. It teaches a genocidal hatred of Jews, and hatred of Christians. Anyone who denies this is only wishfully desiring a watered-down version of Islam---the kind you see here in the United States for the most part. Just today in Great Britain, Muslim activists protested returning British Soldiers while carrying signs which read, ""Shariah law will be in London before democracy will be in Afghanistan." They don't care about equality. They are more interested in global domination. They have been working for it for over a thousand years. The protesters called the returning UK soldiers "butchers" and "cowards".

I have watched Muslim protests before. I have heard them with my own ears, saying that Americans are stupid, and that they will use America's laws and freedoms against her. I have no doubt that they will do everything they can to make good on that promise, and it is true. America is acting stupidly, and naively in the face of an Islamic threat. Ignorant politicians and far-leftists may laugh off any such threat, but it is the reality.

Sadly, even much of mainline Christianity is ignorant about what the reality is: “WASHINGTON (UMNS) — The United Methodist Board of Church and Society has joined other church groups in condemning the May 31 interception of six vessels carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, resulting in nine deaths. Jim Winkler, the board’s chief executive, called the Israeli troops’ boarding of the ‘Freedom Flotilla’ in international waters ‘symptomatic of a broader, hopelessly flawed policy by Israel to subjugate the Palestinian people, allegedly to protect its own security. Defending the action, the Israeli government has said its blockade was necessary to protect Israel against the infiltration into Gaza of weapons and fighters sponsored by Iran. “The World Council of Churches, U.S. National Council of Churches, Churches for Middle East Peace and leaders of the Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) also expressed alarm over Israel’s actions against the flotilla.”

The boarding of the Mavi Marmara is probably considered a small story, shunted to the back pages as the BP oil spill catastrophe and all of the Obama White House political considerations come to light as the President prepares to put out fires while addressing the nation later this evening. No story like this is small. WWI started with a "small" story. "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Isaiah 5:20