Quote of the day

When answering the always-gripping question “Why do they hate us?”, Glenn Greenwald wrote:

When President Obama explained to the nation (after the fact) why he committed the armed forces to Libya, he declared that the U.S. must not “stand idly by” in the face of violent assaults on unarmed civilians. Today:

Violence erupted on Israel’s borders with Syria, Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday, leaving at least eight dead and dozens wounded . . . Israeli troops shot at protesters in three separate locations to prevent crowds from crossing Israeli frontier lines in the deadliest such confrontation in years.

In other words, Israeli troops opened fire on unarmed protesters on three separate borders today (and other reports now suggest higher numbers of people shot). The protesters were reportedly attempting to infiltrate Israeli territory in commemoration of the annual Palestinian protest of Israel, but by all accounts were unarmed, and some were shot at on their side of their border. Will the U.S. stand “idly by” while this happens, or . . . issue a statement in ringing support of Israeli actions? Sadly, there is no plausible third alternative, and that, too, may shed some light on “why they hate us.”

Related articles

• Israeli Military Opens Fire Along Syrian, Lebanese Borders (online.wsj.com)
• ‘Nakba Day’ Incidents Worry Israelis and Embarrass the IDF (pajamasmedia.com)
• Israel-Palestinian violence erupts on three borders (nationalpost.com)
• 16 dead in Israeli border clashes (mirror.co.uk)
• Israel kills nine Palestinians in border clashes (telegraph.co.uk)
• Israel Opens Fire on Pro-Palestinian Protesters, Killing More Than a Dozen (alternet.org)
• Daily Benefactor News – Nabka Day Protesters Attempt To Breach Israeli Border On Three Fronts, 13 Killed (thedaleygator.wordpress.com)
• Israeli Troops Open Fire On Demonstrators (news.sky.com)
• Israel kills and wounds dozens of Nakba protesters (dandelionsalad.wordpress.com)
• Protesters try to breach Israeli border on 3 fronts… (guardian.co.uk)