Surreal Instagrams From Israel Defense Forces Soldiers Getting Ready For War

[JaneyVee]

From Twitterverse:













Some more here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/katienotopoulos/israeli-soldiers-wont-let-a-little-thing-like-war

[Barack_America]

1. They expect to survive, and probably will.

I'm sure things look different on the other side.

I'd rather they were smiling for peace, then there would be smiles all around.

[edhopper]

2. I say this

understanding the grave situation.
And hope I don't get hidden for it.
But damn, female Israeli soldiers are attractive!
The last one looks like the T-Mobile girl.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. Israel used to have the highest number of cell phones per capita.

It may still. Everyone is texting etc all of the time.

Being a nation of immigrants and with required military service, you see a very broad selection of young people in the IDF. It is also a unifying force in the county. You tend to stay with your unit your entire time (active and reserves)

Mediterranean women are stunning assuming of course they are allowed to wear something other than a burqa. There is a regional aspect to it I cannot rationally explain, but its there.

[JaneyVee]

5. She looks like Natalie Portman, who ironically is also from Israel.

[earthside]

4. Gearing-up to kill children?

What are they smiling about?

"The image of a dead preschooler cradled by the prime ministers of Egypt and Gaza in a hospital hallway has drawn attention to the dangers Gaza's children face in this crowded urban battle zone .

Children make up half of Gaza's population of 1.6 million and seem to be everywhere in the current round of cross-border fighting between Israel and Gaza 's militant Hamas rulers."



Israel Gaza conflict: Kids at risk in crowded urban battle zone - India Today

[JaneyVee]

6. Terrible situation. So sick of war.

[Evasporque]

7. And run over peace activists with bulldozers....nt

[leveymg]

8. War is hip. A fashion statement. What's not to like?

"I love a (wo)man in a uniform . . . "

[cali]

9. does anyone actually think this is out of the ordinary?

that you can't find these kind of pictures from any armed force anywhere? This is the age we live in.

[glacierbay]

13. Yep

here's a pic of me and my buddies in Vietnam posing along side an APC.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1791863

[sufrommich]

40. No. nt

[riverwalker]

10. surreal is right, and obscene

they look like they are going to a party, instead of slaughtering entrapped children.

[NoPasaran]

11. If the parents of those entrapped children

Stopped firing missiles at Israeli cities maybe they wouldn't be slaughtered.

[glacierbay]

14. +100000 nt.

[Historic NY]

15. I'd like to know what the planes hit behind the apt. complex...

ammo bunker - rocket storage. That wasn't normal.

[glacierbay]

16. My wife says that Hamas fighters

like to hide their rocket launchers in residential areas in the hopes that Israel won't hit them because of the threat of collarteral damage and civilian casualties.

[coalition_unwilling]

18. I've had enough of your specious logic justifying the deaths

of children.

It's off to the Permanent Ignore list for you.

[glacierbay]

20. Well

he does have a point, if Hamas stops attacking Israel, then Israel won't retaliate.

[Fawke Em]

26. How about Israel stop encroaching on everyone surrounding them?

[glacierbay]

27. How about Hamas and Hezbollah quit attacking Israel?

What an idea.

[PCIntern]

35. ...and who started all this on the Day of Independence in 1948

and hasn't stopped since?

The Egyptians and Jordanians signed treaties in order to extort money from the USA for peace...and a cold peace it is.

Sorry, but given their druthers, the Arabs will utterly and totally annihilate Israel and she's not just gonna sit there and take it, despite your protestations.

[glacierbay]

36. [phone] nt.

[morningfog]

60. But, will Israel ever be able to actually stop it? And does

blowing Gaza to bits even help to stop it? Or does it perpetuate it?

[4th law of robotics]

43. Which side could totally disarm and still survive?

Going by history I'd say not the Jews.

[johnq45]

29. What? Really?

If Israeli troops were here and set up Martial Law, patrolled our streets all armored up carrying automatic weapons with back up from armored vehicles and aircraft, breaking down our doors with impunity, stopping anyone at will, I'd be angry enough to start killing them too. Rockets landing in their back yards would be the least of their problems! Geeez dude and you are a combat vet! Wake up!

[glacierbay]

32. Israeli troops aren't patrolling the streets of Gaza.

Presently there are no Israeli troops in the Gaza strip, but if Hamas doesn't knock off their shit, then there will be.
I, myself, would rather see both sides back off and rethink what's about to happen and then work towards a comprehensive peace treaty, but I will always back Israel.

[PCIntern]

37. When will some people realize that the Palestinian people are the

front men, the sacrificial 'shock troops' for the long-term destruction of Israel and the Jews? Like the Republicans, the Arab governments and powers that be think very very long term. If it takes a thousand years, they will rid themselves of the "Zionist presence" and all the handwringing over the plight of the Palestinians won't do them one bit of good if the Overlords see to it that it shouldn't and that it definitely will not.

[glacierbay]

38. It never ceases to amaze me at the level of hatred towards

Israel I've seen, my wife was in the IDF in the early 70's and she has told me some horror stories that still haunt her to this day.
She is, and will always be, an unwavering supporter of Israel, as am I.

[Voice for Peace]

45. they are BOTH Fd UP BIG TIME, neither is innocent, both sides have people yearning for peace

and both sides have warmongers. But the warmongers have the weapons.

[glacierbay]

47. That would be Hamas.

Israel has an absolute right to defend itself against terror attacks, which is exactly what these rockets are, terror weapons fired by terrorists, they are fired indiscriminately at the civilian population to terrorize and kill.

[liberal_at_heart]

54. if Isreal would use small specialized forces like we did to go after Bin Laden

They wouldn't have to use bombs and tanks. but then they wouldn't get to build illegal Israli settlements.

[Comrade Grumpy]

55. Yes, Hamas needs more powerful, more accurate weapons.

Maybe Israel would think twice then.

[glacierbay]

61. So you would advocate for Hamas to have more powerful

weapons to use against Israel? So they can kill more Israeli's?
That's really offensive to decent people. Maybe Hamas needs to quit firing rockets into Israel.
Unfuckingbelievable.

[Voice for Peace]

73. I'm not knowledgeable enough to debate but I am confident there is enough blame to go around

on both sides. Many Israelis also feel this way.

[glacierbay]

74. There is blame on both sides

but I put the majority of the blame on Hamas, whose stated goal is the destruction of the Jewish state. It's also the goal of Iran who calls the shots for Hamas and Hezbollah.

[liberal_at_heart]

53. there are horror stories on both sides

men, women, and children dead on both sides.

[Comrade Grumpy]

52. Yes, the prisoners shouldn't attack their jailers.

Israel will know no peace as long as it has its boot on the necks of the Palestinians.

[glacierbay]

57. Boots on the neck of the Palestinians?

Maybe if the Palestinian people stood up to the terrorists and said no more, then Israel wouldn't need to be constantly defending herself.

When was the last time that Israel didn't face a threat of violence from terrorists?

[Whisp]

25. disgraceful post

[COLGATE4]

39. No- what these Hamas idiots are doing

to the people of Israel and their own people is disgraceful.

[Scootaloo]

31. Speaking of surreal...

DU'ers justifying and defending the deaths of innocents, simply owing to some sort of "go team!" mentality, now that's fucking surreal.

[Whisp]

41. so Israeli children that are killed in this

what about them.

is it their parent's fault in the same way?

good fucking grief!

[rollin74]

69. Exactly! Hamas is doing a massive disservice to its own people

by continuing to fire rockets at Israel

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. Like all soldiers around the world

Look for photos of us troops near the line of departure before gulf war one and two.



Those who have served actually get it.

[Lizzie Poppet]

34. Exactly.

There will be lots of pitch-black gallows humor among the fighters on both sides, too. These are normal human coping mechanisms to deal with the fear of death or maiming that accompanies going into such situations.

The situation in Gaza just sucks all around. After decades of back-and-forth, I really couldn't care less about blamecasting. People will die...for absolutely nothing.

[NutmegYankee]

17. Soldiers of every nation do this before a war.

Taking pictures before going off to combat is a universal phenomenon. You can go all the way back to WW I and see it on all sides. I wouldn't get all worked up about it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Further back than that

[NutmegYankee]

23. Yep.

I was thinking of referencing the civil war, but photos were a little more formal back then due to the state of technology and having to stand still.

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. I added a series of photos

ranging all the way to the civil war, to Gulf War two... I should have added Afghanistan too, I suppose.

This is normal human behavior...

[NutmegYankee]

28. There's always someone on DU who is outraged over the norm.

Usually because they don't understand it. These photos will be looked back on as the last bit of innocence for those who see combat, and a reminder of better times for others. And if they fall, the photos will give their friends and family some comfort seeing a last happy photo.

It's normal human behavior. Completely Agree.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. Let me add some pictures from other wars to make the point I made

US Civil War



World War One



WW II US troops, notice the smiles?



This is from Korea... damn they are laughing.



Vietnam, at least they are not smiling.. those are ausies by the way.



Gulf war one, now this one is eerie, I admit



This is from Iraqi Freedom...

You get the point now? This is normal HUMAN behavior sadly. These are the last moments of normalcy before the insanity, and it is also a way for people to leave a record behind if they should not make it.

Why I said, those who have served are not shocked, and actually get it.

[glacierbay]

22. I met some of the S. Korean troops fighting in Vietnam

Last edited Sat Nov 17, 2012, 02:27 PM - Edit history (1)

and these guys you didn't mess with. They were very good and the VC were scared shitless of them.



So. Korean soldiers on patrol in Vietnam.

[rDigital]

30. Don't mess with the RoK. nt

[glacierbay]

33. These troops were some of the best jungle fighters

in Vietnam, and they were respected and feared by the other side.

Here's another picture of RoK forces in VN.

[unreadierLizard]

42. It makes me laugh and cry somewhat

that so many people on these boards are so against Israel defending itself from Hamas, which has been given a free pass by MANY left-wingers due to them fighting an ally of the United States, even though Hamas does things like conscript women and children, murder anyone who doesn't follow their version of extremist Sharia Law and bombard Israel with rockets on a daily basis.

That, and hiding their ammunition in civilian residences so that way they cry foul when the IDF destroys some.

[glacierbay]

44. +100000

My wife reads some of the comments here on DU about Israel and it infuriates her and makes her cry at the same time.
Some of the things said about Israel are fucking disgusting.

[cali]

46. Yes they are, but soke of the things said about Palestinians are equally disgusting.

I think the difference is that here on DU, the disgusting things said about Palestinians garner appropriate outrage, but that is not always true (in my long experience in I/P) of the disgusting things said about Israelis- or worse yet, about Jews. Last time that Israel invaded Gaza, something I thought was crazy wrong, there were a lot of tombstones for outright anti-semitism.

[unreadierLizard]

49. Don't get me wrong

The current Israeli government isn't making the situation any easier, but...

Something that some people tend to forget is that it doesn't matter what kind of government Israel has - from Shimon Peres to Ariel Sharon to Ehud Barak - Hamas has ALWAYS been attacking Israel and will never stop until they are destroyed.

Just because Netanyahu(spelling probably off) is a few monks short of a choir doesn't mean that Israel has any less of a right to defend itself from total destruction.

[glacierbay]

50. I think that it's disgusting on both sides

but I make a difference between the Palestinian people and the Hamas terrorists.

I'll be willing to bet that the majority of Palestinians want peace, to be able to work, provide for their family, prosper, unfortunately, you have a minority that just wants to terrorize and kill and silence those that do want a just peace.

[cali]

56. The majority of Gazans support Hamas

that doesn't mean they don't want peace. People often hold seemingly contradictory viewpoints. But can you honestly blame Palestinians for the anger they feel at Israel? They're land is being stolen. Their water is being stolen. Gaza is an open air prison.

[PCIntern]

48. Not a moment's peace since 1948 and Israel is supposed to lie down

and take it...

I paraphrase Howard Stern when I state that if the Jews had been given the planet Mars rather than the desert known as Palestine, that shriveled little wisp of land which had gone completely to seed, within 50 years they'd have had Mars up and running at a profit, making great advances for civilization everywhere and everyone else would be there saying, "That's ours and we want it back!!"

[Ikonoklast]

71. Hamas does what Iran tells them to do.

Iran must need the price of oil to go up.


They are a bunch of shits that kill people indiscriminately, and when get they catch Hell, wail that they are the 'victims'.

[RandiFan1290]

51. War my ass

Disgusting

[glacierbay]

58. What's disgusting about the photos?

This is nothing new. I have a shoebox full of photos of my time in Vietnam, nothing disgusting about it.

[liberal_at_heart]

59. I think rich countries with powerful armies have become callous

It's easy for a well armed military to go into a poor community with little to no weapons and just slaughter the enemy. Why do you think we invaded Iraq? They were already crippled from the first Gulf War. Even Cheney wouldn't be stupid enough to go after say China who could actually kick our butts.

[cali]

62. pictures like these have been taken for as long as photography has been around

and there's plenty of callousness and horror in ill-equipped forces from poor countries. It's baked in.

[liberal_at_heart]

66. look I'm not going to get into a debate with you

You obviously support Isreal. That's fine. I do see fault on both sides but do tend to side with the Palestinians. We need the a third party to come in and tell both sides to quit acting like children and to sit down and negotiate. I think that if Isreal would stop leveling neighborhoods and building Isreali settlements then you could possibly get the civilians to stop supporting Hamas. It is Hamas who helps the people rebuild after Isreal has torn down their neighborhoods. You have to figure out why the civilians are supporting Hamas and address those issues. And both Isreal and Palestine will have to be willing to give up ground and build a two party state. A two party state has always and still is the only solution. The question is how do you get both sides to agree. Isreal has stated before that the stopping of building of settlements will not be part of the negotiations. That is a mistake in my opinion.

[cali]

67. lol. No, I don't support Israel- beyond its right to be a sovereign nation within the '67 borders `

and if you read my posts, you'd know that.

As I wrote upthread, the Israelis are stealing Palestinian land and water and Gaza is nothing but an open air prison. That sound like support to you?

It's not particularly swift, honey, to make silly leaps that defy any logic or critical thinking. Happens a lot around here. You've got lots of company

[glacierbay]

68. I think that post was directed at me.

not sure, but I think that the poster answered the wrong person.

[liberal_at_heart]

70. oh, nice condescending attitude

If you believe in the '67 borders you obviously do support Isreal.

[nadinbrzezinski]

64. separate discussion

soldiers have been behaving like this before combat like forever, serious.

Ok, there were no photos in Roman times, but you can bet your dying ass that the troopers of the Tenth legion joked and smiled as well... before they marched to Massada. Or the second Legion, before guarding the Hadrian Wall, (On and that one, from ostraca we know the life of the roman legionaire was just as boring and of complaints of the usual suspects, as any modern military)

There are no photos of Greece either, but I am willing to bet that soldiers at Marathon did something similar before combat.

Read some Shakespeare, he captured this well in prose that we all love to quote to this day... so did Herodotus by the way.

What we need is for people to realize that before combat troops around the world will behave in ways like this.

It is, I think, a way to avoid thinking that perhaps you are mortal... and for the 19 year old soldiers, and the 20 somethings junior officers, that is a hell of a reality check. Oh don't worry, those who are exposed to combat, regardless of national army, will have a few nightmares for the rest of their days... if they do not buy the farm... and in some cases will not be functional. That is the horror of war.

Oh and that has nothing to do with what national uniform you wear either.

Just check the photos I posted from other wars, going back to the Civil War.

[glacierbay]

65. China isn't even close to being able to kick our ass.

They don't have the Navy, Air Force, global reach, transport or the combat training/experience or technology that the US has.
Compare Aircraft Carriers
Here's China's one and only AC.



Now, compare that with a US AC



Not even close.

[Throd]

63. I don't get the outrage here.

Those might be the last photos of those people taken while they were alive.

[morningfog]

72. As you can tell by the expressions on most of their faces, they know they are not at serious risk

of dying in this war.

[nadinbrzezinski]

75. I guess neither did these troopers

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1838704

Pay particular attention to the Marines during WWii and the Korean War troops...