Killing people is wrong. Whoever's doing the killing should stop it.

[The Witch]

That's my position on the Mideast conflict. End of story. :P

[Bluerthanblue]

1. agreed- I believe there should never be 'allegiance' to

any group which allows a person to blind themselves to the potential that the group they pledge themselves to, can do very bad things, and be absolutely wrong-

The wanton destruction of life- is never something that can be justified-

NO AMOUNT of revenge, offensive actions, 'justifications', provocation, or fear is an excuse for abandoning the truth that the life of every single person on this earth is equally valuable.

The mindset of 'oh well, they were in the wrong place' or 'they'd just as soon wipe us off the face of the earth,' or 'yeah but look what they have been doing'- is a dangerous step towards the kind of sick twisted thinking that allows holocausts to happen-

when people start acting like life is cheap- we lose our values.

The logical end to killing in response to killing is an empty planet- which looking at our foolish history, and stubborn self-centeredness, sometimes looks like the best solution to the problem of human'kind'.

imho

[CuteNFuzzy]

4. but but but

Israel's soldier got kidnapped. Therefore Israel has the moral authority to kill as many civilians as required.

(not really serious, I'm just trying to understand right-wing logic)

[bdamomma]

8. but do you know Israelis have been holding

thousands of Palestinians who continue to be arrested by the IDF and held without charges or trial for six months and subject to torture, that sounds kind of familiar doesn't it?

[tkadmin]

2. Killing people is wrong.

Badguy just killed a kid, then he calls the parent to tell
them that he is going to kill the other.  

The cops have him pinned down and badguy has yelled,
"You'll never take me alive, coppers."  A sniper has
him between the sights as he starts fiddling with something
that looks like a bomb.  Badguy has a history of using bombs
to kill people so he can escape in the confusion.

My wife's right. Very little is black and white.

[helderheid]

3. recommended! Amen, sister!

[spanone]

5. Amen

The bible does not say 'Thou shalt not kill' except.......

there are no fucking exceptions. NONE. NOT ONE.

[CuteNFuzzy]

6. you rock Witch!

I agree :)

[bdamomma]

7. there are certain players in this conflict

who do not want to see peace in this area, namely US, Israel, and Palestine.

Please read this article from Truthout, very interesting.

but I agree, there has been much blood being shed in the past 5 years of the bush regime, and I hope one day they will pay for their deadly and insane mistakes, they have done us much damage.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071706A.shtml

[Beaverhausen]

9. THOU SHALT NOT KILL

What part of that don't people understand?

[MannyGoldstein]

10. Should The Nazis Have Been Stopped?

Should the Nazis have been stopped?

(Note that this question does not imply that I am in favor of anyone attacking anyone. It's just a question, OK?)

[The Witch]

12. I don't have an answer for you.

I don't mind saying that because I'm not running for office. I don't know. I am glad they were stopped. I'm sad people died. My gut is that the situations are different, but I don't have the power of rhetoric or argument to articulate any furher.

Please note the above is my position on the Middle East conflict. Don't ascribe to me views on a broader scale than that. I'm woefully unequipped to handle those bigger questions.

[theHandpuppet]

11. Short and to the point.

Thanks.

[cali]

13. And that's easy for you to say

sitting miles away from a war zone. You don't know how you'd react if you were an Iraqi whose famly just got blown to smithereens or a Palesinian whose small child got cut in two by shrapnel or an Israel whose grandmother got blown up by a suicide bomber on a bus.

[Bluerthanblue]

14. not meaning to be sarcastic or rude, I'm asking

this sincerly-
Do you have any more 'insight' or 'validity' to your perspective or beliefs than The Witch, or any of us?

Would someone who lost loved ones as a result of indiscriminate violence have 'more say'?? Because some of us have lost loved ones due to the actions of others, and some of us have been victims of others, and still do not desire that punishment 'in-kind' be meeted out upon others, especially those who aren't the actual assailants- but merely 'connected' with them.

I'm speaking for myself here. My opinion is not any more 'valid' simply because I've known this suffering- more biased? very likely- but more 'valid'??? no.

[cali]

16. I have no idea

if my ideas are more perspicacious than anyone else's here. I have ideas and opinions. I express them.

I'm not advocating violence. I'm simply observing that people in war zones tend to get caught up in the whirlwind or war. And I don't know the "mathematics" of it, but it's a fact. Violence is often contagious; it's a widening pool.

It's easy to say it's simple, don't kill. It's obviously not so easy to do. We've massive evidence to attest to that

[The Witch]

15. Yup. I don't know. Thank God.

I'm glad I'm only one of the rabble and not a policy-maker. I'm very happy I can shoot off my little uninformed mouth. But I really hope my humanity would withstand any thirst for revenge that might overtake me if, FSM forbid, I end up in that situation.

[Bake]

17. I agree with the OP but recognize there are situations

Sometimes it is necessary to kill. That doesn't make it right, but I'm willing to live with it. For example: psycho breaks into my home in the middle of the night, knowing my family is present and intent on doing them harm. It comes down to (a) he dies, or (b) my loved one dies. That's an easy choice for me. It may not be right, but I'm willing to live with it.

Having said that, I don't see the ME crisis as one of "those" situations. I don't care who started it. I don't care who is escalating it. I don't care who claims the moral high ground. It has got to stop.

Bake