RISHON LEZION, Israel — Out of all of the pundits I have read since Israel began its attacks on Hamas, blogger and columnist Michael Totten is the one who always gets it right:
Southern Israel has been under indiscriminate rocket fire from Hamas for years. And Hamas’ stated goal, as Cole knows very well, is the total destruction of Israel. No government on earth would sit idly by while tens of thousands of its citizens live under constant rocket attack, and Cole knows that, too. He also knows that the Israel Defense Forces adheres to the laws of war, goes out of its way to avoid harming civilians, and even warns terrorist leaders themselves that their homes are on the target list.
Victor Davis Hanson, on the other hand, nails it correctly. “Every terrorist Hamas rocket is aimed at a Democratic civilian; every Democratic IDF air –to –ground missile is aimed at a terrorist.”
Here is more:
I am neither religious nor Jewish, but I can’t help but be touched by this Jewish prayer for the children of Gaza published in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz while Israelis are in the midst of a shooting war with a violent fascist regime. If Hamas ever publishes prayers like this one for the children of Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be over.
But Totten’s expertise goes far beyond Israel and Palestine. On his blog, he presents some of the most impartial and detailed reporting on the war in Iraq, where he has spent much time embedded with U.S. troops. Totten has also traveled throughout many parts of southeastern Europe, the Middle East, and western Asia. His blog is one of the few out there that is a must-read for anyone interested in international affairs.
