Paintballs?

Wow, how about those Israelis? Boarding a ship with paint balls? An Israeli SEAL team boarded some “relief convoy” that included the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara. The “relief convoy” was carrying “peace activist” and “humanitarian supplies” to Gaza. The “peace activist” turned into an anti-Israeli mob when the boarding operation began.  So much for Gandi type non-violent "peace activists."

It’s all very weird because the Israelis asked the ship to pull into an Israeli port so the cargo could be inspected and transported via land to Gaza. Apparently that offer was not good enough. And while this load may in fact 100% legitimate, once the precedence is set, you can bet your last dollar that the terrorist would have started loading the ships with rockets next.

Just a few thoughts:

Why is it always Israel’s responsibility to avoid PO-ing the Arabs/muslims? Why didn’t the ships just pull into port and off-load the humanitarian goods? Wouldn’t that have been the surest way to avoid a confrontation? If the main thing was getting the “relief supplies” to Gaza, what difference does it make how they arrive?

The main thing was not getting the “relief supplies” to Gaza. The main thing was to provoke a confrontation with the Israelis. Mission accomplished.

Now there’s a some international hullabaloo because the Israelis took the steps necessary to defend themselves against terrorist who’d love to Israel disappear under a mushroom cloud.

Even the French, of all people, are PO’d at the Israelis. I guess as long as you’re not sinking a Greenpeace ship, you could get yourself into trouble with the French.

This was a no win situation for the Israelis. No matter what they did they were bound to lose. If they let the ships pass, soon the ship would be carrying weapons that would end up killing Israelis. If they stop the ships they cause an international incident that they cannot win.

So they try to thread the needle. Board the ships with paint guns. Huh? It’s clear that the ship was prepared for the “assault” and that the assault wasn’t fast enough, large enough or supported correctly.

How about rubber bullets, water cannon, tear gas, concussion grenades, something to clear the decks so the assault force can at least get it’s feet on the deck before being beaten by the “peace activist?”

How about fowling the propeller and disabling the ship? The Israelis said they didn’t want the ship stranded at sea for days for fear of a humanitarian crisis. Huh? Better to kill nine people. Once that ship is dead in the water for a few days people will be begging to get off of it. They’d probably have invited the assault team on board and had dinner waiting in return for getting off the ship.

Here’s an idea. Dump oil behind the ship to make appear as if it’s leaking oil. Then let the environmental wackos demand the ship immediately pull into port for repairs.

Now, the UN is involved and the Israelis are sure to come out on the short end of the stick. At best P-BO will issue some Solomon like statement about both sides being at fault at worst he’ll tell the world that he doesn’t know the facts but he’s sure the Israelis acted stupidly.