Soccer Dad

Not perfect but worth reading

They honor us with their hate by Richard Cohen

Still, the chief reason for the cheering on Sept. 11 was U.S. support for Israel. Sometimes that support has been mindless and sometimes it has been over the top, but fundamentally it is based on certain truths. The first is that Israel is a legally sanctioned state, created by the United Nations in 1948 and recognized soon after by most countries, including -- amazingly enough -- Cold War adversaries the United States and the Soviet Union. The second truth is that at least one Islamic state (Iran) and a host of militant organizations -- Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and, of course, al-Qaeda -- fervently wish for Israel's destruction. There is no way the United States could appease these groups and not, in the process, trample on its own moral values. Israel on occasion is wrong -- and the settlements are an abomination -- but its existence is right.

Glad to see that he seems to be over his Israel is a mistake period.

UPDATE: Further comments at Bookworm Room. Thanks to Israel Matzav for the citation and who writes what I only implied.

I'm annoyed that Richard refers to American support for Israel as sometimes being 'mindless' and 'over the top' and I vehemently disagree with his characterization of the 'settlements' as an 'abomination,' (one day, I would like to spend half an hour explaining to Richard why Ariel Sharon was correct when he compared Netzarim to Tel Aviv).