Comments by "Bertinator3000" (@Bertinator-nm9ld) on "Sen. Murphy Doesn't Want Israel to Make Same Mistakes U.S. Made in Afghanistan" video.

@christopherrseay3148 I'm a little confused. We could argue about all those other countries all day, but that's a secondary discussion until we figure out this first one. Are you implying that Hamas is NOT a terrorist group? Didn't they just do a major terrorist attack, specifically targeting civilians?
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@aninewforest Do past mistakes/problematic decisions mean we shouldn't be trying out best here and now?
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@EmeraldPhoenix-sp8hm Problem is, how would we enforce it? We only really have any power over Israel. I don't know what force we could except over Hamas, without military engaging them, which I'm gonna say would probably not be a fun idea...
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@krisr3612 You're really going to say that after the other side launched one of the deadliest modern terror attacks, targeting civilians? Really? We should have empathy for Palestinian civilians, but this is nothing like a clear cut and dry situation.
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Geopolitically, why? Or morally, why? The moral answer is pretty murky and complicated, but the geopolitical reason is SUPER straightforwards. They are our primarily military ally in the region. They're a large part of how we keep an eye on that part of the world. Just like Australia does in the Southern Asian part of the Pacific.
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@brady9592 We do talk about all those violent controversies he listed, though! It's practically all we were doing before this war began. But there's a time and place for evening and, unfortunately, now is the time and place for discussing this part of the world.
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Asking the Pod team to morally grandstand achieves what, exactly?
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The US feels pretty burned by those recent wars. I think we won't be easily drawn into another war in the Middle East, in the short term. If the US gets involved in a conflict between Israel and Iran, I can only see us offering defensive assistance. The chances of us actually invading Iran seems pretty minimal, for now.
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@yessum15 What other nation in the area could be a RELIABLE ally for us? The Middle East isn't exactly an area known for stable and trustworthy governments. Of course Israel needs us more than we need them. Who has ever denied that?
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@brady9592 Absolutely that should be what we do. Is that not what Biden has kinda been doing, already? Applying pressure behind the scenes to urge restraint in the Israeli response seems like the necessary first step to any process like that.
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@brady9592 Is asking someone to make moral statements that they don't really believe NOT considered grandstanding, anymore? That's what you're seemingly asking them to do. Listening to this podcast, it seems to me that they stated the things they currently believe about this conflict. You can't really ask someone to do more than that. It wouldn't be honest of them.
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@brady9592 That could be. I'm still trying to figure out what the US's role should even be, in this conflict. Maybe you can help. What do you think of the quote that got passed around a fair bit during previous Israel/Palestine talks? "The US can't want peace more than the parties themselves" I'm glad Biden is trying to temper Israel's response, but our political power over the situation isn't infinite. How much can we, as a country, realistically do?
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@leonscott543 Your comment is pretty vague. What are you talking about? Israel's military? Hamas's "military"? Find them and then do what with them? How do we find them without boots on the ground?
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@brady9592 Who is going to get us to a post colonial Israel/Palestine? Hamas? It's not like Palestine currently has a governing body that's interested in peace, unfortunately. Israel has its problems, but I think we can exert a lot more influence, in attempts to restrain the inevitable short term bloodshed, if we work with Israel. You can already see Biden doing what he can to push for restraint. Do you think that's a good or bad thing, in this current situation? If Palestine has a government that was even potentially interested in peace, I'd be a lot more ready to reconsider who we should ally ourselves with.
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@brady9592 How much power to direct Israel/Palestine's future do you think that the USA actually has? They aren't totally subservient to us. Not unless you're willing to force them at gunpoint. And if you use too much soft power now, you'll have less in the future. International politics isn't easy. Being the USA doesn't mean that we can automatically have everyone do what we want them to. That's just not realistic.
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Did you ignore his follow-up lines? The ones that pointed out the need for careful oversight because of those controversies.
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Who is interested in a deal, though? Hamas? I SERIOUSLY doubt that. Unfortunately, no one with power in the area is interested in a deal.
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