Carlton forgot a few key facts
Ken Lambert writes: Re. “Mike Carlton: Gaza is Israel’s Vietnam, with Hamas victorious” (yesterday). Mike Carlton conveniently fails to mention a few relevant facts in his potted history and fashionable pro-Hamas rave. The North Vietnamese conquered the South with a conventional attack with lots of Russian gear in 1975 after Nixon was gone and the US Congress failed to supply arms and air support to the south. Our first boat people were those south Vietnamese chased out by the Communists.
Would Carlton have agreed with Gough in opposing the Fraser government acceptance of these boat people? — “Comrades, these people will never vote Labor!”
Perhaps Carlton can also enlighten us on the MO of Hamas: fire off rockets in an indiscriminate targeting of Israeli civilians — a war crime, while hiding your launchers in schools and hospitals. Do this hundreds of times and deliberately provoke retribution by those you attack. Carlton could also explain how Israel demolished a multi-storey building with only a few injuries and no deaths — that’s because the dastardly Israelis rang up and gave the inhabitants 10 minutes to get out.
So its more like your Nazis laying on a train to the channel ports rather than to Auschwitz, isn’t it? Carlton could also explain the dynamic of Hamas and Fatah, brethren who fought each other in a brutal terror campaign. What are the West Bankers doing to help their mates?
Finally, that asymmetric battle fought by Virginian planters against George III. It seems that the French had some role in assisting the planters and the victory kept black Americans in slavery for another four score and seven years. Indeed had the planters been defeated we would have been spared the likes Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Dubya and possibly the Kardashians; and the self-governing Commonwealth of America would have played cricket.
Vincent Burke writes: Thank you so much for providing Mike Carlton with what I hope will be a continuing outlet for his incisive commentary. I live in Adelaide and have been purchasing the weekend edition of The Sydney Morning Herald for several years, mainly to read some of its columnists, most of all Carlton’s weekly tirade. When he was forced out of the SMH, I seriously questioned the value of continuing to spend $5 a week. His article today on the Gaza situation has not only raised my spirits because of the picture he painted — God, I hope he’s right — but the very fact I can continue to read his column in Crikey — at least I hope that’s is your intention.
There is more at stake than just Australia
Chris Burt writes: Re. “Crikey says: Parliament must debate airstrikes on IS” (yesterday). Seems to me Crikey and Bernard Keane are having a few bob each way today — either that or burying their collective heads in the sand. The argument seems to be IS is apparently no threat to Australia and therefore any military involvement by Australia in an intervention is a no no.
As Mike Carlton’s article today also says in quoting some Jewish holocaust survivors, “Genocide begins with the silence of the world”.
The Abbott government is absolutely right to consider military intervention — whether there is a direct threat to Australia is a secondary issue. If it prevents genocide, then it is clearly in Australia’s and the world’s best interests.
This new found humanity of Abbott’s – where are we going to intervene next? There’s plenty of openings.
I disagree with Vincent Burke.
I have had more than enough of Mike Carlton’s bile which is often enough missing significant relevant facts.
Crikey should publish thoughtful and factual articles and leave tabloid commentators like Carlton to the tabloids (although it would be even better if the tabloids, under which label I now include the Sydney Morning Herald, gave a bit more emphasis to news rather than commentary/opinion).
There is one very big difference between the Vietcong/US and the Hamas/Israel conflicts: The Vietcong did not want to destroy the US and kill all Americans – they just wanted them out of Vietnam. I urge readers to peruse the Hamas Covenant 1988. It has been translated by Yale Law School – see http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp. The second paragraph talks about Islam obliterating Israel. Anyone reading the last paragraph of Article 7 will appreciate their genocidal intent. Article 11 states that Sharia Law will be the law governing the land of Palestine. Can you imagine what this means for gays, women and anyone with different views? Article 17 deals with the role of the Moslem woman. Have a look at what it says about school curiculums, “Zionist organizations under various names and shapes, such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs,” etc. Have a look at Article 22, which amongst other things, blames the Jews for all wars, all revolutions, control of all media, control of all imperialistic countries, and rule of the world via the UN and Security Council. The same Article repeats the accusation that the Jews formed secret societies such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, the Lions. While I don’t like Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Israelis understandably fear that any withdrawal will lead to Hamas taking over, as they did when Israel vacated Gaza. The only valid analogy with Vietnam is that both are wars that cannot be won by superior forces. It is difficult to fight a war against an enemy that deliberately fights from civilian areas.