White House Won't Criticize Assassination

[Purveyor]

JENNIFER LOVEN

Associated Press


WASHINGTON - The White House declined to criticize Israel's missile strike assassination of a top Hamas leader Saturday, saying instead that Israel has the right to defend itself from terrorist attacks and urging Palestinians to use restraint in responding.

Fearing retaliatory attacks from Palestinians that would escalate already high Mideast tensions, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said in the wake of the killing of Abdel Aziz Rantisi, the Hamas leader in Gaza, that "the United States is gravely concerned for regional peace and stability.

"The United States strongly urges Israel to consider carefully the consequences of its actions," he said. "And we again urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint at this time."

Link to entire AP article

[KissMyAsscroft]

1. You know the Palestinians are cooking up something big..

...

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. But it may not be in the territories or in Israel?

http://www.sundayherald.com/41410

Death set to ignite tinderbox in Iraq

April 18, 2004


Iraq was last night poised on the edge of a full-scale religious uprising as the assassination of Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi fed oxygen to the tinderbox siege of the holy cities of Najaf and Falujah.

Hundreds of foreign fighters, including Palestinians, have already poured into Iraq, the new front line in the battle against the ?infidels?, making the peaceful resolution of the siege of the Shiite holy city of Najaf a near impossibility.

Just as crowds of Hamas supporters gathered outside Gaza City?s Shifa hospital vowing revenge after the killing, so too would the foreign fighters within the walls of Najaf stiffen their resolve against what will be seen as the latest attack on the Arab world.

Last night supporters of the wanted Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said talks with the US troops encircling the holy city of Najaf had collapsed and that an attack was imminent.

[hang a left]

2. Well, what a shocker!

[Mari333]

3. and the powder keg is ignited, and Bush is doing this for votes

from extremist right wing evangelicals, the only base he has left.
He has put the troops in immeasurable harm now, even more so, as Palestinians rush into Iraq in anger, and the whole muslim world wants to kill our troops, who represent Bush and Sharon to them.
Michael is in grave danger, and we cant even get in touch with him to tell him so.
http://www.bringthemhomenow.com

[Mikimouse]

5. Sending good vibes, 'cause that's all I can do right now...

I hope that Michael will be one of the lucky ones and will come home intact. I am not sure how much good it would do for him to know that the danger was just increased by *; my point is, how much worse can it get for him? Conversely, if I had a son or daughter in Iraq, I would probably want them to know as well. Be well, Mari.

[Prodemsouth]

11. The Guardian had it right also it is Jewish votes he is after with thist

The Guardian (see the Blair thread) can talk about stuff the American News Media could not dare bring up. This Sharon stuff and not condemning this attack is about the Jewish vote. My fear is it may be working. A great Jewish Bakery I go to, make that went to, now plays right wing hate radio over loud speakers inside the bakery. I have been in other Jewish businesses that have the Monkeys picture posted where everybody can see it. I think we will see many Jewish voters jump to the GOP in 2004. I think we may have to start looking for other voters. The Dem Jewish vote will be gone. If Kerry can challenge Bush enough on Defense and the economy is still rotten to kind of poor, choosing Robert Rubin may help Keep the Jewish vote. A fracture was starting before the last election and this part of the reason why Gore choose Lieberman in 2000.

[Ruby Romaine]

12. You are wrong -Jews will vote for Kerry and that won't change, it's based

on greed & economics, the people w/tons of money will vote for *.

* wants a big terra attack in the USA- so he can suspend the election.
Where are these Jewish businesses w/*'s picture?

Of course the ultra-orthodox Jewish right wingers will vote for *, they supported Nixon (remember Korff?) & Reagan,
esp w/ all the "faith based" money up for grabs!

[Prodemsouth]

14. Look at voting records in 2002. Jewish voters are trending Republican.

RE: question of Jewish businesses with W's pictures. Pop in businesses on La vista Road, North Druid Hills area in Atlanta, Registertown Road going in to Baltimore to name two streets off the top of my head- you only have to visit a couple of places to come across this. We Americans avoid talking about the way Jewish people look at things. For some reason it is not good manners to do that.

[Ruby Romaine]

15. the fundy Christian churches bus people to polls/that's the really

solid bloc for *, the 700 club folks, not liberal Jewish voters.

[Ruby Romaine]

17. If you look at FEC filings, you'll see business owners-meaning

the class of people in the US w/ money who employ people
(as opposed to people who work for someone)
mostly support bush- these people like him because when cheap labor repukes take over they screw up the economy so people will work for low wages.

Reagan did it
Daddy did it
& Jr is doing it-
workers are afraid they'll lose their jobs.

The ruling class, Jewish & Christian will vote for & support bush.
bush's agenda=their agenda, so called "pro-life" until birth, capital punishment,
constant state of war, no separation of church & state.

I'm putting my energy into getting rid of * because he wants to destroy the world, he reminds me of an evil henchman from a bad movie.

[progressivebydesign]

31. Not one of my Jewish friends would vote for Bush. Ever.

While I know they support Israel in taking that land. It is not the only issue in their hearts. I reject the thinking that Jewish people are so one-dimensional, that they would throw away their concern for their own lives, and the lives of their fellow Americans, just to support Sharon. They have to live in this country.. not in Israel. While I think they support Sharon, in principal, I think many of them have been shocked by his brutality. If they want peace in the Middle East, and want the social issues important to them taken care of at home, they will NOT vote for Bush. No way. Acting as though the Jewish people will vote a certain way because of Bush's stance on Israel is almost as racist sounding as expecting all blacks to vote for Sharpton, because he's black. They are multi-dimensional people... we musn't reduce them to a one-issue vote.

[Just Me]

32. I agree that we must be mindful to avoid pigeon-holing human beings.

I see it done all the time by extreme right-wingers because it is a divisive tactic. Let's not go there. People are multi-dimensional and should never be brushed with such broad strokes.

[Muddleoftheroad]

36. I know some who already have voted GOP

In MD. Ehrlich, their GOP gov, got a fair number of Jewish votes simply because he was pro-Israel when he was in the House.

[genius]

4. That's because the Thugs assassinated Paul Wellstone, Mel Carnahan,

Jim Hatfield, Cliff Baxter, Margie Shoedinger and JFK, Jr. If they condemmed assassination, they would have to condemn themselves.

[Freddie Stubbs]

43. Don't forget Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and

the Big Bopper. And I'm still skeptical that Stevie Ray Vaughn's death was an accident.

[Snellius]

7. For Bush, the more terrorists threatening the U.S. the better.

Bring 'em Bush is just inviting Hamas to break Rantisi's pledge not to attack the United States.

[bluedog]

9. from BBC chat board......

Bush, Sharon and Blair are amongst the criminals who have broken international law, but their political and status and power exonerates them.


It`s about time the international community shape up to things, or release people like Milosovic and Saddam back into society.

If Bush was `target assassinated` tommorrow why should the assailant be held accountable? why could it not be a pre-emptive strike or an act of self defence?.


**********(me) I would say the world is getting hostile towards blair and bush......

[physioex]

8. What Bush isn't sleepin with Sharon???

Please......The reaction of the Whitehouse is hardly surprising? (Not that we shouldn't be discussing this.) :)

[Dying Eagle]

10. Sharon should be jailed!

[John_H]

13. If I didn't have a sliver of faith in human nature left

I'd bet that Chimp was alienating the entire Muslim world to intentionally provoke a terrorist attack on the US, simply for his own political gain.

[Ruby Romaine]

16. sure seems like it!

just think, he'll be able to call off the election to keep Kerry from winning.

[Tellurian]

25. Darkening thoughts-

The Ace in the Hole-

when the goin gets tuff, the thugs pull the plug!

[Whoa_Nelly]

18. Bringing the terrorists to attack the US

Well! That would sure bring the 9/11 Commission to a screeching halt and shut up those darn whistleblowers, not to mention abruptly stopping those truths that are getting in the US mainstream media.

I put nothing past the * misadministration. Bush is openly goading the Palestinians to a fight, and further inciting hatred and disorder in the Middle East.
From O8) to really :nuke: pissed :mad: off :nuke:

[modaya]

19. I see Something bigg is gonna happend to Israel And US

For taking one side approach in the middle east. dont blame the messenger after all you knew it somebody gonna blew something huge..

[NJmaverick]

20. Israel is just another bunch of murdering terrorists

This attack clearly meets the definition of terrorism. We MUST end all US aide to these people immediately! I can not bear the thought that my tax dollars are used for murder!

[molly]

21. If you had the chance to take out OBL wouldn't you?

[NJmaverick]

22. So when a Palastinian suicide freedom fighter

Kills some of the terrorist Israelis, should we use the same comparison then?

[molly]

23. Freedom fighter?

LOL!

[NJmaverick]

24. Israel fights to keep stolen land

The Palastinians fight for a homeland. That puts the Palastinians on the side of good in my book.

[molly]

26. That land did not belong to anyone

[raifield]

27. Oh, now come on...

...that's just a silly arguement. The only land that doesn't and has never belonged to anyone is Antartica. Everywhere else, every square inch of land is owned and belongs to someone, somewhere.

I tend to lean towards the Palestinian side due to the fact that Palestine was around for far longer than the country of Israel, therefore, if anyone has a claim to any land around that region, the Palestinians most likely do.

[molly]

28. The land WON in 1967 belongs to Israel

they won it....

[progressivebydesign]

30. Oh.. and I guess we "own" Afghanistan and Iraq now??

Is that how it goes? Anyone can just go in and take people's land from them through war? Anyone want to volunteer to live in our latest colony, Iraq?

I side with the Palestinians, on principal. They had the land, and rich AMerican funded interlopers decided it was their biblical right to that land.. they took it over, and reduced the Palestinians to living like a third world nation. Israelis have fancy restaurants and nightclubs, Palestinians have barbed wire around their neighborhoods. Israel right now reminds me of us in Iraq.

I miss having a real president.. one that was making progress in settling this issue... Instead of one that rubber stamps everything that thug Sharon wants to do. Diplomacy is completely absent in this administration,, and it's apparent in how the entire ME is self-destructing. I feel for people on both sides of the Israeli/Palenstinian conflict. I will never condone the violence on either side.. but I especially reject the violence upon the people who had that land, and were killed and terrorized with OUR money and OUR equipment. The ME peace process is dead.

[SOS]

33. The United States WON World War 2

so can an American go to Rome, Berlin or Tokyo today and claim an apartment?

[keithyboy]

29. Just like the land didn't belong to the Native Americans!

Hmmmm.

[The Stranger]

40. Like South Africa didn't belong to the people who lived there.

1000 posts? When and where?

[Malikshah]

41. Reality check

Sorry it did.

Golda Meir's statements against the existence of Palestinians are a blight against humanity.

The "Land without a people for a people without a land" statement is vile and should be pilloried whereever it is found.

[freeforall]

34. So much for the "Roadmap to Peace"

They obviously need a better cartographer.

[drfemoe]

35. Consequences????

WHAT CONSEQUENCES? There seem to be NO consequences. Sounds rather familiar.

Rice mouths same BS:
<snip>
Speaking to ABC's "This Week," Rice said President Bush "doesn't discuss with Israeli operations."

"We have said repeatedly to the Israelis that, while we understand and support Israel's right to defend itself, that it's extremely important that Israel take into consideration the consequences of anything that it does."

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/04/18/mideast.us

[JoFerret]

37. Who is US president - Ariel or George?

That's how the yemen times sees it. probably fairly typically for the region.

http://yementimes.com/article.shtml?i=730&p=opinion&a=1

[Ruby Romaine]

38. Who is president? "little dick" CHENEY is!

n/t
why do you think we get all that viagra spam?
:)

(Gore won & should be pres.)

[modaya]

39. ROAD MAP IS DEAD AND BURRIED

ARRIVEDECCI

[Endangered Specie]

42. Since when did we start condemning assassination?

We know a thing or two about it, to say the least.

[Uzybone]

44. Is this really news?

I mean come on. Wake me up when ANY US administration condemns the assasination of an anti Isreali terrorist.