Liberal pundits are driving me nuts.

[gridlore]

It seems to me that they are deliberately not getting the dance we're doing with the Libyan mission. Yes, we want Qadaffi gone. But for Western forces to go in and overthrow him would be a disaster. We are not loved in the region nor are any European nation. French colonialism in North Africa didn't end until the 1960s. They do not want us racing in and toppling a government. But they do need help.

So after being asked for protection for vulnerable civilian populations from Qadaffi's forces (and his open promises of massacres) the UN crafted a very cleverly-worded resolution. It established a no-fly zone and allowed attacks on any Libyan forces which could threaten a civilian population. Which is all of them. And if the RAF and the Armée de l'Air wipe out a Libyan mechanized division, that's one less division for the rebels to face. And if US strikes destroy a command and control bunker as part of the destruction of Lybia's air defense network, and that bunker also was being used to coordinate army movements, oh well. It's just a happy coincidence that the UNSC Resolution is worded in such a way that enforcing it provides massive aid to the rebels seeking to oust Qadaffi.

Here's another way to look at it. Several years ago Kiri and I attended the Callahanicon Annex at the lovely and talented eleri's place. The bulk of the attendees were staying at a hotel several miles away. Among these attendees was arib. Ari is a devout, observant Jew, and the first night of the Annex was Friday. In case you didn't know, there is a huge list of things that he is not allowed to do on the Sabbath. He is also forbidden to ask others to do these things for him. One of these things is drive a car, meaning he also couldn't ask for a ride. He was staying at the hotel. This meant a walk of several miles on dark country roads. But there was a solution. If a car door happened to be open, he could of course sit in the car. And if the car happened to be going to the hotel, so much the better! The letter of the law was followed, and a desired result was achieved.

That's what's happening in Libya. We're not overthrowing Qadaffi, we're protecting civilians from a murderous dictator. It just happens that this protection is going to make life so much easier for the rebels. Just a happy coincidence. So when Qadaffi is lynched, it will be by his own people, and the forces that take Tripoli will be waving the old Libyan monarchist flag. Sort of the way the French paved the way for us scrappy Americans to kick Conrwallis' wig at Yorktown.

Comments

Re: Gentiles Arguing Jewish Minutae Is GO!

[arib.livejournal.com]

As always, two Jews=three opinions.

Many Orthodox Jews are comfortable with the concept of a Sabbath elevator, many aren't. (Majority consensus seems to be that it'd be perfectly alright for someone who is elderly/infirm/handicapped to use it to go up and down as much as necessary, but a healthy person should take the stairs, unless we're talking about a really tall building.

Eruv is by far a much more accepted thing. As gridlore said, it's been around for much longer. People who don't hold by the validity of an eruv tend to object more to specific minutiae (how the demarcation is made, along with other disqualifying factors like population living in the area [too big a population and you can't use an eruv no matter what] or geographical boundaries [an eruv can't cross a river, you can't put an entire island in an eruv]) rather than the actual eruv itself.

(Further, I'm not sure I'd do now what I did then, at least not with a little more thought. But that's just me.)

Re: Gentiles Arguing Jewish Minutae Is GO!

[notthebuddha.livejournal.com]

I understand there's an important element of discipline in doing things according to the letter of the law, and the practice of Eruv doesn't shock my conscience or anything like that, but it still seems counterproductive to me to ban labor-saving devices like elevators and baby carriages in order to prevent "work" from being done. Strict adherence to form despite transgressing intent gives sophists not unlike myself license to twist rules to their selfish ends. In extreme cases you can get the likes of the student who assassinated Rabin after convincing himself it was not only permissible but required.