Third time’s even more charming! Andrew “Cheech” Sullivan is back, puffing away and ruminating on Israel, Iraq, conservatives, the trans movement, loud music from bluetooth speakers, the awfulness of Trump (who won’t be a dictator, btw), the resilience of American democracy, the resounding victories of the gay rights movement, and the general boringness of identity.
Andrew has notably shown bravery in his life and writing, but he speaks as someone with the luxury of never having to train, plan and otherwise prepare to take and risk lives in defense of home and country. As a result, he and those like him make war more terrible than it already is, prolonging the suffering and forcing half-measures that result in little to nothing except another set of hostilities. If you're going to war, there must be a purpose - an objective. There is no proportionality to bring to bear regarding Germany vs. Hamas - war is war, it is brutal, and it should be fought only when you are fully prepared to get to the objective as swiftly as possible - this means obscene violence. That does not mean that nothing is beyond the pale, but it does mean that terrible, seemingly intolerable things will result in the effort to end the terrible things. Andrew's seems to expect he can make it somehow tolerable, and to reason with the unreasonable.
I get where people like Andrew are coming from, because from the outside looking in, it appears like the amount of civilian death and destruction in Gaza just isn’t worth it. And for Americans or outsiders that may be true, but for us Israelis the moral calculation is a lot harder. If my neighbor is firing at me from his house, I’m destroying the house to the extent where I am no longer in the range of fire. It doesn’t feel good. It’s not done for revenge, nor is it indiscriminate like most people tend to believe. Warfare is calculated, targets are selected carefully, cost benefit analysis is run and yes, mistakes are made. Apologies if this sounds cold, I see the scenes from Gaza like everyone else and my heart breaks that it’s happening, and that we did this. But any country faced with a choice between the safety of its civilians and the safety of the enemy’s civilians has the duty to protect its people. I heard a military guy today on NPR critiquing the IDF, talking about how the US did not operate like the IDF in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how the threshold for fire was much higher. This is the case when war is 6,000 miles away, not a 20 minute walk over. I can’t think of any western country that has faced what we are facing and having to make those decisions, and I pray they never do. It’s fun to talk about trolley problems in classrooms, less so when you’re actually operating the trolley in real life.
One last thing - Hamas didn’t retreat. It was stopped. Terrorists never retreat, they reorganize.
This episode is so annoying. Andrew, who I usually enjoy, doesn't know what he is talking about here. If you don't know how Israel is using those bombs you should shut up and look it up. Don't just go OMG 2000lbs! https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/ben-rhodes-gives-away-the-game/
The rules of engagement and the precautions Israel are taking are far beyond what anyone else does
Also, no force has been responsible for fighting a war and feeding the population at the same time. We didn't feed the German population until the Nazi party was destroyed. It's a remarkable thing to ask them to do. Accidents, mistakes, and even negligence happen even with extreme precautions. The World Central Kitchen fuck up is fucked up but unfortunately it happens.
Finally, if this works if Hamas is successful at surviving using this strategy of hiding behind civilians and using human shields the moral hazard is going to be so much worse.
PS there are still hostages including US citizens.
Andrew said the US only dropped one 2000lb bomb in the Iraq War… where in the actual fuck did he get that number from? According to the US Air Force we dropped over 5,000 GBU-31’s in the initial invasion from March to April 2003 alone. GBU-31’s are 2000lb bombs. I’m sure they’ve got reports detailing how many they dropped from 2003-2011 out there too.
I remember thinking soon after the October attacks that the most likely motive for Hamas was to provoke Israel into a counter-attack that would be vicious enough that the international reaction would be horror.
I think that's why Hamas hides in hospitals, schools, and old folks' homes.
They want to force Israel to fight in a manner that makes them look monstrous to other nations.
Sully missed the point of why JKR deliberately drew complaints about her comments on April 1: her purpose was to protect everyone in Scotland from abuse of the silly law by calling the government’s bluff and forcing them to back down. If they decline to prosecute her, they cannot easily go after anyone else for stating similar opinions.
"I hope every woman in Scotland who wishes to speak up for the reality and importance of biological sex will be reassured by this announcement, and I trust that all women - irrespective of profile or financial means - will be treated equally under the law.
"If they go after any woman for simply calling a man a man, I'll repeat that woman's words and they can charge us both at once."
Couldn't finish the episode. You should get John Spencer on to correct a lot of the crap in here. Or anyone at Commentary. Andrew just believes all of the Hamas propaganda apparently? Assuming that Israel is doing nothing to avoid civilian casualties? Also going with the just asking questions frame of accusing Israel of deliberate war crimes? Fuck that. Also, why the fuck would Israel immediately apologize for hitting the aid workers if they are deliberately targeting aid workers? Why would they be sending hundreds of trucks of aid in if they were trying to stop aid and cause a famine. Jesus Christ.
I saw this quote that really hit home after listening to the podcast yesterday- from Dan Crenshaw, a retired Navy seal and U.S. Congressman (the one with the eye patch): "In the real world, the enemy is evil, and won’t ever stop trying to kill you. I’m glad so many people in modern times are ignorant of that fact. It means your life is easy. It means others have done the fighting for you so that you can stand atop their sacrifices and signal your perfect moral character with meaningless calls for “peace.” What a privilege that must be.
It’s the same attitude that caused the abysmal withdrawal from Afghanistan. The same stupid and naive thinking. You don’t get peace by surrendering. You just end up strengthening your enemy and at best delay a much bigger fight. The Israelis know this because it’s right in front of them, all the time."
Disappointed in Andrew, who latest column also claims Israel bombs first ask questions later. This is a war. Mistakes, including friendly fire happen. It’s astounding to me that Biden condemns Israel, calls for a ceasefire but doesn’t bother to call for the release of hostages including American hostages, or mention that Hamas hasn’t accepted a deal for a ceasefire and certainly hasn’t surrendered to save civilians. And why should they. Only winning the PR war seems to matter.
Much of the hysteria about Donald Trump, for whom I’ve never voted and never would, has been the result of dishonest reporting, distortions and outright lies. I do not believe he is a “threat to democracy.” I do believe his conduct following the 2020 election makes him unfit for office.
But Joe Biden, for whom I’ve never voted and never would, has made no attempt to reach beyond his base, no effort toward building a coalition. A rusty weathervane that points in any direction the politically beneficial winds are blowing, Biden has moved as far to the left as he can without toppling over (again). He’s all-in on race essentialism and the trans movement, regardless of its excesses.
Whereas Trump says outrageous things that people interpret as sowing division, Biden willfully engages in demagoguery and always has. We’re no more unified as a country after three years of a Biden administration than we were after four years of a Trump presidency. Andrew can’t possibly think otherwise.
I appreciate hearing guests I disagree with—it helps me confront my beliefs and clarify them. The audio was weird at times but it was listenable to me.
Andrew has notably shown bravery in his life and writing, but he speaks as someone with the luxury of never having to train, plan and otherwise prepare to take and risk lives in defense of home and country. As a result, he and those like him make war more terrible than it already is, prolonging the suffering and forcing half-measures that result in little to nothing except another set of hostilities. If you're going to war, there must be a purpose - an objective. There is no proportionality to bring to bear regarding Germany vs. Hamas - war is war, it is brutal, and it should be fought only when you are fully prepared to get to the objective as swiftly as possible - this means obscene violence. That does not mean that nothing is beyond the pale, but it does mean that terrible, seemingly intolerable things will result in the effort to end the terrible things. Andrew's seems to expect he can make it somehow tolerable, and to reason with the unreasonable.
I get where people like Andrew are coming from, because from the outside looking in, it appears like the amount of civilian death and destruction in Gaza just isn’t worth it. And for Americans or outsiders that may be true, but for us Israelis the moral calculation is a lot harder. If my neighbor is firing at me from his house, I’m destroying the house to the extent where I am no longer in the range of fire. It doesn’t feel good. It’s not done for revenge, nor is it indiscriminate like most people tend to believe. Warfare is calculated, targets are selected carefully, cost benefit analysis is run and yes, mistakes are made. Apologies if this sounds cold, I see the scenes from Gaza like everyone else and my heart breaks that it’s happening, and that we did this. But any country faced with a choice between the safety of its civilians and the safety of the enemy’s civilians has the duty to protect its people. I heard a military guy today on NPR critiquing the IDF, talking about how the US did not operate like the IDF in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how the threshold for fire was much higher. This is the case when war is 6,000 miles away, not a 20 minute walk over. I can’t think of any western country that has faced what we are facing and having to make those decisions, and I pray they never do. It’s fun to talk about trolley problems in classrooms, less so when you’re actually operating the trolley in real life.
One last thing - Hamas didn’t retreat. It was stopped. Terrorists never retreat, they reorganize.
This episode is so annoying. Andrew, who I usually enjoy, doesn't know what he is talking about here. If you don't know how Israel is using those bombs you should shut up and look it up. Don't just go OMG 2000lbs! https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/ben-rhodes-gives-away-the-game/
The rules of engagement and the precautions Israel are taking are far beyond what anyone else does
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/federal-judges-examine-the-israel-hamas-war/id1490993194?i=1000651156484
Also, no force has been responsible for fighting a war and feeding the population at the same time. We didn't feed the German population until the Nazi party was destroyed. It's a remarkable thing to ask them to do. Accidents, mistakes, and even negligence happen even with extreme precautions. The World Central Kitchen fuck up is fucked up but unfortunately it happens.
Finally, if this works if Hamas is successful at surviving using this strategy of hiding behind civilians and using human shields the moral hazard is going to be so much worse.
PS there are still hostages including US citizens.
Andrew said the US only dropped one 2000lb bomb in the Iraq War… where in the actual fuck did he get that number from? According to the US Air Force we dropped over 5,000 GBU-31’s in the initial invasion from March to April 2003 alone. GBU-31’s are 2000lb bombs. I’m sure they’ve got reports detailing how many they dropped from 2003-2011 out there too.
I remember thinking soon after the October attacks that the most likely motive for Hamas was to provoke Israel into a counter-attack that would be vicious enough that the international reaction would be horror.
I think that's why Hamas hides in hospitals, schools, and old folks' homes.
They want to force Israel to fight in a manner that makes them look monstrous to other nations.
Is it just me or is the audio a bit strange on this recording. Andrew sounds like his voice reduction is cutting off his voice in parts.
Sully missed the point of why JKR deliberately drew complaints about her comments on April 1: her purpose was to protect everyone in Scotland from abuse of the silly law by calling the government’s bluff and forcing them to back down. If they decline to prosecute her, they cannot easily go after anyone else for stating similar opinions.
"I hope every woman in Scotland who wishes to speak up for the reality and importance of biological sex will be reassured by this announcement, and I trust that all women - irrespective of profile or financial means - will be treated equally under the law.
"If they go after any woman for simply calling a man a man, I'll repeat that woman's words and they can charge us both at once."
Couldn't finish the episode. You should get John Spencer on to correct a lot of the crap in here. Or anyone at Commentary. Andrew just believes all of the Hamas propaganda apparently? Assuming that Israel is doing nothing to avoid civilian casualties? Also going with the just asking questions frame of accusing Israel of deliberate war crimes? Fuck that. Also, why the fuck would Israel immediately apologize for hitting the aid workers if they are deliberately targeting aid workers? Why would they be sending hundreds of trucks of aid in if they were trying to stop aid and cause a famine. Jesus Christ.
I saw this quote that really hit home after listening to the podcast yesterday- from Dan Crenshaw, a retired Navy seal and U.S. Congressman (the one with the eye patch): "In the real world, the enemy is evil, and won’t ever stop trying to kill you. I’m glad so many people in modern times are ignorant of that fact. It means your life is easy. It means others have done the fighting for you so that you can stand atop their sacrifices and signal your perfect moral character with meaningless calls for “peace.” What a privilege that must be.
It’s the same attitude that caused the abysmal withdrawal from Afghanistan. The same stupid and naive thinking. You don’t get peace by surrendering. You just end up strengthening your enemy and at best delay a much bigger fight. The Israelis know this because it’s right in front of them, all the time."
How does one adhere to “rules of war” in a strife like this? These are not armies meeting on a field.
Soooooo Andrew was drunk, high, or both, right?
I didn't realise Sullivan was such a Red China simp.
Disappointed in Andrew, who latest column also claims Israel bombs first ask questions later. This is a war. Mistakes, including friendly fire happen. It’s astounding to me that Biden condemns Israel, calls for a ceasefire but doesn’t bother to call for the release of hostages including American hostages, or mention that Hamas hasn’t accepted a deal for a ceasefire and certainly hasn’t surrendered to save civilians. And why should they. Only winning the PR war seems to matter.
Should've left this one in the can and get Andrew back in when he's sober.
Much of the hysteria about Donald Trump, for whom I’ve never voted and never would, has been the result of dishonest reporting, distortions and outright lies. I do not believe he is a “threat to democracy.” I do believe his conduct following the 2020 election makes him unfit for office.
But Joe Biden, for whom I’ve never voted and never would, has made no attempt to reach beyond his base, no effort toward building a coalition. A rusty weathervane that points in any direction the politically beneficial winds are blowing, Biden has moved as far to the left as he can without toppling over (again). He’s all-in on race essentialism and the trans movement, regardless of its excesses.
Whereas Trump says outrageous things that people interpret as sowing division, Biden willfully engages in demagoguery and always has. We’re no more unified as a country after three years of a Biden administration than we were after four years of a Trump presidency. Andrew can’t possibly think otherwise.
I appreciate hearing guests I disagree with—it helps me confront my beliefs and clarify them. The audio was weird at times but it was listenable to me.