On reflection, suddenly appearing on a forum and clearly embarrassing an established member by telling him he that he got something wrong, was perhaps not the best way for a newbie to make friends and influence people. I apologise.
In answer to the various comments about me, yes, I really did stumble upon this site quite by chance. I was looking for information on the conflict and I find forums can occasionally provide me with leads and useful information.
I freely admit was once completely indifferent to the problems of the Middle East; I saw both sides as bad as each other, but my sympathies lay generally with Israel, always having to respond to Palestinian provocations and atrocities.
I was, like millions of others, pleased when the Oslo accords were signed as this seemed to presage an end to the conflict. Then Operation Cast Lead happened and I, like millions of others, was appalled at the carnage inflicted on a basically helpless civilian population by one of the most powerful armed forces on the planet.
This one event finally made me sit up and take notice. My hobby is historical research into topics that interest me; as an ex-soldier IÂ’m interested in military matters so I embarked on researching the Arab Israeli conflict, its causes, events and effects.
As you are all probably well aware there is a huge wall of propaganda about this long lasting conflict. To an objective researcher, the challenge is to pick your way through the dross to find the rare kernels of truth.
IÂ’ve been researching this topic now for 6 years and that research has modified my original position somewhat. I try to retain as much objectivity as possible, but I found the more I got into this and discovered the facts that are ignored by the media and popular partisan histories and polemics, the more my sympathies transferred to the true victims of this decades long tragedy, the Palestinians.
When I landed here, scanning through the topics I noticed the title of this thread and it made me laugh, so I read on.
I admit I was initially put off from registering because of the extraordinary level of hate speech present. Any form of racism and hate speech I personally find offensive, it adds nothing to any debate, but speaks volumes about the thoughts and motivations of those who post in that manner.
Personally I believe that hatred is a waste of time and effort; what drives me is to find out and understand why people do the things they do and ultimately the true facts of the matter.
I will continue to point out any inaccuracies I come across and if that upsets people, itÂ’s something for them to come to terms with. If IÂ’m mistaken I will acknowledge my mistake and move on, but the apology above was my first and last on this site.