Opinion  Nahum Barnea
Crossing red lines
Nahum Barnea
Published: 23.03.09, 07:59
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15 Talkbacks for this article
1. barnea on shalit
eva katz ,   zichron/Israel   (03.23.09)
Thank you for enabling me to get a clearer picture!
2. YNET, please, we are dealing in real life not some far left
Bunnie Meyer ,   Los Angeles, CA USA   (03.23.09)
fantasy where the ethical Jews convince the murdering terrorists to turn their weapons into plowshares. Giliad is a prisoner of murderous terrorist scum whose only purpose in life is to kill Jews. Treating the terrorist prisoners kindly only shows weakness in the "minds" of the killers.
3. Barvo Nachum Barnea
David Cohen ,   china   (03.23.09)
finally a man that has the courage to face reality and take a tough stand. a hijacked civilian plane is on a course to hit a village of 500 people. should the government give the order to shoot it down and kill 50 civilians to save the village or should it sacrifice the village? tough call that israel faces day in day out. the answer is quite obvious. this is not different than the Shalit case. u cannot free 500 murderers to free 1 soul. u know it is horrible what i juts wrote and we do live in horrible times. do the right thing and hamas and hezbollah will know that kidnapping a soldier will not free their murderers
4. Shalit's release
Helen ,   Maalot   (03.23.09)
At last, a voice of reason. Yes, every single soldier is precious. And every one is a MAN or a WOMAN, regardless of what his or mother may think. Mothers are notorious danger-avoiders. Why have we let the notoriously subjective maternal instinct guide policy decisions?
5. This should be required reading....
Robert ,   Hashmonaim   (03.23.09)
for every citizen.... especially those in any way connected to the media. Finally, a well thought out, balanced analysis of this tragic situation. May Gilad return home as soon as possible and may our red lines always be preserved.
6. To bunnie #2
Moshe ,   Tel Aviv   (03.23.09)
Bunnie, how is your comment at all related to the article? Barnea offers quite a realistic and sobering view - a rightist view even many would say - your comments make no sense at all in this context, unless you completely failed to understand the article
7. If this was the last kidnap before irrevocable peace
Alan ,   SA   (03.23.09)
... I would say "LETS DO IT"....but it isnt . It has been a great success for Hamas . If this crazy swap goes ahead ,there will be MANY MANY more .
8. THE RED LINE !.
Orao Stranka. ,   Tsarigrad u Srbia.   (03.23.09)
There is no society in the world that can survive without red lines; certainly not Israel. Red lines are not territorial regions or numbers of prisoners, yet they are about willingness to fight for the sake of society’s existence and pay the required price, as high as it may be. Red lines are about endurance: Sadly, we shall have more wars and more abductees. We must not conduct ourselves as if Gilad Shalit is the last captive. IF ISRAEL INDEED COULD GO INTO THE GAZA STRIP IN OPERATION CAST LEAD, ISRAEL COULD INDEED GO INTO THE GAZA STRIP WITH IDF TO FREE GILAD SHALIT. WHY DID NOT THE GOVERNMENT DO THAT ? Did the State abandon Gilad Shalit? YES IT HAS. There is no doubt that mistakes were made during the negotiations, yet even the harshest critics of the decisions that were taken do not argue that what we saw here was abandonment or neglect. OH YES IT WAS. This lie, NO LIE. which was inflated against the backdrop of the loss of public trust in the political establishment, constitutes the crossing of a red line. YES THE RED LINE IS CROSSED. Unhealthy processes The unwritten contract between a State and its troops says that the soldier pledges to risk his life for it, and that the State pledges not to risk his life in vain and do everything possible to free him from captivity. The contract does not say this should be done “at all costs.” THE RED LINE CROSSED AND THE PRICE TO PAY IS TO HIGH EVERY TIME TERRORISTS IS TO BE RELEASED IN EXCHANGE. srael must not conduct itself as if Gilad Shalit is the last captive ISRAEL MUST CONDUCT ITSELF SO GILAD SHALIT WOULD BECOME THE LAST CAPTIVE. Orao.
9. barnea and olmert
marcel   (03.23.09)
This attack on the idf and barak is classic olmert. Media so wanted annapolis peace that they sat in bed with olmert defending his every action even though he is th e most complete failure in the history of israle. Russia would deal with shalit's family by saying he was a soldier, that's it. Of course the shalits are in pain. But Olmert refused to allow the idf to take haniyeh captive just like he held the back in gaza to 300 yards, the moron that he was. So the idf did nothing to get him back under prince olmert. Barnea has had too many meals with Olmert, who is a certified shmuck with 2 legitimate cowards as sons.
10. So, Mr. Barnea, are you suggesting that
Dubi ,   Israel   (03.23.09)
Gilat be left to rot in hamas captivity? May this be the reason why youngsters are not wanting to enlist?
11. This is correct, Hamas thinks that 1:1000 is same as 3:1150
Eric ,   Tel Aviv   (03.23.09)
Only yesterday Hamas criticized Israel for not taking the deal as compared to the "Jibril deal in which Israel released 1,150 prisoners for three soldiers" They are looking to increase the price regardless of the fact that the soldier is alive, dead, or unknown. This needs to stop before more Israelis are captured.
12. #10
Martin   (03.23.09)
Face reality. The reason that youngsters are not wanting to enlist has little to do with Shalit and much more the sense of futility in fighting wars run by a political echelon that does not fight to win and, without fail, snatches defeat from the jaws of victory, making the sacrifices of the soldiers in vain.
13. WHY !!!
EISSA ,   AMMAN - JORDAN   (03.23.09)
ISRAEL KILLED HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS IN GAZA , AND I DONT ASSUME THAT SHALIT IS INNOCENT , HE IS A SOLDIER IN THE CCUPATION FORCES , SO WHAT IF HAMAS KILLED SHALIT ? ARE YOU GOING TO BE HAPPY ? WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO MORE THAN WHAT YOU HAVE DONE ? KILL MORE ? IMPRISON MORE ? SO WHAT ???? SO I THINK YOU MUST SUFFER , ALL YOUR PEOPLE MUST SUFFER AND FEEL HPW BITTER YOU FEEL WHEN YOU LOOSE SOMEONE ! STOP ACTING INNOCENSE , YOU ARE SO FAR FROM IT ! WE HAVE SEEN WHAT YOUR SOLDIERS WEARING , THEY ARE PROUD TO KILL CHILDREN AND WOMEN ! HOW BRAVE !
14. Not Abandonment or Neglect
RickD ,   USA   (03.23.09)
It's incompetence. The Israeli govt has failed in its management of Hamas. There have been only tactical moves to weaken Hamas, no clear campaign to destroy Hamas. Shalit remains a hostage because the govt didn't work hard enough and smart enough to pressure Hamas. It's a false dichotomy to say that the only choices are to release 1000 murderers or not to release. There are many ways that Hamas could have been pressured to give up the soldier. It's incompetence that the soldier is still a hostage.
15. If Shalit was a volunteer I would agree
Hannah ,   Auckland NZ   (03.24.09)
But he is not. He is not an enlisted or salaried soldier, he is a conscript whose parents have been persuaded to release him to the military by the law and the belief that the state will do the right thing by him in the event of just such an occurence. The Govt has let his family down and I don't blame other children ( because he wasnt much more than a child when he had to join the army) for avoiding military service. You cannot apply the same rules and doing so will mean an eventual end to the endless supply of 'cannon fodder', which Israel can ill afford.
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