While it is certainly true that Israel investigates all shootings and in some cases, individual soldiers are convicted, more often than not the IDF will seek out every possible excuse to justify the soldier’s actions, even when they are completely indefensible.

Looking at the history of indictments against IDF soldiers, at least one trend is very clear: If the shooter is Ashkenazi or Mizrachi, chances are, the IDF will dismiss the charges out right. However, if the shooter is Bedouin, Druze or Ethiopian, they might just end up in jail.

China is a quarter of the world, and the more engaged that population is with the rest of the planet, the more it will have to lose, the more educated it will be, and the more likely it will be to committ to peaceful coexistence. Given that neither the will nor ability exists to stop it, China’s actions in Tibet are like Russia’s in Chechnya. Taking a stand against China in Tibet WITHOUT TEETH would only embitter it and make it belligerent– making real war, over Taiwan or whatever– far more likely. Do the math.

aside to xisnotx: The IDF has had hundreds of court-martials and scores of jail sentences against its own soldiers for shootings against civilians since 2000. Every single shooting is reviewed, and justice is indeed rendered in almost all cases. You may not agree with every verdict, but there is rule of law. Unless your idea of justice is a Palestinian firing squad or lynch mob. To say that NONE have been brought to justice is a bald faced lie.

My simple point is this: China has been this way for thousands of years, righly or wrongly, and the words we say or actions we take, aside from direct intervention, mean nothing to them. Their belief in their own importance, destiny and greatness based on their preception of their own past is akin only really to the rise of the 3rd Reich.

Tibet was once part of the Chinese empire. Separate state to be sure, but part of their ancient empire. China these days sees that ancient empire as their desired country, hence the one China policy. The Han chinese will do what they want to with the ‘empire’ because they see it as theirs, and our opinions dont count because they were there a long time before us, and expect to be there a long time after we are gone.

Sad but true.

If this were the cold war, and Tibet offered the opportunity for it, you would I imagine see another Afghanistan develop to simply drain Chinas’ resources and economy. However, since so many companies now depend on China for manufacturing this will never be.

Your only alternative really would be to develop replacement capabilities in India, or to develop them in Africa. Personally I would like to see Africa get some of the ecomomic development and investment it sorely needs. I am sure that there are many places willing to take Chinas’ place, if only they had the opportunity. But would it stop the occupation of Tibet? Maybe for a time…

Non American