A Non-U.S. View of the Situation

Bruce Miller of The Blue Voice summarizes a number of articles about the current Israeli attack on Gaza. A key point he makes is that most of these articles are from non-U.S. sources and they express a far wider variety of opinion than we get in the U.S. media.

You'll find that most of the articles do not look favorably on Israel's action. The one that hit home with me was

Disinformation, secrecy and lies: How the Gaza offensive came about by Barak Ravid 12/28/08:

Sources in the defense establishment said Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for the operation over six months ago, even as Israel was beginning to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. According to the sources, Barak maintained that although the lull would allow Hamas to prepare for a showdown with Israel, the Israeli army needed time to prepare, as well.

Barak gave orders to carry out a comprehensive intelligence-gathering drive which sought to map out Hamas' security infrastructure, along with that of other militant organizations operating in the Strip. ...

The plan of action that was implemented in Operation Cast Lead remained only a blueprint until a month ago, when tensions soared after the IDF carried out an incursion into Gaza during the ceasefire to take out a tunnel which the army said was intended to facilitate an attack by Palestinian militants on IDF troops. [my emphasis]