From: jaskew@spam.maths.adelaide.edu.au (Joseph Askew)
Subject: Re: Israeli Expansion-lust
Organization: Statistics, Pure & Applied Mathematics, University of Adelaide
Lines: 46

In article <1993Apr15.090735.17025@news.columbia.edu> ayr1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Amir Y Rosenblatt) writes:
>In article <2528@spam.maths.adelaide.edu.au> jaskew@spam.maths.adelaide.edu.au (Joseph Askew) writes:
>>In article <1993Apr13.002118.24102@das.harvard.edu> adam@endor.uucp (Adam Shostack) writes:

>>It depends entirely on how you define 'war'. The actual fighting largely
>>predates the Arab invasions - after all Deir Yassin happened in midApril
>>well before the Arab invasion.

>How do you define war?  Do seiges and constant attacks on villiages
>count as acts of war, or is that only when the Jews do them?

I would hope that if you intend to have a reasonable discussion you might
wait until I express an opinion before deciding I should be flamed for it.
As for 'war' I am not sure how I would define it. If you just look at attacks
on villages then there is no way of deciding when it started. Would you
count the riots in the 20's and 30's? Violence but not war. I personally
think that 'war', as opposed to civil disturbance or whatever, requires
organisation, planning and some measure of regualr or semi-regular forces.
Perhaps the Arab Liberation Army counts. I could easily be convinced it was
so. From what I know they did not have a great deal of planning let alone
organisation. The Haganah and Palmach certainly did. That is not a cause
for criticism, it merely reflects the great organisation generally in the
'Zionist' camp.

>Of course, this isn't war, since it's only the Arabs attacking.

Now you are being silly aren't you? In any case the war did NOT start
with the invasion of the Arab Armies. You see we both agree on something.
And the previous posters were wrong, no?

>Just like last week when the Fatah launched Katyusha rockets
>against Northern israel.  Where does uprising end and war begin?

Again I am not sure, I doubt you want my opinion anyway, but I think
war requires organisation as I said before. It needs a group to command
and plan. If Fatah lauches rockets from Southern Lebanon (and are you
sure you have the right group - not the Moslems again?) then that sounds
like war to me. Stone throwing does not.

Joseph Askew

-- 
Joseph Askew, Gauche and Proud  In the autumn stillness, see the Pleiades,
jaskew@spam.maths.adelaide.edu  Remote in thorny deserts, fell the grief.
Disclaimer? Sue, see if I care  North of our tents, the sky must end somwhere,
Actually, I rather like Brenda  Beyond the pale, the River murmurs on.