A strong defense of Israel from Liz Cheney on ABC’s This Week:
Another panelist, liberal blogger Markos Moulitsas, doesn’t dispute that Israel had the right to board the ship, but he criticizes Israeli tactics. “There’s ways to do it that weren’t as aggressive and counterproductive as they did it–in the middle of the night, over the air,” says Moulitsas. “I mean there’s ways to handle blockades in international settings. You can use boats to stop, to redirect.”
If the flotilla passengers were armed and itching for a fight, I don’t see how trying to stop the Mavi Marmara during the daytime via other boats would have prevented a conflict. The passengers got the fight they were looking for.
And while I’m not entirely sure what less aggressive naval tactics Moulitsas had in mind to stop or redirect the ship, the Israelis did try to board the Mavi Marmara via boats, as well helicopters. Those Israeli commandos were also attacked, as you can see in this video.
