The Golan Heights
The Golan Heights in my opinion is the most strategically important area I have ever seen. When Syria had it prior to the 6 day war they on a daily and hourly basis fired cannons and rockets in to Israel. Not at military bases, but at cities and homes where men, women, and children live. It is for these reasons Israel took it from Syria, demilitarized it, and as of now refuses to give it back to Syria. It became incredibly clear to me, along with as far as I know everyone on the trip (Republican and Democrat), how crucial it is for Israel not to give this territory away. When I stood on top of the Golan Heights I could see a few things. Looking towards Israel on a clear day you can see nearly the entire country. I am not being sarcastic when I say this either, Israel is about the size of New Jersey so at this altitude and location you can truly see nearly the entire county. Therefore, with cannons that can fire hundreds of miles hundreds of thousands and towards the end of the war millions were at risk of being shelled. Looking towards Syria, I saw Syrian tanks pointed right at me. These were not abandoned tanks either; these were Syrian tanks that I have no doubt were simply awaiting the order to attempt to retake the Golan Heights. It would not take Syria long to re-militarize the Golan Heights either, as there is a fortified Syrian bunker on top of the mountain, which is not just used for tours. This bunker is still intact and you can see where all of the cannon and gun locations Syria once had pointing at Israel.
In my opinion ISRAEL MUST AND CANNOT GIVE BACK THE GOLAN HEIGHTS TO SYRIA!!
Tags: Anthony Pugliese, Golan Heights, Middle East
July 28th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
isn’t that up to israel? i mean, if they can have a peace treaty with syria like they do with jordan and egypt, with guarantees that golan would remain demilitarized, why not?
i have a funny perspective on this issue. a few years ago i looked up at golan from quneitra in syria. it looked pretty militarized to me from there! and the only tanks around were burnt out shells left over from 1967 and 73. i think you were mistaken if you thought they were some active invasion force, or even usable as anything but a museum piece. the entire zone bordering golan in syria is a UN patrolled zone. you need a special permit to go there (though the permit was easy to get) and you are assigned a special guide (i.e. a syrian intelligence officer) to show you around. meanwhile, if all goes well, in about 10 days i should be on the golan heights looking down on quneitra.
in care your curious, my photos from quneitra (i.e. golan on the syrian side) are here. inshallah, i’ll have the ones from the israeli side up in a few weeks.
July 28th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Upyerz,
What are you looking to argue here? Anthony’s narrative?
I took a look at your pictures. They are very nice. Thank you for sharing.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Upyerz,
I was on the Golan Heights looking down so although you hope to be doing so, I have. I too also have a funny perspective on the issue, because again I and your CDA leadership heard a whole lot of intelligence that maybe you should ask them about. We both, The College Republican state and national leadership and the CDA state and national leadership, after hearing Intel from the ministry of defense (who was our guide) all agreed that Israel must not give back the Golan. Although I am amused that you love our fantastic site so much that you come on every day to comment on nearly every post I think you once again are incorrect on this issue.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:17 am
The College Republican state and national leadership and the CDA state and national leadership, after hearing Intel from the ministry of defense (who was our guide) all agreed that Israel must not give back the Golan.
so israel gives top secret intelligence to visiting foreign college students? that doesn’t sound like very competent to me! but i’m not surprised that the IDF representatives told you that syria was a grave threat to israel and that they should never give up the golan heights. you realize this was just a foreign country’s military trying to propogandize to you though, right? i mean, no doubt you have enough critical thinking abilities to consider where the speaker is coming from and what motives they may have to tell you the stuff they told you, right?
also, now i’m a little confused. first you claim to have seen all these syrian armaments with your very own eyes. then when i mention that i was walking around the very place that you say you saw the armaments and none were actually there (nor do any appear in my photos), suddenly your point turns on this top secret information that only your group was privy to during your visit.
Although I am amused that you love our fantastic site so much that you come on every day to comment on nearly every post I think you once again are incorrect on this issue.
oh, i do like this site quite a bit. my friend john was right when he told me last week how much fun it is over here. i like that you let me comment relatively unmoderated. and i’m interested in the middle east (i’ve traveled a bit there) and there are a fair number of posts about the ME on this site, even if they are often pretty misguided.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:38 am
You seem to act like you know a lot about Israel and the gov’t and I am not going to say you do or do not. However, we were not being guided by IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) we were at certain times being guided by officials from the ministry of defense. Also, they never told us that Israel should never give back the Golan Heights, that was the mentality and conclusion of nearly all CDA and CR leadership that was on the trip. Also, since our average age was 24 and we were not all even in college, they did not view us as a bunch of “foreign college kids”, especially since we were not there as tourist but to improve US/Israeli relations. Keep in mind that at the age of 24 in Israel you truly are not a child anymore, you have already finished your mandatory military service and most likely are a full time worker, unless you went back to school after your military service. Again if you disagree with me so much instead of arguing with me about it, maybe you should reflect upon your own parties (CDA) opinion.
July 29th, 2008 at 11:11 am
it’s true, i did assume that you were all college students. mea culpa. but you said it yourself, you were “ot there as tourist but to improve US/Israeli relations.” under those circumstances how could you not expect the israeli ministry of defense to give you only their own hawkish view of the situation?
and even if you weren’t college students, you were foreign nationals. which is why i doubt they gave you any actual intelligence. if they did, that would be shockingly irresponsible by the israeli government.