What’s Israel Doing?, Part II
July 30, 2006, 6:13 pm |
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By Andrew L. Jaffee
Israel has made another major military gaff, dropping a bomb killing 54 Lebanese civilians, including 30 children. This is unacceptable for a nation whose military is renowned for its pinpoint accuracy and excellent intelligence, and for a democracy. I have been criticized for criticizing Israel. True, Israel is fighting a savage enemy, Hezbollah, who has no qualms in purposely killing civilians, and using civilians as human shields. But all democratic nations must always hold themselves to a higher standard, a standard which must require minimal civilian casualties when waging necessary wars.
I am not sure what has gone wrong in Israel’s current campaign in Lebanon regarding civilian casualties, but I must conclude that there is a problem with intelligence gathering when targeting air strikes and/or artillery fire.
That being said, we must remember that Israel is trying to minimize civilians losses in Lebanon, despite the mistakes made to date. After today’s air strike gone awry, Israel has suspended air strikes for 48 hours. It also warns civilians before attacking, and allows still hostile Lebanon humanitarian aid corridors.
We know that Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, or Syria would never take such precautions when waging war.
Related: Israel, Lebanon, Palestinians, Terrorist Groups
July 31st, 2006 at 9:07 am
Drew,
With the further reports coming out about the Qana bombing, it is looking more like things were not as they were reported to be. Hezbollah were firing rockets into Israel from Qana in the general vicinity of the bombed target.
Secondly based on reports, if accurate there is a big question as to why the strike took place about 5 hours before the building collapsed. It could have been the bombs weakened the structure or it could be that Hezbollah blew the building.
Thirdly, Kofi Anan’s statement, supported by many Western nations, again condemning Israel for killing of civilians without regard to the fact that it was Hezbollah that put the civilians at risk by its deliberately locating its rockets in the area to deliberately target Israeli civilians is just one more outrage coming from the mouths of the U.N. and heads of nations.
War is hell and in war mistakes can be made.
In the case of the bombing at Qana, it is becoming less clear as to whether it really was a mistake.
What is clear is that the Israeli government has again made a big mistake by apologizing for a mistake that may not be, just like it did when the UNIFIL outpost was bombed and 4 UNIFIL soldiers were killed.
It is one thing to express regret at the loss of civilian life, but it is quite another to take responsibility for it.
In the case of Qana the blame lies with Hezbollah, pure and simple, but Hezbollah has not come under fire from the U.N., the mouths of Western leaders or the media for deliberately targetting Israeli civilians from behind human shields who suffer when Israel justly retaliates.
In the case of the UNIFIL outpost, the blame for that incident lies squarely at the foot of Kofi Anan and the UN that put their soldiers in harms way, refused to order them to defend themselves by pushing Hezbollah back or that they abandon their posts and in the result harm came to UNIFIL.
July 31st, 2006 at 9:18 am
I understand that Hezbollah was firing rockets in the vicinity. But I was watching Fox last night, and they had Greg Palcot on the scene. The civilians were huddled on the first floor of an apartment building. Therefore I fail to understand why an apartment building was hit. You know I fully support Israel’s offensive, I just hope they would improve their targeting. These gaffs are just fuel for anti-Israeli sentiment, and will end up forcing Israel to stop before Hezbollah is smashed. I still feel that we in the democracies/Anglosphere must hold ourselves to a higher standard.
July 31st, 2006 at 10:45 am
Drew,
I agree with your view about democracies must and do hold themselves to a higher standard.
What I do not agree with is that democracies, at least when it comes to Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians and now all out war with Hezbollah, do not hold the Palestinians and Hezbollah to those same standards and are prepared to visit hell and damnation upon them for their failures.
Democracy will never be in a fair fight with Islamic radicals, the Palestinians and Hezbollah if they do not visit dire consequences on them for their failure to act in accord with any standards.
There is nothing that compels democracies to fight fairly and incur casualties otherwise not incurred when the other side does not fight fair.
The sole blame for civilian deaths in war lies with those who started the war and especially those who put their own civilians at risk.
The West completely misses the obvious when it holds Israel to democratic high standards and indeed as we both know an exceptionally high standard that other democracies are not burdened by and do not hold Hezbollah and the Palestinians to any standard.
July 31st, 2006 at 3:51 pm
Bill:
Maybe you’re right. Israpundit reports: