No moral equivalence
There is no moral equivalence between the terrorist organization Hizbollah and the democratic state of Israel. Hizbollah deliberately started this crisis by attacking across the international border, killing 8 IDF soldiers and kidnapping two. Hizbollah hides in civilian areas and deliberately and randomly targets Israeli civilians with rockets. By contrast, the IAF uses accurate missiles and rockets to hit specific targets and tries to avoid civilian casualties. So far in 12 days of hostilities there have been according to Lebanese source ca. 400 civilians killed, which is a small number given that the IAF has flown thousands of sorties!! More than that are killed in an average day in Iraq! If the IAF did not take care to avoid civilain casualties there would by now be thousands of Lebanese dead. Also, how many of the "civilians" are Hizbollah fighters? Noone knows.
It is true that the destruction of south Beirut looks awful, but that is because it is Hizbollah's center, that is where they have their headquarters and that is where they live. Under the rubble are many interconnected concrete bunkers where the attacks have been planned and where even now Nasrullah and his clique may be hiding. They own numerous buildings there and Iran has spent ca. m$100 per year on Hizbollah, and part of it has been spent to make this Shia neighborhood their own. It was totally cut-off form the rest of Lebanon by Hizbollah check points. Israel must show Hizbollah that it will pay a "terrible price" for its aggression.
It is totally inappropriate for the UN Humanitarian spokesman Jan Egeland to walk down the center of this destroyed area and say that there has been a "violation of humanitarian law" there. It is about as accurate as the comments that were made about a "massacre" in Jenin judging from the local destruction of war there, they were wrong! Another egregrious statement was from the British Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells, who mis-spoke yesterday when he left Beirut and said that the IAF strikes were not "surgical enough." Today in Israel visiting the injured in hospital in Haifa he has backtracked a bit, he agreed that destruction and killing on both sides should stop, and he agreed that Israel has a right to defend itself.
How is it that these and other well-meaning people have such little concept of the real situation, yet can go shooting their mouths off as if they were experts and give Israel advice on the "proportionality" of the response. It is necessary for the IDF to destroy as far as possible Hizbollah's infrastructure, and since Hizbollah has been using Lebanon as a parasite, that means destroying some of Lebanon's infrastructure. This includes roads that could be used to re-supply Hizbollah (from Syria), bridges to reduce their ability to bring up reserves and rockets, and telecommunications, so that they can't give orders by cell phone and TV. These things are elementary, yet shallow politicians seem not to realize these facts, and go around bemoaning the destruction of Lebanese infrastructure as if Israel is a wilful child (as one of them said) and doesn't have a professional airforce in which every target is chosen in advance and is confirmed before being hit.
Even then mistakes happen under pressure. Cars that are seen behaving suspiciously are often targeted. It is a mistake to drive rapidly away from an area where a rocket has just been fired (even if the occupants don't know that. Also, Hizbollah hides its rockets and equipment in schools, mosques and hospitals. And the local populations have received numerous warnings to move from the area in IAF pamphlets. If they have left it to the last moment that is their problem. Some of them are Hizbollah fighters finally deciding to leave with their families because they didn't realize the extent of destruction that the IAF would cause.
No one needs to have sympathy for those who have connived and actively supported Hizbollah as most southern Lebanese have done and as most still do. Noone needs to give Israel advice on how to defend itself. The people of Israel trusts the IDF to ensure that the right moral choices are made in this desperate war. When rockets are landing on our cities, 70 today on Haifa, with two killed and 30 injured, and ca. 200 rockets all over northern Israel, noone needs to tell us what is "proportionate." In most wars the winner inflicts a ratio of ca. 10:1 casualties on the loser, and that is precisly the current situation, Israel has ca. 40 dead and Lebanon/ Hizbollah 400. So be it!
Israel wants to see a stable and peaceful Lebanon. Only when Condoleeza Rice arrives here tomorrow and only when discussions have taken place that might result in the implementation of the provisions of UN SC 1559, and only when the IDF has completed enough destruction on Hizbollah so that it can no longer fire rockets into northern Israel, and only when a sufficiently "robust" force can be deployed in southern Lebanon to ensure the sovereignty of the Lebanese Government and the disarming of Hizbollah, can the area return to peace and tranquility.
It is true that the destruction of south Beirut looks awful, but that is because it is Hizbollah's center, that is where they have their headquarters and that is where they live. Under the rubble are many interconnected concrete bunkers where the attacks have been planned and where even now Nasrullah and his clique may be hiding. They own numerous buildings there and Iran has spent ca. m$100 per year on Hizbollah, and part of it has been spent to make this Shia neighborhood their own. It was totally cut-off form the rest of Lebanon by Hizbollah check points. Israel must show Hizbollah that it will pay a "terrible price" for its aggression.
It is totally inappropriate for the UN Humanitarian spokesman Jan Egeland to walk down the center of this destroyed area and say that there has been a "violation of humanitarian law" there. It is about as accurate as the comments that were made about a "massacre" in Jenin judging from the local destruction of war there, they were wrong! Another egregrious statement was from the British Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells, who mis-spoke yesterday when he left Beirut and said that the IAF strikes were not "surgical enough." Today in Israel visiting the injured in hospital in Haifa he has backtracked a bit, he agreed that destruction and killing on both sides should stop, and he agreed that Israel has a right to defend itself.
How is it that these and other well-meaning people have such little concept of the real situation, yet can go shooting their mouths off as if they were experts and give Israel advice on the "proportionality" of the response. It is necessary for the IDF to destroy as far as possible Hizbollah's infrastructure, and since Hizbollah has been using Lebanon as a parasite, that means destroying some of Lebanon's infrastructure. This includes roads that could be used to re-supply Hizbollah (from Syria), bridges to reduce their ability to bring up reserves and rockets, and telecommunications, so that they can't give orders by cell phone and TV. These things are elementary, yet shallow politicians seem not to realize these facts, and go around bemoaning the destruction of Lebanese infrastructure as if Israel is a wilful child (as one of them said) and doesn't have a professional airforce in which every target is chosen in advance and is confirmed before being hit.
Even then mistakes happen under pressure. Cars that are seen behaving suspiciously are often targeted. It is a mistake to drive rapidly away from an area where a rocket has just been fired (even if the occupants don't know that. Also, Hizbollah hides its rockets and equipment in schools, mosques and hospitals. And the local populations have received numerous warnings to move from the area in IAF pamphlets. If they have left it to the last moment that is their problem. Some of them are Hizbollah fighters finally deciding to leave with their families because they didn't realize the extent of destruction that the IAF would cause.
No one needs to have sympathy for those who have connived and actively supported Hizbollah as most southern Lebanese have done and as most still do. Noone needs to give Israel advice on how to defend itself. The people of Israel trusts the IDF to ensure that the right moral choices are made in this desperate war. When rockets are landing on our cities, 70 today on Haifa, with two killed and 30 injured, and ca. 200 rockets all over northern Israel, noone needs to tell us what is "proportionate." In most wars the winner inflicts a ratio of ca. 10:1 casualties on the loser, and that is precisly the current situation, Israel has ca. 40 dead and Lebanon/ Hizbollah 400. So be it!
Israel wants to see a stable and peaceful Lebanon. Only when Condoleeza Rice arrives here tomorrow and only when discussions have taken place that might result in the implementation of the provisions of UN SC 1559, and only when the IDF has completed enough destruction on Hizbollah so that it can no longer fire rockets into northern Israel, and only when a sufficiently "robust" force can be deployed in southern Lebanon to ensure the sovereignty of the Lebanese Government and the disarming of Hizbollah, can the area return to peace and tranquility.
posted by Jack Cohen at 10:35 AM
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