Another sign of why Western civilization is doomed to be wiped out, this is from the head (?) war crimes judge in The Hague (all quotes from CBC News 20 July 06):
Meanwhile, UN human rights chief Louise Arbour said the scale of killings in the region could involve war crimes.
"International humanitarian law is clear on the supreme obligation to protect civilians during hostilities," said Arbour in a statement Wednesday.
"This obligation is also expressed in international criminal law, which defines war crimes and crimes against humanity. …The scale of the killings in the region, and their predictability, could engage the personal criminal responsibility of those involved, particularly those in a position of command and control."
Well, wake up everyone. They’re bloody TERRORISTS, and they hide in amoungst the people on PURPOSE to get yahoos like this to gob off about collateral damage. Score political points that way, they do. Also, I really doubt the Israelis are going to give a honk about the fine points of international law when they`re under attack, as they are now.
And this bit of genius from the WHO and UNICEF:
"The psychological impact is serious, as people, including children, have witnessed the death or injury of loved ones and destruction of their homes and communities," the organizations said in a joint statement.
Again, it’s a war, people, and it’s not like Lebanon isn’t already traumatized. These same people probably would send in those ghoulish `grief counsellors` that seem to have sprung up like weeds in the last 20 years. If they need 20 of them for a car accident at a High School, how many would they send to Lebanon? Or Iraq, or DR Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, ad infinitum.
Personally I think Israel is at least giving the impression of punishing the Lebanese people even if that’s not the intent of the exercise. I’m certain that making life difficult for the civilians is an unavoidable consequence of fighting this sort of enemy, but neither I nor the various news media outlets have the sort of intel required to say whether the Israelis are doing a lot more damage than necessary.
Radar can track incoming artillery or rockets, and you can be damned sure that a lot of the strikes that take out houses and that sort of thing are a result of tracing back the launch points of those Hezbollah Katushas and hammering it. The people in those houses may not have directly helped launch them, but a people get the government they deserve.
What that means, is that if Lebanon tolerates as part of its government an organization that is devoted to the destruction of a heavily armed and (justifiably) paranoid neighbour, well this is exactly what will happen. I will argue that since Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese government, and it has engaged in acts of war against Israel, Israel is effectively at war with Lebanon. Looked at from that perspective, Israel has been fairly restrained.
As always, just my opinion.
No comments:
Post a Comment