Fighting Terrorism From 15,000 Feet
On Saturday, an Israeli plane bombed an apartment building in Qana, Lebanon. Over 60 civilians were killed and at least 37 were children. Israel has called the bombing a mistake and Lebanon's Prime Minister has called for Israel to be prosecuted for war crimes. Some of the best news coverage of the War in Iraq and now Lebanon has been from NBC's Richard Engel. He was on today's MTP reporting live from Qana, Lebanon.
MR. RICHARD ENGEL: "When we arrived, we saw this destroyed building, it was a three-story home under construction. There’d been dozens of people in the basement of this house, mostly women and children it, appears. I counted 11 bodies of small boys, perhaps aged eight to 10. They were being carried out, some on stretchers, some were being carried out just in blankets, one body on top of the other. It—the most of the, the children looked like they died from blast injuries. The bodies were intact, but they were bleeding from their ears and from their noses. Then we went to the morgue and saw about 22 bodies lined up on the floor. They were wrapped in plastic, tied shut in packaging tape..."
It seems like a mistake prone strategy to fight terrorists with war planes. In an effort to understand the rules of engagement I found a portion of The Israeli Defense Force manual which states:
So the test is comparing the military gain to the harm on the civilian population.Even when it is not possible to isolate the civilians from an assault and there is no other recourse than to attack, the commander is required to refrain from an attack that is expected to inflict harm on the civilian population that is disproportionate to the expected military gain.
By Kyle - 7/30/2006
14 Comments:
I guess if Hezbollah decided not to kidnap Israeli soilders then we wouldnt be here. Obviously until the people of Lebanon (and my guess is that most want the radical elements out of their country) decide enough is enough, this stuff will keep happening.
Ben, The thing I am having trouble understanding is the separation, or lack there of, between Hezbollah and the government of Lebanon. Are they one in the same or is Hezbollah a rebel faction within a larger country? I don't really know. I think the answer is critical to judging the proportionality of the response by Israel.
I know Hezbollah holds some seats in Parliament and can guarantee they will pick up a ton in the next election. War is great for fanaticism.
The other thing in the back of my mind is that the Arab world has to have a breaking point where they say enough is enough and do something drastic. If they all hate Israel and don't believe it has a right to exist, then how can they sit on the sidelines and not do anything?
threat of US involvement and nukes would be my guess
Last year, Lebanon recognized the ill-effects Syrian involvement was having in their country. A former Lebanese Prime Minister was assassinated by Syria, so Lebanon kicked Syria out. They have been making efforts to be a stronger democracy. But, Hezbollah was elected, and they provide a lot of social services to the people in their region. Democracy in the Middle East is the goal, right? Lebanon didn't have the strength or the authority to remove Hezbollah. How would it be if they removed officials who were elected by the people?
I think Hezbollah is separate from the Lebanese government. Lebanon needs and deserves a lot more help and support to become a functioning government, and to have the ability to remove Hezbollah and other extremists. What incentive do they have to do that now that Israel is bombing the heck out of them, with US support? Hezbollah is the only group that is defending Lebanon. It's a terrible situation.
good points Terra..
Ben, on the talk shows they were saying from polls in the region that a majority of people in Lebanon support Hezbollah.
Fahrid Zakaria's comments on ABC's This Week on this topic were perfect. looking for transcript.
Chuck, I should have mentioned that I was inspired to write this post after watching the round table on ABC's This Week.
Great visual, Kyle. Good post.
How about the question, should Hezbollah be allowed to blend in with the civilian polulation?
Anon, they are elected. They are supported by the people because they provide social services and defend their country. We may not like them, but their people do. We would hope that the civilians being attacked would make them turn against Hezbollah, but (surprise!), they're turing against the attacker and supporting Hezbollah even more.
Anonymous, I would say no, but I don't think we can do anything about it. I don't like Hezbollah and agree they are a terrorist organization bent on destabilizing the region. Terra is right. This war is strengthening the hand of Hezbollah in Lebanon and around the Arab world.
I feel like Israel had a real opportunity (similar to what the U.S. had after 9/11) and blew it (just like we did). You have an event where the world community supports your country, and then you respond in a way that turns that support into anger.
Kyle, I do not agree with you.
Israel is surrounded by enemies at all times, very different from what we face in the US so I do not think we can understand what they deal with.
I think this response is needed to deal with an enemy that wants to wipe you from the face of the earth.
The blame should fall on the Lebanese goverment for not ridding their country of the terrorists before this happened.
Anonymous, I am definately no expert and having never been there my perspective is limited. I agree that the government of Lebanon is in part responsible, but I think Israel has eliminated the chances of them ever being able to control Hezbollah. In fact, I think the opposite will occur where Hezbollah will now control the government.
As I said, war is great for fanaticism.
Terra,
First you say hezbollah is seperate from the government, and then go on to say they are elected???
I think that makes them part of, and not seperated from, the government.
There are consequences for voting certain parties into power, as well as allowing groups to quarter themselves in towns and villages, and the lebanese will learn this soon. If Israel agrees to a cease fire, then hezbollah is victorious and will gain massive support, and if Israel bombs the crap out of lebanon, hezbollah gets more support, but also becomes impaired.
Israel will not be beaten militarily, but they can lose diplomatically. I see no reason why they shouldn't esculate their attacks in their own self-interest
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