Sorry for the Spenglerian gloom. Hezbollah has set a trap, betting—seemingly correctly—that the West, while recognizing the trap, is all too willing to walk right into it. Does the West really want to provide convincing proof to the terrorists of the world that they can get their way by offering human sacrifices?
These pictures, obtained by the Australian Herald Sun, show Hezbollah using high-density residential areas as launch pads for rockets and heavy-calibre weapons. Dressed in civilian clothing so they can quickly disappear, the militants carrying automatic assault rifles and ride in on trucks mounted with cannon.
And to where do they disappear? Into the surrounding buildings, of course.
And what happens when the IDF locates a launching area? It’s bombed.
And who’s in the bombed buildings? Not only the ready-to-meet-their-maker Hezbollah terrorists, but also their sacrificial human shields. That way, the body count can be maximized and the media can discover that Israel has killed innocent women and children.
Which takes us to Qana.
From the New York Times:
- A series of Israeli airstrikes in this small mountain town today killed dozens of people in the deadliest single attack in the war here so far. At least 54 people were killed, with 37 of them children, news agencies reported . . . The Israeli government said in a statement on its Foreign Ministry Web site that the Israeli army attacked missile launch sites in the area of Qana, from where it said hundreds of missiles were launched towards the Israeli city of Nahariya and the communities in the western Galilee . . . The statement said that residents in Qana and the region had been warned several days in advance to leave the village.
The reaction to the Israeli airstrikes has been predictable:
LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER FOUAD SINIORA: “There is no place on this sad morning for any discussion other than an immediate and unconditional ceasefire as well as an international investigation into the Israeli massacres in Lebanon now … The persistence of Israel in its heinous crimes against our civilians will not break the will of the Lebanese people.”
US SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE: “I think it is time to get to a ceasefire … We actually have to try and put one in place … We have to try and do our work well so that there will not be more and more and more incidents over many, many more years.”
JORDAN’S KING ABDULLAH: “This criminal aggression is an ugly crime that has been committed by the Israeli forces in the city of Qana that is a gross violation of all international statutes.”
FRENCH PRESIDENT JACQUES CHIRAC: “France condemns this unjustified action which demonstrates more than ever the need for an immediate ceasefire without which there will only be other such incidents.”
HEZBOLLAH STATEMENT: “This horrific massacre (at Qana) will not go without a response.”
BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY MARGARET BECKETT: “It’s absolutely dreadful, it’s quite appalling. Undoubtedly today’s events will make things worse at least in the short term … We have repeatedly urged Israel to act proportionately.”
EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF JAVIER SOLANA: “I have talked to the Prime Minister of Lebanon … I have expressed to him my profound dismay and deep sorrow at the attack and the death of innocent civilians in Qana. Nothing can justify that.
SENIOR HAMAS LEGISLATOR MUSHIR AL-MASRI: “In the face of this open war against the Arab and Muslim nations all options are open, including striking the depth of the Zionist entity.”
IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN HAMID REZA ASEFI: “The Qana bombing is the outcome of (US Secretary State Condoleezza) Rice’s trip to the region. Some American officials should be put on trial for the crimes in Lebanon.”
POPE BENEDICT XVI: “In the name of God, I call on all those responsible for this spiral of violence so that weapons are immediately laid down on all sides.”
EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT HOSNI MUBARAK: “The Arab Republic of Egypt expresses its profound alarm and its condemnation of the irresponsible Israeli bombing of the Lebanese village of Qana, which resulted in innocent casualties, mostly women and children.”
ARAB LEAGUE SECRETARY-GENERAL AMR MOUSSA: “The attacks that Israeli forces are launching targeting civilians and the Lebanese infrastructure are another confirmation of Israeli aggressive intentions.”
Surely, world leaders understand the game that’s being played here. But, instead of condemning Hezbollah’s tactics, they condemn Israel’s response.
oh yeah, the entire world is mistaken. only the neo cons who thought the iraq war would be a good idea see the situation for what it really is. cuz people who support george bush are obviously pretty perceptive.
the qana massacre ten years, which the IDF similarly tried to make excuses for, was cited by bin laden numerous times. in fact. mohammed atta wrote his will the night after the massacre at qana. what will the fall out be for THIS one? how are american intersts being servedd by creating jihadist who can take advantage of our lame secuirty and massive unprotected borders?
Historical note: qana is where Jesus turned water into wine. we sure could use a miracle right now.
Mistaken indeed. Or perhaps, more accurately, under strong delusion, under moral inversion, wherein a tiny state surrounded by enemies all over is labeled an aggressor; wherein mosques are put under protection after one of their members murders Jewish women; wherein parents strive to teach their children that bullying is bad, but abstain from mocking Islam, and only Islam, for the sole reason that only the practitioners of Islam use violence to silence criticism.
Ah, always the standard Leftist “action X of ours made them hate us”, followed by a plea towards appeasement.
John 2:1: “And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there.” (from KJV; emphasis added)
We sure could use a Messiah right now to save us from Hizbullah, Adolfhitlerjad and all the rest.
Lester asks how our interests are being served by Israel’s actions.
I would rather destroy an existing terrorist network and take my chances with those that have yet to actualize, than have the fear of a potential threat stop me from taking care of a real one.
Lester,
Sometimes, the whole world is mistaken. Examples: the Holocaust, Rwanda, Darfur. Apologies for genocide come cheap. Preventing genocide takes moral clarity and a willingness to use that clarity as the basis for acting. Both are in short supply today; you are a perfect example.
Israel didn’t retaliate vis-a-vis Hamas in Gaza for weeks, and Hamas was firing rockets into civilian populations in Israel virtually from the day they took over in Gaza. Similarly, Hezbollah was firing missiles into civilian populations in northern Israel for weeks before Israel retaliated.
So Lester, can you link to so much as a single blog post or anything else you did during those weeks, prior to Israel retaliating, a blog post or something else you did to protest Hezbollah’s or Hamas’s firing of missiles into civilian populations in Israel?
If not, please explain.
Correction. It was days (not weeks) vis-a-vis the Hamas situation in the south of Israel. In the north, vis-a-vis Hezbollah, the latter initiated a military incursion into Israel, killing Israeli soldiers and kidnapping a couple as well. Israel retaliated, bombing the airport in Beirut and Hezbollah then began their rocket fire, from civilian centers and into civilian centers in Israel.
Still, both with Hamas and Hezbollah, their rocket fire has occurred from rockets based in civilian centers, into civilian centers in Israel.
Lester – You need to read this article but Hitches. Perhaps you will meet yourself there.
Accusations of anti-semitism bounce off these people. Everyone these days has seen ‘Schindler’s List’ and everyone knows that he is not like those horrible, mad Nazis. We are grown-up, enlightened, civilised people who don’t suffer from irrational bigotry of this kind. Of course we don’t want to send Jews to extermination camps, so we’re not anti-semitic.
Well, the dislike of Jews existed before the Nazis, and was quite respectable, often among intelligent people. It is in my view impossible to pretend that Shylock in ‘The Merchant of Venice’ or Fagin in ‘Oliver Twist’ are not classic anti-Jewish caricatures
You don’t dislike Jews, you just dislike Israel. Though how you can dislike Israel and still like Jews is a thorny problem. It reminds me of the old racist, “I don’t dislike blacks, I just don’t like the NAACP.” Or the ever present, “I have a lot of black friends..”
Hitchens calls this “Judophobia” and I think he is spot on.
And you fail to understand the cause of this war. Have you read UN Resolution 1559? Here are two important points.
Calls for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias;
Do you understand the meaning of “all?” It didn’t say everyone but Hezbollah, it said ALL.
And if the UN had enforced it, some 50 off children that died last night would be alive today.
Lester, it’s time for you to grow up and understand “cause and effect.”
Also, some absolutely critical history (small pdf).
I don’t see how Israel can win this. They only have kicked a hornet’s nest. Unless they kill every Muslims, very unlikely, they just created even more ‘terrorist’. good job. Just like USA did in Iraq, we now have a bigger mess than before.
IDF keeps claiming Hizbollah is hiding behind civilians, no DOH. did israel want hisbollah to stand out in the open w/ bulleye targets on it? get real. Also, same could be said about Israel. Many of the military and politicans of Israel are hiding in civilian cities. Maybe hizbollah is attacking the military there, but their weapons have the same issue, they ‘accidently’ kill civilians.
John,
Nice try with your second paragraph, but Hizbollah is deliberately targeting civilians and population centers.
John,
Neither do I. It’s like fighting with a straitjacket on.
Two points:
1. The politicians aren’t hiding, they live there. Only terrorist politicians (like Nasrallah) need to hide, because they constantly reject the offer of Land For Peace—witness how, after Gaza was evacuated, the Palis did not use the newly acquired land to build homes and cities and civilization (as would be expected from their incessant whining of “we have no homeland to live in!”), but instead opted to use said lands to fire rockets into territories internationally recognized to belong to Israel. “Land For Peace”, you may leave, “Land For Nothing”, you may enter.
2. The military doesn’t let civilians in its bases, and doesn’t do combat dressed in civvies. It’s a modern army with strict orders and codes, you know—not a guerilla mob with an end of Resistance® that justifies all means.
The Islamic enemy does not make a distinction between military and civilians for either of the sides. Only the Infidels, because of their Judeo-Christian heritage, make such a distinction, for both sides.
John,
Israel CAN win this; however, a combination of international pressure and domestic restraint (yes, restraint) prevents them from prosecuting a full-scale war. To my mind, the expectation of a “timed war” is without precedent in history.
As for the hornet’s nest analogy, you have your players reversed. Hizbullah, on behalf of Iran and Syria, “kicked the nest” when they crossed an internationally recognized border in order to kill and kidnap Israelis. The fact that those Israelis were soldiers made it an act of war (rather than “terrorism”) for which the sovereign government of the territory from whence they came – Lebanon – bears full accountability under traditional international law. UN Resolution 1559 adds further weight to this accountability.
Do you actually believe all Muslims, let alone all Arabs, constitute a united voice? Your comments here smack of a dearth of knowledge with respect to modern Middle East history and demography, methods of recruitment and indoctrination of terrorists, as well as the sources of the present violence in Iraq. Do yourself and your fellow posters a favor, and read Dr. Angelo Codevilla’s essay series as well as any number of articles by Reuel Marc Gerecht. Pick up some books by Fouad Ajami and Bernard Lewis. That ought to at least clear up the fog.
Equating the forced placement of non-combatants in areas which are sure to be targeted with legitimate stealth is as juvenile as the exclamation “no DOH.”
I shudder to imagine what leads someone to the warped moral logic that fails to distinguish a resident or worker in an Israeli city from members of a terrorist militia deliberately surrounding themselves with women and children at the site of a multi-rocket launcher, hoping to use the innocents as propaganda should the site – a legitimate military target – be hit by the IDF.
Hizbullah has stated its aim is to kill Israeli citizens indiscriminately, including women and children. Their use of Katyusha rockets is about as discriminant as you or I randomly dropping a cinder block off of a highway overpass at rush hour. Please explain to me what set of credible evidence or arguments demonstrates how or why Israel is deliberately targeting non-combatants. You won’t find any.
Guerillo
“Mistaken indeed. Or perhaps, more accurately, under strong delusion, under moral inversion, wherein a tiny state surrounded by enemies all over is labeled an aggressor; wherein mosques are put under protection after one of their members murders Jewish women; wherein parents strive to teach their children that bullying is bad, but abstain from mocking Islam, and only Islam, for the sole reason that only the practitioners of Islam use violence to silence criticism.”
who’spoint are you trying to make. Yes the middle east is not paradise. I don’t see where israel has made any effort to change that. the original zionists claimed they were going to impart their western knowledge and raise peoles property values. when is that gonna start? If you don’t like the nieghborhood move.
“how are american intersts being servedd by creating jihadist who can take advantage of our lame secuirty and massive unprotected borders?
Ah, always the standard Leftist “action X of ours made them hate usâ€, followed by a plea towards appeasement.”
It’s not appeasement. I’m not suggesting we give the muslims florida. I’m suggesting we stop being involved in their affairs as we would want any country to not be involved in ours. that’s called “imperialism” America is a republic not an empire.
ppjim- uI couldn’t care less if you want to accuse me of anti semetism or if the alcoholic gas bag chris hitchens does. I’m worried about MY SAFETY and avoiding avoidable international conflicts. I wouldn’t want to harm a hair on one israelis head, buit I’m not going to censor myself out of fear of 2% of the US population. Israel can and will be criticized.
“I would rather destroy an existing terrorist network and take my chances with those that have yet to actualize, than have the fear of a potential threat stop me from taking care of a real one.”
hezbollah is at about 87 precent support in lebanon and are huge rock stars in the arab world. You have taken ALL our chances and LOST.
I love this “oh israel can win, they’re just restriaining themsleves.” yeah it took alot of restrain to only bomb a family on a beach in gaza and not, I don’t know, set an orphanage on fire.
this is like when you ask communists about Mao or Stalin “oh that wasn’t communism, they changed it” no it IS communism because that’s what happens when you implement it. israel is not going to live in peace if they wipe out the rest of the neighborhood. Israel is a jewish Crusades that has been a mistake since day one and with the growth of modern islam, it’s no longer feasible. jews would be much safer virtually anywhere else in the world.
we can’t have another 9/11. sorry
Lester,
What is this other than appeasement of the rankest sort?:
“Israel [...] has been a mistake since day one and with the growth of modern islam, it’s no longer feasible. jews would be much safer virtually anywhere else in the world.”
Sorry for the coming Nazi analogy, but it is apt (I certainly don’t lump you in with them): If you were to replace Israel with Sudentenland, and Islam with Germany, you would have an example of how many would view your suggestion (at least the first sentance).
If I understand you, you’re arguing that because Israel’s neighbors will never stop attacking it, it’s time to pull the plug. This is a fine example of blaming the victim. Fairer and easier would be for Israel’s neighbors to get the message that no matter what, Israel will be there. That many Arabs and Muslims are living in denial shouldn’t mean that they are accomodated.
Also, I’m guessing you feel that modern Islam is incompatible with Israel. Do you also see it as incompatible with other nations? If so, what should these nations do? Where do you draw the line? America certainly seems to be incompatible with your view of modern Islam. Have you scouted out new shores, or is your advice just for others?
Lester,
Why is it Israel’s responsiblity to change people who don’t want to change? All the other side has to do is lay down its weapons. If Israel did so, it would be Holocaust II (G-d forbid).
When is that going to start? I don’t know, maybe you should ask the Palestinians who demolished the greenhouses donated them for their knowledge and welfare.
It is our land, we have none other. None other has G-d promised to us.
You mean you’re not suggesting we give the Muslims Florida now. But don’t you worry, Lester, they will demand it in due course, and you will give it to them under pain of intifada and Jihad and suicide bombings. Unless you (and that means of all you Left) do an about turn right now and stop trying to buy temporary peace from the Muslims like you were Anglo-Saxons paying Danegeld.
So careful not to be a monster that you (the Left) have disarmed yourselves out of capability of fighting the true monster: Islamic imperialism, or the dream of the Caliphate, which at the very least 15% (out of 1 billion) Muslims aspire to.
Of course. Such as in Seattle, for example.
I can’t believe it, but I agree with you here, Lester! Please think about it a little more—rethink the proper method of preventing it.
“who’spoint are you trying to make. Yes the middle east is not paradise. I don’t see where israel has made any effort to change that.” lester
Good grief, what a profound ignorance and myopia. One need only compare Israel now with how that region was prior to to formation of Israel. It’s been transformed in so many ways, all without any oil, that a veritable catalog of improvements could be noted.
By contrast, when Arafat was dieing, the “Palis” had not so much as a single hospital they could take him to, so he went to Paris instead.
you’re not convince me with whining and paranoia that allowing israel to wipe out lebanon is in americas interests. call it appeasement if you want. sticks and stones may brake my bones…
To all those who have tried to get Lester to change his views,
He’s hopeless. If it were the late 1930’s, I’m sure Lester would jump at Herr Goering’s invitation to visit Germany’s airplane production facilities and return to America with a defeatist, isolationist line. As did Lindbergh.
Lester, all you need to do to really follow in Lindbergh’s footsteps (other than getting a better command of the English language) is to fly a single-engine plane non-stop across the Atlantic and land in Paris. You’d probably like it better there. You could fraternize with the remnants of Vichy and their modern-day equivalents.
marc- if you haven’t noticed there is not a lot of repsect for neo conservatism these days. that you take a condescending tone with me is pretty silly. You support george bush. You think Sadadm hussein had WMD and was connected to al queda. you are not serious. Your whole blog is based on enouraging our government to take US tax dollars to interfere in the lives of muslims, a people you loathe and know almost nothing about. talk about a pre-9/11 mentality.
Lester,
The universe that you live is an interesting one. How’s the weather there? Do they serve carnitas tacos? How much does the beer cost?
tf6s- you support george bush.
Two men were captured,they are still drawing breath. Two of our brave men were captured,they were dumped in a ditch,torn to pieces while they were still alive,If given the sign,our men would have destroyed Bagdad and anyone they could find,they did not.this is the difference.What the Israiles are guilty of is MASS MURDER and moving the world on a fast track to WW3.
No Terry, the comparison would hold only if, in addition to the two men scenario, they were also firing rockets or missiles into the U.S. at the border, say into New Mexico, Arizona or California.
If they went after rocket sites in the south no problem,the airport, bridges,power plants, water plants,apartments in citys are not war targets unless,destroying the economy is your goal.their pr man shuld be fired anyway who fired the first shell,the men were grabed to secure the release of their men I doubt war was on anyones mind,the bombing of civilians is a war crime no matter who does it.
It still occurred on the border, protecting the borders, not on a war front thousands of miles from home. Additionally Hezbollah is continuing to do this – on the border – within an overall eliminationist strategy vis-a-vis Israel, an eliminationist strategy which is orchestrated with other, similar groups, hence, for example, they are proxies of Iran and Syria. The two situations are not comparable. Also, this began, in the north, with Hezbollah launching Kaytashu rockets into Israel, also with mortar attacks, which preceded the kidnappings. Again, have all that occur on the U.S. border (rockets and mortars, kidnappings, all within the scope or horizon of a broader, coordinated, eliminationist strategy, one which actually is threatening, and with the aid and abetting stemming from nearby state actors) and you’re going to have a very “interested” U.S. military and U.S. populace.
Terry,
It is a sign of how much time has passed since the last war that outside onlookers demand that the fighting be on luxury terms.
You would never have accepted such shi’ite from any outside onlooker when you were engaged in WWII.
Too, the history noted in post #8 in this thread is hugely relevant, absolutely pivotal to any sound comprehension of what is now occurring. I notice no one addressed it, indeed, I suspect folks like Lester, perhaps yourself as well Terry, positively avoided reading or addressing it.
To put it in far too simple terms, it’s all highly complex; but it’s also highly confused due to the PR/ideological/propaganda war – concerning which the well documented history in post #8 directly above serves to correct. Your concerns are not unwarranted, if tragedies can be avoided we certainly want to avoid them, but we can’t pretend the realities on the ground, including the relevant history, are other than they are. Sober assessments, yes; avoiding unnecessary tragedies, yes; but not at the price of imagining things are other than they are, not at the price of entertaining illusions.