THE NERVE...

What follows is a statement in rebuttal to a Corriere della Serra article that claimed the Lebanese PM had called for Hezbollah’s disarmament:

“What the prime minister said is that the international community has not given the Lebanese government an opportunity to deal with the problem of Hezbollah`s arms, since the continuing presence of the Israeli occupation of Shebaa Farms is the reason for the weapons' location."

The Lebanese PM has some nerve saying that. For years he was well aware of Hezbollah’s activities in his country. They are part of the government too. Now that the situation is the way it is, he finds a way to twist it around and blame the Israelis for not letting him take care of it. What should Israel do, sit and wait for more soldiers to be abducted, more civilians to be shelled? If Siniora wanted to/could do something about Hezbollah, it would already have happened. So far, he has not even mobilized Lebanese soldiers in order to contain the mess Hezbollah created. Shame on him for blaming others for his own shortcomings. Who told him to bow to terrorists and terrorist-sponsoring governments such as Syria and Iran?

Ever since this situation started, I have been having trouble adjusting to the news that Israel is once again seriously clashing with neighbors. I am sad and enraged at the same time, but I would like to make it clear that I fully support the Israeli incursion.

To those out there who condemn the Israelis, think about it: would the United States ever stand still if Canadians decided to abduct two soldiers from the border area? No. Would the Americans be delicate about it? Absolutely not.

Also, while I do think it is very unfortunate that Lebanese civilians are being killed in the conflict, I must say that this is nothing but a direct consequence of the Hezbollah ‘s disregard for the local civilian population. I say this because it is a well-known fact that Hezbollah bases itself out of residential enclaves, therefore endangering the entire population. The Israelis have the decency to warn the civilians about impending strikes and no one seems to notice that - when has the Hezbollah ever warned Israeli civilians before they shelled them? On the contrary, they bomb civilians, period. And ithey do so with full knowledge: in Israel, all military targets are nowhere near residential areas.

Furthermore, to those out there who think Israel is using excessive force: again, wrong. If that were the case, the Lebanese would be wiped out. Israelis, with their superior arsenal, are being ultra-careful to monitor their targets because they can and they want to do so (hence the leaflets warning of impending attacks).

Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued a warning that war crimes may have been committed in the conflict so far. Obviously she means by Israel (the day will come in which a UN official will say anything remotely sympathetic about Israel). Among other things, she said the following:

“The 1949 Geneva Conventions aimed to end attacks purely or mainly against civilians, a tactic used heavily in World War II. Article 51 of the First Protocol to the 1949 agreements states: 'The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack.'

Article 52 adds: 'Attacks shall be limited strictly to military objectives...' Therefore, there is a war crime if civilians are specifically attacked as civilians. However, it is different if they are killed as a result of a strike against a military or a "dual-use" target.

Precautions to minimise casualties should be taken and one argument is about whether such precautions have been sufficient. Indiscriminate attacks that target a wide area just to hit a few objectives or which hit military and civilian targets "without distinction" are outlawed by Article 51.

Israel however is not a party to the First Protocol though many experts and states say that this should apply in any case. And it remains a standard by which actions can be measured.”

Fine. Now why is it that the Hezbollah attacks solely on civilians are not being mentioned as possible war crimes? And what else does she want Israel to do prior to an attack? Apparently she does not think that going through the trouble (and danger) of dropping leaflets onto the target areas as a warning is enough. She probably would like to see the locals being lifted up to safety by the Israelis themselves before they initiate their offensive, eh?

When will people wake up? This is a war, even if a local one at this point (and let’s hope it remains this way). The Hezbollah apparently has no trouble killing as many Israelis as they can, even Arabs (their bombing of Nazareth, largely Arab, was interesting to say the least; two Arab boys died). I am sickened by the media approach to the conflict, and I am appalled to see some of the comments out there by people of all kinds, from UN officials to regular Joes. It is all pretty depressing, and if one has doubts, check out the BBC’s “Have your Say” website. These people are crazy for the most part.