Jacques HammelHizbollah’s Only Goal to Kill Civilians
Greetings from Northern Israel. We are all safe but very frustrated.
It appears that the Hizbollahs are very deeply entrenched in south Lebanon, having built underground bases up to a depth of 120 feet! The Air Force cannot do much about these, and only ground forces may be able to dislodge them.
We hate to think what would have happened if they had launched a surprise attack on Israel
In addition, they are equipped with tens of thousands of rockets and thousands of launchers. Until all of them are destroyed it may take quite some more time!
We suppose it was not for peaceful purposes that all that arsenal was being accumulated on Israel’s border. Our problem is that for humanitarian considerations, the IDF is conducting limited surgical operations in order to save “innocent lives”. We do not agree with that, as the other side is launching missiles on the whole North of Israel, with the only goal of killing civilians.
July 31st, 2006 at 10:55 am
As a person who considers herself a Zionist, believing that Israel is a State that must exist in this world, I am bewildered by the news we are receiving here in the U.S. about Hezbolla, and the Israelis. Israel is portrayed as an overreaching demon, killing innocents, especially children.
While, if this is true, I am shamed for these deaths. However, I must comment on the lack of condemnation of the radical Islamic groups who have been killing innocents in Israel since the origination of the State.
I believe that Anti Semitism against Jews is alive in the world,and thus colors the news reports in the media. I need to find a place that gives a more reasoned and less prejudicial view of this war.
July 31st, 2006 at 7:57 pm
It’s really quite simple - just look at the numbers: Somewhere around 600 dead, mostly Lebanese civilians - men, women, children. This is the stark reality of numbers - not anti-semitism. The Israelis have bombed a milk factory, a coastal lighthouse, and an oil tanker. The oil tanker sits in the mediterranean spewing oil into the harbor as we speak. It is being called the worst environmental disaster in that body of water in history.
Someone tell me the difference between the Israelis using weapons they KNOW will kill civilians - and Hezbollah firing rockets indiscriminately they KNOW will kill civilians. Surgical, yeah right. They’re both terrorists.
To recap (I’m wondering why I even have to spell it out for anybody) when you have a ratio of something like 10 Lebanese deaths for every Israeli death… well, that is disproportionate, and while an “overreaching demon” may be a tad overblown, it comes close to an apt description. Wake up! Collective punishment (the bombing of known non-Hezbollah areas, such as Christian neighborhoods, infrastructure, etc.) is obviously going to backfire. Nothing but death will come of Israel’s bombardment. Hezbollah will survive empowered, having bolstered their image around the Mideast. Even al Qaeda has endorsed joining Hezbollah in their fight with Israel - and they are two very different groups, one being Sunni and the other Shia.
Basically, Demdiva, I believe it’s beyond belief that you pull the anti-semitism card. Just own up to your belief that it bothers you that the media would dare to report Arab civilian deaths and treat their lives on an equal footing with Israeli civilians.
July 31st, 2006 at 10:53 pm
I can appreciate the concept of proportioanal response when beating up ones little brother.
But keep in mind Israel is a democracy and there are no such family ties.
Imagine for a second an avowed enemy started lobing rockets over the Wasatch Front into sugarhouse. You’re sitting on you back porch watching rockets landing all around you. (Hizbollah has launched thousands).
Can you honestly say, yes send in american-utah troops, but please try not to kill anyone. A week later, you’ve been in a bomb shelter the whole time, the missles continue to fall, freaking out your kids and pets.
What would you do? Lets be honest. You might still say becareful not to hit civilians, but you would be a tiny weenie minority.
August 1st, 2006 at 11:15 pm
Cliff,
Israel is a democracy - and I’m not telling them what to do. I’m telling my own government that I want nothing to do with something much worse than beating up someone else’s little brother.
Israel has launched thousands and thousands of missile strikes. They have flown more combat missions, fired more rockets, by far, than Hizbollah. It’s no wonder they have killed 10 times more civillians.
This is not MY war. OR your war. But that’s how it is being characterized by Washington neoconservatives, who wish to draw the US and Israel into a wider war with Iran and Syria - to complete their objectives that have not been reconsidered even since they were completely wrong on every issue concerning the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq.
Combined with the debacle that is the occupation of Iraq, we stand to lose all semblance of sanity in the Mideast if we continue to give a green light to Israel’s non-effective military strikes.
August 2nd, 2006 at 12:05 am
Hi Ruble, I fully agree with your criticism of this administration vis-Ã -vis Israel. Completely.
If the Bush administration had the least interest in peace over there, they probably could have prevented what’s going on now. But they don’t and they didn’t.
But what does that have to do with how Israel defends itself now? You said, “They have flown more combat missions, fired more rockets, by far, than Hizbollah. “?
I am baffled about how only Israel is expected to moderate their response to an attack designed to kill Israeli civilians.
Where is the precedent in the entirety of world history that a sovereign country in defense of it’s own civilians should limit its response in any way in the midst of continued attacks.
I mean, its no secret they could do far more damage than they have. They’ve given civilians ample notice to get out of the areas they’re bombing and yet Hezbollah continues to attack.
There’s no question the whole thing is sick and twisted, but how can you possibly ask anyone to “take it easy” when hundreds of rockets per day are being launched into Israeli suburbs. I don’t think Israel’s response is much affected by US foreign policy at this point.
You can certainly ask our Israeli authors (Jacques and Elisha) that question. They are both very thoughtful, honest, and intelligent men.
Just once, I’d like someone to say, “yes, I would limit my response to a sworn enemy launching hundreds of rockets into an area the size of Salt Lake Valley landing not far from my home and my kids school.”
I hate lots of things Israel has done for sure. As a people they are clearly divided, but when you’re under attack, you’re under attack, and larger political and ideological concerns will understandably take a back seat.
The whole things just sucks.
August 2nd, 2006 at 6:54 am
Yes, I would limit my response to a sworn enemy launching hundreds of rockets into an area the size of Salt Lake Valley landing not far from my home and my kids school.
Answering violence with violence is proving yet again to be futile. One side or another MUST find the vision and the courage to promote the use of compassionate, non-violent solutions to try to break this pathetic cycle of violence.
August 2nd, 2006 at 8:52 am
Don’t be stupid cliff, the arabs don’t have the targeting capability so they fire what they have. In ww2 no one had targeting ability accurately, so the civilians got hammered. It is war, and morality, and clearly sanity is out the window. It is childish of you to say the weapons target civilians, you admit yourself they are primitve. I’m sure hezbullah hopes they hit idf concentrations, if they hit civilians maybe the public outcry will cause israel to relent. I mean apart from incompetence is not the purposeful bombing of Qana designed to get the Lebanese to somehow control hezbullah in Lebanon?
Satan laughing spreads his wings…
August 2nd, 2006 at 12:45 pm
Cliff -
I see we do agree on many things - and I understand the angst and fear that would come along with indiscriminately launched Hezbollah missiles - a clear violation of Geneva conventions. My post was in response to the first post, by Demdiva, on this thread - who essentially accused the media of ascribing to much importance to Lebanese civilian dead in the name of anti-semitism.
Now, on this same site, there is a post titled “Hezbollywood,” filled with wild conspiracy theories about how international reporters worked with Hezbollah to pull off a hoax - bringing dead children to the area in refrigerated trucks to stage a photo op. This, with absolutely no evidence, just wild hearsay and confused statements by the Isrealis. This is completely callous and ridiculous.
Cliff, you continually use the word “limit” as if there are ONLY two options, each on the extreme end of each other - restraint and unrestraint. The Israelis are obviously backing themselves into a hard spot with these military strikes - failing to reduce Hezbollah’s rocket supplies, killing hundreds of civilians, taking many more casualties than they expected, and empowering Hezbollah instead of turning the populace against them. Even al Qaeda has declared their intent to support Hezbollah in their fight against the Israelis.
The Isrealis didn’t have to pick between restraint and unrestraint - they didn’t have to bomb milk factories, fleeing civilians, northern non-Hezbollah areas, oil tankers, lighthouses, bridges… essentially the whole of Lebanese civilian infrastructure. The Isrealis didn’t have to embark on a campaign of collective punishment and a campaign to empty S. Lebanon of ALL its inhabitants. Much of the western world was with the Israelis when this started, but soon withdrew their support when it was seen how far the Israelis were going. The Israelis have miscalculated badly - Lebanon’s democratic government has suffered a serious setback, the Arabs of the mideast have been further radicalized, and the US and Israel have just become that much more hated.
August 2nd, 2006 at 12:56 pm
Sorry, I understated the disproportionate response in my earlier posts - the ratio of civilians killed is around 30:1 - 30 Lebanese dead for every Israeli killed in the conflict. 600 civilian deaths in Lebanon, 19 civilian deaths in Israel as of yesterday. That is, unless you choose to believe that the Lebanese civilian deaths have all been staged “Hezbollywood” productions, and that “surgical” missile strikes, some up to 23 tons worth on a single target, couldn’t possibly kill civilians.