July 30, 2006

Collateral Damage!


Since when does the willful killing of innocents become collateral damage?

The recent statements made by Israel after the Qana tragedy had me agape. Am I missing something here? How can you absolve yourself of the killing of 60 innocents, a third of who were children, simply because you warned them of your fatal attack by aerially distributing leaflets a day ahead of the bombing? What did Israel expect those Lebanese civilians to do, especially the economically underprivileged? Fleeing was not even an option given that the infra structure to do so has been inundated by unabated Israeli shelling in the past two weeks. Besides, these Lebanese were those left behind; striving just to keep alive in a location long abandoned by the rich and the privileged. They were virtually orphaned not just by virtue of the fact that they had lost their family during the attacks, but because the entire world, including elected humanitarian big wigs such as the UN, had abandoned them in this crisis. Without a national army to physically defend them, and deprived of any humanitarian aid, they became helpless victims of a faceless war. Faceless because there was no identifying the enemy! Is it the Hezbollah, labeled by the world as a terrorist organization, who has strategically woven themselves into the very fabric of the Lebanese society that now looks upon them as saviors? Or else is it Israel, their well-meaning neighbor that is only fighting the Hezbollah, and has no grudge against the Lebanese! The pathetic plight of these human shields, the Lebanese as of now, is a disgraceful and horrific consequence of a faceless war; the first of many our world will face in this era of terrorism initiated urban warfare.

10 comments:

Nandi23 said...

The very evil in man has reared his head!
Greed keeps feeding this evil that devours the innocent now.
I am keeping in mind your post on the UN before, you are right, the UN is governed mainly of the West.
What if this crisis had occured in this hemisphere? Would they still sit twidding their thumbs and playing the blame game before calling for an immediate ceasefire!

Anonymous said...

there is a way in which the world works. and in this we have some "selected rights and selected wrongs"...

so some killings are justfied even if it involves kids and women.

EXSENO said...

I think the US is purposely dragging there feet in order to let Israel do what they want to do without publicly admitting it.

Israel has always taken the side of the US, and I think the US will always take the side of Israel, right or wrong.

I can't blame Israel for standing up for theirselves, but enough is enough.I think the focus for all should be on the terrorist not on the innocent.

I feel that way about the Iraq situation too. I don't believe that if we tried harder that we couldn't find some way to put more hurt on the terrorist then we have in the past.

I don't know that much about Israel or it's people, but I do know that they have always been unbendable when backed against the wall.
I remember the 1972 Olympic games when assassins held all of the Israeli men hostage. Golda Meir was in office then, no man was ever tougher. She wouldn't give an inch to the terrorist and all of the men were killed. It was so heart breaking and devistated to all who were watching on TV. It was hard to believe what had just happened.
What I didn't know and was never really publized. I found out recently in a movie of all places, is that later Gola Mier found out where each one of these men involved in the killings where living. They were spread out in different countries and she brought together a band of assassins her own private ' best of the best' so to speak. They went to each and every one and killed them. She got her revenge.

What little bit I do know about the Israeli government, I wouldn't want to go against them. They're like the elephant they never forget and it's never over until they say it's over.

I think it's all terrible, I saw all of the children that were needlessly killed on the news yesturday, it's heartbreaking. Where does it stop.

Dr. Deb said...

I feel ill looking at and/or reading the news. Being informed on this and other issues is now hazardous to my mental health. Seriously hazardous.

Anonymous said...

israel is a highly divided state, where a fairly large portion of thepopulation dont want to go into a war, yet it is the ones who wants it, who rules the state.

and the role of the rest of the world is to sit back and watch and take their turns in condemning the event. the new world oreder

D said...

Two soldiers can never account for so many innocent lives. Israel is trying to create a buffer zone and the idea is well aided by US.
What choices are then left, when UN exist only for namesake? Except, that the ARAB world unite and prepare a nuclear bomb, call it, if you may an ISLAMIC BOMB. Perhaps a threat of total annihilation may deter any country from moving into a full scale war.
At the same time existence of a terrorist organisation, due to vacuum of a legitimate controlling authority in one country, cannot rationalise the threat to sovereignty of its neighbouring nation.
Perhaps, it is high time that the g-5 nations should put their act together and resolve this problem. For lowering the flag and saying some words of condolences, doesnt amount to any concrete action.

starry said...

I have to agree with Nandi..so true. The whole world is just sitting and watching while innocent lives are taken. I dont know what the UN is waiting for.

A.H. said...

It is a wrong-minded notion that "warning" excuses death. Suppose the London Bombers had warned of their actions. Would the whole of London have stopped using trains, underground, buses for that day? Of course not. Capitalism would not have permitted it. When the dead and the injured happened, would the UK have said, "You were warned and it was unfortunate, bad luck?" You put the matter strongly, id it is, where are the defenceless and abandoned supposed to escape to?

karmic said...

You said it well. I don't have much to add to it. Thsi will continue as long as the only country who can do something (US) is just going to watch. We clearly are not a honest broker.

EYE said...

if u haven't heard this already...UN is US