by Adrian Gibson
Originally published in The Tribune, Friday, July 21, 2006 under the column title, Young Man’s View.
THE inequitable international policies of our neighbors to the North—the US—are becoming more transparent as Israel is allowed to unabatedly persist with its decimation of Lebanon under the pretext of self defense.
Since 1947, when the establishment of official borders gave Israel 56 per cent of Palestine, bloodshed has gripped the Middle East, and Israel has annexed further territories where it today holds nearly 80 per cent of these disputed territories—a direct contravention of the 1947 UN Resolution.
On June 25, 2006, the capture of an Israeli soldier at a Gaza checkpoint by the militant wing of Hamas began the initial Israeli attacks in Gaza. Then, on July 12, in a cross-border raid on the Lebanon-Israeli border, eight Israeli soldiers were killed and two more were abducted by Hezbollah militants. Israel responded to both incidents with brute, disproportionate force that has led to massive less of property and civilian lives.
In the case of Palestine, Hamas was democratically elected, yet in Israeli retaliations, it targeted these elected representatives. In a democratic nation, is it right for another country to bomb the government offices and ministries of democratically elected officials? Whilst Israel claims it is fighting to gain the release of its soldiers, hypocrisy reigns supreme as it has abducted elected Palestinian MP’s and Cabinet ministers with little international pressure to release them. And, it appears Uncle Sam simply condones such acts!
Democracies do not subjugate people. The US that claims to lobby for democracy refused to accept the will of the Palestinian people, so the same US that now claims to seek democracy in Iraq, disassociated from the new Palestinian government, lessened aid and joined Israel in freezing accounts.
Since Israel began bombing Lebanon more than a week ago, in reprisal for Hezbollah’s attacks, more than 500,000 persons have been displaced; over 300 Lebanese and close to 50 Israelis killed, with countless others injured and infrastructural damage has set Lebanon back another 50 years.
When Israel bombs and practically destroys a sovereign country because within it lives a group of militants, condemnation should have immediately followed. The US has again failed to do so.
Last week, Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano said that the Holy See (Pope) condemned “both the terrorist attacks on the one side and the military reprisals on the other”, stating that Isreal’s right to self-defense “does not exempt it from respecting the norms of international law, especially as regards the protection of civilian populations”.
Mr Sodano added “In particular, the (Pope) deplores the attack on Lebanon, a free and sovereign nation”.
Further, the US Catholic Council have argued that “the targeting of civilian infrastructure, which afflicts ordinary citizens long after hostilities have ceased, can amount to making war on noncombatants rather than against opposing armies”.
Indeed these arguments are correct. The current actions of Israel are in direct violation of international laws. I agree, the actions of Hezbollah were barbaric, rogue and provocative, but why should an entire country suffer?
Israel’s military operation has not been surgical, in fact, it appears that Israelis not just targeting Hezbollah, but also Lebanon’s official military (200 dead) and its basic civilian infrastructure. Bridges, ports, roads, oil and gas outlets, power stations and even Beirut airport have all been targeted.
Hezbollah is not the government of Lebanon nor is it supported by the majority of the Lebanese people. If America is to be the superpower it says it is, it should be evenhanded and intercede even when its “allies” are brutalizing another country, particularly one that played no role in the events that led to these hostilities. If the US is to establish itself in the Middle East, it must step in to spare the remnants of a burgeoning democracy, which also happens to be the home of the largest Middle Eastern Christian population.
I am aware that the US-Israeli relationship is reinforced by domestic political considerations, particularly as the Jews, like the Cubans in Florida, compose a powerful political lobby in Washington.
However, should pandering to political blocs be grounds for ole Uncle Sam to just sit by like a Cheshire cat and watch? What if a few Mexican hooligans/drug dealers launched missiles into US territory, would it result in an attack on Mexico, its army and its infrastructure and cause all of Mexico to suffer?
