När jag har något att säga säjer jag det här, om jag inte säger det någon annanstans. Politik, mera om Asien än om Västvärlden eftersom jag ofta känner mej mindre främmande där. Sometimes English, sometimes Swedish depending on what kind of keyboard and my state of mind.

2006-08-29

Börjar det koka? SvD

Olmert och hans kabinett vägrar fortfarande titta ut genom fönstret för att se det växande antalet demonstranter mot honom. Israel är ju inte precis berömt för att ha långvariga regeringar, men han vill visst till varje pris bita sej kvar. Åtminstone har han inte som högsta prioritet att avfolka Västbanken längre, så på det sättet har Sommarlovskriget gjort nytta, och kanske på andra sätt också, förutom att snabba på regeringen Olmerts fall. Peretz' arbetarparti vill inte ta pengar de har lovat i socialbidrag till fattiga, för att försvara Israel, vilket har lett till brytning mellan dom och Olmers Kadima - en annan fördel.

Här i Sverige är livet som vanligt. Svenska Dagbladets diskussionsarea Brännpunkt vägrar ha några diskussioner - en kollega berättade om ett rekord, det hade tagit mindre än en minut för dess Sune Olofsson att läsa igenom en anti-terroristartikel och refusera den p.g.a. "platsbrist", samtidigt som de har den ena hata-Israelartikeln efter den andra. Deras Bitte Hammargren har krafsat ihop en snyftartikel om "araberna i Israel" genom att snacka ett par minuter med några av dem, och besluta att de har det fruktansvärt. Hon är helt ointresserad av den lättillgängliga statistiken om deras åsikter, helt ointresserad av att jämföra genomsnittsaraben i Israel med genomsnittsaraben på Västbanken, Gaza, Egypten, Libanon . . . . . . För att inte jämföra genomsnittsarabiska kvinnan i dessa områden, eller för den delen genomsnittsjuden.

Diverse judehatande organisationer som Amnesty International har skyfflat ut "rapporter" som beskyller Israel för det ena och det andra - till och med al Jazeera undrar hur idiotiska de kan bli. Human Rights Watch kör parallellspåret med judehat. Internationella media sväljer allt med hull och hår, utan någon som helst kritisk eftertanke.

Vår förnämliga utrikesminister, Eliasson tror jag han heter, var mäkta stolt över att ha totat ihop den nygamla variationen av FN:s Human Rights Organisation emot USA:s och Israels vilja, så den garanterat innehöll tillräckligt många länder som inte på något sätt uppehåller några mänskliga rättigheter för sin egen befolkning, och så att judehat blir en permanent egenskap därstädes. Från Wikipedia kan man hämta:

Position on Israel

The new UN Human Rights Council voted on 30 June 2006 to make a review of alleged human rights abuses by Israel a permanent feature of every council session. The Council’s special rapporteur on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is its only expert mandate with no year of expiry. The resolution, which was sponsored by Organization of the Islamic Conference, a block of Muslim countries, was passed by a vote of 29 to 12, with five abstentions. Israel, the United States and some human rights groups raised concerns about this revival of a practice of the UN's discredited former Commission on Human Rights[3].


Vad tycker libaneserna om aktionen i Libanon? Mycket varierande förstås, men en som nog talar för rätt många skriver såhär i en engelskspråkig tidning i Beirut.

En del tycker att Hezbollah är generösa som skänker bort packar med dollars till människor i södra Libanon för att bli älskade, andra har talat om allt som säger att de är hemmagjorda.



2006-08-17

Efter kriget?

Folkstormen i Israel börjar - med kommentarer från återvändande soldater som:

Many Israeli combat soldiers take a pretty dim view of their superiors and elected leaders

August 14, 2006, 10:20 PM (GMT+02:00)

Their views were freely expressed as the first groups exited Lebanon Monday with great relief after a ceasefire went into force

DEBKAfile summarizes some of their comments:

- The rear command did not know what was going on in the field.

- Some of their orders were suicidal. There were cases of officers and men agreeing to ignore such orders.

- Some of the tanks were ten years old and were confronted with an enemy armed with the most sophisticated, up-to-date equipment.

- Our training prior to being sent into battle was not adapted to the conditions we found in Lebanon.

- Their officers called Hizballah fighters terrorists or even primitive. This was a misleading misnomer. They are highly-trained, professional soldiers.

- Although we were better, Hizballah fought like lions.

- We had no food or water.

- Our entry into battle in Lebanon was belated.

- The troops were short of accurate intelligence.

- We were not prepared for combat against camouflaged bunkers.

- We had no information on the Hizballah’s anti-tank missile techniques.


Till och med det vänsterinriktade Ha'aretz, Israels Aftonbladet, skriver vettigheter och anklagar regeringen Olmert/Peretz som
A Spirit of Absolute Folly
Defense Minister: IDF didn't warn me of missile threat in the north
Dead man walking

Andra röster i frågan kan läsas på
Sellout
Why go to war if you don't intend to fight?

* * *




2006-08-14

Israel och folkrätten

Detta debattinlägg blev självklart omedelbart refuserat av Svenska Dagbladet.

Professor Bjereld har http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/brannpunkt/did_13430610.asp ett antal betänkliga luckor i sitt resonemang om Israel och folkrätten liksom utrikesminister Eliasson. Han har i dagarna sagt att Israel bryter mot ”andan” av FN-beslutet (ej tvingande), medan han är ointresserad av om Hizbollah gör motsvarande. Eliasson, som sitter på delad sits, var glad när han lyckades omskapa FN:s grupp för mänskliga rättigheter mot USA:s vilja, av många länder med skamfilat rykte i frågan – och gruppen har i huvudsak ägnat sig åt att fördöma Israel, inte Sudan och Darfur, inte Kina och Tibet, inte Ryssland och Tjetjenien, inte kvinnans ställning i muslimska länder. Cuba, Pakistan, Saudiarabien och Kina är med, men inte Israel. Därför är Israels brott ”välkända”.

UNESCO har judarnas heligaste plats, Tempelplatsen, på sin bevarandelista sedan 1982, men inte ett dugg har gjorts mot att muslimerna försöker hacka bort alla judiska lämningar från området. Vad hade FN sagt om judarna hade gjort motsvarande i Mecka (ej på världsarvslistan)?

Ordet demokrati bör nog läggas på is ett slag. Vad säger folkrätten om ett krig där den ena sidan har byggt skyddsrum för sin civilbefolkning men inte den andra? Vad säger den om ”demokratiska” val i en miljö som har haft flera generationers statlig och religiös hatpropaganda, till den grad att ungdomarna har förlorat självbevarelsedriften och mödrar villigt sänder sina barn i döden?

”Vägplanen” inleds med ett absolut stopp för denna hatpropaganda – den har intensifierats men EU/Sverige beivrar aldrig detta. I stället betalar EU skolböcker, fulla av hat mot Israel/judar, för palestinska barn.

Israel har översköljts av FN-resolutioner (jämför gärna med arabländerna) – men aldrig ett kapitel 7-beslut, vilket är de enda som är bindande. Däremot är San Remo-beslutet från 1922 folkrättsligt bindande, där hela Mandatet Palestina skulle utgöra ’judiskt folkhem’ medan den återstående 539/540-delen av Ottomanska Riket blev arabiskt.

Fram till 1967 existerade inga ”palestinska områden”, enbart områden illegalt ockuperade, av Jordanien och Egypten och ”palestinier” betydde fortfarande ”judar i Mellanöstern”. En 19-årig illegal ockupation av Jerusalem (förutom de judiska förstäder som började byggas för drygt 100 år sedan) kan knappast bestämma stadens hela framtid. Judarna hade accepterat staden som internationell, ingen protesterade under Jordaniens ockupation, men när Israel åter förenade sin huvudstad sedan 3000 år, under försvarskrig, blev det full kalabalik. Övrig legal ockupation försökte Israel förhandla bort med Arafat, utan resultat. Gaza lämnades helt och hållet – under ansvar – och vi vet hur väl araberna vårdar området. Konstigt att de har råd med enorma mängder dyra vapen men ej mat.

Ockupationen av Golanhöjderna är ett problem, visst, eftersom 80 kvadratkm köptes av Edmond Rothschild 1892 och gavs till den judiska staten några decennier senare av hans son.

Tortyren i arabiska fängelser vill vi gärna höra mera om. Liksom vilka förhörsmetoder som kan vara lämpliga med människor som har varit beredda att offra sina liv för att mörda så många civilpersoner som möjligt, när informationen kan förhindra ytterligare massmord.

Antag att världens ”judeproblem” måste lösas efter andra världskriget – dels återstoden från Europa (fortfarande finns färre judar än före Hitler) och alla från Arabländerna, vilket var ännu flera. Antag att UNHCR fick hand om problemet – de har framgångsrikt omplacerat 50 miljoner (10 gånger Israels folkmängd) som ej har flyktingstatus längre. Placerade i länder med samma kultur, religion, språk och inte mitt i en öken. Israel är då enda möjligheten. Detta skedde nu utan att världen behövde betala en enda krona till UNHCR, placering i vad som 1922 bestämdes skulle vara ’judiskt hemland’.

Tvåstatslösning? Ja, Israel och Jordanien. De mellanliggande områdena har varken visat intresse eller förmåga att skapa en ekonomiskt livskraftig stat, utan det är västvärlden som har försökt tvinga det på dem. Israel började bygga sin första kibbutz och stat för ca 100 år sedan, palestinaaraberna har inte börjat än – och ingen vågar ge dem lån för uppbyggnad.

Till syvende och sist gäller det judarnas överlevnad. Som Irans ledare sa: ”Bra att judarna samlas i Israel för då kan vi avliva dem med en eller två atombomber. Om de svarar med en atombomb försvinner bara några miljoner av oss, en droppe i havet.” Tänk om världssamfundet hade varit lika intresserat av att få stopp på Irans atombombsproduktion som av Israels försök att avväpna en terroristgrupp!

* * *

2006-08-12

"Prime Minister of Israel, am speaking to you from Jerusalem"

Om du söker på ovanstående rubrik, inklusive citationstecken, får du hundratalet hits på ett tal av Olmert. Det hade varit intressant att försöka klassificera reaktionerna. "Se hur bra han är!" "Äntligen har han lärt sej!" "Näääää, nåt är fel." och de som förklarar att det är från Ma'ariv, ett stycke som skrevs - vad som Olmert borde ha sagt. http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/olmert.asp

Vad han verkligen säger: tja . . . .

. . . . .

OLMERT TODAY devotes his attention not to addressing the question of how Israel can win this war, but rather to how he can convince the Israeli public that he is not a failure. And he is not alone. Over the past week or so the main push of the Olmert government, the IDF General Staff and the left-wing establishment in Israel has been to prepare the public to accept their version of events.

. . . . . .

* * *

2006-08-08

Media ljuger om Libanon. Reuters, CNN, BBC . . .

Reuters admits to more image manipulation

News organization withdraws photograph of Israeli fighter jet, admits image was doctored, fires photographer. Reuters pledges 'tighter editing procedure for images of the Middle East conflict'
Yaakov Lappin

Reuters has withdrawn a second photograph and admitted that the image was doctored, following the emergence of new suspicions against images provided by the news organization. On Sunday, Reuters admitted that one of its photographers, Adnan Hajj, used software to distort an image of smoke billowing from buildings in Beirut in order to create the effect of more smoke and damage.

The latest image to face doubts is a photograph of an Israeli F-16 fighter jet over the skies of Lebanon, seen in the image firing off "missiles during an air strike on Nabatiyeh," according to the image's accompanying text provided by Reuters.

Reuters admits to more image manipulation

News organization withdraws photograph of Israeli fighter jet, admits image was doctored, fires photographer. Reuters pledges 'tighter editing procedure for images of the Middle East conflict'
Yaakov Lappin

Reuters has withdrawn a second photograph and admitted that the image was doctored, following the emergence of new suspicions against images provided by the news organization. On Sunday, Reuters admitted that one of its photographers, Adnan Hajj, used software to distort an image of smoke billowing from buildings in Beirut in order to create the effect of more smoke and damage.

The latest image to face doubts is a photograph of an Israeli F-16 fighter jet over the skies of Lebanon, seen in the image firing off "missiles during an air strike on Nabatiyeh," according to the image's accompanying text provided by Reuters.



Reuters has recalled all photos by Adnan Hajj

The owner of the My Pet Jawa web log noted that the warplane in the picture is actually firing defensive flares aimed at dealing with anti-aircraft missiles.

In addition, the Jawa blog says the flares have been replicated by Reuters, giving the impression that the jet was firing many "missiles," thereby distortion the image.

"The F-16 in the photo is not firing missiles, but is rather dropping chaffe or flares designed to be a decoy for surface to air missiles. However, a close up (of) what Hajj calls "missiles" reveals that only one flare has been dropped. The other two "flares" are simply copies of the original," Shackleford wrote. "But what about the 'bombs' in the photo? Here is a close up of them. Notice anything? That's right. The top and bottom "bomb" are the same."



Another manipuated Reuters image

Following the accusations, Reuters conceded that a second image it provided had been manipulated, and released a statement saying it had recalled all photos by Hajj. "Reuters has withdrawn from its database all photographs taken by Beirut-based freelance Adnan Hajj after establishing that he had altered two images since the start of the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese Hizbullah group," the statement said.

The news outlet said that it discovered "in the last 24 hours that he (Hajj) altered two photographs since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese group Hizbullah," Reuters added.

"There is no graver breach of Reuters standards for our photographers than the deliberate manipulation of an image", Reuters' statement quoted Tom Szlukovenyi, Reuters Global Picture Editor, as saying.

'Tighter editing needed'

Reuters also said it would apply "tighter editing procedure for images of the Middle East conflict to ensure that no photograph from the region would be transmitted to subscribers without review by the most senior editor on the Reuters Global Pictures Desk."

"Reuters terminated its relationship with Hajj on Sunday... An immediate enquiry began into Hajj's other work," the statement said.

Hajj had provided Reuters with several images from the Lebanese village of Qana, many of which have also been suspected of being staged .

Other Reuters images have been called into question by blogs in the United States.

A reader of the Power Line blog , Robert Opalecky, wrote: "I don't know if this has been brought to anyone's attention yet, but in a quick search of the authenticated Reuters photographs attributed to Adnan Hajj, I found the following two."



The first Reuters image of July 24

"One is from July 24 of a bombed out area in Beirut, with a clearly identifiable building in a prominent part of the shot. The second is of the exact same area, same buildings, same condition, with a woman walking past "a building flattened during an overnight Israeli air raid on Beirut's suburbs August 5, 2006," he wrote.



Reuters' second 'Beirut attack' photo, dated August 5

A film released on the YouTube video sharing website compares the two images, and appears to show striking similarities between the photograph used by Reuters on both July 24 and August 5.

However, Reuters needs to explain clearly to the public several critical issues:

  1. Why did a Reuters photographer manipulate the images to make the damage look more severe than it was;
  2. How could Reuters editors not catch the fraud when a blogger and a group of amateur photographers noticed it easily;
  3. What steps is Reuters taking to punish all those involved in the creation and distribution of this forgery and what Reuters is doing to prevent these hoaxes in the future.

A CNN MAN LETS SLIP
"CNN senior international correspondent" Nic Robertson admitted that his anti-Israel report from Beirut on July 18 about civilian casualties in Lebanon, was stage-managed from start to finish by Hizbullah. He revealed that his story was heavily influenced by Hizbullah's "press officer" and that Hizbullah have "very, very sophisticated and slick media operations."
When pressed a few days later about his reporting on the CNN program "Reliable Sources," Robertson acknowledged that Hizbullah militants had instructed the CNN camera team where and what to film. Hizbullah "had control of the situation," Robertson said. "They designated the places that we went to, and we certainly didn't have time to go into the houses or lift up the rubble to see what was underneath."
Robertson added that Hizbullah has "very, very good control over its areas in the south of Beirut. They deny journalists access into those areas. You don't get in there without their permission. We didn't have enough time to see if perhaps there was somebody there who was, you know, a taxi driver by day, and a Hizbullah fighter by night."
Yet "Reliable Sources," presented by Washington Post writer Howard Kurtz, is broadcast only on the American version of CNN. So CNN International viewers around the world will not have had the opportunity to learn from CNN's "Senior international correspondent" that the pictures they saw from Beirut were carefully selected for them by Hizbullah.
Another journalist let the cat out of the bag last week. Writing on his blog while reporting from southern Lebanon, Time magazine contributor Christopher Allbritton, casually mentioned in the middle of a posting: "To the south, along the curve of the coast, Hezbollah is launching Katyushas, but I'm loathe to say too much about them. The Party of God has a copy of every journalist's passport, and they've already hassled a number of us and threatened one."
Robertson is not the only foreign journalist to have misled viewers with selected footage from Beirut. NBC's Richard Engel, CBS's Elizabeth Palmer, and a host of European and other networks, were also taken around the damaged areas by Hizbullah minders. Palmer commented on her report that "Hizbullah is also determined that outsiders will only see what it wants them to see."
Palmer's honesty is helpful. But it doesn't prevent the damage being done by organizations such as the BBC. First the BBC gave the impression that Israel had flattened the greater part of Beirut. Then to follow up its lop-sided coverage, its website helpfully carried full details of the assembly points for an anti-Israel march due to take place in London, but did not give any details for a rally in support of Israel also held in London a short time later.

Following an Israeli Air Force strike against a building in the village of Qana, Israel is once again subject to some severe criticism in the international media. TV viewers and newspaper readers have been confronted with highly emotive and disturbing images of bodies being pulled from the rubble.
Undoubtedly, the loss of life is extremely tragic and the vast majority of Israelis deeply regrets this incident. However, while some media wishes to portray Israel as a malevolent force that deliberately murders civilians, some wider context needs to be added to the coverage of the Qana story:

  • Some 150 rockets have been fired at Israeli cities from Qana over the past three weeks. This IDF map traces how these rockets have been launched in 30 salvos at Haifa and other locations, including Nahariya, Ma'alot and Kiryat Shmona. To date, 18 Israeli civilians have been killed and hundreds wounded as a result of this rocket fire.
  • Hezbollah has been deliberately hiding behind and operating from within civilian areas in the knowledge that Israel does not deliberately target civilians. Thus, when an incident such as Qana occurs, Hezbollah is presented with a propaganda coup, as is currently the case. Indeed, Australia's Herald Sun published damning photos "showing that Hezbollah is waging war amid suburbia. The images...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."

As the Washington Times points out:
One photograph depicts a fighter with an AK-47 rifle guarding "no-go" zones after an Israeli attack, and another with a group of men and youths preparing to fire an anti-aircraft gun in an apartment block, with sheets hanging out to dry on a balcony. Another shows the remnants of a Hezbollah Katyusha rocket in the middle of a residential block destroyed in an Israeli airstrike. An Australian was standing just down the street when the block was obliterated. "Hezbollah came in to launch their rockets, then within minutes the area was blasted by Israeli jets," he said. "Until the Hezbollah fighters arrived, it had not been touched by the Israelis. Then, it was totally devastated...It was carnage. Two innocent people died in that incident, but it was so lucky it was not more."

  • While Israeli civilians in northern towns and cities have between 15 seconds and one minute to find cover after an air raid siren is sounded, Lebanese civilians have been forewarned of IDF operations, in some cases, by days. The residents of Qana were warned 48 hours in advance of potential IAF air strikes.

DOUBLE STANDARDS
The Qana incident is likely to be a defining incident in this current conflict, aided by a media that lacks context and prefers to judge Israel by different standards to other nations involved in military actions. It is, for example, interesting to examine the record of NATO forces that bombed the Serb military in Kosovo in the late-1990s. In the face of an estimated 500 civilian deaths, NATO admits that: "Strikes were also complicated by the cynical Serb use of civilian homes and buildings to hide weapons and vehicles, the intermixing of military vehicles with civilian convoys and, sometimes, the use of human shields. In this way, NATO's concern to avoid civilian casualties was exploited by the Serbs."
EMERGING DOUBTS?
In past incidents such as the Mohammed Al-Dura affair, the "Jenin Massacre" and the Gaza Beach deaths, Israel has been castigated by the international media only for new evidence to emerge that has changed the nature of the story. While it is still too early to draw any conclusions before the results of any official investigation are known, there are a number of questions and inconsistencies regarding Qana:

  • The Red Cross has published that 28 corpses were evacuated from Qana, 19 of which were children. These figures clash with the Lebanese report that 57 people were killed.
  • Why is there an unexplained 7-8 hour gap between the time of the air strike and the building collapse? Initially the IDF speculated that Hezbollah explosives in the building were behind the explosion that caused the collapse. Another possibility is that the rickety building remained standing for a few hours, but eventually collapsed. "It could be that inside the building, things that could eventually cause an explosion were being housed, things that we could not blow up in the attack, and maybe remained there, IDF Brigadier General Eshel said. "I'm saying this very carefully, because at this time I don't have a clue as to what the explanation could be for this gap," he added.

2006-08-04

UNIFIL. Mänskliga sköldar. Yaalon. Olmert vill underlätta för terroristerna att attackera Israel med en bredsida.

Detta gick just som insändare till tidningar:

Vi minns hur hela världen inklusive Kofi Annan anklagade Israel när en missil från dem oavsiktligen landade nära en UNIFIL-position. Varför har nedanstående varit ointressant att rapportera?

Från UNIFILs websajt, http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/unifilpress.htm

Aug. 4: ”… Hezbollah avlossade raketer från närheten av två FN-poster...”

Aug. 3: “En raket från Hezbollasidan träffade direkt en UNIFIL-post … En halvtimme senare träffade ytterligare en raket från Hezbollahsidan samma UNIFIL-post… Hezbollah sköt också med mindre vapen från närheten av två FN-poster …”

Aug. 2: “… Hezbollah avlossade raketer från närheten av tre UNIFIL-poster …”

Aug. 1: “… Hezbollah sköt med granatkastare från närheten av tre UNIFIL-poster …”

Juli 31: “. . . Hezbollah avlossade raketer från närheten av denna UNIFIL-post . . . Hezbollah sköt också med mindre vapen från närheten av två UNIFIL-poster …”

Juli 30: “Det rapporterades att Hezbollah sände raketer från närheten av tre FN-poster… De avlossade även mindre vapen från närheten av två FN-poster …”

Juli 29: “… det rapporterades att Hezbollah fired sköt från närheten av sex FN-poster …”

Juli 28: “… Hezbollah sköt från närheten av fem FN-poster …”

Och så vidare. Visst har massmedia flitigt rapporterat om detta intima samarbete mellan FN och Hezbollah huh? Ett UNIFIL som precis har fått hundra miljoner fräscha dollars för det kommande året, att göra – vad då? Dricka kaffe med Hezbollah? Eller finns rapporterna om 15000 importerade missiler i Kofi Annans papperskorgar? Vad är säkerhetsavståndet mellan UNIFIL-post och terroristläger?

* * *

Från http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/lazer_beams/2006/07/emuna_news_spec_7.html
hämtar jag följande:

I nästan 30 år, sedan UNIFIL startade sina operationer i södra Libanon, har FN-soldater judiskt blod på sina händer. Nej, de har inte avlossat skotten men de har förvisso gjort vad de har kunnat för att hjälpa Israels fiender. Som:

  • UNIFIL-observatörer har ofta avslöjat IDF:s (Israels Försvarsmakt) positioner för terroristerna;
  • UNIFIL-observatörer, glada över att öka sina begränsade löner med tjocka buntar med dollars från iranska källor, har ofta hjälpt Hizbollaterristerna som artilleriobservatörer att rikta terroristeld mot Israel;
  • UNIFIL-observatörer har de senastre 6 åren blundat för den massiva konstruktionen av bunkers i södra Libanon liksom för den massiva upplagringen av dödliga vapen att använda mot Israel;
  • UNIFIL-observatörer lämnar fri passage åt terroristerna för att attackera eller infiltrera Israel och bygger även upp broar åt dem sprängda av Israel för att försvåra transport av ytterligare vapen från Syrien;
  • UNIFIL-observatörer håller terroristerna uppdaterade angående IDFs trupprörelser och aktiviteter.


* * *

I Washington Post skriver Yaalon om det vansinniga i Hizbollahs utnyttjande av civilbefolkningen som mänskliga sköldar:

The Rules of War

By Moshe Yaalon
Thursday, August 3, 2006; A27

The conflict in the Middle East is about much more than Israel and Hezbollah, or even Hezbollah's Syrian and Iranian sponsors. What is at stake are the very rules of war that underpin the entire international order.

Sadly, judging from how most of the world has responded to Israel's military action against Hezbollah, these rules have been completely abandoned.

The rules of war boil down to one central principle: the need to distinguish combatants from noncombatants. Those who condemned Israel for what happened at Qana, rather than placing the blame for this unfortunate tragedy squarely on Hezbollah and its state sponsors, have rewarded those for whom this moral principle is meaningless and have condemned a state in which this principle has always guided military and political decision making.

Faced with enemies who openly call for its destruction and victimized by unremitting wars and terrorism since well before it was born, Israel has risked the lives of its citizens and its soldiers to abide by this principle in a way that is unprecedented in the history of nations.

Here is but one of countless examples: In 2003, at the height of the Palestinian terror war against Israel, our intelligence services discovered the location of a meeting of the senior leadership of Hamas, an organization pledged to the annihilation of the Jewish state and responsible for some of the deadliest terrorist attacks ever carried out against Israel.

We knew that a one-ton bomb would destroy the three-story building and kill the Hamas leadership. But we also knew that such a bomb would endanger about 40 families who lived in the vicinity. We decided to use a smaller bomb that would destroy only the top floor of the building. As it turned out, the Hamas leaders were meeting on the ground floor. They lived to terrorize another day.

Imagine for a moment that the United States had advance knowledge of the meeting place of al-Qaeda's senior leadership. Does anyone believe that there would be a debate about what size bomb to use, much less that any leader would authorize insufficient force to do the job?

So while it is legitimate to question whether Israel should go to such extreme lengths to avoid civilian casualties, it is preposterous to argue that Israel uses excessive force. Even more absurd was the shameful statement last week that Israel appeared to have deliberately targeted U.N. officials -- a statement fit for a knave or a fool, not for the secretary general of the United Nations. Rather than lead the fight against those who target civilians and use them as human shields, Secretary General Kofi Annan has strengthened them.

It is clear to any objective observer that Hezbollah is using Lebanese civilians as human shields. It builds its headquarters in densely populated areas, embeds its fighters in towns and villages, and deliberately places missiles in private homes, even constructing additions to existing structures specifically to house missile launchers.

The reason terrorist groups such as Hezbollah use human shields is elementary. They try to exploit the respect for innocent human life that is the hallmark of any civilized society to place that society in a no-win situation. If it fails to respond to terror attacks, it endangers its own citizens. If it responds, it runs the risk of killing innocents, earning world opprobrium and inviting diplomatic pressure to stand down.

Hoping to retain its high moral standards in the face of such a cynical enemy, Israel has made every effort to avoid harming civilians. We have dropped fliers, sent telephone messages and broadcast radio announcements so that innocents can get out of harm's way. In doing so, we imperil our own citizens since, by losing the element of surprise, we invariably allow some of the enemy to escape with their missiles.

But at Qana, Hezbollah responded to Israel's compassion with more cynical brutality. After launching missiles at Israel, the terrorists rushed inside a building. When Israel fired a precision-guided missile to strike at the terrorists, scores of civilians, including children, were killed.

The difference between us and the terrorists is clear: We endanger ourselves to protect their civilians. They endanger their own civilians to protect themselves.

If tragedies such as Qana are not to be repeated, then, rather than condemning Israel, the world should be directing its anger at Hezbollah and at the Syrian and Iranian regimes that support it.

Terrorists are fanatics, but they are not idiots. If the terrorist tactic of using human shields helps them achieve their goals, they will utilize it. If it undermines their goals, they will abandon it.

If we want to live in a world where civilians are never used as human shields, then we must create a world in which employing such measures results in the unequivocal condemnation of terrorists and in forceful action against them by the civilized world.

If the world were now blaming Hezbollah, Syria and Iran for the innocent Lebanese killed, hurt or displaced in this conflict, then it would be sending a powerful message to every terrorist group on the planet: We will not tolerate the use of human shields. Period.

Instead, those who condemn Israel have sent precisely the opposite message. They have told every terrorist group around the world that the use of human shields will pay huge dividends, thereby providing them with a powerful weapon that endangers innocents everywhere.

The writer, a retired lieutenant general, was chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 2002 to 2005. He is now a distinguished military fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

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Ya'alon har alltid haft sunda åsikter, och det var därför Sharon/Mofaz slängde ut honom. Här ett stycke från honom före massdeporteringen av judar i fjol:

Tuesday, April 19, 2005 / 10 Nisan 5765

Speaking in Herzliya last night, outgoing Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon said, "Immediately after the disengagement, we can expect a burst of terrorism - especially in Judea and Samaria."

"The Israeli public must not think that the Mashiach (Messiah) is arriving with the withdrawal," Yaalon said, at the Army and Society Seminar.

Yaalon was one of the first to warn of the dangers of the disengagement, having said over a year ago that the withdrawal would provide a "tail wind" for terrorism. It is widely felt that this statement is one of the reasons why Prime Minister Sharon and Defense Minister Mofaz did not allow him to remain in his post for a fourth year, as is customary. Yaalon's term as head of the IDF will end in June.

"All the signs point to [a renewal of terrorism]," Yaalon said last night, referring to intelligence reports reaching the security forces. The reports speak not only of the terrorists' massive preparations for the "day after," but also of the sharp increase in terrorism in recent days and weeks.

Yesterday, for instance, two Israelis were wounded in a sniper attack in southern Gaza, while last night, there were two infiltration attempts in Gaza and another shooting attack at Gush Katif.

Yaalon demanded that Israel insist that Abu Mazen fight concretely against the terrorist organizations. Abu Mazen's attempts to peacefully accommodate the terrorists without forcefully disarming them are not sufficient, Yaalon apparently feels.

Thousands of weapons have been smuggled to various locations in Judea and Samaria over the past several weeks and months. Among the weapons are anti-tank missiles and even five anti-aircraft missiles that could be used to threaten air traffic to and from Ben Gurion International Airport. Materials and instructions for the construction of roadside bombs and other explosives have also been smuggled in.

Other signs of likely terrorism in the future are attempted Kassam rockets from the Jenin area to Afula, distribution of Jordanian weapons in Jericho, attempts to smuggle terror experts from Gaza to Judea/Samaria, and more.

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Jämför med det helt otroliga Olmert/Peretzparet. Samtidigt som de vägrar låta IDF göra sitt bästa för att försvara Israel håller de på att planera så att terroristerna kan attackera HELA Israel med en bredsida och inte enbart kortändarna:

Olmert Says War Will Advance Realignment, Refusals Result
11:23 Aug 03, '06 / 9 Av 5766
by Yechiel Spira and Ezra HaLevi


As a result of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's declaration that victory in the Lebanese war would advance his withdrawal plan, ten reserve soldiers have announced their refusal to fight.


For the past several months, Olmert has championed his "convergence" plan, which is in essence another unilateral withdrawal and the planned destruction of most of the remaining Jewish communities located throughout Judea and Samaria. Olmert has said he will "converge" them together into settlement blocs, but the international community has not agreed to this.

Speaking with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Prime Minister Olmert said, "I'll surprise you. I genuinely believe that the outcome of the present [conflict] and the emergence of a new order that will provide more stability and will defeat the forces of terror will help create the necessary environment that will allow me... to create a new momentum between us and the Palestinians."

"We want to separate from the Palestinians," he added. "I'm ready to do it. I'm ready to cope with these demands. It's not easy, it's very difficult, but we are elected to our positions to do things and not to sit idle."

Word of Olmert's statements quickly spread through the ranks of the IDF units fighting in Lebanon. Army Radio featured a father from Ofrah, one of the communities slated for destruction due to its proximity on the "other" side of the Partition Wall. "I text-messaged my two sons serving in Lebanon to tell them to come home," he said. "It is outrageous that the man sending them to war states that the victory they are risking their lives for will result in their family being expelled from their home, allowing it to become exactly what Gaza and southern Lebanon have become."

Shortly after, it was reported that at least ten reservists had refused to continue their emergency reserve duty if further withdrawals are truly the goal of the operation.

Olmert's public relations team later insisted that the war with Hizbullah has nothing to do with his plan, stating his planned ‘realignment’ must move forward as he promised it would prior to being elected.

Among the critics of Olmert’s plan is MK Dr. Yossi Beilin, who heads the left-wing Meretz-Yahad opposition party. Beilin stated there can be no additional unilateral Israeli policies, only withdrawals resulting from negotiations and agreements. His remarks were echoed by Arab MK Mohammad Barakeh.

Likud MK Gidon Sa’ar stated that the so-called realignment plan would bring the rockets to fall upon the entire country, and not the just the north and south as is the case today.

MK Dr. Ephraim Sneh (Labor), a former deputy defense minister, stated that it is obvious from the prime minister’s remarks that he has learned nothing from the unilateral withdrawals from Gaza and southern Lebanon.

The prime minister currently enjoys widespread support for his ongoing effort to destroy Hizbullah. Some critics are accusing the prime minister of taking advantage of his popularity to advance his political agenda, explaining he has made an error since he is splitting the nation at this critical time.

MK Effie Eitam (National Union-NRP), a retired IDF brigadier-general and former commander of forces in southern Lebanon, has been advising the prime minister and Defense Minister Amir Peretz frequently since the war broke out over three weeks ago. Eitam was quick to comment on Olmert’s AP interview, stating he made a tactical error, splitting the nation at this critical time.

Eitam told the media that following the prime minister’s interview, he was contacted by many rabbis and deans of IDF preparatory yeshiva programs, all expressing concerns regarding the timing of the prime minister’s remarks as the nation is in a state of war.

Realizing Eitam was the unofficial liaison to the Orthodox community that supports Olmert during the ongoing Hizbullah war, the Prime Minister’s Office was quick to contact him, seeking to implement damage control. Aides to the prime minister quickly issued a clarification, stating the realignment was not intended to have been the main focus of the AP interview.

Asking Eitam to convey a message to the Torah-observant public, the prime minister announced that at present, he is only dealing with efforts to halt rocket attacks, nothing else.

The prime minister’s interview broke the current momentum, with rabbis and other right-wing community leaders calling to reevaluate the war in the north, explaining it is unconscionable that soldiers living in Judea and Samaria fight for the country and then be evicted from their homes by the same army.

Eitam was called upon by Olmert to act as a go-between, seeking to allay fears and repair the damage resulting from his interview.

Eitam told the media that following a conversation with the prime minister, it is clear to him that the realignment/expulsion would not be dealt with at present. Eitam admits that the plan will be problematic at some time in the future, after the war, but for now, the nation must remain united behind the government while efforts continue to eliminate the Hizbullah threat.

Wednesday night, at a gathering of some 15,000 Jews who marched around Jerusalem's Old City at the fast of Tisha B'Av began, Women in Green co-founder Nadia Matar called upon all those present to bring their children home from the war front in order to defend their homes in Judea and Samaria, unless Olmert announces the cancellation of his plan.

Manhigut Yehudit, the Jewish Leadership faction within the Likud, was calling for refusal even prior to PM Olmert's explicit statements, saying it was obvious that the war's goal is to prove to the Israeli public that past withdrawals had been beneficial.

Already last week, Manhigut director Michael Fuah issued such a call. “We must remember what the IDF was busy with exactly a year ago,” he wrote in an essay published on Arutz-7's Hebrew site Tuesday. “The IDF, in its present state, is not capable of beating Hizbullah. When one adds the supposed ethical code the IDF is charged with – where the Defense Minister praises a soldier for refraining from shooting at a terrorist holding a child on one hand and his gun in the other – there is no chance for victory.”

Fuah adds that he realizes the stance is not a popular one, but while the Prime Minister continues to say he will continue with the destruction of Jewish communities and the expulsion of their residents, only such a refusal movement can demand:
1. Replacement of the IDF top brass who took part in the expulsion.
2. Rewriting of the IDF's ethical code to rule out endangering soldiers to protect the lives of terrorists and those around them.
3. A decision by the Knesset and the cabinet allowing all those expelled from Gaza, Samaria and the Sinai to return to their homes.

More than 10% of soldiers killed in combat in Lebanon hail from towns in Judea and Samaria - three times their proportion in the general population.

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