Israel And White Phosphorus: "Oops! Our Bad?"
After all the accusations and (of course) denials regarding Israel having used white phosphorus during its onlaught of Gaza, the truth is finally coming out:
Israel admits troops may have used phosphorus shells in Gaza (h/t)War crimes, anyone?
Israel has admitted – after mounting pressure – that its troops may have used white phosphorus shells in contravention of international law, during its three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip.
(Read the rest here)
Granted - this is more of a "non-admission admission" (you know, like those quaint "non-denial denials") than a full confession ...
... but it looks like "case closed" nevertheless to warrant a full investigation.
And deservingly, Israel will be held accountable for having used chemical weapons on civilians.
After all, wasn't "having used chemical weapons" (i.e. white phosphorus) on civilians one of the justifications to invade Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein?
What say you, Mr. Prime Minister Harper?
What say you, America?
What say you, all you ardent, intractable defenders of Israel?
What say you, all you fervent, fanatical proponents of "Israel-can-do-no-wrong"?
Ah, such repugnant hypocrisy.
Moral high ground, indeed ...
The problem is who is to actually hold them accountable? Those who did this may briefly be held culpable in the court of small public opinion but that will pass quickly enough.
ReplyDeleteI am a resolute opponent of anyone using battlefield weapons, particularly high-firepower and enhanced destruction weapons in civilian areas.
Many of these weapons have a legitimate role in 20th-century style conventional warfare.
I'm sure we tend to use them in places like Gaza because we can. That perhaps can only be resolved by new protocols or conventions banning the use of all area weapons in densely populated centres.
As I asked earlier today, would Canadians accept our forces in Afghanistan using white phosphorus shells on Afghan villages because our troops had spotted what they took to be a couple of Taliban insurgents? Does anyone really imagine our officers would order such weapons to be employed in these circumstances? Surely the questions answer themselves. Why, then, would we tolerate any other nation doing this?
Mos: all I can add to this is - "exactly".
ReplyDeleteWithout defending or condemning Israels use of WP, it is far from the only military to use it, and it is far from clear that it's use in the Gaza war was illegal.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Canada's use of white phosphorus:
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/513548
It's use by the US in Iraq:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_phosphorus_use_in_Iraq
Its use by the UK:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4441822.stm
It's use by Israel not necessarily illegal:
http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/weapons-interview-170109
Alan Dershowitz of Havard law school, well known civil libertarian and human rights lawyer:
http://cgis.jpost.com/Blogs/dershowitz/entry/israel_is_well_within_its
It's important to bear in mind that nothing is clear cut, especially when dealing with a complex conflict such as the Muslim vs West conflict (and I say muslim-west conflict and not arab israeli conflict, because (a) its not limited to Arabs (eg. Iran), and (b) its not limited to Israel)
Anon: ever heard of the Geneva Conventions and other international laws regarding civilians in acts of warfare?
ReplyDelete... and you bring Dershowitz? He of "want to torture, get a warrant"? He of "torture must be used in a ticking time-bomb scenario", a pure (neocon) fantasy?
Ri-ight ...
Anon is spinning the standard lines. This isn't an Arab-Israeli conflict. Yes it is and it has been for 60-years. That's Grade A self-serving bullshit. But, should I be wrong, then Israel ought to hold the cluster bombs, and the white phosphorus and the mayonaise until we, the West, damned well tell them otherwise!
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to Israel and all things Israeli, Dershowitz is a joke, especially to his peers (and he does have equals, even betters).
And to finish up with the Willie Pete, the white phosphorus rounds, spare us the tripe about these being lawful weapons of war. Maybe if you're out on the battlefield and need to use them for smokescreens, okay, maybe. But when you fire three of them into a UN compound where civilians are taking refuge, there's no grey line of uncertainty.
Unfortunately for Anon and those of his ilk they're quickly finding out that these feeble excuses, this rank bullshit just isn't sticking - anywhere - any more. Whether it's the predictable garbage one would expect of Dershowitz or the scurrying noise we get from the Anonymice, it's all garbage.
MoS: yup.
ReplyDeleteI'll agree to disagree :)
ReplyDeleteAgreed ;-)
ReplyDelete