Mad Dogs

It would appear that Israel was only playing, bending to external pressure, not taking things seriously enough and that the last time round in the Lebanon it, poor little Israel, was punished for maybe being too "nice" when they only managed to kill about 1,300 and wound over 4,000 Lebanese, most of whom were innocent civilians.1
Now, I don't think that they were playing and I don't think that they weren't taking things seriously enough but maybe, just maybe, they were constrained a little bit by the"international community" and that is why I am a little bit worried for the Lebanese after picking up on the headline, "Israel Warns It Will Use "Disproportionate Force" Against Lebanon in Next War" The article goes on, "The head of the Israeli army’s northern command says Israel will use disproportionate force on Lebanese villages used by Hezbollah to fire rockets if another war is fought against Lebanon. Major General Eisenkot said, "We will apply disproportionate force on it and cause great damage and destruction there. From our standpoint, these are not civilian villages, they are military bases.” Eisenkot went on to say, "This is not a recommendation. This is a plan. And it has been approved.”2
Now, remember the "international community" that managed to at least keep an extended leash on the mad dog that is Israel, is in fact, good old "Uncle Sam" and his allies and back in 2006 I can remember Condoleezza Rice and George Bush giving Israel the green light to "defend itself" and then telling Israel to minimise collateral damage at a time when the Israelis were just getting into their swing. Indeed, they were so much into their swing that, while good old "Uncle Sam" was just getting the negotiations going the Israeli military launched an airstrike on Qana and killed some 40 women and children.3 Still, the brave Israelis, finally, saw themselves with no alternative but to go in on the ground and in they went and we know the rest of the story.
The point is, the Israeli military "will apply disproportionate force" the next time and Lebanese villages are in fact military bases, according to General Eisenkot. Well, maybe the next time round the "international community" won't want to restrain Israel, after all, that "international community", while pursuing a familiar strategy, can be a little bit fickle now and again and maybe, just maybe if the "international community" does try to restrain Israel, they won't be listened to because we all know what mad dogs are like when they are let off the leash. Mr Olmert, back in July 2006 said that he would destroy those who hate Israel - the same Mr Olmert who today is saying that Israel will have to withdraw from the occupied territories - and then we have Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's call for Israel to be "wiped off the map"4 and now we have Major General Eisenkot saying that a plan to use disproportionate force has been approved. There is a lot of huff and puff and a bit of bluff and not a lot of substance in Mr Ahmadinejad's threats and I suspect that the chances of Iran attacking Israel are a bit less than the chances of Israel dropping a couple of bombs on Iran. Nevertheless, with Israel still smarting from its defeat in 2006, a defeat that culminated in, what was for Israel, a humiliating prisoner exchange a couple of months ago,5 there will be a "next" war in the Lebanon. That could call Ahmadinejad's bluff. Whatever, to quote the title of RobertFrisk's book, "pity the nation" and maybe, just maybe, pity all of us, but let our heads rule our hearts and remember that come the day, "disproportionate force" means that a war crime is being commited.
The picture above shows a district in Beruit after "proportionate" force had been used on the "Hezbollah"
1 http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=138277
2 http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/10/headlines#2
3 http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/30/lebano13881.htm
4 http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4203
5 http://thediplomatabroad.blogspot.com/search?q=prisoner+exchange