Be Still, My Beating Wings
In war, civilians die. Sad, but true. In this age of the smart bomb, people seem to take exception to that fact. It is interesting to consider the bombing of Dresden from 13-15 February 1945 and the resulting firestorm that consumed or in other ways destroyed over 35,000 souls (most civilian, many children). Apparently, the Allies (including the media) considered it to be a good days work. After all, the dead were part and parcel of a coalition given to world-wide domination; a coalition that had no problem with sneak assaults and the deaths of innocent civilians.
Dresden was but one of many such barbaric episodes. Need I mention Hiroshima and Nagasaki with their thousands of dead (including children)? Certainly I do not need to mention them to my father-in-law, who was in training for the invasion of the home islands even though not fully recovered from a severe wound received at Okinawa. His life expectancy increased dramatically the day that Japan surrendered. In fact, among the many veterans of the Pacific Campaign that I have had the privilege to meet in my life, I have noted few tears shed for the civilians of an empire that slaughtered its way across China, much of Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Basin. And they remember Pearl Harbor.
But today, in an obviously kinder, gentler, and less barbaric world, the situation is different. Yesterday, an Israeli bomb killed 56 civilians (mostly women and children) in Qana. Condemnation of Israel began immediately (see today's Aljazeera) at this "massacre" of innocents:
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said nothing could justify the Qana bombing and said he had spoken Siniora to express his "profound dismay". "Nothing can justify that," Solana said in a statement issued in Brussels, adding that the EU backed an immediate ceasefire.
France and Britain condemned the attack.
The office of the French president, Jacques Chriac, said in a statement: "The president learnt with concern about the act of violence which cost the lives of numerous innocent victims, notably women and children in Qana. France condemns this unjustified action, which demonstrates more than ever the need for an immediate ceasefire without which there will only be other such incidents."
Britain's foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, described the strikes as "absolutely dreadful" and "quite appalling". "We have repeatedly urged Israel to act proportionately," she said.
And from the Muslim side:
Arab and Muslim leaders spoke of "crimes" and Syria's president, Bashal al-Assad, labelled the attack "state terrorism." "The massacre committed by Israel in Qana this morning shows the barbarity of this aggressive entity. It constitutes state terrorism committed in front of the eyes and ears of the world," al-Assad said in remarks carried by state news agency SANA.
King Abdullah of Jordan said: "This criminal aggression is an ugly crime that has been committed by the Israeli forces in the city of Qana that is a gross violation of all international statutes." Abdullah, a close US ally, repeated his call for an immediate ceasefire.
Iran, accused by Washington of backing Hezbollah, also condemned the raid. "I think Israeli officials and some American ones should be tried for these sorts of crimes," said Hamid Reza Asefi, the foreign ministry spokesman.
And the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, called the airstrike "irresponsible". "The Arab Republic of Egypt is highly disturbed and condemns the irresponsible Israeli attack on the Lebanese village of Qana, which led to the loss of innocent victims, most of which were women and children," a statement from the presidency said. Egypt, which has already called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, stressed "the need for a serious international effort to issue an urgent Security Council resolution to stop military attacks immediately".
The United Arab Emirates condemned what it described as an "ugly massacre", and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said it was a "crime" that underlined the need for an immediate ceasefire in the region.
Echoing Hezbollah's warning of retaliation, Mushir al-Masri, an MP with the Palestinian ruling Hamas group, said: "In the face of this open war against the Arab and Muslim nations all options are open, including striking the depth of the Zionist entity."
Even before this outpouring of condemnation, Israel had voluntarily stilled its wings for 48 hours (barring a need to target any sites launching missile strikes against Israeli civilian targets (WHAT? You mean Israeli civilians have been targetted by Hezbollah missiles?) to allow investigation of the incident. Apparently Israelis as a whole have no real desire to kill civilians -- which certainly puts them in a different league from Hezbollah, Hamas, and the World Jihadist movement in general!
Of course, the United States still stands firm besides Israel (the same as we stood firm with our allies against that evil coalition of World War II):
Rice said she was "deeply saddened by the terrible loss of innocent life". She also urged Israel to take "extraordinary care" to avoid civilian deaths in Lebanon. And while calling for a ceasefire, she said that a truce could not mean a return to the position before the war, which was triggered by Hezbollah's abduction of two Israeli soldiers in a raid out of south Lebanon on July 12.
Israel and the United States have said they want to ensure that Hezbollah can no longer carry out raids and rocket attacks and that it is eventually disarmed under a UN resolution. Washington has consistently held the view that Israel has the "right to defend itself", albeit while using "restraint". The White House spokesman, Blaine Rethmeier, said after learning about Sunday's attack there was no change in that position.The United States "continues to urge Israel to use restraint," Rethmeier said in a telephone interview with AFP. Israel has the "right to defence".
Restraint: What a wonderful, nebulous, political-type of word! How, exactly, do you practice "restraint" against an enemy who desires to see you and your culture wiped from the face of the earth? Why consider another truce or ceasefire when they have proven so ineffective in the past? Why bind the beating wings when they need to fly against an unrelenting enemy who hides behind their own civilians and sees each death as a propaganda coup?
As for the place of the United States as a potential peacemaker:
The armed wing of Abbas's Fatah faction said it would target the United States and other Western countries in retaliation [for Qana].
As for me, I mourn every useless death. I see my sons' faces in those of every warrior from both sides of this war; I see the aspects of my sweet grandchildren in every tiny, broken body. It is my wife who screams for justice for her dead.
Yet, as the cries of hatred, bigotry, and Jihad ring across the media, I sometimes think that I should be smelling the cleansing flames of Dresden, regardless of the price. -- W. Dudley, standing in for M. Palmer
Dresden was but one of many such barbaric episodes. Need I mention Hiroshima and Nagasaki with their thousands of dead (including children)? Certainly I do not need to mention them to my father-in-law, who was in training for the invasion of the home islands even though not fully recovered from a severe wound received at Okinawa. His life expectancy increased dramatically the day that Japan surrendered. In fact, among the many veterans of the Pacific Campaign that I have had the privilege to meet in my life, I have noted few tears shed for the civilians of an empire that slaughtered its way across China, much of Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Basin. And they remember Pearl Harbor.
But today, in an obviously kinder, gentler, and less barbaric world, the situation is different. Yesterday, an Israeli bomb killed 56 civilians (mostly women and children) in Qana. Condemnation of Israel began immediately (see today's Aljazeera) at this "massacre" of innocents:
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said nothing could justify the Qana bombing and said he had spoken Siniora to express his "profound dismay". "Nothing can justify that," Solana said in a statement issued in Brussels, adding that the EU backed an immediate ceasefire.
France and Britain condemned the attack.
The office of the French president, Jacques Chriac, said in a statement: "The president learnt with concern about the act of violence which cost the lives of numerous innocent victims, notably women and children in Qana. France condemns this unjustified action, which demonstrates more than ever the need for an immediate ceasefire without which there will only be other such incidents."
Britain's foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, described the strikes as "absolutely dreadful" and "quite appalling". "We have repeatedly urged Israel to act proportionately," she said.
And from the Muslim side:
Arab and Muslim leaders spoke of "crimes" and Syria's president, Bashal al-Assad, labelled the attack "state terrorism." "The massacre committed by Israel in Qana this morning shows the barbarity of this aggressive entity. It constitutes state terrorism committed in front of the eyes and ears of the world," al-Assad said in remarks carried by state news agency SANA.
King Abdullah of Jordan said: "This criminal aggression is an ugly crime that has been committed by the Israeli forces in the city of Qana that is a gross violation of all international statutes." Abdullah, a close US ally, repeated his call for an immediate ceasefire.
Iran, accused by Washington of backing Hezbollah, also condemned the raid. "I think Israeli officials and some American ones should be tried for these sorts of crimes," said Hamid Reza Asefi, the foreign ministry spokesman.
And the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, called the airstrike "irresponsible". "The Arab Republic of Egypt is highly disturbed and condemns the irresponsible Israeli attack on the Lebanese village of Qana, which led to the loss of innocent victims, most of which were women and children," a statement from the presidency said. Egypt, which has already called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, stressed "the need for a serious international effort to issue an urgent Security Council resolution to stop military attacks immediately".
The United Arab Emirates condemned what it described as an "ugly massacre", and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said it was a "crime" that underlined the need for an immediate ceasefire in the region.
Echoing Hezbollah's warning of retaliation, Mushir al-Masri, an MP with the Palestinian ruling Hamas group, said: "In the face of this open war against the Arab and Muslim nations all options are open, including striking the depth of the Zionist entity."
Even before this outpouring of condemnation, Israel had voluntarily stilled its wings for 48 hours (barring a need to target any sites launching missile strikes against Israeli civilian targets (WHAT? You mean Israeli civilians have been targetted by Hezbollah missiles?) to allow investigation of the incident. Apparently Israelis as a whole have no real desire to kill civilians -- which certainly puts them in a different league from Hezbollah, Hamas, and the World Jihadist movement in general!
Of course, the United States still stands firm besides Israel (the same as we stood firm with our allies against that evil coalition of World War II):
Rice said she was "deeply saddened by the terrible loss of innocent life". She also urged Israel to take "extraordinary care" to avoid civilian deaths in Lebanon. And while calling for a ceasefire, she said that a truce could not mean a return to the position before the war, which was triggered by Hezbollah's abduction of two Israeli soldiers in a raid out of south Lebanon on July 12.
Israel and the United States have said they want to ensure that Hezbollah can no longer carry out raids and rocket attacks and that it is eventually disarmed under a UN resolution. Washington has consistently held the view that Israel has the "right to defend itself", albeit while using "restraint". The White House spokesman, Blaine Rethmeier, said after learning about Sunday's attack there was no change in that position.The United States "continues to urge Israel to use restraint," Rethmeier said in a telephone interview with AFP. Israel has the "right to defence".
Restraint: What a wonderful, nebulous, political-type of word! How, exactly, do you practice "restraint" against an enemy who desires to see you and your culture wiped from the face of the earth? Why consider another truce or ceasefire when they have proven so ineffective in the past? Why bind the beating wings when they need to fly against an unrelenting enemy who hides behind their own civilians and sees each death as a propaganda coup?
As for the place of the United States as a potential peacemaker:
The armed wing of Abbas's Fatah faction said it would target the United States and other Western countries in retaliation [for Qana].
As for me, I mourn every useless death. I see my sons' faces in those of every warrior from both sides of this war; I see the aspects of my sweet grandchildren in every tiny, broken body. It is my wife who screams for justice for her dead.
Yet, as the cries of hatred, bigotry, and Jihad ring across the media, I sometimes think that I should be smelling the cleansing flames of Dresden, regardless of the price. -- W. Dudley, standing in for M. Palmer
