Needlenose

The key justification for the crackdown on the Palestinians in the Gaza and the West Bank spouted by the pro-Israeli camp is that the Palestinians are terrorists, because their suicide bombings and other attacks ‘target civilians.’  Frankly, I fail to see the ‘fine point’ these apologists put on it when, for example, in the recent ‘put down’ of the Hamas rocket launchers, the Israeli army killed an estimated 960 civilians out of a total of 1434 total dead – 67%!

Israel, of course, immediately and automatically disputed the number of civilian dead.  The ultra-nationalist message of the country’s leaders, however, was undercut by direct testimony from members of the IDF, who are coming forward with tales of policy-driven slaughter of civilians, including unarmed women & children.

It’s hard to take the moral high ground after the US did all this and worse during the dark years of the Shrubya Iraqi fiasco.   However, now that we are under new management, I really hope (but sadly doubt)  Clinton will put some pressure on Israel to investigate their war crimes.

War Nerd uses the Gaza war to make the point that the age of ‘total war’ (where civies are acceptable targets) is currently in abeyance.  The point he doesn’t make is that Israel seems to have mastered the art of the ‘focus group’ atrocity – pushing the limits of war crimes to kill civilians, trash infrastructure, do so and collectively punish a population – but stopping just before the point where they’ll lose political support among US politicans or provoke a serious civilian action in Europe such as a boycott.

Not convinced?  What could be more cynical then their agreement to a cease-fire on the day before the Obama inaguration?  I guess they want to figure out what they can get away with with the new guy.  Shrubya was the Larry King of cis-Jordan power-brokers, but they probably have figured out that Obama may actually pay some attention to what is going on.

My anecdotal bellwhether of course are a few die-hard liberal Jewish friends, who, while they decried the Iraq war, tow the line on Israeli politics of occupation.  None of them were shaken by the recent atrocity exhibition, so it seems Israel got away with it again.

It really makes you wonder though just what Israel can get away with, if torching civilians with white phosphorus, destroying their homes and fields, denying them power and foodstuffs and any but the most minimal contact with the outside world.  What would it take to get the Euroweenies to take action?  To revolt my bellwhether pro-Israel liberal pals?  To get the supposedly sympathetic Arab neighbors stop jawing and take any real action?

*Update* After lying for a few weeks, Israel admits to frying Gazans.  As they say,  ”Like Father Like Son.”  Israel is really our ‘Mini-Me,’ isn’t it?

This headline from the Israel’s attack on Gaza really just says it all: Gaza Children Found With Mothers’ Corpses.  I’m really not sure what more Israel can do in the way of war crimes before anybody on Capitol Hill says “Enough!”

“The statement said a team of four Palestine Red Crescent ambulances accompanied by Red Cross representatives made its way to Zeitoun Wednesday where it “found four small children next to their dead mothers in one of the houses. They were too weak to stand up on their own. One man was also found alive, too weak to stand up. In all, there were at least 12 corpses lying on mattresses.””

I just wish our Pols would be more honest and finish the typical apologia statements around Israel’s actions and say “I support Israel’s right to defend itself regardless of the means and of the cost in innocent human life.”