"Human rights group" is a misnomer here...
This has been boiling under my skin for awhile now and I feel it is still a relevant issue in the midst of Israel and Hezbollah's ceasefire. Israel is being accused of war crimes by the UN, Amnesty International, the international media, and especially the Muslim world for its attack on Lebanon and the civilian casualties that ensued. In doing so, Hezbollah's accountability for those casualties, as well as Israeli casualties, is a mere afterthought.
Hezbollah intentionally (1) hides its weapons caches in apartment complexes, (2) fires rockets at Israel from Lebanese houses, and (3) dresses in civilian clothing so as to blend in amongst noncombatants. Each of these tactics is designed to utilize Lebanon's civilian population as a shield. They are holding civilians hostage for a two-fold purpose: either (a) discouraging the likelihood of Israeli counterattacks for fear of harming civilians, thus allowing Hezbhollah to continue lobbing rockets south towards Israel without consequence, or (b) bringing international condemnation upon Israel when Israel does strike back. Obviously, we now know option (b) as reality. And the international community fell for it. The tactic worked.
Thus, my point: human rights groups like Amnesty and Human Rights Watch actually increase the likelihood that organizations like Hezbollah will continue to use this tactic in the future. This will happen again, in Lebanon and elsewhere. When it does happen, the UN, Amnesty, and everyone else who failed to condemn Hezbollah for their misdeeds will be complicit in the civilian casualties that follow. They can count themselves amongst those responsible because they made the strategy effective.
Will they condemn Hezbollah next time? Of course not. When the ceasefire breaks (which it will), Israel collaterally harms civilians while attempting to destroy weapons caches, and Hezbollah launches rockets at Haifa with the sole purpose of killing civilians, these organizations will still save their ire for Israel only.
The reason? They dislike Israel. They side with the Palestinians in the "other" conflict ensuing along the Mediterranean and impute their displeasure to this conflict. But even if you disagree with Israel regarding Palestine, it's no reason to hop into bed with every group that counts itself amongst Israel's enemies. To do so is to betray the human rights cause that these groups supposedly stand for.
**UPDATE**: Amnesty International just published its report on the conflict, alleging war crimes by Israel. And as for Hezbollah? "The briefing does not...address the attacks by Hizbullah into Israel and their impact on civilians – these are being addressed elsewhere. "
Uh huh. I bet. They made sure to crank out that report accusing Israel of war crimes, but as for what Hezbollah's done here...Eh, maybe someone else will do it. AI has no interest. That subject is being addressed in the vacuous "elsewhere."
This report fails to understand or even consider that when otherwise "civilian" targets are being used for "military" purposes, it becomes a military target. Thus, if Hezbollah is using a house to store munitions, then that house is a military objective, plain and simple. The report avers that Israel did not take care to avoid civilian casualties, as would be required under the rules of war, but it makes no mention of the steps that Israel did take, such as leafleting (in fact, the only leaflet mentioned is the one warning people not to use vehicles in a particular portion of Lebanon).
Even when AI concedes that a target has been used for military purposes, it asserts that Israel has a duty to avoid civilian casualties. How Israel is supposed to do so, it does not explain:
Hezbollah intentionally (1) hides its weapons caches in apartment complexes, (2) fires rockets at Israel from Lebanese houses, and (3) dresses in civilian clothing so as to blend in amongst noncombatants. Each of these tactics is designed to utilize Lebanon's civilian population as a shield. They are holding civilians hostage for a two-fold purpose: either (a) discouraging the likelihood of Israeli counterattacks for fear of harming civilians, thus allowing Hezbhollah to continue lobbing rockets south towards Israel without consequence, or (b) bringing international condemnation upon Israel when Israel does strike back. Obviously, we now know option (b) as reality. And the international community fell for it. The tactic worked.
Thus, my point: human rights groups like Amnesty and Human Rights Watch actually increase the likelihood that organizations like Hezbollah will continue to use this tactic in the future. This will happen again, in Lebanon and elsewhere. When it does happen, the UN, Amnesty, and everyone else who failed to condemn Hezbollah for their misdeeds will be complicit in the civilian casualties that follow. They can count themselves amongst those responsible because they made the strategy effective.
Will they condemn Hezbollah next time? Of course not. When the ceasefire breaks (which it will), Israel collaterally harms civilians while attempting to destroy weapons caches, and Hezbollah launches rockets at Haifa with the sole purpose of killing civilians, these organizations will still save their ire for Israel only.
The reason? They dislike Israel. They side with the Palestinians in the "other" conflict ensuing along the Mediterranean and impute their displeasure to this conflict. But even if you disagree with Israel regarding Palestine, it's no reason to hop into bed with every group that counts itself amongst Israel's enemies. To do so is to betray the human rights cause that these groups supposedly stand for.
**UPDATE**: Amnesty International just published its report on the conflict, alleging war crimes by Israel. And as for Hezbollah? "The briefing does not...address the attacks by Hizbullah into Israel and their impact on civilians – these are being addressed elsewhere. "
Uh huh. I bet. They made sure to crank out that report accusing Israel of war crimes, but as for what Hezbollah's done here...Eh, maybe someone else will do it. AI has no interest. That subject is being addressed in the vacuous "elsewhere."
This report fails to understand or even consider that when otherwise "civilian" targets are being used for "military" purposes, it becomes a military target. Thus, if Hezbollah is using a house to store munitions, then that house is a military objective, plain and simple. The report avers that Israel did not take care to avoid civilian casualties, as would be required under the rules of war, but it makes no mention of the steps that Israel did take, such as leafleting (in fact, the only leaflet mentioned is the one warning people not to use vehicles in a particular portion of Lebanon).
Even when AI concedes that a target has been used for military purposes, it asserts that Israel has a duty to avoid civilian casualties. How Israel is supposed to do so, it does not explain:
Hospitals are by nature "civilian objects" and may not be attacked unless they are being used for military purposes. If Hizbullah was indeed using the al-Hikmah hospital as a headquarters or base, then they rendered it subject to attack, although Israel would still have been under an obligation to take precautions to protect civilians and avoid the loss of life or injury to civilians.
So Israel was supposed to do what exactly? Bombs don't discriminate between civilian and combatant. So here's an idea: don't put your militia headquarters in a hospital. Does ever occur to AI that maybe this is part of the reason that the hospital was bombed?
Anyway, I'll look forward to that report on Hezbollah coming from "elsewhere," but I'm not holding my breath.
posted by Your Friendly Neighborhood Clark Bar at 8/24/2006 09:27:00 AM
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2 Comments:
I couldn't agree more. Recent history has taught us that so-called "human rights" groups care little if at all about what is right. Instead, they care more about making political points and acting as de facto watchdogs over those with whom they disagree politically. Given the decided slant of media coverage, it has been abundantly clear that Hezbollah deliberately targets civillians and uses them indiscriminately to shield their attacks. What would be right would be to call the scene as it appears. But that's not what makes headlines.
I lost pretty much all sympathy for Hezbollah when they shot down that plane of UN monitors. COME ON. How is Israel the bad guy on this one? I mean, I don't really agree with a lot of Israeli foreign policy, but Jesus Christ, they're really the lesser of many, many evils in the region.
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