Proportionality

Woven throughout the whole cloth that envelops the wing-nut blogosphere these days is a fascinating, illogical thread. It concerns Lebanon, and would almost be funny if it wasn't trying to act concerned about the dead there. It certainly is warped.

Many from the right like to point out how the Israeli army, using the most modern (our) surgical strike missiles, "aims only at military targets." This is to be contrasted to the vileness of Hezbollah who "doesn't even pretend to" want to spare civilians. (Tierney,NY Times)  Dershowitz notes that "Hezbollah missiles and Hamas rockets target and hit Israeli restaurants, apartment buildings and schools."

No question that what Hezbollah is doing is vile, wrong, and a war crime.  But Hezbollah's  rockets cannot be precisely targeted.  Not surprisingly, the U.S. has not been supplying them with our most top-of-the-line weaponry.  I'd bet that they'd be happy to trade in some of their Katyusha rockets for some of our finest. It's  as if there were a fight between a tall, sighted person and a short,blind one. It's pretty silly to hear the tall guy with 20-20 vision complain how his opponent is always hitting below the belt.

I have a second problem with this thread:  the numbers.  According to FAUX News, there have been 375 Lebanese civilians killed, while only 18 Israeli civilians have died. (Twenty regular Lebanese army have also been killed - not civilians, but not Hezbollah either) This proportion is almost double the standard set by some of  Israel's supporters: they argue that it takes 10 Arab lives to equal the value of one Israeli life. The thread becomes even looser when you look at military deaths. Again, according to Fox, 24 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 27 Hezbollah are dead from the fighting. So, with its vastly superior, pin-point accurate weaponry, Israel has killed about 20 times as many civilians as Hezbollah has killed, and roughly the same number of active fighters.

Israel fights for its survival using a mind set and a war plan that guarantees its demise. Condi and W cheer them on. It's just a game to them - a cynical game in which they are the righteous, the civilized West who cares for human life and worries about civilian deaths, while the barbaric Muslims think only of the 40 virgins and how to kill the largest number of  Israeli babies and their Jewish grandmothers.

UPDATE:

Blue Crab's proportionality is that "a slap should bring a roundhouse in return."  He joins the bunch who think that Israel is being held to toohigh a standard. Really, 20+ Lebanese civilian dead to 1 Israeli is just too high.

Donald Sensing applauds Israel's behavior; saying that "It is responding to daily rocket attacks and regular suicide attacks against its civilians ever since it gave up land for peace." (emphasis added)

Sensing is not interested in fact, but ithe reality is that there had not been one Lebanese suicide bomber until Israel occupied parts of Lebanon in 1982. None. (And there had never been a suicide attack in Iraq until our occupation.)

RedState is a firm believer in making sure that "an enemy" is truly "chastened by defeat." He thinks that if you hurt someone enough, they will stop fighting, and bow down before your superiority. This profoundly anti-American position suggests that Mr. RedState's patriotism is for sale. If there were to be a war against the U.S by a powerful foe, he is saying that he would fight for America until it became too costly for him; as might be measured in the loss of property or family. He cannot imagine fighting for a cause in which you believe, even when it seems you have lost. In fact,though, I bet Sensing would actually keep fighting, as would the next Hezbollah.

And of course Polipundit is thrilled that a "liberal" like Dershowitz is "Anti UN - YEP!" . But wasn't the U.N. instrumental in the creation of Israel?

 

Comments

[Rick]

It's 72 virgins Skippy. The least you could do is try to get this stuff right. Congratulations. (I guess) You finally mentioned that Hezbollah is committing war crimes. Now that's balance; or proportionality if you prefer.

Did you notice that, on the one hand, you say that Hezbollah is committing war crimes, but in the next sentence you offer up an excuse? America has not been selling them "our top of the line weaponry". I am just wondering. In your world, is America ever not evil? Ever?

[bbbustard]

Rick - you're not up to date. The number was reduced to a recent, unexpected surge in demand.
I'll have to respond to the balance of your comment later -

[bbbustard]

1. The above should read "was reduced due to a recent, .."
2. Sorry that my original post is also unclear. I offer no excuse for Hezbollah. I am quite happy that we do not supply them with our top of the line arms. I do believe that there is something disingenuous when we hail the Israelis for only using precision avoid civilian casualties, and complain about the inhuman Arab dogs who in fact are using the only weapons available to them. We condemn them for not caring about whether they hit Israeli citizens or not, but in reality the Israelis are killing many more civilians than is Hezbollah.
I do not think America is evil. I do think that the current administration acts with a swaggering arrogance, a stupendous stupidity, and an utter disdain for truth that both betrays and damages America. The result of far too many of their acts is evil.