- In the last 72 hours of Israel's deliberately extended
war on Lebanon, toward the middle of August when it was clear that a U.N.
ceasefire would come into effect, the Israeli Air Force dropped more than
a thousand cluster bombs over southern Lebanon, leaving behind a "lasting
legacy" for the people of South Lebanon. These bombs had
been largely supplied by the United States, and thus Americans too played
a part in creating this dreadful aftermath.
-
- The "lasting legacy" is spelled out by Anthony
Shadid in an article on the front page of the September 26, 2006 Washington
Post entitled "In Lebanon, a War's Lethal Harvest: Threat of Unexploded
Bombs Paralyzes the South." Each of the cluster bombs that were
rained down on Lebanon contained thousands bomblets the size of soda cans,
that if picked up or brushed can cause immeasurable damage loss of
life or limb.
-
- "It's impossible for me to work out what the logic
was," Shadid quoted David Shearer, the UN humanitarian coordinator
for Lebanon. "To me, it just seems outrageous that it would happen
as it did." Quoting Chris Clark, the UN Mine Action Coordination
Center, "What are seen as strikes on top of strikes on top of strikes
on top of strikes. It's tantamount to shooting a dead body 20 times."
-
- The bomblets are scattered over a large area that now
includes 540 villages, and are found on the ground, in the trees and orchards,
on streets and around houses. Women and children who have returned to southern
Lebanon after having fled the region during the Israeli attack are now
afraid to venture outside their homes. Already 16 Lebanese have died
from the cluster bomblets and 90 have been wounded.
-
- Extraordinary though it seems, the use of cluster bombs
is not, strictly speaking, contrary to international law - and Israelis
have been quick to point that out - but the United States banned the
sale of them to Israel for seven years after they had been used in the
invasion of Lebanon in 1982. The indiscriminate killing of civilians is
a war crime. They were used in Kovoso and in Iraq, where they continue
to provide a lasting legacy of the wars those countries have faced.
The State Department is currently investigating whether Israel violated
agreements with the United States on their use during this recent war.
Yet some pro-Israel congressmen, including Shelley Berkley (D-NV), sent
a letter to the State Department asking that the investigation be dropped.
-
- The lasting legacy of the US in the Lebanon war relates
directly to its refusal to interfere with Israel's pursuit of the war,
and to hold it accountable for the mounting civilian deaths and destruction
of Lebanon infrastructure in no way associated with Hezbollah, the party
that triggered the conflict. Since the beginning of the year, when
the Palestinians freely elected Hamas to a majority in their Legislative
Council, the U.S. has walked in lockstep with the Israeli government in
an effort to punish the Palestinians for their vote. It has refused
to pressure Israel to be more understanding, and indeed has followed its
lead in blocking delivery of aid to the Palestinian Authority. The Israel
Lobby for its part has ensured that Congress approve the anti-Palestinian
attitude of the Israelis by passing its own stringent resolutions.
-
- Eight months later, the plight of the Palestinians remains
unattended, unheard. Recent reports by the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the suffering of ordinary people,
the collapse of the economy, the lack of medicines and food, the shutting
down of border crossings, the inability of the PA to pay teachers and the
police, and the often random killing of civilians-now close to 300 since
late June when an Israeli soldier was kidnapped goes unappreciated
by the U.S. and many of its European allies. Yet it is widely understood
that the growth of despair and hopelessness in Gaza and the West Bank
will gravely complicate any efforts to bring peace to the area.
-
- Even Israelis, according to a recent poll reported in
the September 27, 2006 issue of Haaretz, believe their government should
be speaking to Hamas. 67% of the Israelis polled thought a dialog
should be taking place with a national unity government, and 56% thought
it should be talking to a Hamas-led government. During a tour of the Palestine
and Israel in January, a team from the Council National Interest Foundation
talked at length with Hamas leaders and found them willing to engage in
dialog as long as the Israelis showed themselves serious negotiators.
-
- The failure of the U.S. government as well as the Israelis
to talk with leaders of governments they disagree with underlines the acute
paucity of diplomacy being exercised at the current time, which can only
jeopardize in the long run the security of ordinary people both in the
Middle East and in the United States. It is time for governments
to listen to their people, to start talking and stop preaching.
- To make a tax-deductible contribution to the Council
for the National Interest Foundation click here:
-
-
- https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=2836
-
- Council for the National Interest Foundation
-
- 1250 4th Street SW, Suite WG-1
-
- Washington, District of Columbia 20024
-
- 202-863-2951
-
- http://www.cnionline.org/
-
- http://www.rescuemideastpolicy.com/
|
