I was waiting to see how long it would take for criticism of Israel to bubble to the surface in the information war over the current crisis. Here it is, and it consists of the word disporportionate in all its variations [emphasis added in all quotes].
Naturally, the UN is one of the first out of the gate, according to UPI:
The United Nations’ relief chief says Israel’s targeting of a Gaza strip power station is counter to international law and disproportionately affects civilians.
Jan Egeland, U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said Thursday that without access to power and humanitarian aid, the situation in the Gaza Strip could become catastrophic within days, with a “massive increase” in deaths.
Left-liberal Steve Clemons of the Washington Note:
Israel is demonstrating profound immaturity with its behavior, though I support the importance of negotiating and even pursuing its kidnapped soldier. However, despite its regional superpower status, Israel is showing that it tilts too easily towards responses far disproportionate to any sane or reasonable action. While Israel radicalizes Palestininans and many Arabs in the region with this behavior, it needs to know that it is eroding American support for its behavior and position.
Arab American Institute president James Zogby:
AAI President James Zogby called on the Bush administration to demand that Israel halt the systematic destruction of Palestinian infrastructure and allow diplomacy to resolve the issue of the captured Israeli soldier.
“Will Israel never learn?” Zogby asked in a press release. “The use of disproportionate power in acts of collective punishment that display callous disregard for the suffering of hundreds of thousands of innocents will never create peace.
The Los Angeles Times clarifies the problem:
It isn’t that the world questions Israelis’ right to feel frustrated, or to retaliate. It is simply that we cringe at the sight of a disproportionate response that could undermine prospects of ending the cycle of violence.
Israel is powerful—it is disproportionately powerful militarily to its enemies. However, in this asymmetric war, its many enemies have a disproportionate amount of sympathy from those who “cringe” at a show of force.
More evidence that American liberals cannot deal with the use of power and force (as I wrote here). Me, I think they’d better start dealing with it.
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(On the arrest of 9 Palestinian cabinet ministers and 21 officials)
This is an entirely disproportionate response by the Israeli state. The recognition of Israel by Hamas should be an outcome of negotiations, not a precondition. Calling those who captured the Israeli soldier “terrorists” solves nothing.
http://davidp1.blogspot.com/2006/06/events.html
It is just conceivable that Israel’s present course of action in laying siege to the Gaza Strip could be tactically rational. It may, for instance, be aimed at turning the Palestinian people against Hamas, the Islamist movement they elected in January. What is certain, however, is that it is dangerously disproportionate´. FT Leader, Mindless in Gaza: Israel’s risky strategy, 1 July 2006
You´re on your own on this one, chaps.
Months and months of much more ginger, cautious IDF action did not staunch the flow of Kassam rockets (in fact they increased in number and “effectiveness”) so apparently this is the level of force the IDF thinks it now needs. Force is only disproportionate to ***what is needed to deter.*** If this level of force is the level that will shut down the Kassams (and attempts by suicide bombers–who, incidentally, are intercepted almost everyday) then it is not disproportionate.
Ok, maybe I can be clearer.
If Hamas et al would have caved at a much lighter force level (say, a few fly-overs by some F16s and a few sonic booms) you could call this response disproportionate. But they have not caved after months and months of around-the-edges action. Maybe this time?
The FT leader horrifies me. They seem to think “the Israelis” are responding only to one soldier kidnapping. They act like Israel exists only when they deign to pay attention to it, like they can step in anywhere in the stream and offer their Olympian judgements…
DavidP:
“Disproportionate” is an accusation that can be (and has been) leveled against Israel for anything it does, merely because of its superiority of arms. I am unmoved by your citing yet another publication that calls Israel’s response “disproportionate.”
Israel is a sovereign nation. Its border was violated. One of its citizens—a soldier— was seized and taken hostage. Now the country of Israel is being held hostage by Palestinian blackmailers, who seek negotiations.
Israel refuses to negotiate with blackmailers. Its response is to seek out and punish the perpetrators, and also to hold all Palestinians responsible for the actions of their duly elected government.
I see nothing disproportionate there. Palestinians have been holding all Israelis responsible for the actions of their duly elected governments (by indiscriminately targeting them for murder-by-suicide or for murder-by-Kassem) for quite a long time.
And today we have a further escalation by Hamas–a more powerful Kassam rocket, enhanced with an extra engine–struck inside the city of Ashkelon. Central Ashkelon has never been hit before. It struck a school. Children playing in the schoolyard were jolted backward by the blast but otherwise unharmed. Imagine that these were your children playing in that schoolyard. What would you do? What would you want your government to do? Meanwhile we have leader writers at the FT calling Israel “Mindless in Gaza.”
OK DavidP, your turn…
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