As regular readers know, I actually think the American public should be watching the drone war and asking questions - but they need not be answering to the UN, nor should the matter be one of international law.
My inclination is to see this newest development as positive. Remember, the drone war is the Biden method, the alternative being touted by the camp that wants less American involvement; it's the doves who want it, not the hawks. The longer this goes on, the greater the probability that normal, sensible people will recognize the international-law-pacifists for what they are.
In which context, what do you make of para. 1313 in the Goldstone Report:
The Government of Israel seems to see the hardship and suffering of
Palestinians as an inevitable consequence of a situation of war. The
Government’s statement that “civilian populations inevitably and tragically
suffer during a time of armed combat, particularly where the combat operations
take place in densely populated urban areas” may be correct, but this does not
relieve Israel from its obligations under international humanitarian law
In other words, even when Israel may be right, it's certainly wrong. The whole Goldstone Report is an example of a legal system gone haywire. Fortunately, the system is now aiming also at the big guys.
4 comments:
The logical progression in his statement is plain enough Yaacov. What he's saying is if you can't kill or capture an enemy combatant without breaking international humanitarian law you have to leave him alone. He can shoot at you, but you can't shoot back. That the enemy combatant may be breaking IHL, even killing your people, is irrelevant.
It's beyond ironic that Goldstone has a built up a lengthy cause & effect argument to justify pillorying Israel and yet he can't even create a simple logical construct in that one short paragraph.
Gavin
This is great news. I hope it foes to the General Assembly as promised. I hope the GA passes a resolution condemning the US. International laws on combat need a serious overhaul, and that won't be possible until America, too, feels squeezed.
By the way, Yaacov, you didn't mention the numbers. There have been 70 UAV strikes this year, killing 600 people.
Good. Let's bolt from SW Asia and leave them to whatever bloody ignorant Bronze Age fascism they like. Let the UN celebrate by dancing naked in a pool of blood around a bonfire of books. Who really cares? They were lopping off each others heads centuries before we got there and they'll continue to do so long after we're gone. It's a win win for everyone. The world's population drops by a third, and we don't have to pay for the pretense that our involvement makes a difference.
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