Bravo, Pres. Biden: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/10/20/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-unites-states-response-to-hamass-terrorist-attacks-against-israel-and-russias-ongoing-brutal-war-against-ukraine/
MSNBC received criticism from one of my favorite organizations, the ADL, for daring to report the civilian casualties in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. I also have other favorite organizations supporting human and civil rights. I have seen the impact of war on civilians in years of personal observations from post-war Berlin to the ethnic cleansing conflicts in Bosnia. The losers in such barbaric violence are always the civilians on both sides. Tragedy is visited on those who are not combatants, regardless of who they support in violent conflicts.
The only accountability since World War II has been the Hague tribunals and the Nuremberg trials, which prosecute crimes against humanity, the suffering and slaying of civilians motivated by hatred, or used as a strategy of terrorists and sick-minded dictators and ideologues. Otherwise, it is the horror of " might make right" that has characterized the evil qualities of the human race from its beginning and eclipses the care and concern side of humanity. It is that streak of evil that, at this moment, is raising its ugly head once more.
As news unfolded of the barbarianism of the Hamas terrorists, what is clear the more we learn, the more horrified we become of the evil (so correctly tagged by Biden) we are witnessing. It is also clear that Israel right now has the moral highroad by not acting like barbarians, too, in their justified plans to focus their defense and punishment on Hamas, and not target the civilian population. There must be some safe zone to which Palestinian women and children can flee. This may be the role Egypt can and must play.
This is not meant to ignore the fact that Palestinians in Gaza had supported the Hamas leadership, but now their women and children are victims of Hamas, too, since they are already casualties. It also may be instructive to the West Bank Palestinians that taking up arms against Israel could have devastating unintended consequences blowing back on their own. Hezbollah is the real additional threat and it could be one reason the US carrier fleet has been situated just off Lebanon to back up the implied threat to Hezbollah by Biden to stay out and don't even try to attack Israel from the north.
The approach of some is that any reporting of the suffering of Palestinians in the conflict is all propaganda and should not be reported needs a pinch of reality. Also cries to show both sides on campus discussion to prohibit the Palestinian viewpoint flies in the face of free speech. The Hamas barbarians and the reporting of the atrocities present the best opportunity for supporters of the ADL and Israel to convince the world that, indeed, Hamas is evil, and they need to keep making an easy case there there are no false equivalencies. Israel has a huge megaphone now. At the same time, being factual and reporting verified evidence, careful screening by mainstream media is critical. We should not rely solely on fringe media, social media, single point of ideology cable channels for facts. The more points of view you can get, even learning speculation and theory is a worthwhile practice. Taking assertions by either warring party needs to be taken with a healthy skepticism that demands verification or at least exposure of the source.The value of free speech on campuses and in media. It is key to a democracy and disappears in an autocracy.
In some quarters of the left, what aboutism also is a controversial, viewpoint...What Hamas did to Israel is not as bad as what Israel has done to Palestinians, for example, so Hamas' atrocities are justified. The moral issue is artrocities committed against innocents is never acceptable.. From the very left is a voice for moral judgment in response which is:
To maintain their moral clarity and high ground in the face of the evil of Hamas, the US has asked Israel to abide by the rule of war, AKA Geneva Conventions and amendments, in their counterattack on Gaza. What are they? FAQs: Frequently asked questions on the rules of war | ICRC
Why is being on the side of morality? Not always, but usually, that translates into allies providing political, monetary, and military support to the obvious victim, soon after the atrocities by the attacker are revealed to the public. Memories are short and eventually, support can diminish because of political and ideological pressures. Keeping up the initial enthusiasm for support becomes more difficult as time goes on, and the counter-offensive drags on or loses its moral and political support,. Support of Ukraine is facing those headwinds now.
No comments:
Post a Comment