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| Nihilism of Low Expectations | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 1 2006, 01:56 PM (168 Views) | |
| George K | Aug 1 2006, 01:56 PM Post #1 |
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Finally
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Edward Morrissey: This is the soft nihilism of low expectations Edward Morrissey, The Examiner Aug 1, 2006 5:00 WASHINGTON - Israeli aircraft bombed a Hezbollah launching site in Qana this weekend as part of its prosecution of the war along its northern border. Unfortunately, the strike killed dozens of civilians in the residential area hit by the Israeli Air Force, including more than 30 children. Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered immediate apologies and began an investigation into the attack to determine if the target selection was appropriate. Predictably, world leaders expressed outrage and called for Israel to stop its attacks on Hezbollah. The U.N. Security Council held a rare Sunday session in response to the tragic Qana bombing. Governments from Britain to Bahrain scolded the Israelis for their disproportionate response to the war Hezbollah provoked, and the Lebanese government in Beirut decried the “massacre” at Qana. All of this hand-wringing has a rational point. We want to see civilians spared the horrors of war, and we push combatants to take all possible steps to achieve that end. The Geneva Conventions have that explicit mandate, and the world should remain constantly — and consistently — vigilant. Unfortunately, the global community has failed miserably at this task, and this war not only highlights that failure, but springs from it. While the world holds Israel to this standard, things become curiously silent when it’s time to hold Hezbollah responsible for its conduct of war. Hardly a word has escaped from the U.N. or Europe on the 2,500 missiles that have rained down upon Israeli civilians, deliberately targeted by Hezbollah. Those attacks have displaced more than 300,000 civilians, a fact the global community and the mainstream media ignore. Those who argue that Israel has occasionally violated the Geneva Conventions in its attacks casually ignore the blatant violations of Hezbollah, whose combatants wear no uniform, deliberately hide in civilian populations and fire weapons from residential areas. Hezbollah conducts none of its operations within the rules of war — and yet world leaders and the media never mention it. Why? Because no one expects terrorists to follow the rules. This is the soft nihilism of low expectations. This creates an impossible double standard for Israel and political victories. In order to defeat terrorists, Israel will have to engage them when they attack, wherever that happens to be. In their effort to zealously apply the rules of war to only one side, the global community doesn’t act to reduce the tragedies of civilian casualties, it increases them by encouraging Hezbollah’s tactics. The terrorists counted on precisely this response, which dictates their tactics and strategy to this moment. The Lebanese caught in this vise should seek redress in Beirut. Unfortunately, the same global community that castigates Israel for unintentional collateral damage has let the Lebanese government off the hook for failing to disarm Hezbollah, as demanded by Security Council resolution 1559. Had the Saniora government done so, this war would never have started. And while the Lebanese Army would have difficulty with that task, Beirut never asked for any assistance in meeting its obligations. If the world wants to live without terrorism, it needs to stop enabling terrorists with disproportionate criticism of civilized nations that wage war within established limits. This soft nihilism of low expectations encourages non-state actors to engage sovereign nations, knowing that the world will not allow the nations to fight terrorism effectively. |
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| AlbertaCrude | Aug 1 2006, 03:45 PM Post #2 |
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Bull-Carp
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Nor have many pointed that Hezbollah deliberately sets up their rocket positions in residential areas and around hospitals, schools and orphanages outside of their own villages to ensure maximum propaganda impact when the Isrealis come calling. Soft nihilism on our part- concrete classical nihilism on the part of the fanatics. |
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| John D'Oh | Aug 1 2006, 03:50 PM Post #3 |
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MAMIL
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According to the BBC's John Simpson, this was also a trick played by the Bosnian muslims in their war against the Serbs. He claimed that the simplistic assessment of 'Serbs bad, muslims good' had much to do with journalists being taken in by this kind of tactic. (And no, I'm not saying 'Serbs good, muslims bad' which would also be pretty stupid) |
| What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket? | |
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| Kincaid | Aug 1 2006, 03:56 PM Post #4 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Right on. Serbs bad. Muslims bad. |
| Kincaid - disgusted Republican Partisan since 2006. | |
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12:14 AM Jul 11