"The soft nihilism of low expectations" Contributed by Bill Faith
Edward Morrissey: This is the soft nihilism of low expectations
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.
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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.
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Contributed by Bill Faith on August 1, 2006 at 09:26 AM in , |