TPM Reader LS on Israel’s war on Hizbullah …
I find Juan Cole’s remarks interesting, and I have some really sympathy with the indignation of Israel’s targeting civilians. Here’s the thing, though. I have yet to see anywhere on line an honest attempt to wrestle with the conundrum Israel faces. Hizbollah operates within civilian neighborhoods, and does things like house its weapons in apartment buildings (where people actually live). What are the military options for dealing with an enemy that positions itself in this way? It seems that a conventional state based armed force is damned if it attacks these weapons caches in that it will undoubtedly visit a huge civilian collateral damage on non-combatant civilians. It is also damned if it does nothing, allowing weapons caches to be built up and used against the state. I would be really interested to hear what military experts and the ethicists who teach, say, at West Point, are saying about this sort of dilemma of military situation. What are the rules of war in this post-Grotius, post-Clausewicz era? What should the rules of war be in this scenario? Is it even possible to devise rules of war and engagement in this circumstance? Breczinski’s remarks posted by Steve Clemons suggest thinking about this as a hostage taking situation: Hizbollah is holding civilians hostage by their weapons caches. Are there other analogies out there?
