OK, then, let's not get all bent out of shape:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday he doubts that the fatal bombing of a United Nations observer post in southern Lebanon, killing a Canadian soldier, was a deliberate act. He called for an investigation on why that attack happened.
So, on the one hand, the Israelis are doing everything they can to minimize civilian casualties, based on the unerring, pinpoint, surgical precision of their attacks. On the other hand, when they fuck up on this scale, well, accidents happen but, hey, don't have a cow, man.
It's a good thing conservatives are utterly clueless regarding logic. Otherwise, I'm sure some of them would be confused right about now.
AFTERSNARK: Dave over at TGB, being the meticulous chronicler that he is, fills in more of the details.
Backseat Blogger, on the other hand, should learn to think before typing, to minimize the subsequent embarrassment of posting very silly things.
PAY ATTENTION, DAMN IT, because I don't want to have to explain this again.
There are two issues here that some unfortunately clueless readers and linkers seem to be having trouble with. First, one does not have to, in any way, pass judgment on whether this attack was accidental or deliberate to recognize the overwhelming hypocrisy.
The Israelis are currently defending their bombardment of crowded civilian areas by claiming that they are being really, really, cross my heart and hope to die, careful and accurate so as to minimize civilian casualties. However, describing this latest clusterfuck as an "accident" of some kind means that those same Israeils now expect all of us to accept that they are hopelessly inept in terms of their ability to target the enemy so we should forgive them for it. If you don't understand the hypocrisy and inconsistency involved here, go back and read it again until you do. But that's not all.
There seems to be a groundswell of admiration for Prime Minister Butt-Kissing Suck-Up in that he is nobly withholding judgment until all the facts are in. Well, that's just ducky, except that's precisely what we don't need right now.
Given that we now have yet another Canadian who's died as a result of an Israeli attack, we don't need a spineless milksop who calmly states that he's going to give the killers the benefit of the doubt until he learns otherwise. Even while all those facts are still coming in, at this point we need someone who has the fucking balls to represent Canadians and, at the very least, make a phone call and demand to know what the fuck is going on here!!
You don't need all the facts to still be a little bit pissed, and you don't need every detail to still have the right to raise your voice a little bit and want to know just what the hell is happening and who's constantly screwing up, do you?
And I can only speculate that it can't be a real morale booster for Canadians in general to read that their fellow citizens are being killed by their supposed allies, and the best they can get out of that gutless, chickenshit prime minister of theirs is little more than, "Well, yes, we should wait until we get all the details, but I'm sure they didn't mean it, things happen, que sera sera and all that."
So far, at Canada's expense, Steve's gone to bat for the U.S. over softwood and for Israel over dead Canadians. One can only imagine how he's going to sell us out next. I should start a pool.
12 comments:
According to this "the post was hit by a precision-guided missile after six hours of shelling..."
If it was a LGB, somebody on the ground or in a plane had to paint the post with a laser for the bomb to hit.
I'm sure there is some way to blame it on Syria and/or Iran. What we need is a bigger war.
What a sad change, having a P.M. who defends foreign countries first over Canada and blames the U.N. before criticising the IDF.
Maybe the PM would rather get the facts first and is not a Jew Hater like the people here. You wouldn't all be members of the "National Socialist Canadian Workers' Party" would you?
fu writes:
"Maybe the PM would rather get the facts first and is not a Jew Hater like the people here."
And yet, for someone who allegedly wants to "get the facts first" before passing judgment, there's little Stevie who, according to the article, "doubts that the fatal bombing of a United Nations observer post in southern Lebanon, killing a Canadian soldier, was a deliberate act."
That's some pretty amazing pre-judgment for someone who's still waiting for all the facts to come in, wouldn't you say?
He was expressing his opinion but is holding off judgement. The people here have already "judged".
BTW it wasn't a bomb but artillery fire..much less accurate.
Scrutinize anything about Olmert or the IDF and you're a Jew hater? Well f. u. too. That goes over as well as criticise anything about the Iraq war and you hate the troops and America. Grow up.
Knock it off, folks. I just deleted the last few comments on both sides. If you have a point to make, make it. But if you just want to act like petulant, eight-year-olds, take it somewhere else.
Funny everyone is in a snit about the PM supposedly not admonishing Israel enough about the Canadian deaths, but these same people don't seem to give a damn about the 25 Canadians that died in 9/11 - which is why we are in Afghanistan to begin with. The hell with those 25 Canadians - get out of Afghanistan now. What do you want the PM to do? Declare war on Israel? Ally with Hezbollah? Jump up and down and call the Americans morons? well?
The way I hear it the UN post called the IDF 10 times in 6 hours to ask them not to continue shelling in their vicinity. Given that most of the shells were from mortar fire, and therefore "area bombs" (not accurate); just how stupid do you have to be to hang around until you're hit. Sounds to me like natural selection, albeit at the hands of a military artillery shell. If the personnel at the post didn't have enough brains to abandon an area in the middle of a war theater, then maybe the UN higher-ups should have suggested it. Sorry, I just don't have a whole lot of sympathy for the UN over this one. It's like someone playing in the middle of the 401 and then being surprised when they get hit by a car. DUH!
Gee, I can't think of any way the IDF could have possibly avoided killing those UN workers.
Other than not indescriminately shelling civilian areas.
Stupid UN workers, sitting under shells. All their fault.
For goodness sakes, lives are being snuffed out on both sides on a daily basis, and this debacle is being handled very poorly on all sides. Why is there such partisan polarization on all sides in this country for crying out loud? I thought Canadians were smarter than this.
I do not appreciate the Prime Minister of my country making judgemental statements contradicting the UN and shoring up the rationale for no cease fire before all facts are in but, at the same time, claiming that he will wait till all facts are in. His attitude is, to my mind, rather cavalier and lazy, or perhaps he's unsure of how to proceed. Being that people are being killed every day, and that the UN post posed no danger to the Israelis, yet they were still targeted, he should have waited before making any statements other than he has demanded an investigation by the UN and Israeli government. What is so difficult about that?
Perhaps I'm naive, but I've been watching the polarization of the American electorate for the last 8 years, and I do not appreciate seeing it in my own country.
Post a Comment