As usual, the U.S. ain't going to do a damn thing to punish Israel or to prevent them from doing the same thing again. This is why the U.S. is complicit in Israeli war crimes (and yes, Hezbollah was also guilty of war crimes). One war crime does not justify another war crime. If the U.S. had an unambiguous policy on human rights we would have the moral high ground to levy criticsm and sanctions on others. We do not sanction ourselves or our allies when we violate human rights. Therefore we cannot honestly criticize or condemn our adversaries for similar violations.
Also, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack's statement in the last quoted paragraph of the Reuters story below in which he asserts that Hezbollah used civilians as human shields is completely unsubstantiated AFAIK.
Israel's use of cluster bombs from U.S. examined
quote:As usual liberal catnip has the common sense solution:
POSTED: 0245 GMT (1045 HKT), January 27, 2007
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
• U.S. says Israel may have violated agreement by using clusters in Lebanon
• U.S. supplied the bombs, which have killed more than 20 people since end of war
• Israel says it "acted as any government would in ... self-defense"
• Congress expected to be notified of the situation Monday
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The Bush administration will notify Congress Monday that Israel may have violated agreements with Washington when it fired U.S.-supplied cluster munitions into Lebanon in its war with Hezbollah last summer, The New York Times reported in Sunday editions.
Citing State Department officials who spoke Saturday, the Times said the preliminary findings had spawned a sharp debate -- which one official characterized as "head-butting" -- within the administration over whether Washington should penalize its ally for using cluster munitions in towns and villages where Hezbollah guerrillas placed rocket launchers.
The Times reported some midlevel Pentagon and State Department officials contended Israel violated U.S. prohibitions on using cluster munitions against populated areas.
Other officials in the two departments argue Israel used the arms in self-defense to stop Hezbollah's rocket attacks, which would amount to a technical violation at most.
Cluster bombs are small explosive devices that are released from a projectile and are dispersed and supposed to explode on hitting the ground. But many remain unexploded. More than 20 people have been killed and 70 wounded by cluster bombs since the end of the war in August. Israel has said it only deploys them in accordance with international law.
Several U.S. officials said they expected little further action on the matter, the Times said. One option being considered was barring additional sales of cluster munitions for a set period, one official told the paper.
The State Department began investigating the matter in August. Spokesman Sean McCormack said Congress would be informed Monday of preliminary findings on possible violations of the Arms Export Control Act, which governs arms sales, but a final determination was still being debated.
"It is important to remember the kind of war Hezbollah waged," the Times quoted McCormack as saying. "They used innocent civilians as a way to shield their fighters."
~~~snip~~~
It's simple: Ban Cluster Bombs by liberal catnip - Saturday, January 27, 2007
