US study: IDF didn't violate laws of war

[Mosby]

WASHINGTON – Israel did not violate the laws of war during its recent Gaza operation, a new US study says, while praising the IDF's "impressive improvements" since the war against Hizbullah in 2006.

Israel "deliberately used decisive force to enhance regional deterrence and demonstrate that it had restored its military edge," wrote Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "These, however, are legitimate military objectives in spite of their very real humanitarian costs."

The study notes that "political efforts to manipulate the laws of war and humanitarian considerations have become a key weapon in asymmetric warfare, and are often used as a basis for propaganda and gaining political leverage in this type of conflict."

"Real suffering is translated into exaggerated charges and numbers that cannot be validated by reliable data or methodology," the study says. "In practice, even if Israel had agreed to all of the conventions involved, they are severely limited and often difficult or impossible to apply to the realities of war — even one fought with restraint and a focus on military targets."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3666995,00.html

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. Yeah, because we've written the book on abiding to laws of war.

:sarcasm:

[atreides1]

2. Anthony H. Cordesman

Here's a glowing endorsement:

He is a former National Security Assistant to Senator John McCain.

But wait there's more:

Cordesman's work has been called "prolific," but "imprecise," and he has been accused of presenting "opinions... as fact, " of "sloppiness with sources and citations," and of producing books that read "like a notebook with facts and figures cut-and-pasted, then poorly integrated into the narrative."


In other words just another war mongering hack!!!

[oberliner]

5. All those comments in your "wait there's more" section are by one person about one of his books

They are all quotes from Michael Rubin's review about one of Cordesman's book about Iraq.

[Idealism]

3. I see Cordesman has met John Yoo

[madrchsod]

4. yes...he`s a very interesting apologist for israel

he actually claimed iraq and afghanistan are winnable....

now that`s a creditable source

[Middle finga]

6. The US have a small credibility problem

That's about like letting OJ be the judge at the Scott Peterson trial

[bunnies]

10. bwwaaahahaha! Perfect analogy.

:thumbsup:

[whosinpower]

7. War sucks. period.

I hate it.

[bemildred]

8. What's that sucking sound I hear?

I always have to laugh when these weasels come along and talk about "political efforts to manipulate" laws. Laws are political, the deal is they are at least supposed to be applied in a uniform manner. If you are not up for that, you have no business blathering about law. It's nice that he at least admits in there that the "laws of war" are bullshit.

[Tesha]

9. What a shock (that we'd support that position). (NT)

[scarletwoman]

11. What "war"? It was a one-sided slaughter in an open air prison.

Feh.

[oberliner]

13. That's not the way Hamas sees it

Hamas leaders have repeatedly referred to it as a war.

They have repeatedly bragged that the Israelis have not been able to stop the rocket attacks and they have even suggested that Israel has covered up the numbers of Israelis killed (and the means by which they were killed).

[scarletwoman]

14. I see that you've read the piece on Hamas I posted this morning.

There are so many uses of the word "war". What I was thinking of was "war" in the sense of two armed groups meeting openly on a field of battle.

Hamas barely struck back in Gaza, they say so themselves.

sw

[oberliner]

15. I did - thank you for posting

I've also seen various other comments from Meshaal and others who speak of recent events in Gaza as a "war" and accuse Israel of lying when they say that their troops were killed in "friendly fire" incidents.

In any case, I would respectfully dispute your description of what happened as a "slaughter in an open air prison".

Can we agree that the most accurate description lies somewhere between the two?

[scarletwoman]

16. I will agree that our perceptions differ.

But I will never see bombs dropped into civilian areas by a superior force as anything other than slaughter, and that goes for what the U.S. does in Iraq and Afghanistan as well.

sw

[ProgressiveProfessor]

17. War is all about superior force and firepower

Ending war would be a good thing, making it a fair fight would be even more tragic

[oberliner]

18. Meshaal: It's the first time the Palestinians have won a direct war with the enemy.

Khaled Mashaal spoke before thousands of supporters at a Damascus rally. He repeated claims that the Palestinians had won the war in Gaza.

"It is impudence to try to reverse the results of the war, and to try to dictate the terms for negotiations on the ceasefire, as if the loser won and the winner lost," the exiled leader declared.

"If we had lost," he wondered, "would these thousands have arrived to celebrate? Who would celebrate a loss? It is a victory for the entire nation. It's the first time the Palestinians have won a direct war with the enemy."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3667851,00.html

[Jefferson23]

12. How shocking that this would come out of the US...NOT.