HRW's reports on the July 06 Israeli Agression on Lebanon: Complacency and Prejudice

Yesterday, Friday, Human Right's Watch executive director Kenneth Roth was speaking on Radio Canada's As It Happens about HRW's reports on the July 06 Israeli Lebanese war. He said both sides, Israel and Hezbollah, targeted civilian populations. More than 1000 civilians died in Lebanon while only 43 of the 163 Israeli casualties were civilians.

At the question that why HRW stopped short of accusing Israel of war crimes while it accused Hezbollah of war crimes, when both are accused of targeting civilians, Mr. Roth gave this quite silly answer: "War crimes are attributed to individuals. The Israeli army high commanders were not involved in issuing the orders for the bombings that killed Lebanese civilians, only army personnel and individuals at low command positions were. And the orders for bombing Israeli civilians were issued by the Hezbollah highest military authorities."

So either Mr. Roth is suggesting that Israel's bombing of Lebanese civilians was an error, which his report clearly rules out, or he is suggesting that only low level army personnel in the Israeli army committed war crimes, therefore exonerating the high level and the state of Israel, while not even accusing the low level of war crimes, leaving it to the Israeli army to instruct such an accusation or not. We know this tactic since the Abu Ghraib scandal...I have difficulty understanding Mr. Roth. There are many contradictions in his conclusions...

And how Mr. Roth knew that the Israeli bombings of Lebanese civilians were issued at a lower level ? Well Israel's army high command told him and he believed them. And he seems to have drawn the conclusion for the Hezbollah out of his pocket. Because, frankly, the distinction Mr. Roth is making of levels of command can apply to any army versus militia. When Hezbollah will be able to organise fully in an army with nultiple levels of command to hide who is making the real commands for operations on the ground, they will get rid of any accusation of war crimes then...

Mr. Roth said also that they had a very constructive discussion with the Israeli military command (not with the Israeli government whom he accused of denial... this is also quite surprising coming from Mr. Roth by the way because we all know that the July 06 war was entirely directed by the Israeli government and not by the army and that this was a major factor in their defeat) while, on the other side, Hezbollah threatened to demonstrate against the report if HRW were to make a press conference about it in Beyrouth. Which means that making a way for discussion with HRW might spare you a war crime accusation, for diplomacy sake...

Mr. Roth got it quite wrong. he questioned the wrong people. He did not go high enough in his investigation about the orders of bombing Lebanese civilians and Lebanon's infrastructure, the Israeli and the US governments...He had soft talk with the low level command of the July 06 war, the Israeli army...

That's the organisation who is defending Human Rights. Don't you feel vindicated and secure when this organisation bows to zionist pressure, does not investigate high enough in the hierarchy, makes diplomatic talks with an army who is known for its horrible human rights record, and takes prejudice as a base for its conclusions ? I mean why on earth do they need to investigate when at the end what prevails is complacency and prejudice ?