Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Killing Ahmed

In 2004 the IDF killed Ahmed Yassin with a Hellfire missile strike that also killed a number of bystanders. Yassin was an octogenarian in a wheelchair. While the civilized world would generally look askance at firing a Hellfire at an old guy in a wheelchair, the IDF was given a pass because Yassin was a senior Hamas boffin.

The IDF remained the most moral army in the world.

Eight years later, Ahmed Jabari was one of the first casualties of  the 2012 attack on Gaza. Jabari was a senior Hamas figure. He died on a Wednesday. Until the preceding Tuesday, he had been involved in "peace" talks with Israel. While the civilized world would generally look askance at murdering one's peace partners, the IDF was given a pass because Jabari was a senior Hamas boffin.

The IDF remained the most moral army in the world.

In between those two murders was Operation Cast Lead. The debut operation of Cast Lead was to attack a graduation ceremony of Gaza traffic cops. Gaza traffic cops are trained to manage traffic in Gaza, and God knows they need more of those. Gaza traffic cops do not launch missiles into Israel. Traffic cops are in no way a legitimate military target. The IDF was given a pass because Gaza traffic cops are issued sidearms, and they are Palestinians, so obviously they are legitimate targets.

The IDF remained the most moral army in the world.

How far will we stretch the concept of "morality" before we admit that there are no moral armies anywhere in the world?

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