Lebanon - The Crimes Continue

While everyone has moved their attention from Lebanon to the UK in the wake of the 'terror crisis', the destruction of Lebanon and the inaction of the UN continues. Luckily the terror alert has diverted attention from the very real threat to civilians in Lebanon. Which is jolly useful if you are deeply unpopular government (watch those poll ratings rise).

The latest worrying development, is the attempt to purchase cluster bombs from the US government. Now everyone is well aware of the effects of the use of cluster bombs. They are an indiscriminate weapon that can cause widespread civilian deaths, both in the short term and, when they fail to detonate, in the longer term. The use of these weapons have long been disputed by many governments across the world. Belgium has banned the export of these weapons and others like France, Germany, Denmark have been making moves to follow the Belgian government. Of course the US is, as always, reluctant to call for a ban on what it sees as a vital military weapon. It is deeply irresponsible, however, for Bush Corp to even contemplate selling more weapons to Israel. The Israeli government is frequently keen to point out that the reason so many Lebanese civilians are killed in their air raids is due to the fact that Hizbullah fighters are allegedly firing missiles from amongst the civilian population. If this is true, we are they seeking to use more indiscriminate weaponry?? Surely this will lead to an increase in civilian deaths? Still, a senior official has told the Israelis that they

must be especially careful about firing the rockets into populated areas.

Well, that's ok then isn't it?

Meanwhile, the Israeli ambassador to the UN has rejected Russia's proposal for a three day ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to get through. Apparently, this is because Hizbullah will use the opportunity to re-group. It would seem that if anyone needs the time to re-group it is the Israeli forces, particularly as they are failing to do anything about the resistance in Lebanon. Once again the people who will suffer are the Lebanese. Their infrastructure has been destroyed, civilians are unable to leave the area and the aid efforts are virtually impossible. The fact that the western governments still have not called for an immediate ceasefire, is nothing less than a crime against humanity. For four weeks the bloodshed has been continuing, while the UN is blocked from doing the work that is necessary to aid the Lebanese people. And yet, the Israeli government (and one must presume, the US government) fails to support a resolution which would allow aid to reach the people who so desperately need it.

Despite this, there is hope. American voters in Connecticut have already made clear their views on the criminal activities of their elected representatives by kicking out Lieberman. Now we need to ensure the removal of the arch-war criminals, Bush and Blair. It is not the people who should be fearful, but the elected representatives of a murderous agenda.