A message from Beirut

Aside from one's views on Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers for the purpose of exchanging them for Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails, some of whom have spent a quarter of a century there, the international community must face the fact that Israel's response has been anything but exercising "its right to defend itself." Indeed, Israel's barbarous aerial and naval attack on Lebanon over the past nine days clearly shows a design to terrorize the population and to inflict maximum damage on the country by destroying much of its infrastructure. Considering that many of those killed remain under the rubble of their homes where they cannot be reached, the death toll has surpassed the 400 figure with four times that number injured. Over half a million have been displaced, many of whom encountered horrific escapes from Israeli shelling. The human tragedy is mounting by the hour and its magnitude is lost on those who oppose a cease-fire, professing that Israel needs more time to finish the job. The irony here is that Hezbollah's losses remain extremely minimal while the civilian population bears the brunt of the human and material losses. If Israel wants only to recover its soldiers and "eliminate the threat of Hezbollah" why destroy every bridge, render every road impassable and literally dismember the country. Why repeatedly shell the runways at Beirut's International Airport when it has been rendered inoperable? Why destroy every moving and even stationary truck and prevent the delivery of food and medicine to cut-off villages? Why destroy every fuel storage facility when most people have become dependent on power generators for electricity? Why repeatedly shell the biggest bridge in the Middle East which is the main link in the inter-Arab highway network? Why repeatedly shell civil communication towers and antennas, and why target industrial plants including those at dairy and poultry farms? The list of violations of international law and the Geneva Agreements is a long one; and clearly amount to war crimes under any free judicial system. Prime Minister Fuad Seniora has made an impassioned appeal for a cease-fire and repeatedly called on influential governments, notably the United States, to exert influence to that end. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for an immediate cease-fire in his report to the Security Council, as did several world leaders, notably French President Chirac. But, while Lebanon burns, the US Congress unashamedly declares its support for Israel's war on the country, and the administration bides its time, conveniently forgetting President Bush's pronouncements in favor of Prime Minister Seniora and the democratic government of Lebanon. Indeed there seems to be no end to double standards and broken commitments.