If others were in Israel's shoes

Immediately following the Israeli bombing of a house in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared the attack one of its most successful strikes in Israel's war against terrorism. Salah Shehade, a leading Hamas militant and a known enemy of the state of Israel was killed. The death of Mr. Shehade, in all likelihood, means that future attacks against Israel have been impeded and Israeli lives have been saved.

Israel's triumphant stance has quickly disappeared. In the wake of criticism and cries that a "war crime" has been committed, the Israeli posture has turned somewhat (albeit not completely) apologetic.

Israel and the world appropriately mourn the lost lives of many Palestinian civilians. But in this Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the world also seems to perpetually lose sight of one of the truths of war. In times of war, innocent civilians are often killed. No one likes it, yet it happens. A war crime does not occur simply because civilians have died. A war crime occurs when civilians are the targets of an attack, rather than accidental casualties of an attack gone awry.

Civilians killed in Israeli-led attacks are, historically, merely bystanders in the wrong place at the wrong time. The same is not true of Israeli casualties of Palestinian attacks. Palestinian suicide bombers are targeting civilians. Which is the war crime?

The death of Palestinian civilians on Tuesday morning, while terrible and tragic, does not undermine Israel's motive for attacking in the first place. Israel has a right to defend itself against terrorists who target their civilian citizens. Imagine what Americans would do in a comparable situation.

Reliable intelligence sheds light on the location of Osama bin Laden. He is hiding in a house in Kandahar. It is believed that he may have an aide or bodyguard with him, but that the house he is hiding in is otherwise empty. Although in the middle of a crowded city, the house is surrounded by a large yard, and it is believed that an attack on the house can be confined. Finally. We have pinpointed the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, a known enemy of the United States.

President Bush is faced with an important decision. Does he authorize an attack, or does he hold back?

We all know the answer. He launches the attack, finally bringing to justice the man most responsible for September 11. President Bush's decision likely saves the lives of many American civilians as future terrorist attacks - aimed at civilians - are prevented.

One day in our memories, one act of terrorism could quite feasibly cause the United States to launch an attack similar in nature to the one launched by Israel early Tuesday morning. Why should we expect Israel, which is sometimes attacked on a daily basis, to do anything less?

The world does not have to actively support the Israeli war against the Palestinian terrorists. It should not, however, support the Palestinian terrorists, even indirectly, by demanding that Israel not fight a war that any other nation would fight in its place. Nor should nations tolerate Israel's war against terrorism, but then demand that Israel fight the war less than wholeheartedly.

America, after all, re-shaped the government of an entire country based upon just one terrorist attack on American soil. We were justified in our reaction to the events of September 11. Likewise, Israel is justified in fighting its own war, as long as it does so honorably and does not resort to terrorism of its own. Tuesday morning's attack on a known and dangerous enemy of the state of Israel does not fall into this category, despite the unintended civilian casualties. It was an act of self-defense that we ourselves would undertake against Osama bin Laden if we were even once given the chance.

Osama bin Laden, Palestinian terrorists, Salah Shehade, all people who hold women and children in and around their compounds as shields; People who target civilians rather the more conventional warfare of guns and bombs and a specific target.

"Israel's triumphant stance has quickly disappeared. In the wake of criticism and cries that a "war crime" has been committed..."

This is the press and the socialist left with their propaganda at work and doing a fine job of it knowing full well that Palestine is the perpetrator. Israel's Sharon is doing what he should do, protecting his country from those who would destroy it. That is War and in War civilians get killed! Arafat's Palestinian way of fighting is far more heinous and cowardly than conventional fighting, that is your War Crime, not the other way around.

Look at who is backing Arafat, who is sending money for weapons and where it comes from...there you will find the truth and it isn't pretty.

4th Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Part 3, Article 1, Section 28:
"The presence of a protected person (aka civilian noncombatant) may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations."

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