Honestly, Nadine, I don't think the US is facing as difficult a time with the double standard that Israel does, and my guess is that it never will
Wait and see. The techniques have been all worked out in the Israeli/Pal conflict, just as the Spanish Civil War was the practice run for WWII. The US may have more freedom to act, being much more powerful, but we have only just begun to hear the howls of "international illegitimacy", "Bush=Saddam", "Bush=Hitler", etc, etc.
Israel/Palestine has been two scorpions in a bottle for 50 plus years, to the point that the participants have become desensitized to the humanity of the adversary.
I tell you you are wrong. Israel is still aware of the humanity of the adversary. I'm not saying that Israelis are immune to the brutalization of war, but just look at the tactics the Palestinians have chosen. Most of them wouldn't work if the Israelis were truly desensitized to the humanity of the Palestinians. The Palestinians are one of the first combat groups in history to use their own children as human shields. Previously, it was necessary to get some of the enemy's women and children to have an effective hostage.
Many, perhaps most, Americans, and certainly the best ones, and I put myself into that category, are proud that Americans are held to a higher standard than Saddam Hussein, the Ba'ath party, Osama bin Laden, and Al Qaeda.
The Israelis also pride themselves on having a much higher standard. Every step they have taken has been debated before an ethics board with considerable anguish. But the Israelis have learned that if they are to protect their own children from terrorists, they must learn not to ever expect to get dispensation from the rest of the world. At least the Israeli Center and Right have learned this.
Have Americans learned this yet? They will need to. |
