"Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons." Bertrand Russell

Friday, August 04, 2006

Dis Information

Dear Madam, (Email to the Irish Times)

Why does the Irish Times repeatedly entertain dis-information from those that wish to demonise Iran? On Thursday Sean Gannon, Chairman, Irish Friends of Israel, wrote; "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly demanded that Israel be "wiped off the map."" Mary Fitzgerald wrote the same over a week ago. Rob Weatherill the same a week before.
The Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute, gives the following as the correct translation of the remark in question: "Imam [ Khomeini] said: 'This regime that is occupying Qods [ Jerusalem] must be eliminated from the pages of history.' This sentence is very wise. The issue of Palestine is not an issue on which we can compromise."

Neither the quote, nor the speech it was contained in endorse military action, indeed it does not support killing anyone at all. The phrase you refer to is in actuality "almost metaphysical." Professer Juan Cole explained "It is in fact probably a reference to some phrase in a medieval Persian poem. It is not about tanks."

While these writers may disapprove of the present Iranian regime they must at least be obliged base their disapproval on something real, not the misinterpreted rhetoric of a hardliner. The purpose of using this inaccurate translation is to portray the Iranian President as a blood thirsty war monger, and therefore justify Israel's aggression towards the Lebanese population.
Hizbullah alleged use of human shields is also offered as further justification of Israeli aggression, yet Hizbullah primarily target Israeli military targets. And despite constant reports of barrages of missiles falling near Israeli towns they inflicted only a fraction of the number of deaths Israel has managed.

Many of the incidents that have elicited this explanation from Israel and it's allies, on further inspection, have shown that Hizbullah activity has been almost non-existent in cases of alleged human shields.

Even the Israeli Minister for Justice has rebutted the idea that the Hizbullah force non-combatants to act as human shields:

"Asked whether entire villages should be flattened, he [Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon]said:"These places are not villages. They are military bases in which Hezbollah people are hiding and from which they are operating."

"All those now in south Lebanon are terrorists who are related in some way to Hezbollah,"he said."

Yours sincerely,

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/letters/2006/0724/


Human Rights Watch reported, "Israeli forces have systematically failed to distinguish between combatants and civilians in their military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon," and, "Hezbollah's attacks in Israel on Sunday and Monday were at best indiscriminate at worst the deliberate targeting of civilians."

Notice the use of language, 'failed to distinguish' versus 'deliberate targeting'.

As Chomsky noted, Israel 'must do better', terrorists 'evil'.

Via...Klas at boards.

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