Qana Update
The Jerusalem Post has noted the questions being raised by a number of right-leaning blogs about what actually happened at Qana. It's interesting to note that the IDF is also aware of the various questions and is looking into them. One of the blogs being cited by the JPost is Confederate Yankee, good friend to Blue Crab Boulevard. (But they mis-named his blog).
The IDF is looking into allegations raised over the past few days by several pro-Israel, Jewish and conservative Weblogs that Hizbullah may have staged aspects of the Kana tragedy on Sunday, in which some 60 Lebanese bodies were removed from a building that collapsed seven hours after being hit in an Israel Air Force strike.
The dead were mainly children, women and elderly people.
The International Committee of the Red Cross Mission in Israel said Tuesday that it would inform its Swiss headquarters about the allegations and seek to clarify the questions raised.
Israel has acknowledged hitting the building, and said 150 Katyushas had been fired from the village in the previous 20 days, with Hizbullah hiding rocket launchers in civilian buildings there. Israel said it did not know civilians were inside the building and expressed sorrow over the tragedy.
In a speech on Monday night, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he deeply regretted the deaths of civilians there. "We did not seek to harm them, we did not want their death," he said. "They were not our enemies, they were not the target of our aircraft."
At a press conference on Sunday night, Air Force Chief of Staff Brig.-Gen. Amir Eshel said the building was struck by IAF missiles a little after midnight, but only collapsed seven hours later, at about 7 a.m.
Eshel said he could not explain what caused the structure to collapse so many hours after it was hit, and speculated, while stressing that he had no conclusive evidence, about whether Hizbullah had played a role in what had transpired, perhaps by firing on the building itself.
Another possibility that has been raised is that the building sustained damage from the original strike, but collapsed only later from structural damage or the impact of further IAF strikes nearby. Alternatively, the building may have contained Hizbullah weaponry that detonated after the strike.
MK Benny Elon (National Union) suggested Tuesday that Hizbullah may have played a role in the building's collapse in an attempt to prevent an international force from entering Lebanon and to place blame on Israel.
"In general, Hizbullah prevents citizens from moving from places that the IDF is attacking. This time it was more," said Elon. "It wasn't just prohibiting citizens from leaving this time, it was bringing refugees that aren't residents of Kafr Kana to areas that they know are going to be attacked. And to be sure it's attacked, Hizbullah fires from the building next door in order to create the crisis and in order to create the pictures."
As I wrote yesterday, these questions are not conspiracy theory, despite the Washington Post deciding to jump on that particular little meme earlier today. These are legitimate questions about inconsistencies. It is not citing the absence of proof as proof, a hallmark of conspiracy theories. It is not attempting to rewrite the laws of physics as the 9/11 deniers are trying to do. I have maintained all along that there is enough appearance of problems to warrant a full and thorough investigation.
As I wrote yesterday, these questions are not conspiracy theory, despite the Washington Post deciding to jump on that particular little meme earlier today. These are legitimate questions about inconsistencies. It is not citing the absence of proof as proof, a hallmark of conspiracy theories. It is not attempting to rewrite the laws of physics as the 9/11 deniers are trying to do. I have maintained all along that there is enough appearance of problems to warrant a full and thorough investigation.
Other Links to this Post
-
The Right Nation — Wednesday, 2 August , 2006 @ 4:09 pm
By Steve, Wednesday, 2 August , 2006 @ 7:46 pm
How about those Iranian built hospitals in Hezbollah controlled Baalbenk?
Hezbollah Hospitals Aren’t Exactly What They Appear to Be