Here’s the thing: I tend to agree with some folks that the creation of the state of Israel was an example of colonialism at its worst and was, ultimately, a mistake. I don’t disparage the jewish community their right to have a homeland or anything like that, but the way Israel was created was really one of history’s bigger bonehead moves and you can directly trace all of the events occurring in the Middle East to that moment and the colonialism that lead to it.
Like I said, though, I don’t disparage the jewish people their right to a homeland and, since the deed is done, they are obligated to answer any incursion onto their sovereignty with the appropriate retaliatory force. So, while the heat in the Middle East sucks, it’s ultimately Lebanon’s fault for allowing Hezbollah’s terrorists to operate within its borders.
None of this, however, gives Israel carte blanc to fire at will. Two UN Observers were killed and two others are missing following an Israeli airstrike on an apparently well-known and well-marked UN observation post. Now, Israel is supposed to be an ally of the U.S. and, theoretically, the good guys in this situation, so I’m initially inclined to give them a bit of a pass on this. It’s war, war is confusing, the UN post may have been collateral damage, the Israelis screwed up big time but, really, they couldn’t have possibly intended to destroy the UN post, could they?
Or could they?
The same question was asked in 1967 during the Six Days War between Israel and its neighbors Syria, Jordan and Egypt. On June 8th of that year, the U.S.S. Liberty fell under attack by Israeli forces. The Liberty was sitting in the gulf between the nations at war observing and monitoring the traffic between them. There are a lot of facts and figures that are in dispute, but what is not in dispute is the fact that Israeli war planes and torpedo boats brutally attacked the Liberty, killing 34 members of the crew and injuring 173 others. Israeli officials said they believed that the Liberty was an Egyptian ship, despite the Liberty’s clearly American markings and the U.S. flags flown from the deck. It has been hinted that the reason Israel attacked the Liberty is because they intended to put it out of commission and potentially blame their enemies for the attack while also precipitating an incident that would make it look like Syria had been the aggresor in the war. These are pure speculation and have a tinfoil hat quality to them, but the point is that motive was possible.
So why attack a UN Post? Doesn’t make a lot of sense. I’m completely willing to accept that this was an accident and a sad casualty of war, though the folks who made the mistake should be removed from service and punished accordingly. However, in light of the fact that such a grave mistake has been made by the Israelis before - a fighting force known for their highly focused surgical strike capabilities and expert command of combat strategy - this is an incident that needs careful attention paid to it.
The Vietnam War started with the incident in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Spanish American War was started by the destruction of the Maine (Remember the Maine?) No war was started by the destruction of the Liberty - the whole thing was swept under the rug by U.S. officials. Israel is currently our ally, and this is something many of us have just accepted as a fact. But should they be?
