Almost universally in the U.S. media, including on National Public Radio, the captured Israeli soldier is being referred to as a hostage and his capture is referred to as a "kidnapping."
2006-06-28
War is War, and Captured Soldiers are Captured Soldiers
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Nadir: What government holds the Isreali soldier?
The Isrealis arrest people trying to overthrow their government, or breaking other laws. That indeed does not qualify as hostage-taking or kidnapping. Those of us who support Isreal as the most-democratic possible government under the circumstances certainly support such arrests.
Palestinian insurgents hold the Israeli soldier, and he is a POW. When George Washington captured red coats during the American Revolution, was he guilty of kidnapping?
The Israeli army is an occupying colonial power just like the US army is in Iraq. You supporters of colonialism also support a double standard when it comes to the reporting of news from those war zones.
Hell, Leonard Peltier is a prisoner of war because he was fighting an occupying army. You better recognize!
Nadir: You raise some good point here, but these are very fine points. Was George Washington a kidnapper? I suppose, by the definition of that word. He was illegally detaining British soldiers, the law of the land being defined then by the British govt. However, at some point during that revolution, the rebels formed a single unified govt, with reprentatives that the British could negotiate with.
These are very fine points, and I'm not sure they are worth making. I am not immovably opposed to labeling the captured Isrelli a POW.
But I won't accept calling Isreal a colonial power, as this clearly defies the definition of colonialism.
And the best way forward for Palistinian freedom, security, and prosperity is clear to me: accept Isreal as it is, focus on building a civilization outside of Isreal's borders, and then lobby peacefully for reformation of Isreal, using your own civilization as an example.
Killing and destroying is easier, of course, but I cannot see that leading to any worthwhile goals.
Post a Comment