Can't Please Everyone II

Seems Ignatieff is now saying again that Israel did commit war crimes, but has added that Hezbollah did too. This statement is actually in line with what reputed human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have been saying, although of course Israel routinely dismisses any criticism of its human rights record by these groups.

However, he also said that Israel has the right to defend himself. Well, I’m not going to argue against that in principle, but what does this principle have to do with Israel’s sustained and massive attack on Lebanon last summer? Did the Israelis have the “right” to do that? But then, did anyone in Lebanon have the right to resist being attacked? Or does the right to self-defence apply to some but not to others?

When Ignatieff said that he “wasn’t losing sleep” over civilian deaths, he was doing so in a context in which he was clearly defending Israel’s bombing of Qena, implicitly denying that it was anything like a war crime. So he’s changed his mind since then. Now, changing one’s mind can be a good thing- but why has he changed it? And why did he change it when talking to a Quebec TV audience? Forgive my cynicism, but I imagine he thought he might get more votes in Quebec by “clarifying” his position in this way. It’s unfortunate that he didn’t speak out against the atrocities when they were happening.