The Israeli government has
agreed to release a
brutal Hezbollah killer for the dead bodies of the two IDF
soldiers that were kidnapped in 2006, providing the inciting
incident for the Lebanon War. In one sense, this demonstrates the
emphasis the Israelis place on the sanctity of human life, or in
this case, the honor of the dead. But whatever the emotional
reasons are for negotiating the swap, it's a deal that puts more
Israeli lives at risk. Already, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar has
declared that the deal with Hezbollah will raise the price (in
terms of Hamas terrorist prisoners) it will demand from Israel for
the evidently living Gilad Schalit. In the future, this will
encourage terrorist groups from kidnapping Israeli soldiers, and
give them less reason to keep them alive. It's another example of
the incompetence of the Olmert government.
Over at Contentions,
Eric Trager wonders whether Olmert is the worst politician
ever, and Emanuele Ottolenghi
notes that if the captured Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and
Ehud Goldwasser are in fact dead, it raises a number of
"troublesome questions," including:
When did the government know that the two soldiers
were in all likelihood dead? Was it immediately after Hezbollah's
incursion into Israeli territory, on July 12, 2006? If so, the
government launched a military campaign of 33 days, that cost the
lives of over 130 Israelis, in order to rescue the dead bodies of
two. Some explaining is in order, if that is the case.
topics:
Military, Israel
