260 IDF Commander: Israeli Attacks ‘Crazy and Monstrous’

Meron Rapoport has an interesting article in Haaretz on the use of cluster munitions and phosphorous in the last days of the Lebanon war:

“In Lebanon, we covered entire villages with cluster bombs, what we did there was crazy and monstrous,” testifies a commander in the Israel Defense Forces’ MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) unit. Quoting his battalion commander, he said the IDF fired some 1,800 cluster rockets on Lebanon during the war and they contained over 1.2 million cluster bombs. The IDF also used cluster shells fired by 155 mm artillery cannons, so the number of cluster bombs fired on Lebanon is even higher. At the same time, soldiers in the artillery corps testified that the IDF used phosphorous shells, which many experts say is prohibited by international law. According to the claims, the overwhelming majority of the weapons mentioned were fired during the last ten days of the war.

More:

According to the commander, in order to compensate for the rockets’ imprecision, the order was to “flood” the area with them. “We have no option of striking an isolated target, and the commanders know this very well,” he said.

Full article…

[tags]Israel, Cluster munitions, cluster bombs, Lebanon[/tags]

4 Comments »

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  1. I don’t know whether to applaud the Israelis for being self-critical and willing to discuss the use of cluster bombs, or shake them for rallying around the flag during the war instead of speaking out when they really could have made a difference. Why did this commander not speak out when he was on active duty? It sounds rather like sour grapes at this point.

    Comment by SP — September 13, 2006 #

  2. Agreed. I think both responses are probably legit, though disobeying an order in war is obv. harder and messier than speaking out after the fact.

    Comment by Administrator — September 13, 2006 #

  3. Sure it’s difficult and messy to speak out during a war but of what use is self-critique if it only occurs when it doesn’t matter any more? I mean, if there’s another war in a few months and the Israeli govt decides it can use cluster munitions again, will it have the same 80% approval ratings and a few mea culpas when the war is safely over?

    Comment by SP — September 14, 2006 #

  4. I hear you. Let’s hope not.

    Comment by Administrator — September 14, 2006 #

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