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Qana - The facts!

No one in his right mind could be anything other than appalled and shocked by the actions of the Israelis in Qana. It appears absolute wanton death and destruction for its own sake. Israel is rightly condemned and no apologies or attempted excuses post the event can detract from what Israel has wrought - as Dr. David Clark, former UK Labour Government advisor writes in Guardian Unlimited today:

"As if we didn't know it already, the conflict in Lebanon shows that truth and war don't mix. All parties to the tragedy of the Middle East resort to disinformation and historical falsification to bolster their case, but rarely has an attempt to rewrite the past occurred so soon after the fact. Israeli ministers and their supporters have justified the bombardment of Lebanon as "a matter of survival". Total war has been declared on Israel, so Israel is entitled to use the methods of total war in self-defence. This would be reasonable if it were true, but it isn't. It's completely false.

The conflict was triggered by a Hizbullah operation in which two Israeli soldiers were captured and three killed. Let's be frank, this wasn't exactly the Tet offensive. It certainly didn't justify Israel's ferocious onslaught against the very fabric of Lebanese society. Yes, the rocket attacks on Haifa are an appalling crime, but they followed rather than preceded Israel's decision to escalate the fighting. They cannot provide retrospective justification for Israeli strategy."

Read Clark's full piece here.

Meanwhile, hear an up to date report from Human Rights Watch on what occurred in Qana - on ABC Radio's Breakfast program this morning. Bottom line the director of emergency services of Human Rights Watch states emphatically that no one in Qana - be they reporters, aid workers, etc. - has seen any rocket-launchers, or anything else, which would have propelled the Israelis to "attack" Qana.

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