At 1945 Michael Rubin raises an interesting point—is the United States holding Israel to a higher standard than it has held itself?
The Islamic State did not level Raqqa; American bombardment did. Syrian Kurds fought alongside U.S. troops, going block-by-block to rid the town of the Islamic State.
Because of their sacrifice, life had started to return to Raqqa. A youth soccer team scrimmaged in the stadium that just a couple years previously the Islamic State used as a prison and torture center. Some stores in the market had opened, selling falafel and fruit, wedding gowns, toys, and school supplies.
Mosul was in bad shape, too. Again, it was not the Islamic State that destroyed the city, but rather the urban fighting necessary to liberate it. Aerial bombardment, artillery barrages, and door-to-door fighting destroyed more than 130,000 houses. The Islamic State was ruthless. Several houses bore the telltale signs of suicide bomber detonation.
At the height of the Battles of Raqqa and Mosul, civilians trapped in both cities suffered. Food and water were in short supply. There was little medicine. Electricity was out for days. Neither residents nor the international community demanded the Syrian Kurds, Iraqi Army, or their American partners stand down to allow international organizations to establish humanitarian corridors. Momentum mattered. To allow Turkey to ship emergency supplies would mean helping the Islamic State at the expense of the civilians the group terrorized. Even a cease-fire would allow the Islamic State to regroup, reorganize, and seize human shields.
I don’t know the answer to his question. I’m more concerned with the reluctance of some people in the U. S. or the United Nations to hold Hamas to any standard at all.
If you will remember, we ended the first Battle of Falujah over the outcries about civilian casualties. IIRC the ratio of civilians killed to ISIS/terrorists killed was much lower that what analysts think happens in Israel. In Mosul humanitarian lines were kept open and people had plenty of time to leave before the battle started. Mosul did not exist in a blockade for years where people could not leave. It wasn’t desperately poor like Gaza. Finally, I dont remember calls from people in Mosul for humanitarian aid.
I think he is really pushing this. Another difference is that from the outset depriving Gaza of food and water was a stated policy. To the best of my memory that was never a policy of the US anywhere but rather a side effect of the fighting. People make the case that intent matters. That Israel is trying to kill Hamas and kills civilians accidentally. Maybe intent matters here also. Israel intended to cause a humanitarian crisis.
Steve
Holding to a higher standard than the US? Seriously?
The US stance isn’t about civilians. It is about blowing Iranians in pursuit of a nuclear deal. Like chasing a white whale. Pure politics.
Steve. Pursuing political justification through comparative body counts. Such a nice man, you.