War Crimes in Lebanon

As of this posting almost 300 people have been killed in Lebanon, and nearly all of them are civilians. An article on the front page of the New York Times quotes a U.N. official who's concerned these acts of violence and terror could amount to war crimes.

Sounding an alarm about humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon - where Israeli bombs, rockets and shells have pounded villages, roads and bridges, where much of the population has fled and where supplies are running short - the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Louise Arbour, said the fighting might amount to war crimes.

"The scale of the killings in the region, and their predictability, could engage the personal criminal responsibility of those involved, particularly those in a position of command and control," she said. Ms. Arbour is a former war crimes prosecutor.

There is no mistaking this as anything other than a human rights disaster and still our national leadership will do nothing to stop it. In fact, U.S. leaders are going to turn their backs on thousands of innocent men, women and children, and give another nation a freebie week to carry out unspeakable violence.

This is such a double standard. The international community would never allow other countries in the region to mercilessly kill hundreds of civilians. Never.

I'm sick. I'm absolutely sickened that this is happening and no one is doing a damn thing to stop it. I'm also terrified that it's going to get worse. What's going to happen when wealthy western countries have evacuated all of their citizens? Will it be an open invitation to destroy southern Lebanon?