Killing 10 to 20 Palestinians per day the everyday life became. The mentality of the generals is force-oriented. It is based on the conviction that one can solve all problems by force. If this does not lead to the goal, then evenly by more force. Of Uri Avnery.

(kreuz.net) „it seems, Nasrallah remained alive “.

Announced Israeli newspapers, after 23 tons of bombs had been thrown off on the Beiruter area, where one had assumed the hiding place of the Hezbollah leader. An interesting formulation.

Some hours after bombardments Nasrallah gave to the television channel Al-Jazeera an interview. It did not look alive only, but was even calm and calmly. He spoke about the bombs - a proof for it that the interview came from the same day.

What meant thus „does it seem “? Very simply. Nasrallah states to be alive. But one cannot trust Arabs. Everyone knows nevertheless that Arabs always lie.

Belongs to its nature - like it the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak once expressed.

Killing this man is a national goal. Nearly the principal purpose of this war. It is perhaps the first war in the history, which by a state is begun, in order to kill only one person.

Up to now only the Mafiosi thought in such categories. Even the British did not explain the killing of Hitler in the Second World War as their war goal. On the contrary: They wanted to catch it alive, in order to place it before a court.

Also the Americans in their war wanted that against Saddam Hussein.

But our Ministers call an official goal. That is not a large piece of news. Successive ones Israeli governments undertook the policy to kill the leaders of oppositional groups.

Our army killed among other things the Hezbollah leader Abbas Mussawi, the number two the PLO Abu Jihad, sheikh Ahmad Jassin and other Hamasführer.

Nearly all Palestinians - and not only it - are convinced of that Jassir Arafat was also murdered.

The consequences? The place of Mussawi was taken by Nasrallah, which is many abler. Far more radical leaders followed sheikh Jassin. In place of Arafat we have now the Hamas.

As in other political affairs also this argumentation is controlled by a primitive military opinion.

If someone looks the Israeli television screens after longer, he could win the impression that Israel is governed by a military junta of the kind of earlier South American states.

On all television channels appear each evening a number of high officers in uniform. They explain not only the military operations of the daily, but commentate also political things and specify the political and propagandistic line.

During the other hours of the television and radio program former generals repeat the message of the army commanders.

Some of them particularly intelligently out does not see saying over not directly „stupidly “. It is frightening that these people held once positions, in which it decided, who was allowed to live and who had to die.

Naturally we live in a democracy. The army is perfectly subordinated to the civilian establishment. After the law the cabinet is the highest commander of the army - which closes in Israel the fleet and the Air Force.

In practice there is however the officers, who decide today on all political and military affairs.

If the commander in chief of the Israeli armed forces, Dan Haluz, which says to Ministers, whom army has these or decided that operation, no Minister dares to be correct against it. Certainly not the poor Secretaries of Defense of the labour party.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert presents itself as the inheritance of Churchill: „Blood, sweat and tears “. That sounds pathetisch enough.

Secretary of Defense Amir Peretz stands with proudly swollen chest there and distributes after all directions threats - also that is pathetisch. It does not resemble anything as much as a fly, which sits and boasts on the ear of an ox: „We plow! “

The general chief of staff announced last week satisfies: „The army enjoys of the full support of the government. “

Also that is an interesting formulation. That means, the army decides, what is made, and the government stands „behind it “. Like that it is natural.

Now it is no more secret. This war was for a long time planned. The military correspondents reported this week proudly, who army had this war for years in detail prepared.

Only one month ago there was a large war game, in order to learn the invasion of the land troops into south Lebanon. That was at a time, when politicians explained such as generals that „we never go in again into the Lebanon sump. We will never invade there more with land troops. “

Now we are in the middle in this sump, and strong army parts operate in this area.

Also the other side had prepared for years. She did not only build hiding places for thousands of rockets, it also a refined system of shelters, caves and tunnels in the vietnamesischen style built.

Our soldiers will come this system now on the trace and a high price will pay. Like always our army treated „the Arabs “with contempt and estimated their military abilities small.

That is one of the problems of military mentality. Talleyrand did not have injustice, when he said: „The war is a much to serious affair, that one can leave it to the military. “

The mentality of the generals, whom is derived from their education and their occupation, is force-oriented, linear from their nature, in order not to say „primitively “. It is based on the conviction that one can solve all problems by force, and if this does not lead to the goal, then evenly by more force.

That is very well illustrated by planning and execution of the present war.

Because of the beginning the assumption, if we cause terrible suffering to the population, is it will rise and the distance the Hezbollah will demand.

An only minimum understanding of mass psychology proves the opposite.

Killing hundred of Lebanese civilians, who belong to all ethnic-religious communities, which lives of the others transform into a hell, and which becomes destruction of the vitally necessary infrastructure of the Lebanese society the source for rage and hate against Israel - and not against the Hezbollah, which are regarded as heroes, who sacrifice their life, in order to save them.

The consequence will be a stabilization the Hezbollah, not only for now, but also for the coming years.

Perhaps this will be the most important result of the war, more importantly than the military achievements, if it will at all give these - not only in Lebanon, but in the entire Arab and Muslim world.

Confronted with the frights, which are shown on all television and many computer screens, the opinion of the world public will change.

Which was regarded at the beginning as justified answer to the capture of the two soldiers, looks now like barbarian actions of a brutal war machine. Like the elephant in a porcelain shop.

Thousands of email mailing lists brought terrible series with photos of mutilated babies and children. At the end there is a makabres picture: nice Israeli children write „greetings “on the artillery shells, which are soon shot. Afterwards one can read the message: „Thanks the Israeli children for this beautiful gift. Owing to the world, which does not do anything. “Lebanon signs and Palestine from the children.

The woman, who manages the UN-department for human rights, already defined this document as war crime - something, which the Israeli officers in the future probably still unite annoyance will prepare.

Generally serious moral problems result, if army officers determine the policy of a nation.

In the war a commander is obligated to make hard decisions. It sends soldiers into the battle. He knows that many do not return and others are mutilated. It is abgebrüht.

As general said Amos Jaron to his officers after the massacre of Sabra and Schatila: „Our feelings were blunted! “

Years of a crew regime in the Palestinian areas caused a terrible Abgebrühtheit in the reference to human life.

Killing 10-20 Palestinians per day, inclusively of women and children, as it happens now in the Gaza Strip, does not agitate more. That comes also not more into the headlines.

Gradually even formulations of routine disappear as „we regret…, we had not the intention…, the most moral army of the world… “and all the other abgedroschenen cliches.

This Abgebrühtheit becomes clear also in Lebanon. Air Force officers sit calmly and comfortably before the cameras and speak over „bundles of goals “, as if they chatted over a technical problem - not over the life of humans.

They speak about driving out of one hundred thousand of humans from their houses as a military goal, and they hide also not their satisfaction in view of humans, whose whole life was destroyed.

The word, which is most popular with the generals at present, is „pulverizes “: We pulverize, them were pulverized, quarters pulverized, buildings pulverized, people are pulverized.

Even firing Katjuschas on our cities and villages does not justify this ignoring the moral during warfare. It would have given other means and ways, in order to react to the provocation the Hezbollah, without putting Lebanon in debris and ashes.

The moral Abgebrühtheit will make itself in a heavy political damage noticeably, both now and later. Only one gate ignores the moral values. That will avenge itself somehow at the end.

It is to be said nearly in a banal way to terminate is simpler to begin a war than it. One white, as he begins - one does not know at all, how and when he will end.

War takes place within the range of the uncertainty. Unexpected things occur. Even the largest army leaders of history could not check the wars, which had begun them. The war follows its own laws.

We began a war, which should last a few days - he becomes a war of weeks. Now we speak of a war of months. Now whole brigades fight there, and now - as with the large invasion of 1982 - reservists EN mass were called up.

There are already people, which foresee a confrontation with Syria.

During this whole time the USA use all their power, in order to prevent an end of hostilities. All indications point to that them Israel to a war with Syria urge - a country, which possesses ballistic rockets with chemical and biological warheads.

Only one thing seems at the 11. To be safe day of the war. It will have nothing property as a consequence. Whatever happens - Hezbollah will be strengthened.

If someone should have hoped in the past, Lebanon becomes slowly a normal country, in which the Hezbollah has no more pretext to possess own military forces then we supplied the perfect justification now to this organization with: Israel destroys Lebanon, to be defended and only the Hezbollah the country is able to be fought and.

Which concerns the deterrence: A war, in which our enormous military machinery cannot defeat a small Guerillaorganisation within eleven days of a total war, did not repair its deterring Kraft.

In this regard it is not important, as long the war will last and as it goes out.

The fact that a few thousand Hezbollah fighters days resisted the Israeli army eleven and more, already remembered to the memory of one hundred million Arabs and Muslims.

This war brings out nothing property - neither for Israel nor for Lebanon, also not for Palestine.

„The new Near East “will be for its inhabitant thereafter a less good place to the life.


Uri Avnery (83) became in the North-Rhine/Westphalian Beckum as Helmut Ostermann born and is an Israeli journalist and peace activist.

Artois †: @Gotthard

Dear God hard, I must be surprised nevertheless much, what herumspukt in such a way you everything in the head. No historian would touch such a book also only with the nippers. And I am now once historian and can not with the spinning mills of each Durchgeknallten be concerned. „Götz Aly “, then one knows nevertheless besides is not called…

Sulpicius: @Gotthard

Götz Alys theses were led by some historians ad absurdum…

God hard: hard facts

read please Götz Aly, Hitler's republic, S. Fischer publishing house 2005

Artois †: @Gotthard

Interesting your thesis, it sounds withstands however before a historical examination never. This concerns pure fantasy.

Malachias †: @Michael Steffen

Adolf Hitler forced the Jews first economically into the knees… Afterwards the six-millionfold murder came to the Jew.
The largest (thinking) error Adolf Hitler, Mussolinis and other European ruling powers of the 30's-years might have been it, to my, to be able to avoid with a suppression and a pursuit of the Jews in their limited rule range the danger of the international Judentums. The large capital lay as well known at that time already in Jewish hands outside of Europe. Already therefore these measures could be spatial only from like temporally limited effect…

One knew that probably also abroad hostile. Why would one have otherwise in view of the messages over the massive murder of European Jews to be there so left, the admission of pursued Jews limit can…? Bad tongues state, „the Holocaust “would actually have come the international Judentum straight quite, in order to it better, i.e. as unhindered as possible, its power - in particular also in Europe - to unfold to be able…
Whether there probably which to is? ?:)

God hard: Wartime economy

Hitler forced the Jews never „economically “into the knees.

Hitler exploited the European Jews only economically - and then murders.
The many relief supplies, which received the German Ausgebombten in many German large cities, originated for example from the seized possession taken prisoner and of the deportierten European Jews.
The preservation of the standard of living of the German civilian population during the war is to be owed to plundering the occupied European countries and the pursued Jews.