Israel Matzav

Juan Cole knows who the good guys are

Some bloggers think they're smarter than the rest of us. Take Juan Cole, for instance (Hat Tip: Ace of Spades).

The Israeli army says it was their tree, which they wanted to remove to get a better view of Lebanon. The Lebanese army says it was their tree and that the Israeli troops crossed the border to chop down the woody miscreant. The Israelis say that they warned the Lebanese army of what they were doing by megaphone. The Lebanese say that the Israelis repeatedly violate Lebanese sovereignty, indeed have done so thousands of times since the 2006 war.

Couldn’t they, like, have called in the UNIFIL United Nations peacekeepers to cut down the trees? That is what UNIFIL is there for.

Well, no, it's not UNIFIL's job. And by the way, the IDF did abide by the regulations, did notify UNIFIL and did have UNIFIL's clearance to cut down the tree. But none of that bothers Cole.

One surprising thing is that the Lebanese army showed such spunk in the face of the perceived Israeli affront. They know very well that they are vastly outgunned, and of course the Israeli military hit them with fire from helicopter gunships and artillery pieces. What made them so bold, that they shot and killed an Israeli officer over the tree removal?

Ace thinks Cole is celebrating. I'll go further: He's dancing on the blood of Colonel Harari.

Read the whole thing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:15 PM