From: souissi@en.ecn.purdue.edu (Ridha Souissi)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.arabic,soc.culture.latin-america,soc.culture.lebanon
Subject: Re: About the explosion
Date: 6 Apr 92 15:13:01 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network

In article <1992Apr3.172511.28017@u.washington.edu> jars@milton.u.washington.edu (Juan Rodriguez-Sero) writes:
>In article <1992Apr3.122242.16335@cco.caltech.edu> bes@cco.caltech.edu (Behnam Sadeghi) writes:
>>
>>What I am saying is that when an embassy or a "guerilla camp" is 
>>targetted, ordinary civilians are not targetted and any casualties
>>to ordinary civilians is unintended ... In a state of war it is better
>>to minimize casualties to ordinary civilians ... Therefore, it makes
>>sense to talk about minimizing civilian casualties. 
>>
>
>Behnam, I don't know if you are just unbelieavably dense or monstruously
>facetious; when en embassy in a densely populated neighborhood is target-
>ted, all the neighbors are targetted too; they were all targetted just
>because some Israeli diplomats (who were NOT, I stress this, a legit-
>imate target; diplomats never are such) might (or might not) be in the

An embassador is a representive of a country and supports the actions
of that country, therefore he may be a ligitimate target.  If he
doesn't agree with the policies and practicies of his countries, he
could resign.  I don't see the difference between targeting the
president of a country and his ambassador somewhere.  It should
be done in a clean way however to avoid harm to the civilians
(like the assassination of Abu Jihad by the Mossad, they did a clean job).

>area. If there is a day care center just across the stree from the embas-
>sy, and a seniors' home beside it, any normal six-year old can foresee
>that many of those seniors and children are going to die in the explosion
>(as they did). If I wanted to kill somebody, I would not do it with a 
>flame thrower or a hand grenade in a crowded place, I would use a more
>focused weapon, in a safer spot (they had the whole planet to choose
>their "theater of operations"); the bombing of the embassy was done by
>people who: a) Did not care for the very concept of diplomacy (if they
>did, they would not have targetted an embassy); and b) did not care at
>all for any bystanders (of whom about twenty were killed and two hundred

Disagree on a), agree on b) (see above)

>wuounded). This is inexcusable; this is not an act of war, it is a crime.
>If it is part of a war, then it is a war crime. The criminals who com-
>mitted it should be punished, promptly and severely; they are a disgrace
>for the Arab side they purport to support, and which they objectively
>disgraced. 
>

Bush and company should be tried for war crimes because of the
"collateral" damage which resulted in the death of thousands
of Iraqi  civilians with his military's "surgical" bombing.

>
>
>
>Juan Antonio Rodriguez-Sero     | Those who have long enjoyed
>School of Oceanography          | such privileges as we enjoy
>University of Washington, WB-10 | forget in time that
>Seattle, WA 98195               | men have died to win them.
>jars@ocean.washington.edu       |
>(206) 543 - 7003 (work)         |      Franklin D. Roosevelt 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.arabic,soc.culture.latin-america,soc.culture.lebanon