Is dropping leaflets before you bomb an act of mercy?

[Philosoraptor]

Israel has dropped leaflets on places where they are preparing to drop bombs. What is this? Is it an act of fairness to the "collateral" damage that will soon come from the skies? Is it an act of mercy, a last chance to split before you are vaporized?

I mean, why bother?

[Mandate My Ass]

1. It's just PR

They'll take them out whether they're in their houses or in cars or on foot. They bomb refugee camps, ambulances and hospitals. There is nowhere to go that's safe, so why bother?

[wellst0nev0ter]

2. Maybe Hezbollah Shoulda Dropped Leaflets

before launching their rocket attacks. Then they wouldn't be called terrorists :sarcasm:

[Ian David]

6. Hezbollah's rockets can only aim "Israel-ish" anyway

They theselves don't know for sure where they're coming down.

[wellst0nev0ter]

8. They Seem To Like Hitting Haifa

that's a good place as any to magnanimously warn Israelis to flee from their impending rocket attacks.

[Ian David]

9. I think all those falling rockets count as "warning"

But Israel is smaller than New Jersey.

There really isn't anyplace out of the reach of the rockets.

[dipsydoodle]

13. Range of the "rockets" seems very limited

Calling them rockets makes them sound like WW2 V2's. In reality they are about as sophisticated as a shell tied to a stick. Even the expression "rockets" seems to be spin. They are nothing compared with the devastation caused by an Israeli bomb. Hence the low civilian casualty rate in Israel compared with that of Lebanon.

[madrchsod]

3. it`s good pr for the american people

no one in the rest of the world believes that bullshit.

[Ian David]

4. I think it's well-intentioned yet misguided and ineffective

Imagine if someone had been bombing New Orleans right before Katrina hit?

Imagine if we'd leafleted Dresden, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki before we bombed them?

Bombing a civilian population center is a war crime, whether or not you convince the civilians to leave the area first.

So is using people as human shields, so the terrorist groups are guilty of war crimes as well.

Plus, Hezbolla and Hammas depend on civilian casualties to further their cause. Leafleting to say, "Hey, we're gonna bomb this building" just means that they will deliberately place more civilians in the paths of the bombs anyway.

Perhaps members of Hezbollah, Hammas, The Bush Administration and The IDF will all share cells together on their way to the gallows.

[walkon]

16. I don't know about Dresden

But we did leaflet Japan.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/truman/psources/ps_leaflets.html


If Hezbollah and Hamas "depend on civilian casualties" then Israel/U.S. are giving them quite a boost. Imagine, if you will: 2 soldiers "kidnapped" resulting in hundreds dead and billions in property destroyed. No call for a ceasefire and it all ends in a prisoner exchange - which is what Hez. wanted all along.

[DRoseDARs]

5. All it does is terrify the populus and warn Hezbollah of impending bombs.

Not a terribly effective means of destroying your enemy and allaying the fears of an innocent civilian population.

[Violet_Crumble]

7. It's a clumsy attempt to absolve themselves of blame...

The IDF can and do say 'But we dropped leaflets! Anyone staying behind was warned and it's not our fault!' We're supposed to ignore the fact that the people who haven't already fled are those who can't, like the elderly, the ill, those without a car or fuel to get out. And we're supposed to forget that even for those who do flee, they're shot at by the IDF, and convoys of civilians have been targetted....

[Jim__]

10. It is especially meaningless when they then attack the convoys of

fleeing civilians.

[MemphisTiger]

11. I think it's better than just dropping bombs without them

at least it gives the civilians a chance to escape.

[kysrsoze]

12. Not if you bomb the roads people need to use to get out

[Double T]

14. Transportation out of any area in Lebanon is extremely difficult at best

warning INNOCENT people who are trapped that they are about to be annihilated is tantamount to torture and does not absolve Israel of their responsibility for killing INNOCENTS. Mercy???, you have got to be kidding!!!

[ecoalex]

15. Drop leaflets, then bomb , straffe the evacuees, Great genocide plan

[Igel]

17. Half a million refugees ...

500-600 people killed. Obviously it's the precision targeting of all the convoys that left that's responsible for this slaughter of more than 50% of the evacuees. Oh ... wait ... that's counterfactual. No matter.

It's the same as telling people to evacuate ahead of Katrina or any other hurricane. Or even posting notices and sounding horns when explosives will be used in road construction. Why bother?

Maybe because without warning, the death toll would be much higher, both in Lebanon and in NOLA. But we can't count the deaths that didn't occur.

But if warning wasn't given, and the death toll were higher, for sure there'd be people crying that it's immoral not to give warnings. Pointless or wrong if you do it, wrong if you don't.

[leesa]

18. I'm sure God will see it that way...NOT!