01 septembre 2006

"How come so many more Lebanese have been killed in this conflict than Israelis?"

Even those who aren't particularly sympathetic to Bibi Natanyahu could
get a good measure of satisfaction from his interview with the British
Television this morning. I guess it can be attributed to his days
studying history at Harvard.
The interviewer asked him: "How come so many more Lebanese have been
killed in this conflict than Israelis?" (A nasty question if there ever
was one!)

Natanyahu: "Are you sure that you want to start asking in that
direction?"

Interviewer: (Falling into the trap) Why not?

Natanyahu: "Because in World War II more Germans were killed than
British and Americans combined, but there is no doubt in anyone's mind
that the war was caused by Germany's aggression. And in response to the
German blitz on London, the British wiped out the entire city of
Dresden, burning to death more German civilians than the number of
people killed in Hiroshima.

Moreover, I could remind you that in 1944, when the R.A.F. tried to
bomb the Gestapo Headquarters in Copenhagen, some of the bombs missed
their target and fell on a Danish children's hospital, killing 83 little
children. Perhaps you have another question?"