Condoleezza Rice: 'Hard' For Israel To Spare Gaza Civilians

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Friday defended Israel in the face of civilian deaths in Gaza, saying "it's hard" for Israeli troops to protect residents because the area is so densely populated and Hamas allegedly uses people as human shields.

"It is very difficult in circumstances like Gaza, which is a very densely populated area," Rice told reporters when asked if Israel is living up to its humanitarian obligations in the offensive which has left more than 780 Palestinians dead.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[cinemaven]

http://gazalinks.blogspot.com/ ........ links to the blogs of a few human shields

One of them, a 23 yr. old journalist hasn't posted in over 20 hours which is unusual for him.
The other is the blog of a Canadian medic in Gaza who today posted video and photos of an ambulance attendant being shot in the leg as he carried a stretcher to pick up a body. He was in a bright vest that clearly showed him to be a medic and he was running from an ambulance which had full lights and siren on. ... I suppose the sniper figured he could be hiding someone under his pants since other than he and his partner, there is only an unmoving body on the street.

[batguano]

Whats hard is the ability of Rice to apparently feel any real humanity for the killing & maiming of Palestinians in Gaza. What else is "hard", is for our congressional or appointed reps, including Sec Rice, of either party, to exhibit some gumption & not continue to be Israels thing, parrot whatever they say, support whatever oppression they do, killing & destruction, whatever bald-faced lies or deceit they speak, whatever ethnic cleansing; anything! The power of the Israelis to befuddle & control our elected reps to support Israels crimes against humanity & the strict Israeli line in near unaniminity is astonishing & makes eunuchs of them; pathetic. Until we as a nation begin to look at this "conflict" with open minds & are given a balanced view of what is being done by both sides, we are doomed to be complicit to the crimes Israel commits with our arms, support & encouragement. That situation is not good either for America, our honor or Jews around the world. Jewish voices that dare to speak other than the approved Zionist/Israeli line are not heard.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/philip-weiss/rethinking-zionism_b_156955.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-schweber/israel-in-gaza-three-wron_b_156801.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-blumenthal/why-arent-more-americans_b_155194.html

http://www.progressive.org/mag/avnery010209.html

http://www.icahd.org/eng/news.asp?menu=5&submenu=1&item=646

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/07/AR2009010702645.html

[ajax2]

It's not hard, it's counter productive. The purpose of a siege is to inflict pain on the civilian populace.

[SteadyOn]

Just like it's "hard" for me to forgive you for what you have done.

[coldcanuckinwhite]

We should not judge her. Let G-d do it.

[WWWexler]

It is imperative that the pressure is kept up on the Obama Administration to investigate and prosecute war crimes committed by the Bush Administration.

Progressives who voted for Obama will be sorely disappointed to learn that although a demand for war crimes investigation is the top question on Obama's own website, (Bob Fertik question), Obama has blown us off AGAIN by "answering" that the new administration will be looking forward into the future, not back to the past.

That SOUNDS like an answer, but it is just a slogan. It is a typical bait-and-switch from Obama, and you will see this same tactic used again and again on trickle down economics, tax breaks for the wealthy, business as usual for health insurance, more middle east bluster and wars, and a continuation of American decline.

That is, unless you get off your couch and hit the streets DEMANDING that we get CHANGE. Otherwise, the only change you are going to see is that the center of corruption will change from Crawford to Chicago.

-Wexler

[whoknew---]

No Condi it's not hard....

Just stop this madness...pack up your guns and go home....

It's that easy....

[apysmith]

Oh my goodness!! I can't wait until Condoskeeza takes her butt home. Go away aready...now please!Ugggg!!!

[blood1]

Condi - this is your long winded way of professing the Bush Administration's position on "unintended consequences" SO WHAT.

just go back to the piano...so I don't have to listen to anymore of your double speak or "music".

[stardust835]

Friday, January 09, 2009
They voted against the House's Support-Is­raeli-atta­cks resolution
Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
Gwen Moore (D-WI)
Ron Paul (R-TX)
Nick Rahall (D-WV)
Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Sad that so few out of so many are willing to speak out. We now see how war crimes are allowed to happen.

If only the Palestinans had a PAC as strong as AIPAC.

[slarabee]

What Senators voted against?

[alexa07]

Heroes!

[Freenation]

Totally agree...

[Freenation]

I wish Ron Paul was elected by President Obama for Secretary of State...Then we would have expected a fair policy...with Hillary and her picks from AIPAC we know it is going to be same as present or maybe worse...

[Kaye08]

Condi sold her soul to Bush and Cheney a long time ago. I have no respect for Condi Rice. This comment is absolutely shameful when you see the images of women and children wounded and dead. The number of dead and wounded is outrageous!

[earthandfire]

We all know that human shields are as deadly as Apache assault helicopters, F-16 fighter jets and "not so precision" guided missiles, do we? The guided system of the missiles itself is precise, but how the warhead TNT could be precise? It can kill any one within 20 meters radius. If those missiles have a knife blade on the top, it would be very precise to kill a single terrorist leader. Then, we can passibly call the "war" a fair game.

[Gripen]

One thing i learned about war and conflict is that if an enemy uses a sheild never hit straight on it , go around it.

Also why assassinate HAMAS leaders with rockets when a single bullet can do just as good job with less civilian causalties.

I can never find it justified to kill civilian kids.

[LillianB]

Ms Rice's comment is actually more balanced than a lot we've seen from her before.

Yes, she is right that it is hard not to hit innocent civilians in such a densely populated area. Yes, she is right that this is made harder by Hamas exploiting this, by hiding where or near where civilians are seeking refugee. (Whether to call this "using human shields" or not is something I won't go into. I am not personally situated in Gaza, I do not personally witness how people seek together there, I can't get into a Hamas member's brain and see what he is thinking about his location.)

What she doesn't mentioned is that "it's hard" doesn't take away the responsibility to try avoiding killing civilians. If that's implied in what she is saying or if the opposite (e. g. if she implies critizism that Israel isn't trying hard enough) is up to the listener to interpret. She isn't saying.

[Wilburrr]

Hey Condi! Your tenure is almost over so why don't you be honest for once? This war is about the natural gas reserves discovered in 2000 that lie off the Gaza coast.