War Crimes 
Michael Byers
‘I entirely understand the desire, and indeed need, for Israel to defend itself properly,’ Tony Blair said on 14 July. ‘As a sovereign nation, Israel has every right to defend itself,’ George W. Bush said on 16 July. By the time these statements were made, the IDF had bombed Beirut’s international airport, destroyed roads, bridges, power stations and petrol stations, and imposed an air and sea blockade. The Israeli army chief of staff, General Dan Halutz, had promised to ‘turn back the clock in Lebanon by twenty years’. All this in response, ostensibly, to the capture of two Israeli soldiers and the killing of eight others by Hizbullah militants on 12 July.
Subscribers to the print edition can log in to view the entire article. For information about subscribing to the London Review of Books click here. This article is available for purchase online. Buy this article.
Michael Byers holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
Other articles by this contributor:
On Thinning Ice · When the Ice Melts
Jumping the Gun · Against Pre-Emption
In Pursuit of Pinochet · Michael Byers discusses the legal implications of the arrest of Augusto Pinochet in London in October 1998
Woken up in Seattle · WTO woes
The Laws of War, US-Style · No Way to Fight a War
Back to the Cold War? · Missile Treaties
print layout
tell a friend