Some 600,000 German civilians were lost due to Allied bombings alone, nearly 1% of their pre-war population. A very large minority had voted for Hitler, as has also happened with the Palestinian Arabs and their neo-Nazi Hamas. The total German dead were 10.82% which equals 154,592 from Gaza and 266,225 West Bank Arabs, or 420,817 in total. The much lower Japanese 3.61% rate of dead gives 51,578 for Gaza, 88,824 for West Bank, or 140,402 in total. By either standard, Palestinians have suffered little - so far.
And as the 14 Hezbollah members in the Lebanese Parliament out of 128 are 10.94%, then that genocidal element in Lebanon would suffer 45,857 to 15,300 dead by WW II Axis standards. The 100,000 dead from all sides in 1975-1991 in their Civil War was only 2.58%. Again, not comparable to what Japan or Germany lost.
And both Japan and Germany suffered enough to never want a repeat.
Let’s hope and pray that this Israeli Government has learnt these brutal lessons from history, and that the IDF land forces crossing the border this morning will be let finish the job.
But what moral or military or historical logic suggests to Chirac and Putin that Israel [response to Hezbollah’s attack] is “disproportionate”? Since when is the aggressor entitled to suffer only the same losses as the defender? Did De Gaulle or Stalin make that complaint in, or after, WW II?
A Just War is not for revenge or reprisal, but to eliminate a deadly threat. The Fanatical Jihadi Fringe is such a threat, and for other Arabs and Muslims as well. The “proportionate” casualties they take are whatever it takes to conquer them thoroughly, and remove their aggressive capacity for good.
