There are some interesting letters on CBCs website:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/you...n_lebanon.html
I think this one makes a good point:
Quote:
Having served as a United Nations Military Observer (UNMO) during the war in Bosnia I can fully appreciate the situation faced by those brave UNMOs in that UN OP in Lebanon.
The deliberate targeting of UN personnel is not new there as there have been over 100 Canadian soldiers who have lost their lives in the service of peace.
Not all died as a result of belligerent action and not all of those that died from hostile fire were deliberately targeted. However, in this case the amount of incoming fire on this OP speaks for itself.
Mr Harper if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it must be a duck. An old soldier once told me that if you see bullets hitting on you left and right they are probably shooting at you.
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And this one:
Quote:
As a Canadian soldier I would like to comment on the issue of why these UN observers were not withdrawn from their dangerous post when the Israeli / Hezbolla fighting erupted.
It is precisely when fighting is going on that observers are most needed. Observation posts like the one struck by the Israeli weapon permit the UN to have its own eyes on the ground, providing unbiased and timely reporting on the fighting, and serving to deter the worst excesses of war.
While there was a real risk in leaving the soldiers at their post in the middle of a battle, the post included a bunker which would have provided good protection against anything but the direct hit which in fact occurred.
Like all soldiers, UN observers may be required to risk their lives in the performance of their duties. That these men paid the ultimate price is deeply saddening, but I suspect that, as soldiers, they would have been proud to be at their post. To suggest that their duties there were frivolous or unnecessary diminishes their sacrifice.
—Raymond Farrell | TaeJeon, South Korea
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