Still no answers on bombing of UN post by Israel

Thank you to Thomas Walkom for continuing to

bring to public attention the tragic and
inexcusable death of a true Canadian hero,
Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener. Hess-von
Kruedener was killed in Lebanon in 2006 by
an Israeli attack utilizing overwhelming and
specifically targeted destructive force against an
unarmed UN observation post. That he was killed
while serving his country and the world community
in the capacity of an observer who had placed himself
in harm's way to do what he could to mitigate the
horrors of war as experienced by a civilian population
is an outstanding expression of Canadian military heroism.

"Stephen Harper has chosen
to largely ignore Hess-von Kruedener's heroism and
has refused to strongly condemn the Israeli action
that caused his death is a sad expression of political
cowardice that displays a remarkable lack
of support for our troops."

Tony Jenkins, Kingston

Kudos to Thomas Walkom for this much-needed
exposé of the Harper government's lack of
concern for Israel's killing of Major Paeta
Hess-von Kruedener, a brave Canadian
soldier and dedicated UN observer.

Imagine the outrage that would have
erupted in the House of Commons and
throughout Canada if the perpetrator of
this inexcusable crime had been Hezbollah
or the Lebanese armed forces. Shame on the
Conservative government and other parliamentarians
who refuse to condemn Israel and instead
choose to look the other way.

Gary D. Keenan, Vancouver, B.C.

Where is the outcry from other media outlets,
from the opposition parties and from all those
Canadians with "Support our troops" bumper stickers?
Will we let Cynthia Hess-von Kruedener stand
alone in challenging the Harper government's
whitewashing of the Israeli attack on a UN
post that killed a Canadian peacekeeper?

Church groups, Human Rights Watch,
Amnesty International and Israeli peace
groups report daily killings, home demolitions,
harassment and land theft by Israel with no
response from the Harper government or the Liberals.

Linda Belanger, Ottawa

The failure of this Canadian government to hold
the Israeli government accountable for the death
of Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener is appalling.
Canadian forces, who will in all probability be
serving in future world hotspots, deserve to
know that their government will hold other
governments accountable for the safety of
our troops in their sphere of influence.

As a minimum, our government should institute
sanctions against the government of Israel until
all matters concerning the death of Hess-von
Kruedener are answered to its satisfaction.

David Green, Wasaga Beach, Ont.

Military investigators' conclusion that the death
of UN monitor Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener
during the 2006 war in Lebanon was due to a
deliberate attack by Israeli forces is disturbing.
But there are parallels with the attack on the
U.S. intelligence ship Liberty during the
Six-day War Israel fought against the
Arabs in 1967.

In that incident Israeli forces killed 34 American
sailors and wounded 173. As in the present case,
Israel claimed the attack was unintentional and
Israel's position was accepted, although there
was abundant documented evidence that
the attack was deliberate.

President Lyndon Johnson hobbled an inquiry
and silenced surviving crew members of the
Liberty with threats of court-martial and
imprisonment. But now that Hess-von
Kruedener's death has been fully investigated
and blame placed squarely on Israel,
is Stephen Harper going to accept this atrocity
without a whimper? At least a strong protest and
a demand for compensation should be lodged.

Stewart Brown, Peterborough