Recently, there has been an uproar over Congressman John Smith, who has been strongly criticized for encouraging the bombing of Gaza the way the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in the Second World War. The fired-up comments were made during a session of Congress.
Smith’s inflammatory remark was made in a heated debate on America’s war effort in the Middle East. “We need to show our military dicks to them. We need to nuke them into capitulation, just like we nuked Nagasaki and Hiroshima. ‘Nuclear’ disarmament is just the thing for those bad guys!” The congressman continued. Most of his co-congress gasped out loud.
Smith’s nuclear bomb analogy – which, after all, killed between 100,000 and 200,000 civilians, destroyed the urban centers of two Japanese cities and left a radioactive wasteland – has stoked outrage and disbelief. Smith’s language, critics say, is a display of moral immaturity: whatever the military may be doing in Gaza is not about to obliterate ‘thousands of swine’ – most of them civilians.
Responding to the outrage, Congressman Smith’s press office clarified the comments: “While I regret it was mischaracterized, I do not regret that the world is hearing a US congressman call to end the violence in Gaza.” To many, the explanation was seen as a lame way of returning from where the congressman stood.
Smith also faced strong condemnation from several international non‑governmental organizations. Amnesty International called his remarks a “flagrant violation of international law and the laws of war”. “Suggesting that such indiscriminate force could be ordered against civilian populations is an unacceptable affront to efforts” to end the violence, said one of the group’s spokespeople.
At the same time, there have been calls for Congressman Smith to be convicted or expelled for his ‘extremist rhetoric’. “The people elected to our government should be held accountable for what they say, especially when they utter such reckless and hateful rhetoric,” said one leading advocacy organization.
While I regret it was mischaracterized, I do not regret that the world is hearing a US congressman call to end the violence in Gaza.
– Congressman Smith’s press office
With regional tensions boiling over, diplomatic avenues for concluding the conflict and treating its causes remain our most viable option. Given the reaction to Congressman Smith’s remarks, the high stakes that meta- and macro-violence represents, and the significance of responsible leadership in cultivating constructive attitudes in times of acute crisis, the need for critical self-reflection is an imperative not just for individual politicians and policymakers, but for society at large.
Source: www.theguardian.com April 1, 2024
