Excuuuuse me?!

"I think it would be a mistake to ascribe moral equivalence to civilians who die as the direct result of malicious terrorist acts," he added, while defending as "self-defense" Israel's military action, which has had "the tragic and unfortunate consequence of civilian deaths". - John Bolton, USA ambassador to the UN.

Excuse me?! That was a direct quote in an AFP news story carried by Yahoo.

So why don't you elaborate then, Mr.Bolton, on that equivalence? How many innocent Lebanese are equal to one Israeli civilian? 2? 4? more? Even if the scale were a 50:1 the Lebanese have suffered more death and destruction.

Don't you realize Mr.Bolton that if you hold this view you are no better than the terrorists who justify civilian deaths as being morally acceptable collateral losses in the struggle for the greater cause? Soldiers and enemy combatants (including Hezbollah militiamen) have voluntarily forgone their personal safety to serve a higher political purpose. Civilians by definition have not. All civilians. This is the same 'rationale' by which the carpet bombings of London in World War II were justified.

Silly me, I was under the impression that it was a self-evident truth that all men are created equal.

It seems that innocent don't die equally.