Topic: WorldNetDaily
A Nov. 17 WorldNetDaily article by Aaron Klein is the latest in a line of articles to cite anonymous Israeli military sources to criticize Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and his prosecution of the fight against extremists in Gaza.
This made us think of an April column by the Washington Times' Tony Blankley, in which he suggests that retired U.S. military officials are guilty of sedition for criticizing the Bush administration's prosecution of the Iraq war. As support, Blankley cites the Uniform Code of Military Justice:
Article 88 -- Contempt toward officials Text.
"Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct."
This got us to wondering: Does Israel's military have similar sedition laws? The anonymous "military officials" certainly have as their goal the undermining of Olmert's authority to wage war as a head of state -- an undermining Klein is all to happy to abet given his own longtime hostility toward Olmert.
We're not familiar enough with the Israeli military to know for sure. But if military criticism of civilian leaders is considered seditious and treasonous in the U.S., it most likely is similarly so in Israel as well. As as we've previously noted, WND writers have previously denounced criticism of Bush's conduct of the Iraq war; why should that policy change just because WND doesn't like the person in charge?
