Sorry, I must disagree. There is no excuse for individual soldiers carrying out war crimes and crimes against humanity. This was determined at Nuremburg. In this day and age with information so easily available regarding Israel's illegal and immoral occupation, ethnic-cleansing , imprisonment without charge, humiliation, mass slaughter and humiliation etc. of Palestinians, Israeli soldiers and their officers must be held accountable. They are directly responsible and to argue that it is because they have been indoctrinated with hate simply does not hold water in law, logic or morality.

How very nice of you to believe Bush, for no body does.
Remember darling that he invaded Iraq with a lie…do you recall he said Irq has WMD?
there was none, not A SINGLE evidence was produce.
Do you remember him saying he will just get the DECTATOR and go back home?
Ya… what is he still doing in Iraq?
No body believe this puppet, he can say anything.. the biggest problem with this man is he created anger and hate among many opressed people left with a broken country. Now ordinary American civilians are suffering, they suffer the fears of being attacked just because they are Americans, they are suffering the bleeding budget of their country since they are paying tax and hope of education services, medical care, and so forth… but their Bush is pouring Billions every day to keep the cost for the wars he created in different parts of the world.
I feel sorry for the USA people, they are soooooo naiive. He tells them he is sending their children to protect the honour of their country. Most of those young soldiers do not come back at all, the ones who are lucky enogh come back minus a leg or an arm, mentally and physically tormented for ever.

The Growing Influence of Right-wing U.S Politics in Israel
salon.com — The Israeli political world is increasingly weighed down by American dollars and pressure, particularly from conservative American Jews, Evangelical groups and other hawkish political operatives. That comes to the rising dismay of some in Israel, and is potentially dangerous for both countries in terms of swaying politicians' actions and decisions.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/08/21/influencing_israel/

You ask:

I have been asking this quesion for ome time…seeing politicians quiver in the presence of Israeli lobbists during campagin speeches etc. when it came to discussing “preserving Israel’s staus” and ongoing USA finacial support. It mazesme the power Isreal hasover the USA…and I ask–why? Is there something hidden which keeps America on it’s knee’s before Israel’s demands??? How did Israel get SO MUCH POWER??? nd, if the USA is supposed to be so powerful–why is Israel basically “lording over theUSA” and the USA does whatever Israel tells it to….hmmmmmmmm…

The answer to this question (and many other) are answered in this video which I uploaded last night:

http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2008/08/21/missing-links/

The person as a soldier can't be held responsible alone, after hearing many interviews with soldiers it is easy to notice that they are very young, their knowledgecomes from the state education that ignited their minds with hatered. All of them said the system encourage them to inflect the largest amount of destruction and pain on Palestinians. One of them said ' If I do not like a yelloe house for example, I just can tear it down without having to confer with any body'
Those young men are not alone responsible, the state and its policies at the top share the crime. I urge you to watch the following please.

http://palestinian.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1970466:Video:23121

Thank you again for participating in this debate.

I am fully aware of Washington's complicity in the crimes against Palestinians and other Arabs. This in no way, however, excuses Israel or its soldiers who are carrying out these crimes on the ground. In the final analysis, it is the man or woman pulling the trigger or dropping the bomb who is DIRECTLY responsible. Israel is a state comprised of individuals with free will. Where the rubber hits the road, it is they who must be first held accountable.

I have been asking this quesion for ome time…seeing politicians quiver in the presence of Israeli lobbists during campagin speeches etc. when it came to discussing "preserving Israel's staus" and ongoing USA finacial support. It mazesme the power Isreal hasover the USA…and I ask–why? Is there something hidden which keeps America on it's knee's before Israel's demands??? How did Israel get SO MUCH POWER??? nd, if the USA is supposed to be so powerful–why is Israel basically "lording over theUSA" and the USA does whatever Israel tells it to….hmmmmmmmm…
Also noted however-is Israel's now diabolic missive to attack Iran…the latest I read was that bush stated he would not give them weapons o do this and is discouraging Israel attack. I think this may be the first that the USA did not (yet) give Israel what was demanded…..however, I think USA is wise enough to know a war wit Ira would be catastrophic worldwide…of course howevever, there would be some great financial losses to the USA if this attack were to take place such as in oil….
This does not however address the Palestinian genocide which the USA has allowed to go on…..and in regards to reprtions….the USA does not care nor feel quilty about the millions of Africans that were stolen from their homelands and brought here to be slaves, murdered, burned, lynched, for hundreds of years….nor the Indigenous peoples (Native American's) whose land this was…and who too was subugated to the same treatment as the African's. To the Natives, the earth is deeply connected to their spirituality as the Palestinin's and their earth, Olive tree's, land…yet, where are most of the Native people now…most living on res's, boxes of land -"given" to them by the gov…..the point…history keeps repeating itself it seems with no boundries…..Controlled by greed, power and fueled by riches –genocide continues…and Israel and Usa love affair—I cannot understand that twisted relaionship at all….as a song writer once wrote "when we gonna wake up"…all of us–govts included before it is too late and fighting is thus reduced to sticks n stones as cited by Einstein because the earth is destroyed and too toxic to live in–and we return to JR Tolkins-The Hobbit–living underground..
Respect, peace and love'
EshaAmeena

Dual Citizenship: Who stands to gain?
khanfactor.com — Today ’s conflicts are centered in the Middle East. America needs to balance foreign policies towards oil producing Arab nations with our goal being peace and stability in the region. This places a burden on our government to be even-handed in our dealings with the Arab world.
http://www.khanfactor.com/blog/?p=484

The problem is NOT "the Jews" but an out of control ideology of empire, supremacy and nationalism that MANY USA 'Christians' support because they do NOT know history nor the tenants of their own religion -such as the peacemakers are the children of God, NOT those that bomb, torture or occupy others.

A big problem in the ongoing conflict are USA Christians, who were brought up to believe the statehood of Israel heralded the second coming of Jesus and who are so afraid to criticize the injustices done by Israel [aided and abetted with USA tax dollars, a supine Congress and a media that is MIA] have ALL contributed to the untenable situation.

Tikkun is Hebrew for mend, repair and transform the world.

Tikkun is also an organization that researched to discover that there are three distinct elements energizing the Christian Zionists:

1. A strong commitment to conservative and ultra-nationalist American politics (so strong, I believe, that if the U.S. were to decide to break with Israel, this part of the Christian Zionist leadership would go along with that and drop its defense of Israeli policies).

2. Dispensationalist religious commitments that lead many of the Christian Zionists to yearn for a cataclysmic “end of history” eschatological war in the Middle East that will precipitate the second coming of Jesus and the Rapture in which all true Christians will go to heaven and all Jews who have not yet converted to Christianity will burn in hell for eternity.

3. A widespread understanding among many Christians that atonement and repentance is needed for 1700 years of murder, rape, and oppression of Jews that was frequently generated by the Church (though, of course, the Evangelicals do not recognize that church as their church). In this category are many Christian Zionists who genuinely feel terrible about what has happened to the Jews and genuinely want to help the Jewish people. Their philo-Semitism is real and sincere. [Rabbi Lerner, Tikkun Magazine page 9, Nov/Dec. 2007]

On June 8, 2007, at the 27th annual American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s Washington, D.C. conference, Congressman Paul Findley spoke boldly:

"It is time to speak openly and honestly about Israel. But, in American politics, that is still forbidden…Pity that we cannot seem to shed our fear of Israel. We are afraid to speak out on Capitol Hill, for fear of losing the next election. They are more like trained poodles jumping through hoops than leaders! Why this fear? How did we get here?

“Forty years ago to this day, June 8, 1967 the change occurred, the floodgates opened and money poured into Israel as never before. When President Johnson heard about the U.S.S. Liberty being attacked by Israel he ordered the rescue fighter planes to return to the deck. The rescue mission was aborted and the survivors have said they heard LBJ’s voice tell Admiral Giess, 'Get those planes back on deck. I don’t care if the ship sinks, I will not embarrass Israel.'

“LBJ also threatened to court martial anyone who reported what had happened. Johnson accepted Israel’s false claim of “mistaken identity” and he knew it was a lie. That is when the change began and Israel learned they could get away with murdering U.S.A. soldiers."

Another very good Israeli, and on his way to break the siege of Gaza, is Jeff Halper, Founder and coordinator of ICAHD who moved to Israel from Hibbing, Minnesota during the Vietnam era because he dissented from USA Govt. foreign policy.

When he told his grandmother he was leaving the states, she warned him, "Israel is no place for a nice Jewish boy."

Jeff can no longer count the times he has been arrested for NONVIOLENT acts of civil disobedience against the occupation of Palestine and all of its evils, in particular, the destruction of Palestinian homes.

Jeff wrote, "The siege of Gaza is a form of collective punishment in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The indiscriminate use of military power against civilians and civilian targets has resulted in serious war crimes. But, then, Israel disregards international law with impunity. Witness its defiance of the International Court of Justice ruling regarding the Wall. Who, after all, is going to bring it to justice?

"…we, the unarmed people from around the world who view Palestinians as people enjoying fundamental human rights, are forced to board old boats to do what our governments should be doing: breaking the siege and holding Israel accountable for its actions."
[The Rest:
http://www.wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1003&Itemid=203 ]

"Never doubt that a few, thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead

http://bristol.indymedia.org/article/688765