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During Israel\u2019s 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israeli jets bombed the Jiyeh power station north of the coastal city of Sidon. The blaze could be seen for miles, a towering column of black smoke. Sand was turned to glass.<\/p>\n
The plant\u2019s damaged storage tanks leaked an estimated 15,000 tonnes of oil into the eastern Mediterranean, the largest spill in that sea.<\/p>\n
Israel bombed the country\u2019s motorway bridges as well, destroying spans and cratering roads.<\/p>\n
The result? In the short term, a ceasefire agreement to end the war was signed, as half-baked as it was over-optimistic. Israel, as it does after each of its conflicts, declared a victory. Hezbollah survived, rearmed quickly and lived to fight another day.<\/p>\n
As the deadline approaches on Donald Trump\u2019s threat to bomb Iran back to the \u201cstone ages\u201d \u2013 the question arises not only of the morality and legality <\/a>of such a campaign, but also of its utility.<\/p>\n