"Crisis" In Israel/Palestine/Lebanon/Syria
- Thread starter Keit
- Start date
Did you mean via AdPop? Or is SAO something other than me for once? :Panart said:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/28/mideast.main/index.html
Hezbollah has new, powerful missile
Previously unknown Khaybar-1 rocket packs 220 pounds of explosives
Saturday, July 29, 2006
HAIFA, Israel (CNN) -- Hezbollah guerillas Friday launched their most potentially destructive rockets yet, reaching as far into Israel as they have at any point so far in the conflict, according to Israeli police.
Three missiles carrying 100 kilograms (220 pounds) each of explosives -- nearly five-times the explosives in the standard Hezbollah missile, the Katyusha rocket -- were fired toward the town of Afula, the police said. Afula is 44 miles southeast of Haifa and is just a few miles north of the West Bank.
The rockets hit empty fields, causing no casualties, police said.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to take the Islamic militia's fight against Israel "beyond Haifa" -- the northern Israeli city that is a frequent target of Hezbollah.
On the group's television network, Al-Manar, Hezbollah said it fired a new, longer-range rocket called a Khaybar-1. It was not clear what the rocket's full capabilities are.
In all, at least five Hezbollah rockets landed near Afula, police said. It was unclear if the other two were Katyushas.
During the conflict, Hezbollah has relied mostly on Russian-designed, highly mobile Katyusha rockets. They pack 22 kilograms (49 pounds) of explosives and have hit Afula in the past.
The Israeli military did not know what the other rockets were and said only that they were not Iranian-made Zilzals, which have a longer range than Katyushas.
The Israeli Air Force carried out 60 airstrikes overnight on Hezbollah locations and structures as assaults between the Lebanese militant group and the Israeli military entered their 18th day Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Targets struck by the IDF were located chiefly in southern Lebanon and included 37 Hezbollah warehouses and locations, roads, bridges and cars, the IDF said.
Lebanese Internal Security Forces said Saturday that 421 people have been killed and 1,661 have been wounded in Lebanon since the attacks began.(Watch a student recall treacherous trek to Beirut -- 3:57)
Israeli officials said Friday that 51 Israelis -- 33 soldiers and 19 civilians -- have died and 1,233 Israelis -- 110 soldiers and 1,123 civilians -- have been wounded in the fighting began between Hezbollah forces and Israel.
Hezbollah has not officially released any casualty figures, but Israeli military sources estimated Friday about 200 Hezbollah fighters have been killed since July 12.
Despite the intense fighting, the Israeli government said it was not planning to send thousands of troops into Lebanon to fall into a possible militant trap.
"Israel is going to do it at our own pace, at our own time, to make sure that when we go in, we go in carefully, and that we don't walk into their booby traps," Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said. "We want to stop the rocket fire, but we also want to make sure that Hezbollah will not be there afterward."
Since Israel left Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah has built up the area around Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, according to Eisin.
"Not only [do they have] a terrorist army, but they are sort of waiting for us to come in," she said. "They have booby-trapped the entire area. They want us to walk into those booby traps." (Watch the dangers Israelis face from the sea -- 3:10)
The Israeli Security Cabinet on Thursday authorized the call-up of three divisions of reserves. A division can include between 5,000 and 10,000 troops.
So far, only the officers of those brigades have put on their uniforms and begun to train for possible military action, military sources said.
In the airstrikes on southern Lebanon, Israeli warplanes hit rocket launchers, structures, tunnels, a gas station and a base in the Bekaa Valley where the Israel Defense Forces said Hezbollah launched long-range missiles.
Israeli airstrikes near Nabatiye killed three people and wounded nine, including four children, AP reported, citing Lebanese security officials. The raid apparently targeted an apartment belonging to a Hezbollah activist, according to the AP.
Near Naqoura, also in southern Lebanon, two civilians and a journalist were slightly wounded when their convoy was struck, according to a BBC cameraman who was traveling with the convoy. It was unclear whether Israeli or Hezbollah fire hit the convoy, which had been organized to help civilians escape the fighting.
Aid agencies say they are finding it impossible to get food and medicines safely into the region. U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said Friday he is pushing for a 72-hour cease-fire so humanitarian aid can be delivered safely to Israel, Lebanon and Gaza.
The IDF said it is willing to allow safe passage for aid and evacuation convoys with 48 hours notice, Egeland said.
Also in southern Lebanon, the United Nations is removing unarmed observers from two outposts along the Israeli-Lebanese border as a protective measure, U.N. officials said.
The move comes after Israeli airstrikes struck a separate U.N. observer outpost earlier in the week, killing four peacekeepers. The Israeli government expressed regret and said it is investigating.
Other developments
# President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday called for an international force to be sent to Lebanon to help ease the Mideast crisis. After talks at the White House, Bush told reporters that the two leaders "agree that a multinational force must be dispatched to Lebanon quickly." U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will return to the region Saturday to resume her diplomatic efforts there. France, Italy and Turkey have said they will participate in the international force, and Norway and Sweden have said they are "positive" about the prospect, but have yet to commit. (Full story)
# The European Union said Friday it had finished evacuating most of its 20,000 citizens from Lebanon, according to the AP. However, a "few hundred" people remained trapped in southern Lebanon, the EU told the AP. The United States also evacuated about 500 more Americans from Beirut on a cruise ship Friday, the AP said. About 15,000 U.S. citizens have left the war-torn country, according to the AP.
CNN's Karl Penhaul and Richard Roth contributed to this report.
Copyright 2006 CNN.
Hezbollah has new, powerful missile
Previously unknown Khaybar-1 rocket packs 220 pounds of explosives
Saturday, July 29, 2006
HAIFA, Israel (CNN) -- Hezbollah guerillas Friday launched their most potentially destructive rockets yet, reaching as far into Israel as they have at any point so far in the conflict, according to Israeli police.
Three missiles carrying 100 kilograms (220 pounds) each of explosives -- nearly five-times the explosives in the standard Hezbollah missile, the Katyusha rocket -- were fired toward the town of Afula, the police said. Afula is 44 miles southeast of Haifa and is just a few miles north of the West Bank.
The rockets hit empty fields, causing no casualties, police said.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to take the Islamic militia's fight against Israel "beyond Haifa" -- the northern Israeli city that is a frequent target of Hezbollah.
On the group's television network, Al-Manar, Hezbollah said it fired a new, longer-range rocket called a Khaybar-1. It was not clear what the rocket's full capabilities are.
In all, at least five Hezbollah rockets landed near Afula, police said. It was unclear if the other two were Katyushas.
During the conflict, Hezbollah has relied mostly on Russian-designed, highly mobile Katyusha rockets. They pack 22 kilograms (49 pounds) of explosives and have hit Afula in the past.
The Israeli military did not know what the other rockets were and said only that they were not Iranian-made Zilzals, which have a longer range than Katyushas.
The Israeli Air Force carried out 60 airstrikes overnight on Hezbollah locations and structures as assaults between the Lebanese militant group and the Israeli military entered their 18th day Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Targets struck by the IDF were located chiefly in southern Lebanon and included 37 Hezbollah warehouses and locations, roads, bridges and cars, the IDF said.
Lebanese Internal Security Forces said Saturday that 421 people have been killed and 1,661 have been wounded in Lebanon since the attacks began.(Watch a student recall treacherous trek to Beirut -- 3:57)
Israeli officials said Friday that 51 Israelis -- 33 soldiers and 19 civilians -- have died and 1,233 Israelis -- 110 soldiers and 1,123 civilians -- have been wounded in the fighting began between Hezbollah forces and Israel.
Hezbollah has not officially released any casualty figures, but Israeli military sources estimated Friday about 200 Hezbollah fighters have been killed since July 12.
Despite the intense fighting, the Israeli government said it was not planning to send thousands of troops into Lebanon to fall into a possible militant trap.
"Israel is going to do it at our own pace, at our own time, to make sure that when we go in, we go in carefully, and that we don't walk into their booby traps," Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said. "We want to stop the rocket fire, but we also want to make sure that Hezbollah will not be there afterward."
Since Israel left Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah has built up the area around Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, according to Eisin.
"Not only [do they have] a terrorist army, but they are sort of waiting for us to come in," she said. "They have booby-trapped the entire area. They want us to walk into those booby traps." (Watch the dangers Israelis face from the sea -- 3:10)
The Israeli Security Cabinet on Thursday authorized the call-up of three divisions of reserves. A division can include between 5,000 and 10,000 troops.
So far, only the officers of those brigades have put on their uniforms and begun to train for possible military action, military sources said.
In the airstrikes on southern Lebanon, Israeli warplanes hit rocket launchers, structures, tunnels, a gas station and a base in the Bekaa Valley where the Israel Defense Forces said Hezbollah launched long-range missiles.
Israeli airstrikes near Nabatiye killed three people and wounded nine, including four children, AP reported, citing Lebanese security officials. The raid apparently targeted an apartment belonging to a Hezbollah activist, according to the AP.
Near Naqoura, also in southern Lebanon, two civilians and a journalist were slightly wounded when their convoy was struck, according to a BBC cameraman who was traveling with the convoy. It was unclear whether Israeli or Hezbollah fire hit the convoy, which had been organized to help civilians escape the fighting.
Aid agencies say they are finding it impossible to get food and medicines safely into the region. U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said Friday he is pushing for a 72-hour cease-fire so humanitarian aid can be delivered safely to Israel, Lebanon and Gaza.
The IDF said it is willing to allow safe passage for aid and evacuation convoys with 48 hours notice, Egeland said.
Also in southern Lebanon, the United Nations is removing unarmed observers from two outposts along the Israeli-Lebanese border as a protective measure, U.N. officials said.
The move comes after Israeli airstrikes struck a separate U.N. observer outpost earlier in the week, killing four peacekeepers. The Israeli government expressed regret and said it is investigating.
Other developments
# President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday called for an international force to be sent to Lebanon to help ease the Mideast crisis. After talks at the White House, Bush told reporters that the two leaders "agree that a multinational force must be dispatched to Lebanon quickly." U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will return to the region Saturday to resume her diplomatic efforts there. France, Italy and Turkey have said they will participate in the international force, and Norway and Sweden have said they are "positive" about the prospect, but have yet to commit. (Full story)
# The European Union said Friday it had finished evacuating most of its 20,000 citizens from Lebanon, according to the AP. However, a "few hundred" people remained trapped in southern Lebanon, the EU told the AP. The United States also evacuated about 500 more Americans from Beirut on a cruise ship Friday, the AP said. About 15,000 U.S. citizens have left the war-torn country, according to the AP.
CNN's Karl Penhaul and Richard Roth contributed to this report.
Copyright 2006 CNN.
anart
A Disturbance in the Force
If this is true, did Hezbollah really fire them? Certainly if they have missiles that can reach that far, they would have targeted something worthwhile, assuming they actually want to inflict damage.police said:
Of course, it could be a lie, in an attempt to cover up the damage that was done - but, either way, I find it very odd.
P
paulnotbilly
Guest
If they were Israeli rockets, fired from a known Hezbollah location, you wouldn't want any Tom, Dick or Harry to stumble on them. Occasionally something turns up in the media with no obvious 'value' until later on when the benefit of hindsight is proven. I would hazard a guess at the make up of the rockets being the key, somebody has spotted them and reported it - it can't just be buried so the smoke and mirror team try to just casually gloss over it.anart said:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3283686,00.html
30 July 06
Olmert: We need 10 more days of military operations
Israeli PM tells US Secretary of State Rice country needs 10 days to two weeks to finish Lebanon offensive. Defense Minister Peretz warns of 'final strike' by Hizbullah in retaliation for Qana attack
Ronny Sofer
We need ten to fourteen days of continued military operations - This was said by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a meeting between the two Saturday.
Pursuant to the incident in Qana, Olmert told government ministers of his meeting with Rice during a cabinet meeting Sunday. He is scheduled to meet Rice again later Sunday afternoon in Jerusalem. "We intend to continue military operations until we achieve our objectives," Olmert told the ministers.
Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, warned of a potential 'final strike' by Hizbullah in the form of a large barrage of short-range rockets or the launching of long-range rockets. "I instructed the IDF and homefront command to be prepared for such an eventuality," he said.
The air strike in Qana constitutes an uncomfortable affair for the Israeli government. Early Sunday afternoon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tzipi Livni, who was scheduled to meet the Italian foreign minister, Massimo D'Alema, to issue a statement about recent event. She decided not to address, at this time, the incident in which 57 Lebanese civilians, half of them children, were killed.
Olmert met with Rice on Saturday night to discuss the 19-day-old Israeli offensive in southern Lebanon. Their meeting came before the Israeli strike in Qana. Pursuant to the event, Olmert and Rice scheduled a new meeting on Sunday evening.
Israeli deeply regrets civilian deaths
"I express my deep regret, which is shared by the entire State of Israel and the IDF, over the death of civilians in the village of Qana. There is nothing far away from our thoughts and interests than hurting civilians, and everyone understands this," Olmert said.
IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz also expressed his regret over the fact that civilians were hurt. "We are operating in a place from where Katyushas are being launched and we conveyed messages to the citizens, asking them to leave the area. Unfortunately, people who gathered in the place, while we were unaware of their presence, were hurt," he said.
Sources in the Israel Defense Forces noted that with all the deep regret over the incident, Israeli cannot halts its operation while Hizbullah terrorists are directing their Katyusha rockets at Israeli cities, including at hospitals. A senior IAF officer emphasized that that dozens of Katyusha rockets were launched from the village and its surrounding areas.
AP contributed to the report
30 July 06
Olmert: We need 10 more days of military operations
Israeli PM tells US Secretary of State Rice country needs 10 days to two weeks to finish Lebanon offensive. Defense Minister Peretz warns of 'final strike' by Hizbullah in retaliation for Qana attack
Ronny Sofer
We need ten to fourteen days of continued military operations - This was said by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a meeting between the two Saturday.
Pursuant to the incident in Qana, Olmert told government ministers of his meeting with Rice during a cabinet meeting Sunday. He is scheduled to meet Rice again later Sunday afternoon in Jerusalem. "We intend to continue military operations until we achieve our objectives," Olmert told the ministers.
Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, warned of a potential 'final strike' by Hizbullah in the form of a large barrage of short-range rockets or the launching of long-range rockets. "I instructed the IDF and homefront command to be prepared for such an eventuality," he said.
The air strike in Qana constitutes an uncomfortable affair for the Israeli government. Early Sunday afternoon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tzipi Livni, who was scheduled to meet the Italian foreign minister, Massimo D'Alema, to issue a statement about recent event. She decided not to address, at this time, the incident in which 57 Lebanese civilians, half of them children, were killed.
Olmert met with Rice on Saturday night to discuss the 19-day-old Israeli offensive in southern Lebanon. Their meeting came before the Israeli strike in Qana. Pursuant to the event, Olmert and Rice scheduled a new meeting on Sunday evening.
Israeli deeply regrets civilian deaths
"I express my deep regret, which is shared by the entire State of Israel and the IDF, over the death of civilians in the village of Qana. There is nothing far away from our thoughts and interests than hurting civilians, and everyone understands this," Olmert said.
IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz also expressed his regret over the fact that civilians were hurt. "We are operating in a place from where Katyushas are being launched and we conveyed messages to the citizens, asking them to leave the area. Unfortunately, people who gathered in the place, while we were unaware of their presence, were hurt," he said.
Sources in the Israel Defense Forces noted that with all the deep regret over the incident, Israeli cannot halts its operation while Hizbullah terrorists are directing their Katyusha rockets at Israeli cities, including at hospitals. A senior IAF officer emphasized that that dozens of Katyusha rockets were launched from the village and its surrounding areas.
AP contributed to the report
Tenten
Jedi
Source: http://tinyurl.com/ltkgn
http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/1304
Delusional Expectations
Sat, 2006-07-29 03:39
By John Chuckman
At this writing, Israel has killed six hundred civilians in Lebanon, including more than one hundred children, and killed another one hundred and fifty in Gaza. It has created hundreds of thousands of refugees and destroyed enough bridges and power stations and apartments to create misery for years to come.
Nothing is more dishonest than attempting to justify this barbarism with "Islamist fundamentalists declare their goal openly to destroy the state of Israel and kill Jews."
There is no possibility that Israel can be destroyed by Islamic fundamentalists: the notion is simply a fantasy. This is so not just because of Israel's ready willingness to bomb and kill, but because of great-power guarantees. It is so also because no Arab state believes any longer that Israel’s destruction is a sensible or possible goal, despite their leaders’ public rhetoric. And it is true because the enemies Israel claims are so threatening, organizations such as Hezbollah or Hamas, are militarily weak by any rational standard of calculation.
Israel began by moving into a bad neighborhood, and everyone involved understood this from the beginning, yet Israel behaves as though it should be normal to enjoy a pristine Disney-like suburb with white-picket fences. It reacts to activities in the bad neighborhood that disturb its fantasy with ferocious indignation. Israel's destructive behavior is explained largely by this delusional expectation.
If Israel had spent half the resources it has spent on war over the last fifty years instead on helping its neighbors and building up their economies, the region would be a far better place today. And if Israel had been willing to make reasonable concessions to the needs of others in the region, there might well be lasting peace today.
The irony of Israel’s current destructive behavior is that a healthy, prosperous Lebanon is in Israel’s long-term interest, just as it is in Israel’s interest to have all of its neighbors prosperous and flourishing.
But, instead, Israel’s response to any provocation from any gang or individual is always war and maintaining "the iron wall" - an early Zionist phrase that has provided the foundation of Israeli policy for over half a century - against all outsiders with disregard for their interests or needs.
Deception is an important tool in any war, and Israel’s extensive use of it shows us how it regards neighbors and others it should have cultivated as friends. Look at the bombing of a UN observation post in Lebanon, killing four unarmed UN workers.
Israel says it was an accident, but the post had been there for years, and it was well marked. Moreover, the UN workers were killed in a bunker, meaning that a certain kind of munition had to be used to kill them. According to a BBC report, the UN peacekeepers had contacted Israeli forces ten times about artillery shelling in the hours before they were hit by a precision-guided missile. How possibly can this have been an accident?
Could the failed international conference in Rome where proposals for an immediate cease-fire and an international force in Southern Lebanon were advocated have provided Israel’s motive? The cease-fire proposal was quickly killed by the United States to give Israel more bombing time. Was the proposal for an international force the target of Israel’s attack? Who would commit observers or troops if this is what would happen to them? We know Israel does not want outside interference in Lebanon. More broadly, Israel has shown intense hostility towards the UN for years, perhaps one of its closest bonds with Bush’s mob.
There is some evidence that the Israeli soldiers kidnapped at the beginning of the current bombardment were actually kidnapped inside Lebanon on a provocative mission. I have no idea whether this true, but it is far from improbable. The kidnapping has certainly provided an excuse for bombing the hell out of southern Lebanon.
Israel’s many past deceptions naturally enough leave one uncomfortable about any of its official statements on any important matter. First was the covert creation of a nuclear arsenal, a fact not acknowledged to this day. Then there was Israel’s secret assistance to apartheid South Africa, including still-unacknowledged assistance in creating and testing a nuclear weapon. There was Israel’s manipulation of events leading to the Six Day War, a war Israel knew it could handily win for great gains (see my March, 2003, article, Was Einstein Right? ).
There was Israel’s attempt to sink the U.S.S. Liberty, an American spy ship, during the Six Day War, an event never meaningfully explained but likely intended to prevent evidence of atrocities against captured Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai being recorded. A large group of Israeli spies was arrested after 9/11, but their extensive activities in the United States leading up to that event have never been explained. Only a few weeks ago, before its attacks on Lebanon and Gaza, Israel mounted an effort claiming the munition which wiped out a Palestinian family on a Gaza beach belonged to someone else, when in fact a collected scrap of casing clearly showed its American origin, a type of munition not made available to anyone else in the region.
All gangs and individuals who rudely remind Israel that it really does live in a bad neighborhood are simply flattened, but flattening the perpetrators is never enough. Always Israel takes the lives of innocents and destroys their property, believing that such ruthlessness eventually will intimidate everyone around into a zombie-like peace, but this is simply another delusion.
The logic of Israel’s behavior taken to its limit would have a two- or three-hundred mile perimeter around Israel’s border (whatever that is) bulldozed and paved over. This would certainly provide complete security, but it is utter fantasy, just as impossible as the destruction of Israel.
What is the solution in the Middle East? It is found in so simple an act as Israel’s dealing fairly with its neighbors and negotiating to sort things out. Israel has never yet done this. It presents only an iron wall, bristling with weapons. When breakthroughs do come, as with the Oslo Accords, Israel’s establishment quietly ignores them or works actively against them while still talking about peace.
Israel has all the advantages. It has advanced weapons. It has great-power guarantees. It has billions of dollars in assistance every year. It has unmatched access to American intelligence and government. By comparison, Hamas and Hezbollah are pretty anemic forces.
Organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas owe their very existence to Israel's past behavior. Hezbollah flourished as a guerrilla force opposing Israel's previous invasion of Lebanon and its long-term partial occupation. It served also as an important charity in the midst of chaos. Hamas was created with the deliberate help of Israeli intelligence, intending to create a rival for the PLO and introduce instability into Palestinian politics. When Hamas was elected recently as part of the government of Palestine, it was only after innumerable excuses from Israel for not meeting with Abbas and after imprisoning and threatening Arafat for several years before his death. How are Palestinians to deal with an Israel that always has an excuse for not negotiating, for not even speaking, to its government? Israel has now kidnapped the cabinet of an elected government, but this is quietly supported by Bush’s democracy-loving mob.
Israel wants us to accept the simplistic assertion that organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas are proof of Islamist determination to destroy Israel. So long as this is the accepted view, greatly over-simplifying a truly complex situation, there can be no understanding and no sensible approach to peace.
Refusing even to talk with the democratically-elected Hamas government and cutting it off from all connections and revenues was an act of war in response to party slogans. You can't build peace on fantasy.
I said Israel could not be destroyed by anyone, but there is an important exception to that statement: Israel could well be destroyed by itself.
John Chuckman is a retired Chief Economist for Texaco Canada. He is a prolific writer and his articles can be found on websites such as, YellowTimes, CounterPunch, SmirkingChimp, Asian Tribune, and Democrats with Spine. He submitted this article for "Asian Tribune"
http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/1304
Delusional Expectations
Sat, 2006-07-29 03:39
By John Chuckman
At this writing, Israel has killed six hundred civilians in Lebanon, including more than one hundred children, and killed another one hundred and fifty in Gaza. It has created hundreds of thousands of refugees and destroyed enough bridges and power stations and apartments to create misery for years to come.
Nothing is more dishonest than attempting to justify this barbarism with "Islamist fundamentalists declare their goal openly to destroy the state of Israel and kill Jews."
There is no possibility that Israel can be destroyed by Islamic fundamentalists: the notion is simply a fantasy. This is so not just because of Israel's ready willingness to bomb and kill, but because of great-power guarantees. It is so also because no Arab state believes any longer that Israel’s destruction is a sensible or possible goal, despite their leaders’ public rhetoric. And it is true because the enemies Israel claims are so threatening, organizations such as Hezbollah or Hamas, are militarily weak by any rational standard of calculation.
Israel began by moving into a bad neighborhood, and everyone involved understood this from the beginning, yet Israel behaves as though it should be normal to enjoy a pristine Disney-like suburb with white-picket fences. It reacts to activities in the bad neighborhood that disturb its fantasy with ferocious indignation. Israel's destructive behavior is explained largely by this delusional expectation.
If Israel had spent half the resources it has spent on war over the last fifty years instead on helping its neighbors and building up their economies, the region would be a far better place today. And if Israel had been willing to make reasonable concessions to the needs of others in the region, there might well be lasting peace today.
The irony of Israel’s current destructive behavior is that a healthy, prosperous Lebanon is in Israel’s long-term interest, just as it is in Israel’s interest to have all of its neighbors prosperous and flourishing.
But, instead, Israel’s response to any provocation from any gang or individual is always war and maintaining "the iron wall" - an early Zionist phrase that has provided the foundation of Israeli policy for over half a century - against all outsiders with disregard for their interests or needs.
Deception is an important tool in any war, and Israel’s extensive use of it shows us how it regards neighbors and others it should have cultivated as friends. Look at the bombing of a UN observation post in Lebanon, killing four unarmed UN workers.
Israel says it was an accident, but the post had been there for years, and it was well marked. Moreover, the UN workers were killed in a bunker, meaning that a certain kind of munition had to be used to kill them. According to a BBC report, the UN peacekeepers had contacted Israeli forces ten times about artillery shelling in the hours before they were hit by a precision-guided missile. How possibly can this have been an accident?
Could the failed international conference in Rome where proposals for an immediate cease-fire and an international force in Southern Lebanon were advocated have provided Israel’s motive? The cease-fire proposal was quickly killed by the United States to give Israel more bombing time. Was the proposal for an international force the target of Israel’s attack? Who would commit observers or troops if this is what would happen to them? We know Israel does not want outside interference in Lebanon. More broadly, Israel has shown intense hostility towards the UN for years, perhaps one of its closest bonds with Bush’s mob.
There is some evidence that the Israeli soldiers kidnapped at the beginning of the current bombardment were actually kidnapped inside Lebanon on a provocative mission. I have no idea whether this true, but it is far from improbable. The kidnapping has certainly provided an excuse for bombing the hell out of southern Lebanon.
Israel’s many past deceptions naturally enough leave one uncomfortable about any of its official statements on any important matter. First was the covert creation of a nuclear arsenal, a fact not acknowledged to this day. Then there was Israel’s secret assistance to apartheid South Africa, including still-unacknowledged assistance in creating and testing a nuclear weapon. There was Israel’s manipulation of events leading to the Six Day War, a war Israel knew it could handily win for great gains (see my March, 2003, article, Was Einstein Right? ).
There was Israel’s attempt to sink the U.S.S. Liberty, an American spy ship, during the Six Day War, an event never meaningfully explained but likely intended to prevent evidence of atrocities against captured Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai being recorded. A large group of Israeli spies was arrested after 9/11, but their extensive activities in the United States leading up to that event have never been explained. Only a few weeks ago, before its attacks on Lebanon and Gaza, Israel mounted an effort claiming the munition which wiped out a Palestinian family on a Gaza beach belonged to someone else, when in fact a collected scrap of casing clearly showed its American origin, a type of munition not made available to anyone else in the region.
All gangs and individuals who rudely remind Israel that it really does live in a bad neighborhood are simply flattened, but flattening the perpetrators is never enough. Always Israel takes the lives of innocents and destroys their property, believing that such ruthlessness eventually will intimidate everyone around into a zombie-like peace, but this is simply another delusion.
The logic of Israel’s behavior taken to its limit would have a two- or three-hundred mile perimeter around Israel’s border (whatever that is) bulldozed and paved over. This would certainly provide complete security, but it is utter fantasy, just as impossible as the destruction of Israel.
What is the solution in the Middle East? It is found in so simple an act as Israel’s dealing fairly with its neighbors and negotiating to sort things out. Israel has never yet done this. It presents only an iron wall, bristling with weapons. When breakthroughs do come, as with the Oslo Accords, Israel’s establishment quietly ignores them or works actively against them while still talking about peace.
Israel has all the advantages. It has advanced weapons. It has great-power guarantees. It has billions of dollars in assistance every year. It has unmatched access to American intelligence and government. By comparison, Hamas and Hezbollah are pretty anemic forces.
Organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas owe their very existence to Israel's past behavior. Hezbollah flourished as a guerrilla force opposing Israel's previous invasion of Lebanon and its long-term partial occupation. It served also as an important charity in the midst of chaos. Hamas was created with the deliberate help of Israeli intelligence, intending to create a rival for the PLO and introduce instability into Palestinian politics. When Hamas was elected recently as part of the government of Palestine, it was only after innumerable excuses from Israel for not meeting with Abbas and after imprisoning and threatening Arafat for several years before his death. How are Palestinians to deal with an Israel that always has an excuse for not negotiating, for not even speaking, to its government? Israel has now kidnapped the cabinet of an elected government, but this is quietly supported by Bush’s democracy-loving mob.
Israel wants us to accept the simplistic assertion that organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas are proof of Islamist determination to destroy Israel. So long as this is the accepted view, greatly over-simplifying a truly complex situation, there can be no understanding and no sensible approach to peace.
Refusing even to talk with the democratically-elected Hamas government and cutting it off from all connections and revenues was an act of war in response to party slogans. You can't build peace on fantasy.
I said Israel could not be destroyed by anyone, but there is an important exception to that statement: Israel could well be destroyed by itself.
John Chuckman is a retired Chief Economist for Texaco Canada. He is a prolific writer and his articles can be found on websites such as, YellowTimes, CounterPunch, SmirkingChimp, Asian Tribune, and Democrats with Spine. He submitted this article for "Asian Tribune"
N
noise
Guest
This is totally assinine for them to say they need more time, all they are doing is creating more enemies for themselves. There is no finishing this in a destructive way! I'm so sick and ashamed this is truly tragic. If Iran does get into this via syria/iraq, I can only see 130k DU sickened americans wiped and if that is the case Israel may be in for a real eye opener before the dust begins to settle. Of course then it will get alot uglier if such a situation happens. Are there no more Diplomats left in this backwards a*s world anymore?
Not to complain, but to complain- I was hoping I could awaken at a more peaceful time, it's so difficult of an emotional rollercoaster. It's kind of like stirring awake from a nightmare only to awaken into one. I don't regret that fact but on one hand I have learned that I can't rush waking up, but on the other hand I am in a hurry in terms of opening my eyes, since there seems to be so little time to attempt to. I know thats really subjective of me to state but I think I've seem more than enough pictures and violence, hell, one picture was more than enough, what the heaven is wrong with these Israeli/US @$$holes?
Sorry kind of venting there, I'm just finding more and more sickening twisted things to read or observe (pictures) and it's making me sick. Looks like it's time for another video or something so that I don't waste all this anger and cam put it to something somewhat creative. =\
Not to complain, but to complain- I was hoping I could awaken at a more peaceful time, it's so difficult of an emotional rollercoaster. It's kind of like stirring awake from a nightmare only to awaken into one. I don't regret that fact but on one hand I have learned that I can't rush waking up, but on the other hand I am in a hurry in terms of opening my eyes, since there seems to be so little time to attempt to. I know thats really subjective of me to state but I think I've seem more than enough pictures and violence, hell, one picture was more than enough, what the heaven is wrong with these Israeli/US @$$holes?
Sorry kind of venting there, I'm just finding more and more sickening twisted things to read or observe (pictures) and it's making me sick. Looks like it's time for another video or something so that I don't waste all this anger and cam put it to something somewhat creative. =\
P
paulnotbilly
Guest
Trying to avoid the photo's is always a good place to start, if you find the writing too graphic, I would advise you to try and find a news source that is limiting it's 'nastiness.' You might think along the lines of: "you're backing out when you should be standing firm," you ain't - you've not been de-sensitised enough. (Which is a good thing). Given the use of the internet for spreading de-sensitising videos, there's not as many people like yourself around in the world today.noise said:
PS: The Israeli/US have their own plan running on their own timescale. Because you're not psychopathic, you can't really place yourself in their position to get some perspective of what/why is going on.
Tenten
Jedi
"Crisis" in Israel/Palestine/Lebanon/Syria
An "old" news.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/key9y
http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7B0C16A440-6775-4A9C-A2D5-3BF37D5CF667%7D)&language=EN
Spain, Former Prez Aznar under Fire
Madrid, Jul 25 (Prensa Latina) Ex President of Spanish Government Jose Maria Aznar has caused a huge stir by urging intervention by NATO in Lebanon, including eventual bombing.
Spanish media carried local political figures' strong criticism Wednesday of Aznar's comments promoting NATO bombing of Lebanon to the BBC.
One of the first to protest and condemn the former president's open warmongering was the secretary of Spain's Socialist Party (PSOE), Jose Blanco.
Aznar has gone too far, Blanco said, while ironically adding that despite widespread knowledge that the former president works for a multinational media [Tenten: Murdoch empire], his stand can only be explained if he had a contract with a weapons' multinational.
Meanwhile, former President of Government Felipe Gonzalez joined the criticism and termed Aznar's remarks "grotesque", and supported the present Spanish government position on the Middle East crisis.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/zaoeb
http://www.eitb24.com/portal/eitb24/noticia/en/politics/middle-east-conflict-aznar-in-favour-of-nato-shelling-lebanon-if-?itemId=B24_1013&cl=%2Feitb24%2Fpolitica&idioma=en
Aznar in favour of NATO shelling Lebanon "if necessary"
07/25/2006
Governing Socialist Party thinks the former Spanish president "has gone too far."
José María Aznar, former president of the Spanish Government
Multimedia
Jose Maria Aznar Interviewed in BBC
The former president of the Spanish Government, José María Aznar, showed his favourable stance for the NATO to shell Lebanon in case Israel was part of the Atlantic Alliance.
The former ruler made these statements in an interview for the BBC. Answering the interviewer, he noted that the Atlantic Alliance should shell Lebanon "if necessary."
The organisation secretary of the governing Socialist Party, José Blanco, pointed out that Aznar "went too far" and his stance could only be understood if he had joined some "weapon multinational company."
An "old" news.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/key9y
http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7B0C16A440-6775-4A9C-A2D5-3BF37D5CF667%7D)&language=EN
Spain, Former Prez Aznar under Fire
Madrid, Jul 25 (Prensa Latina) Ex President of Spanish Government Jose Maria Aznar has caused a huge stir by urging intervention by NATO in Lebanon, including eventual bombing.
Spanish media carried local political figures' strong criticism Wednesday of Aznar's comments promoting NATO bombing of Lebanon to the BBC.
One of the first to protest and condemn the former president's open warmongering was the secretary of Spain's Socialist Party (PSOE), Jose Blanco.
Aznar has gone too far, Blanco said, while ironically adding that despite widespread knowledge that the former president works for a multinational media [Tenten: Murdoch empire], his stand can only be explained if he had a contract with a weapons' multinational.
Meanwhile, former President of Government Felipe Gonzalez joined the criticism and termed Aznar's remarks "grotesque", and supported the present Spanish government position on the Middle East crisis.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/zaoeb
http://www.eitb24.com/portal/eitb24/noticia/en/politics/middle-east-conflict-aznar-in-favour-of-nato-shelling-lebanon-if-?itemId=B24_1013&cl=%2Feitb24%2Fpolitica&idioma=en
Aznar in favour of NATO shelling Lebanon "if necessary"
07/25/2006
Governing Socialist Party thinks the former Spanish president "has gone too far."
José María Aznar, former president of the Spanish Government
Multimedia
Jose Maria Aznar Interviewed in BBC
The former president of the Spanish Government, José María Aznar, showed his favourable stance for the NATO to shell Lebanon in case Israel was part of the Atlantic Alliance.
The former ruler made these statements in an interview for the BBC. Answering the interviewer, he noted that the Atlantic Alliance should shell Lebanon "if necessary."
The organisation secretary of the governing Socialist Party, José Blanco, pointed out that Aznar "went too far" and his stance could only be understood if he had joined some "weapon multinational company."
This is not the point. It is a typical propaganda made in Israel. The point is that Israel and USA commit war crimes on a mass scale, and, till now, the world in the large is indifferent. Only when you see the large picture, you can address and assess correctly the details.Keit said:
Yes, I agree. This is indeed a typical israel propaganda. The problem is, this only gives another excuse to those who choose to back up those war crimes. On the other hand - they already do not need any excuses. I guess that those blogs intention is to influence world's opinion.ark said:
Sure. The same with suspending the air strikes for 48 hours. A propaganda move. They will use this time to prepare F16s and their pilots for using the new type of bombs that just came from USA. Also to figure out how to engage Iran and Syria, which they failed till now.
The news from Israel in Russian:
http://www.sedmoykanal.com/news.php3?id=211440
says it explicitly (at the end): " ...the temporary ceasefire has the goal to ease the international pressure on Israrel."
Also
The news from Israel in Russian:
http://www.sedmoykanal.com/news.php3?id=211440
says it explicitly (at the end): " ...the temporary ceasefire has the goal to ease the international pressure on Israrel."
Also