The dictator in Havana has given power to his brother because he is having abdominal surgery that could have a long convalesence.

Cuban President Fidel Castro was undergoing intestinal surgery and provisionally handed over power in the Communist island nation to his younger brother Raul, according to a statement read on Cuban television Monday night.

Fidel Castro, 79, has led Cuba since a 1959 revolution. Raul Castro, 75, is the first vice president of the country, and as such, the designated successor to his brother.

Castro's secretary, Carlos Balenciago, read a letter he said was from the president in which he said stress had forced him into surgery and that he would be in bed for several weeks after the operation was complete. Castro turns 80 on August 13.

Raul Castro also assumes control over the armed forces and the leadership of the Communist Party, according to the statement.

The State Department reacted with caution.

White House spokesman Peter Watkins said: ''We are monitoring the situation. We can't speculate on Castro's health, but we continue to work for the day of Cuba's freedom.'' The State Department declined to comment Monday night.

In Florida, the Cuban community has greeted this news as any lover of freedom must.

The announcement drew cheering in the streets in Miami. People waved Cuban flags on Little Havana's Calle Ocho, shouting "Cuba, Cuba, Cuba," hoping that the end is near for the man most of them consider to be a ruthless dictator. There were hugs, cheers and dancing as drivers honked their horns. Many of them fled the communist island or have parents and grandparents who did.

Don't get well soon, Fidel. In fact, don't get well at all -- do the Cuban people a favor and die on the table so that they can hang your putrid corpse from a lamp post by its heels, like the Italians did to Mussolini.

Babalu Blog has a running post on this most recend deathwatch, noting that we have seen this before.

¡Cuba Libre!

Posted by: Greg at 06:15 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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I was disturbed that Israel would give Hezbollah a chance to recover, reposition, and rearm when I heard about the agreement to stop the bombing for 48 hours.

Israel agreed to suspend air attacks in southern Lebanon for 48 hours after one of its raids on the southern town of Qana left dozens of civilians, many of them children, dead on Sunday, the bloodiest day of the conflict so far.

* * *

J. Adam Ereli, the deputy spokesman for the State Department, which announced the 48-hour pause in strikes, said Israel would use the suspension in bombing to coordinate with the United Nations safe passage for 24 hours for residents who wish to leave southern Lebanon.

Israeli officials said nothing publicly about the suspension early Monday, and Mr. Ereli noted that Israel reserved the right to strike at militants preparing attacks against it.

An Israeli official in the prime minister’s office, who did not want to be identified, simply confirmed the State Department statement, saying, “Israel will be suspending aerial activity over southern Lebanon for 48 hours until the end of the Israeli investigation into Qana.”

At midnight Sunday, Israeli aircraft hit targets in eastern Lebanon, a spokesman for the Israeli Army said Monday morning. The suspension of airstrikes went into effect two hours later, he added.

It is pretty clear what did not happen -- Israel did not target that building and did not intentionally kill civilians. It is also pretty clear what did happen -- in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Hezbollah operated from in the midst of what the convention calls "protected persons" in order to use them as human shields.. Somehow, though, those who demand that the US abide by the strictedst possible interpretation of those documents (and even exceed those standards) have failed to condemn Hezbollah for failing to live up to those same standards of civilized behavior.

Fortunately, Israel has not abandoned all military common sense.

Israeli warplanes did conduct air strikes this morning, but army officials said they were in support of ground forces and so not covered by the 48-hour halt.

And IsraelÂ’s defense minister, Amir Peretz, made it clear in a speech to the Knesset today that Israel intends to continue its ground operations against Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon.

“We must not agree to a ceasefire that would be implemented immediately,’’ Mr. Peretz said. “If an immediate cease-fire is declared, the extremists will rear their heads anew.’’

So let's make the situation clear -- while there is a pause in bombing generally, bombing in support of ground forces will continue in order to continue to purge the jihadi swine from southern Lebanon. Israel rightly recognizes that a cease-fire at this time is not in its strategic interest, and so will not accept any proposal that stops the fighting without ensuring Israeli security.

Posted by: Greg at 03:12 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Though it doesn't particularly matter to Israel-haters/jihad supporters, video is out showing Hezbollah launching rockets from civilian areas of Qana. That made the area a legitimate military target. Take a look at the video at Expose the Left and Flopping Aces (scroll down).

In addition, there are now questions about the timing of the building collapse. The Israelis attacked the area around midnight local time -- but the building did not collapse until the next morning.

Senior IDF officers told reporters a short time ago that there is a contradiction in the timing of the bombing of the village of Kana and reports of the explosion that killed more than 50 civilians and set off world-wide condemnation of Israel. Air Force Commander Amir Eshel left open the possibility that Hizbullah terrorists blew up the building or that an unknown cause set off explosives which were stored in the structure.

He explained that recorded information shows that Israeli Air Force planes bombed the building between midnight and 1 a.m. and that the next attack at 7:30 a.m. was up to 500 yards away. He said reports of the killing of civilians came around 8 a.m. "It is not clear what happened" between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m., he said.

Brigadier General Ido Nehushtan pointed out that Hizbullah terrorists have fired more than 150 rockets from the village of Kana since the beginning of the war.

Could the collapse have been triggered by explosives stored there by Hezbollah (there are reports of a secondary explosion)? Could Hezbollah jihadis have "manufactured" the civilian casualties by blowing the building up themselves? Or might they have prevented civilians from leaving a damaged building for the same purposes? Given th six-to-eight hour gap between the attack and the collapse that exists, these are reasonable questions.

UPDATE: The official Israeli statement on Qana, including video of Hezbollah firing from behind residential buildings.

Posted by: Greg at 07:59 AM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
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With the dawn come reports of the deaths of dozens of Lebanese, many of them children, as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese village of Qana.

At least 60 civilians were killed on Sunday after the IAF fired missiles at buildings in the southern Lebanse twon of Qana.

Some 35 bodies have been recovered from a building that collapsed, but more were still stuck under the rubble, Lebanon's official news agency reported.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the area was a focal point for the firing of Katyusha rockets on Kiryat Shmona and Afula. He said that from the outset of the conflict "hundreds of rockets have been fired from the Qana area."

Olmert stressed that there was no IDF policy of targeting innocent civilians, as opposed to Hizbullah that has launched rockets "with the aim of murdering innocent civilians in northern Israel."

On one level, I feel shock and outrage. I am truly saddened by the deaths of civilians. But my anger is directed not at the Israelis, but at the Hezbollah cowards who have been hiding in and attacking from civilian areas in an attempt to protect themselves and gain a propaganda victory from the deaths of the civilians they put in harms way. It has not been that long since I posted photos that clearly demonstrate that Hezbollah tactic, and the condemnation of the jihadi group by a UN official for doing so.

Yet on another level, I am not at all troubled by these casualties. Lebanon allows Hezbollah to operate freely within its borders. It has a role in the government. It is among the largest employers in Lebanon. Indeed, the Lebanese president has even hinted that he might have the Lebanese Army join forces with the jihadis of the Party of (the false god) Allah against the Israelis who have responded to repeated attacks upon civilian targets from within Lebanon. The Lebanese government has allowed this terrorist menace to flourish, and now all of Lebanon must pay the price -- even if that price involves civilian casualties.

I need go no further back in history than WWII, "the good war". In that conflict, which was certainly an example of what one would call "total war", the casualties of the Axis aggressors were high -- and included many civilians who found themselves in harm's way due to the misdeeds of their government. While American and British casualties were under 1% of their respective populations, the Japanese suffered over 3% casualties, including the deaths of many civilians in the conventional bombing of Tokyo and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Germany suffered the loss of over 10% of its population, including many to the relentless bombing campaigns of the Allies in places like Dresden. And yet no one with an ounce of moral decency would argue that those deaths were unjustified, unnecesary, or disproportionate. Indeed, they were tragic, but they were also a necessary part of bringing about a speedy victory with far fewer casualties on both sides than would otherwise have been needed.

If Israel were to adopt the model used by the Allies in WWII, much of Lebanon would be flattened by now. Even if the much more restrained model used by America in Vietnam were employed, the civilian casualties would be much higher due to the carpet-bombing of entire sectors where the enemy is operating. Israel has not done that at all, and has sought to limit civilian casualties even when it puts Israeli troops at risk.

The events at Qana raise the specter of history repeating itself.

Ten years ago, Israel was forced to suspend Operation Grapes of Wrath against Hizbullah after artillery shells accidentally killed over 100 Lebanese refugees in the same village.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora demanded an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and insisted on an investigation into the Qana attack.

The withdrawal a decade ago in the face of world outrage allowed Hezbollah to regroup, rearm, and recruit a new generation of jihadis -- those who fight today. The earlier withdrawal following a tragedy in Qana can in fact be seen as the beginning of a chain of events which gave rise to the current war. Will the same mistake be made today?

War, as General Sherman told us long ago, is Hell. One part of that Hell is that unintended civilian deaths occur -- especially when one side hides among the non-combattants. And yet that cannot be the basis for putting an end to a just fight or accepting a cease-fire that allows the aggressor to regroup and continue its attacks at a later date. Terrorism must not be allowed to succeed; terrorists must not be allowed a strategic victory. Israel must continue its battle against the jihadis of Hezbollah -- not just for its own security, but also for that of Lebanon, the Middle East, and the world as a whole.

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Stop the ACLU, Conservative Cat, Adam's Blog, Stuck on Stupid, Freedom Watch, Blue Star Chronicles, Third World County, Madman Returns, Random Yak

Posted by: Greg at 12:56 AM | Comments (24) | Add Comment
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1 Good insights. I firmly believe Israel needs to finish this. Hezbollah is responsible for the civilian deaths. Of course, the Israelis need to fire at the positions from which rockets are being lobbed at their own people. I can't figure out why anyone would be confused about the necessity of Israel's counterattacks.

Posted by: Anna Venger at Sun Jul 30 04:56:00 2006 (ZXStJ)

2 I agree with you completely!

Posted by: Beth Barnat at Sun Jul 30 07:58:18 2006 (Oaz5W)

3 I agree with you completely! The thing I was thinking was this, though -- in warning the civilians that they are going to bomb, perhaps they are giving Hezbollah an opportunity to herd civilians into those very sites and lock them in - run away and let Israel bomb. Perhaps they should just bomb targets by surprise and see what happens.

Posted by: Beth Barnat at Sun Jul 30 07:59:43 2006 (Oaz5W)

4 Bizarre reasoning on this site by what appear to be mostly folks totally disconnected from reality. Hezbollah may be a diabolical organization but rest assured the world is not blaming them for this incident. They are blaming Israel, while Hezbollah and Nasrallah have become heroes throughout the muslim world. This attack was not only morally wrong, has anyone sat and looked at the dust covered corpses of those children, just as are Hezbollah's rocket attacks, but they are a terrorist organization while Israel is supposed to be responsible state. But above all it was completely stupid. As becomes more apparent every day, the chances of Israel eliminating Hezbollah are becoming increasingly remote. Even if the US damages its own interests by trying to hold the world back for a year while they bomb Lebanon into the stone age and kill 200,000 in the process, they will still not manage it. I think that penny is starting to drop in Tel Aviv, hence some uncertainty in their conduct of this operation. They are also taking on board that these do not appear to be the Arabs they are used to fighting. I have been a supporter of Israel all my life, but for the first time am starting to believe that they will never impose their settlement on the middle east. They have been trying it for forty years and it hasn't worked any more than our more recent attempt to impose a settlement in Iraq. One of the by products of that has been to make Hezbollah's patron Iran the pre-eminent power in the region, who are basically immune from any action we can take against them. I'm sure many of the posters on this site want to start dropping bombs on Tehran, without giving much thought to the economic impact on a country which consumes 25% of the worlds oil and whose industrial and financial system is heavily dependant on a stable world. These no doubt are the same people who claimed invading Iraq was going to stabilize the middle east. Wake up this is a disaster for Israel.

Posted by: John at Sun Jul 30 08:47:26 2006 (xLm0S)

5 Let me remind all the people who want to stop Israel from eliminate the Hezbollah. I wondered if thousands of missles falls into Beijing, Moscow, London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Geneva,.... you know the idea then how many of the citizen of those countries will demand immediately ceased fire w/o skined alive the responsible killers regardless what kind of collateral damage in the process. It is easy to be yell peace unless when a 2000lbs missle is shooting at you everyday. Israel has the right to eliminate all the people that want to kill her. If they have to level Lebanon or the whole Arab world to survive then so be it. I have no doubt that China, India, Russia, US, France, Germany, or any country.... would terminate the whole world if that is the only mean of survival on outbreak of war.

Posted by: Michael at Sun Jul 30 10:44:59 2006 (uloLc)

6 I hear that America has been shipping Depleted Uranium weapons through an airport in Scotland to Israel.

Israel has been using those weapons in Lebanon. That certainly explains why they wiped out the UN Obsevers on the border .. after all it would not do to have witnesses to that dirty game .. would it?

The Americans are complicit in this latest Israeli atrocity along side with the British .. The whole world can see who the real axis of evil is.

By their fruits ye shall know them .. and the fruits are hard bitter and poisonous .. Mussolini is reported to have said that Fascism should be rightly called Corporatism because it a union of state and business .. By the fruits .. I dub thee Facists .. God rest your rotten black souls

Posted by: Pax at Mon Jul 31 04:34:38 2006 (mCO+0)

7 You hear, but have you any proof?

No doubt you've also heard that Jews use the blood of Christian and Muslim childrent to make matzo bread as well.

But if you believe that support for Israel makes one a fascist -- then I wear the label gladly and with pride. After all, since the Jews are God's Chosen People,that means God is a fascist as well. And i mean the One True God, not the false god Allah.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Mon Jul 31 05:50:20 2006 (93/tm)

8 Well the proof is to be found in the British Newspapers and the questions raised in the British Parliment about the DU weapons being shipped through Prestwick on the way to Israel.

Ask the UN about proof of the deliberate shelling of the UN observation post .. the UN stated 4 peace keepers were killed.

and as for the blood and matzos .. such over the top remarks can only be Zionist Propaganda to garner sympathy .. Israel is an out of control illegal Nuclear power. That needs to be dragged before the International Court at the Hague for crimes against humanity.

As for the Jews being Gods Chosen People then we only have the Jews claim for that .. show me the contract .. and dont give me garbage about its written in the Bible .. The words of Jesus are quite straight forward .. try the Sermon on the Mount.. Oh and let us not forget the 10 Commandments in the Old Testament.

Have a nice day.

Posted by: Pax at Mon Jul 31 06:36:23 2006 (mCO+0)

9 Pax,

Depleted Uranium? Please. Unless you inhale the stuff as dust it's harmless.


John: "Hezbollah may be a diabolical organization but rest assured the world is not blaming them for this incident. They are blaming Israel, while Hezbollah and Nasrallah have become heroes throughout the muslim world."

Comment: So what else is new?

Posted by: Jose Chung at Mon Jul 31 06:38:14 2006 (ApvpI)

10 Ghenghis khan killed half of the population fo Khoresm when it killed his 30 men. Why do not Israel adopt that strategy? Just kill all Lebanons as retaliation for its 2 soldiers. That is my suggestion for Israel. The man race except Arabs and Jews has grown more humane since WW2 even Vietnam war.

Posted by: Enkh at Mon Jul 31 06:40:28 2006 (4KSOT)

11 Pax wrote: "...and as for the blood and matzos .. such over the top remarks can only be Zionist Propaganda to garner sympathy."


You have no idea what goes on in the Arab world, my friend, and in its media and textbooks. Look at the school books used in the Palestinian Authority that compare Jews to donkeys and pigs, or that claim hating the Jews is a commandment of Allah. In the maps section of these textbooks there is no nation called Israel. It just doesn't exist.

I could go on, but why bother?

Pax, little buddy, in your favor I will stipulate that you are not as brainwashed as these poor ignorant Palestinian youths, but brainwashed you are, whether you know it or not. The ignorant and gullible liberal media in the west and its high priests (the professors) have fallen for much of this nonsense propanda put out by terrorist elites
and their scribes.

Posted by: Jose Chung at Mon Jul 31 08:10:09 2006 (ApvpI)

12 Interesting, Pax, that you cite not one source -- and your vague comments refer to "questions raised" not evidence produced.

And the UN -- if you look at my site, you will see actual evidence that Hezbollah ahd been operating in the area, just as at Qana.

By the way -- if you want to reject the Biblical teachings about the Jews as God's Chosen people, you need to give up on the 10 Comandments and the Sermon on the mount as well -- for they are all three from the Bible.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Mon Jul 31 08:48:04 2006 (mUNeU)

13 Pax,
Arab television stations show tv programs depicting Jews kidnapping a boy and slitting his throat to make matza for Passover.

They also show cartoons to children of Israeli leaders drinking the blood of Muslims.

Their own programs condemn them for the Jew haters that they are.

Posted by: Anna Venger at Mon Jul 31 08:57:50 2006 (ZXStJ)

14 I accept the words of Jesus .. they are quite clear. Problem seems to be is that the money changers have reoccupied the Temple.

I am old enough to remember the King David Hotel massacre quite clearly .. I suppose they were Jewish freedom fighters? .. Zionists would like to have it both ways .. intellectually dishonest .. living walking lies .. read the words of Jesus and open up your shrivelled black hearts and let some milk and honey flow.

I spent 9 years in the British Army and served all over the middle and far east .. I know exactly what goes down .. and when I look at some of the rabid comments here .. and the source then I understand quite clearly who are the ones that have been brainwashed.

You really must understand that the majority of the civilised world is revulsed by the Zionist/Israeli response .. and its never been any different with Israel .. they have broken nearly every UN resolution on Palestine.

The whole world can also see that monsterous wall and how Israel has Gulagized Gaza and the West Bank .. and they also see the deliberate genocide practiced by the Israeli Government .. I know that much of it is not the people themselves .. its the Government egged on by rabid attack dogs.

And Anna .. what is it that the Zionists have been saying about the Palestinians? .. can you not understand why people are turning against Israel .. and your comments about Jew Haters just does not cut it .. heard that nonsense so many times that I understand it for the propaganda it is .. well it does not work any more .. by and large people are sick of it.

I understand what the Geneva Convention says and especially about Civilians .. Do you?

Posted by: Pax at Mon Jul 31 12:45:23 2006 (mCO+0)

15 You must understand that accepting the existance of israel is an essential element of qualifying for membership in the civilized world -- the rest fit in well with the Nazis, the Communists, the Islamists, and other malign, genocidal ideologies.

I'll leave you with the words of a great American, generally held to be something of an expert in the area of human rights.

“When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You are talking anti-semitism.” Rev. Martin Luther King

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Mon Jul 31 12:51:31 2006 (vrARD)

16 Oh, and let me give you another quote -- this one from someone whose experience with the actual institution of apartheid regime.

“I cannot conceive of Israel withdrawing if Arab states do not recognize Israel within secure borders.” Nelson Mandela

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Mon Jul 31 12:54:41 2006 (vrARD)

17 Oh, and you may want to consider Article 28 of the Fourth Geneva Protocol. It addresses the Qana situation perfectly.

Art. 28. The presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations.

So -- when Hezbollah sets up shop in civilian areas, it is acceptable under international law to attack those areas. The responsibility for civilian casualties that result from such attacks fall squarely on the shoulders of Hezbollah.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Mon Jul 31 13:15:08 2006 (vrARD)

18 John,

"This attack was not only morally wrong, has anyone sat and looked at the dust covered corpses of those children, just as are Hezbollah's rocket attacks, but they are a terrorist organization while Israel is supposed to be responsible state."

Have you seen those photos in a different context?

EU Referendum

Posted by: loboinok at Mon Jul 31 17:18:26 2006 (6VFW4)

19 I appreciate your placing that link here. I saw that particular post just before I went to bed, and was going to post them in the morning.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Mon Jul 31 17:25:13 2006 (+zyg2)

20 You are welcome.

Here is another you may find interesting;

The Corner

Posted by: loboinok at Mon Jul 31 22:37:38 2006 (6VFW4)

21 If there is a shooting, against Isreali soldiers coming from the house, call air support and have the destroy the house.

All Hezzbollah will be finished quickly.

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We've all heard of groups sending care packages to American soldiers, both those deployed and the wounded soldiers who have returned to this country. Many of us have participated in fundraising activities for such projects, and have personally sent care packages to troops. From time to time I've placed lnks to such groups on my site.

But I've wondered over the last few weeks if anyone was sending support packages to Israeli soldiers during this time of war. Literally by accident, I stumbled across this company, Israel-Catalog.com that is doing so, and so I offer it up to you if you are interested.

They also have made available Support Israeli Children Packages containing toys and candy for Israeli children who have had to spend many hours in bomb shelters due to Hezbollah rocket attacks on the civilian population of Israel.

I encourage you, if you are so moved, to consider an act of charity and love directed towards the Israeli people as they defend themselves from the direct attacks of the Hezbollah jihadi terrorists.

Posted by: Greg at 10:28 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The unfortunate deaths of four UN observers in Lebanon were used as an opportunity for the UN's chief Israel-hater, Secretary general Kofi Annan, to launch a verbal assault on the Isralie, claiming the attack was intentional. And at least one press account has tried to make it appear that the UN monitors were targetted.

PEACEKEEPERS spent six hours begging Israeli commanders to halt multiple air bombings near a United Nations observation post before a missile killed four unarmed observers there, it emerged last night.

UN officials said that the monitors made ten phone calls to the Israeli army between 1.20pm on Tuesday — when an Israeli aircraft dropped a bomb 300 metres from the patrol base — and about 7.20pm, when the building was destroyed.

The details came to light as Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, condemned what he called an “apparently deliberate targeting” of the well- documented UN position that had stood in Khiam, southern Lebanon, for 50 years.

I won't get into the fact that if the peacekeeprs have been there for half a century, they have done a very poor job, given the continued attacks on Israel from south Lebanon. Rather, I will point to specific issues that raise doubt about the targetting the UN ooutpost. Rather, the Israelis were after legitimate Hezbollah targets in the same area.

Not that it is easy to distinguish UN and Hezbollah positions, as this photo clearly demonstrates.

As one of the dead observers -- a Canadia -- noted in an email the day before his death, Hezbollah was operating in the area of the post which was hit.

An apparent discrepancy in the portrayal of events surrounding the deaths of four unarmed U.N. observers in Lebanon threatens to unravel Secretary-General Annan's initial accusation that Israel "deliberately" targeted the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon.

A Canadian U.N. observer, one of four killed at a UNIFIL position near the southern Lebanese town of Khiyam on Tuesday, sent an e-mail to his former commander, a Canadian retired major-general, Lewis MacKenzie, in which he wrote that Hezbollah fighters were "all over" the U.N. position, Mr. MacKenzie said. Hezbollah troops, not the United Nations, were Israel's target, the deceased observer wrote.

Now UN spokespeople have tried to argue that there was no firing of from the vicinity of the destroyed post on the day of its destruction, but that is a rather disingenuous position to take. Are the Israelis only to attack active Hezbollah positions? Or are any Hezbollah positions legitimate targets? The answer is obvious -- any Hezbollah position is fair game in this war that the terrorists started. And if the UN is allowing Hezbollah to opperate in and around UN outposts, then it is an unfortunate reality that there will be attacks in the area. Place the blame where it belongs -- on Hezbollah and the UN, not the Israelis, who are engaged in a legitimate operation to ensure their own security.

UNIFIL press releases even confirm Hezbollah's strategy of using UN personnel as shields for their attacks on Israel.

Read the UNIFIL press releases for yourself to learn that Hezbollah has not just shot at and seriously wounded UNIFIL observers - without any protest from Kofi Annan or The Age. YouÂ’ll also learn that UNIFIL has repeatedly reported Israeli shelling and bombing near UNIFIL outposts because Hezbollah fighters were shooting from right beside them .

Says the UNIFIL press release of 20 July:

Hezbollah firing was also reported from the immediate vicinity of the UN positions in Naquora and Maroun Al Ras areas at the time of the incidents (of Israeli return fire).

Tell me -- where were Kofi Annan's calls for Hezbollah to cease using UN positions as a shield for their attacks on Israel? There were none -- because the anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist Annan considers any tactic used to attack Israel and kill Jews to be a legitimate one. And this is not a new tactic -- for years, hezbollah and hamas have used refugee camps and other civilian populations as shields. Remember the uproar when the Israelis hit a refugee camp some years back? What was generally uncommented upon was that Hamas was firing from just beyond the boundaries of that camp -- realizing that any Israeli response would likely cause civilian casualties, bringing instant condemnation upon Israel.

But then again, why would anyone expect Hezbollah to have any sense of decency, given its long history of Jew-killing jihad? After all, this is the same group responsible for this little attrocity.

The Shiite terrorist group has erected a billboard facing Israel on which it placed enlarged photos showing mutilated Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon.

Yes, hezbollah even desecrates teh dead and proclaims its disgusting actions to the world.

And some of these dead are israeli soldiers kidnapped from across the border.

Just like the kidnappings that touched off this latest war.

Now whose fault is this conflict, and these deaths?

MORE AT Michelle Malkin, LGF, Small Dead Animals, Harry's Place, Blog-o-Fascists, Iowa Voice, Morning Coffee

Posted by: Greg at 04:35 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I wonder what the supporters of terrorism are going to make of this column by Zeev Avrahami, a well-known Israeli peace activist? Actually, no I don't -- for most of them he's just one more Israeli Jew to them, and so his opinion only matters if it opposes Israel and its existance.

But to those who have qualms about the current war but still retain a sense of moral decency, I urge you to consider this.

Today, I am convinced that Israel is fighting a justified war. Far from being an "optional war," this conflict was forced upon us. There is a feeling that every positive step taken in recent years has been answered by punishment. Now we are prepared to do whatever it takes to turn Israel into a safe place, even if this means invading Lebanon once again. We also want to sip coffee and play backgammon. We've had enough of rockets from the north and south and suicide bombers from everywhere. We also want to lead a normal life, just like the people in New York, Berlin or Rome who don't have to look up every time a stranger enters their favorite cafe.

We pulled out of Gaza and we have no desire to be pulled back in. We want to go to work, study, raise a family, enjoy the beach, and eat hummus as we watch with delight how the Palestinians use the money they get from around the world to build their own infrastructure, to create jobs allowing them to go to the beach, raise families, and eat hummus. We prayed for hummus and instead we got Hamas.

As the threats come from all fronts and with the backing of Syria and Iran, we are once again faced with our unique reality: We have no place to go. Ask my mother. She was expelled from Iran in 1957 for being Jewish. Now, the Iranians want to force her to migrate again.

I am bothered by the high Lebanese death toll as are most Israelis, but we must also remember that Hezbollah set the tone for this conflict when it asked for hundreds of people in exchange for one Israeli soldier. This war was declared against us and against the Western world. With oil prices rising daily, it's an economic war. With anger still lingering after the Muhammad cartoons, it is a cultural war. Most of all, though, it is a war against a progressive world, and Israel has turned back the clock 24 years to fight it.

I too am turning back the clock. Eighteen years after finishing my military service -- almost two decades after swearing that I would never again wear a uniform -- I called the Israeli consulate in New York and gave them my phone number. If the army needed me, I told them, I would be the first on a plane back to Israel. And Sharon, of course, has still not woken from his coma. But I miss him.

Welcome back to sanity, Zeev -- I congratulate you on recognizing the true face of your nation's enemies.

(H/T Captain's Quarters)

Posted by: Greg at 07:25 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 532 words, total size 3 kb.

The new cry of the anti-Israel supporters of terrorism is that Israel's response to the warfare conducted against it by Hamas and Hezbollah is that the self-defense actions of Israel are not "proportional".

Now I can reach only two conclusions about those calling for proportionality. Either they are disingenuous, or they are stupid. After all, life teaches us that when we face a threat to our lives or our safety, proportional response is not the answer. The response must be overwhelming, absolute, and utterly disproportinate to the threat. The goal cannot be a draw -- it must be the utter subjugation or annihilation of the enemy.

My brother is a sergeant on a police force on the West Coast. We've watched more than one television show or movie in which some scriptwriter has had a police officer shoot a perp in the knee, arm, or hand in order to stop or disarm him. When that happens, my brother laughs, and notes "In real life, that is probably a dead cop." Real cops, you see, recognize that when they pull the trigger they must shoot to kill. If they don't, there is a very real chance that the perp will not be disabled or disarmed, and that he will shoot back or use a blade when the officer approaches. Therefore, they shoot for the chest, in the hope of causing such massive injury (or, of course, death) that there is no chance of that the perp can take any action in response. Any other response is stupid -- and anyone who advocates the use of less than deadly force in that situation either does not understand policework or is more concerned about the life of the perp than the life of the police officer. Cops don't use deadly force often or as a primary course of action -- but they don't hesitate to use it when appropriate.

But with Israel, which is using the IDF to disarm and incapacitate terrorist enemies, the call is for settling for something less than safety and security by using no greater force than the enemy is using.

Take this, for example.

Destroying the Beirut airport, blasting communications towers into oblivion and cleansing southern Lebanon of its civilian population are not measures the world will see as an attack on Hezbollah terrorists. The Israeli campaign is so intense and widespread that it is creating more terrorists than it kills. Proportionate military action might have enhanced Israel's security, but video footage of grandmothers weeping amid the rubble of their homes and bloodied children lying in hospital beds won't make Israel more secure. Hezbollah's stature in the Arab world is growing, and its patrons in Damascus and Tehran must be smugly satisfied.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter how "the world" views Israel. What matters is that the people of Israel are safe. If that makes Israel unpopular, so be it. Experience has shown the Jews that "the world" does little on their behalf, no matter how passive they are. A litany of pogroms and concentration camps demonstrates that. And somehow I doubt that Iran and Syria would make nice if only Israel would refrain from going to extremes in its own defense.

Even Richard Cohen, who calls Israel a mistake, recognizes that calls for proportionality are insane.

If by chance you have the search engine LexisNexis and you punch in the words "Israel'' and "disproportionate,'' you run the risk of blowing up your computer or darkening your entire neighborhood. Just limiting the search to newspapers and magazines of the last week will turn up "more than 1,000 documents.'' Israel may be the land of milk and honey but it certainly seems to be the land of disproportionate military response -- and a good thing, too.

The list of those who have accused Israel of not being in harmony with its enemies is long and, alas, distinguished. It includes, of course, the United Nations and its secretary general, Kofi Annan. It also includes a whole bunch of European newspapers whose editorial pages call for Israel to respond, it seems, with only one missile for every one tossed its way. Such neat proportion is a recipe for doom.

The dire consequences of proportionality are so clear that it makes you wonder if it is a fig leaf for anti-Israel sentiment in general. Anyone who knows anything about the Middle East knows that proportionality is madness. For Israel, a small country within reach, as we are finding out, of a missile launched from any enemy's back yard, proportionality is not only inapplicable, it is suicide. The last thing it needs is a war of attrition. It is not good enough to take out this or that missile battery. It is necessary to re-establish deterrence: You slap me, I will punch out your lights.

Damn straight. Anything less is an invitation for further attack and ultimate destruction.

Now there are those -- including my now banned troll -- who plead the case of the poor civilians of Lebanon. Sadly, they are victims in this -- victims of Hezbollah and their own government. Captain Ed sagely makes the point about where the responsibility belongs for the disproportinal response by Israel -- a response that has led to these unintended but unavoidable civilian casualties belongs.

If Hezbollah finds itself holding a knife in a gunfight, then the blame falls on Hezbollah and the Lebanese government that granted then de facto sovereignty in the south. Wars do not get fought through "proportionality," and they certainly do not end that way. They end when one side overwhelms the other with superior force and dictates terms to the loser, or when one side decides they've had enough and sues for peace. Demands for proportionality lead us to where we are today -- long, bloody wars of attrition that solve nothing and embolden asymmetrical warfare.

How about this for proportionality: Israel comprises about 6.3 million people, while Hezbollah's sponsors, Syria and Iran, comprise a combined 87 million people. Does that mean that the global community will allow Israel to impose a 13:1 death ratio in this war, and to keep killing people indiscriminately until they reach the correct numbers? When the UN and its international dupes start endorsing that proposal, then we can take their demands for proportionality seriously.

Frankly, I think I could accept precisely such a ratio, though I would prefer that it be higher. So keep up the good work, IDF -- leave not one rocket-launcer standing, and not one terrorist alive.

UPDATE: Would you like to know the effect of a "proportionate" response to Hezbollah? It can be inferred from this statement of Mahmoud Komati, a Hezbollah leader.

His comments were the first time that a leader from the Shiite militant group has publicly suggested it miscalculated the consequences of the July 12 cross-border raid in which two Israeli soldiers were captured and three were killed.

"The truth is _ let me say this clearly _ we didn't even expect (this) response ... that (Israel) would exploit this operation for this big war against us," said Komati.

He said Hezbollah had expected "the usual, limited response" from Israel.

In the past, he said, Israeli responses to Hezbollah actions included sending commandos into Lebanon, seizing Hezbollah officials and briefly targeting specific Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon.

Komati said his group had anticipated negotiations to swap the Israeli soldiers for three Lebanese held in Israeli jails, with Germany acting as a mediator as it has in past prisoner exchanges.

Yeah, that's right -- Hezbollah was expecting another proportionate response from the Israelis, and is upset that the Israelis aren't playing by Hezbollah's rules. what's more, he goes on to complain that Israel had this campaign planned and had just been waiting for the opportunity to strike. I guess he feels that it is somehow immoral for Israel to decide to effectively defend itself from an external threat.

So let's clarify the matter here -- proportionate response leads to continued attacks -- because Hezbollah gets what it wants in such situations. Disproportionate response might just succeed in getting Israel some security.

Posted by: Greg at 01:39 PM | Comments (43) | Add Comment
Post contains 1357 words, total size 9 kb.

1 The problem with your argument here is that you're not actually analyzing what many people who talk about "proportionality" give as the reason that Israel's response is problematic, which is that their current course of action is unlikely to lead to security. Arguing with straw men is easy, I guess.

Posted by: John at Tue Jul 25 14:03:05 2006 (3xDOR)

2 I disagree -- those calling for "proportinality" are, in effect, calling for Israel to engage in an ineffective defense.

After all, we've seen Israel make unprecedented concessions in recent years -- and get nothing in return except more casualties. Why would further concessions get them anything more.

John, if you were ever attacked by a gay-basher, I hope you would leave him broken and bleeding in the gutter. Not just because the mutt deserves it -- but because it would discourage teh next SOB who decided it was OK to assault someone because of their sexual orientation. I daresay it would not lead to you being less safe or less secure. I would therefore argue that such a disproportinate response would not only be appropriate, but would be teh morally superior course.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Tue Jul 25 14:10:02 2006 (gsQr0)

3 Israel has attacked Christian areas of Lebanon, which Hezbollah has no history of recent activity in, which is one of the reasons Greg's erstwhile Christian (Maronite) brothers have
overwhelmingly attacked the bloody brutality.

The fact that Greg can still stand with Israel herein, shows the extremity of a blind love affair verging on dual loyalty. His recoil at one who brazenly tells him what he is in this regard----the furtherest thing from an America-Firster--is understandable.

The best bet for a motivation comes from a read of the past several weeks of his site and is that his religious heresy of belief in an ongoing
Abrahamic Covenant of God's "permanent" gift of Palestine to the Jews shapes his political position into one debilitating for American
interests.

Posted by: Ken Hoop at Wed Jul 26 08:07:07 2006 (j1Lns)

4 Israel has attacked areas where hezbollah has positions. If that means Christian areas, so be it -- though the notion that a Christian would willingly live alongside those jihadi pigs is something I cannot comprehend. The result is, unfortunately, Christian casualties -- but casualties that must belaid at the feet of Hezbollah and its supporters, not the Israelis.

And Ken, I love that you have trotted out one of the favorite cards of the anti-Semite -- the dual-loyalty card. But it isn't just for Hebrews anymore! Now you and your ilk use it for Christians who side with God's Chosen People. Coming from suh as you, i consider the accusation to be a badge of honor.

And Ken, I want Chapter and Verse from the Holy Bible where God revoked His Covenant with the descendands of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Wed Jul 26 12:01:46 2006 (lm97O)

5 Oh, and by the way, Ken, I'd love to know what the good fathers at Xavier University think of you using their computer facilities to propagate your anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic garbage, including sending me links to a webpage that depicts Pope Benedict XVI as the "False Prophet" of the Book of Revelation? And yet you tell me that there is nothing anti-Catholic on that site.

It comes up as follows on my tracking software:
Host Name net153-026.xu.edu
IP Address 205.133.153.26

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Hide Comments | Add Comment

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has visited war-torn Beirut as a part of her effort to bring real peace and security to the troubled region. She also brought an initial commitment of $30 million in humanitarian aid to teh region.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the visit to the region has been this statement of the US position onthe current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah terrorists who control much of Lebanon.

According to a Lebanese political source quoted by Reuters news agency, Rice told Berri, the speaker of the Lebanese parliament and a strong ally of Syria, that the situation on the Israeli-Lebanese border "cannot return to what it was before July 12." She referred to the date on which fighters of the radical Shiite Hezbollah organization, which is supported by Syria and Iran, crossed into Israel, killed three Israeli soldiers and abducted two others, triggering the current crisis.

The Lebanese source, describing the meeting's tone as "very negative," said Rice told Berri there would be no cease-fire before Hezbollah freed the soldiers unconditionally and pulled its forces back at least 12 miles from the border, Reuters reported.

In other words, tehre can be no peace in the region so long as the terrorists continue to be in a position to attack Israel at will, hiding beyon international borders for safety. Any plan for peace must therefore eliminate the threat to the security of Israel, which has repeatedly taken steps in recent years to appease the Palestinians with little received in return except more attacks and casualties. An additional goal is enabling Lebanon, which until last year was dominated by Syria, to gain effective control of its own territory from the hezbollah terrorists.

The visit, which Rice said was requested personally by President Bush, was designed in part to show support for Lebanon's government, the first in years to be led largely by anti-Syrian figures. The visit was also aimed at determining what Lebanon needs to support itself and possibly get control over its southern region, now used by Hezbollah to fire rockets into Israel.

"If they could control the country, we would not be in this situation. The status quo has never been stable," said a senior official accompanying Rice.

Ultimately, the issue is Hezbollah, Hamas, and other terrorist groups. Israel has shown that it can negotiate peace with its neighbors and that it is prepared to accept a Palestinian state. On the other hand, the terrorist groups which control the Palestinian authority and southern Lebanon -- not to mention the Syrians, who are among the sponsors of those groups -- are unwilling to settle for anything less than the destruction of Israel. Thus the problem can only be solved by eliminating (or at least neutralizing) those groups.

Posted by: Greg at 08:02 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 476 words, total size 3 kb.

Thomas Sowell makes a brilliant point -- peace movements and their fellow-travellers lead to more war more frequently, not more peace.

There was a time when it would have been suicidal to threaten, much less attack, a nation with much stronger military power because one of the dangers to the attacker would be the prospect of being annihilated.

"World opinion," the U.N. and "peace movements" have eliminated that deterrent. An aggressor today knows that if his aggression fails, he will still be protected from the full retaliatory power and fury of those he attacked because there will be hand-wringers demanding a cease fire, negotiations and concessions.

That has been a formula for never-ending attacks on Israel in the Middle East.

It is as I pointed out in a comment last night on another thread.

A more realistic end scenario is that it ends with Israel again caving into the international community's call to play nice -- and with the real aggressors (the so-called Palestinians) again being painted as the victims of injustice. That means security for another few years -- until the next time Israel caves into the latest demands of the international community to make concessions. That will set off a new round of the IDF engaging in vermin control -- and Israel being condemned for it.

It is unfortunate that Israel wil not be allowed to crush her foes compleely, for then we might see peace born out of the ashes of the defeat of Hamas and Hezbollah. Instead, these two groups will be permitted to lick their wounds and build up for the next round. Taht is teh pattern we have seen in the past, and which we will see in the future.

Such "peace movements" lead to a moral people giving up the will to "fight for King and Country" (to use the term from the infamous Oxford Union debate). The result is that those who have fewer scruples about engaging in a true war of aggression are encouraged and strengthened.

The most catastrophic result of "peace" movements was World War II. While Hitler was arming Germany to the teeth, "peace" movements in Britain were advocating that their own country disarm "as an example to others."

British Labor Party Members of Parliament voted consistently against military spending and British college students publicly pledged never to fight for their country. If "peace" movements brought peace, there would never have been World War II.

Not only did that war lead to tens of millions of deaths, it came dangerously close to a crushing victory for the Nazis in Europe and the Japanese empire in Asia. And we now know that the United States was on Hitler's timetable after that.

For the first two years of that war, the Western democracies lost virtually every battle, all over the world, because pre-war "peace" movements had left them with inadequate military equipment and much of it obsolete. The Nazis and the Japanese knew that. That is why they launched the war.

"Peace" movements don't bring peace but war.

While usually springing from the most noble of sentiments, such pacifism is generally the basis of false peace and real war.

Posted by: Greg at 05:37 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 540 words, total size 3 kb.

What kind of idiot makes this statement about the Israeli war of self-defense in Lebanon?

It is immoral, it is un-Christian, it is un-American...

Israel is not a Christian nation, Pat. Nor is it America, where one can safely sit and play Sunday evening quarterback, questioning policy decisions without random missle and terrorist attacks on a daily basis. As a result, virtually any action taken against terrorists by Israel is undeniably moral.

But then again, Pat Buchanan would probably have found something to criticize when the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto rose up against their Nazi captors.

UPDATE: I didn't realize that the moronic moral midget had turned around and made a column out of the inane comment -- and complain about the casualties that immoral Allied forces inflicted upon the innocent German people at the same time. Sieg heil, Herr Buchanan -- you are this week's winner of the Ezra Pound Award for Political Commentary.

Posted by: Greg at 01:53 PM | Comments (21) | Add Comment
Post contains 172 words, total size 1 kb.

I don't say that often, but I have to applaud Senator Hillary Clinton on her stance regarding Israel's war of self-defense and survival.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said yesterday that she supported “whatever steps are necessary” to defend Israel against Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and Syria in the military conflict in the Middle East.

Addressing a crowd of several thousand in Midtown at an impassioned rally for Israel, she said America must show “solidarity and support” for Israel in the face of the “unwarranted, unprovoked” seizure of three Israeli soldiers by members of Hamas and Hezbollah, which she described as among “the new totalitarians of the 21st century.”

“We will stand with Israel because Israel is standing for American values as well as Israeli ones,” said Mrs. Clinton, who joined two dozen political and religious leaders on a stage a few blocks from the United Nations headquarters on the East Side.

(Would that the last sentence read "a few blocks from the former headquarters of the defunct United Nations.")

American values -- like a support for (small d) democratic values and freedom, as well as opposition to terrorism. American values not shared by those who are calling for Israel to stand down and (implicitly) wait to be destroyed by a hoard of seventh-century barbarians.

And she has more to say.

Bringing the threat home, she compared Israel’s military response, which has included heavy bombardment of Lebanon, to a theoretical response by the United States if it faced attacks from neighboring countries. “I want us here in New York to imagine, if extremist terrorists were launching rocket attacks across the Mexican or Canadian border, would we stand by or would we defend America against these attacks from extremists?” she said to roars of approval.

Damn straight, Senator. Keep this rhetoric up and I could almost develop a neutral attitude towards you and your husband.

I'm curious -- does this signal support for taking on the criminals flowing across our border daily, trafficking in human beings and narcotics? Does it signal a support for the American lawmen who face violence at the hands of the criminals?

Not, mind you, that the New York Times can let a news story make it into print without an editorial comment thrown in.

Mrs. Clinton and the other speakers focused almost exclusively on IsraelÂ’s right to act militarily and unilaterally, and the speeches were fiery and resolute, with little mention of civilians in Lebanon and Gaza who have been injured in the fighting.

What the editors of the Times don't realize is that if you support terrorists and harbor terrorists you risk dying with the terrorists -- and your blood is on your own hands. (Perhaps they shoudlc onsider that before tehy publish teh next national security secret on the front page.)

Well said, Madam Senator.

Posted by: Greg at 12:19 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 477 words, total size 3 kb.

Common sense used to prevail on editorial pages in this country. Not so today, when so many newspapers have come out against israel's war of self-defense against Hezbollah and the Lebanese government that has given these jihadi terrorists a safe haven from which to attack Israel.

One editorial page on which common sense does still prevail, though, is that of the Las Vega Review-Journal.

On June 25, Hamas guerrillas tunnelled across the border into Israel, killed Israeli soldiers, kidnapped Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit, and brought him into Gaza. Then, this week, the Shia terrorist group Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers near the Lebanese border and brought them back into Lebanon.

Israel has responded to these provocations militarily, as any sovereign nation would. And who is condemned for breaking the peace? Why, Israel, of course.

Yeah, folks seem to forget that. Israel didn't go to war in a vacuum. What would we do if Mexico or Canada were providing shelter for al-Qaeda to attack the United States? We all know that the response would be unlikely to involve polite diplomatic notes. Why shouldn't the Israelis respond appropriately to the acts of war committed against it?

At a triumphant news conference Wednesday, Hezbollah's leader, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, said his group would not bow to pressure from the Lebanese government or the world community to release his two Israeli hostages, unless Israel agrees to a prisoner exchange.

"What do they want us to do? Hand over the soldiers and apologize?" he asked. "What kind of world are they living in?"

The kind of world we are living in, is one in which kidnappers hand over their hostages ... and are sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Damn straight -- assuming the kidnappers don't end up dead on the floor during a rescue operation conducted by highly-trained professionals. A pity that the Mossad couldn't have punched Nasrallah's ticket right during the press conference, just to make it clear exactly what civilized folks expect to happen to such scum.

Failing that, such provocations can lead to war, an endeavor which never seems to accomplish much for the Arab fans of endless war, except to allow them to beat their chests, wail over their dead and play "victim" some more.

And it has led to another war that will visit endless destruction upon Arabs -- and which will once again be painted as being all the fault of big bad Israel.

Like a sleeping dog that seeks only peace, Israel has backed away so as to give no offense, until there is no further room to retreat. This week, a Hezbollah missile -- possibly manufactured in Iran -- hit Haifa, on the seacoast. Israel now has every right to do whatever proves necessary to stop her tormentors.

Nor have they any remaining right to complain about her bite.

And therein lies a difference. Israel has been engaged in targetted strikes with legitimate military objectives. Hezollah has flung rockets in the direction of israel, not terribly concerned about what it hits. While both sides have caused civilian casualties, there is a difference -- those caused by Israel have been in spite of its best efforts to avoid them, while those caused by Hezbollah have been the objective of the attacks. That is an important difference.

It is now clear what the Arabs mean by "occupied territories" -- to anyone who didn't get it, long ago. If the population of Israel were reduced to 10, and those 10 Jews were living on a houseboat moored in Haifa harbor, the Arabs would bemoan their ongoing victimization by the Zionists, and demand that the Israelis "withdraw from this occupied houseboat immediately."

And would no doubt be supported by the international community, which fears provoking followers of the "Religion of Blow Yourself To Pieces To Killl Infidels".

The world has been patient with such murderous lunacy long enough. Maybe it's time to condemn someone new, for a change.

I agree whole-heartedly -- but don't expect to see anything of the kind.

Posted by: Greg at 07:44 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Truth Laid Bear has a list of bloggers in the Israel and Lebanon who are covering the situation. The Bear also has a page devoted to topical posts on the crisis.

(H/T Tammy Bruce)

Posted by: Greg at 08:06 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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A raid by Hezbollah terrorists operating out of Lebanon has resulted in Israeli military action in that neighboring country.

The Lebanese Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah infiltrated the Israeli border Wednesday in a brazen raid, capturing two Israeli soldiers, killing three others and prompting Israeli attacks on the airport in Beirut and bridges, roads, power stations and military positions across the hillsides of southern Lebanon. Five more Israeli soldiers were killed after the army entered Lebanon in pursuit, one of the military's highest one-day death tolls in more than four years.

The capture of the soldiers and the fighting effectively opened a second front for Israel, whose troops entered the Gaza Strip last month in search of a soldier seized June 25. Within hours, reverberations rolled across an already tense region. The United States blamed Syria and Iran for the abduction, and Israeli tanks and troops moved toward the Lebanese border throughout the day. In Lebanon and elsewhere, the attack emboldened Hezbollah's supporters, who greeted the news by handing out sweets and setting off fireworks.

The fighting took a dramatic turn early Thursday with Israeli attacks on the Beirut airport and Hezbollah's television station in the capital's predominantly Shiite Muslim southern suburbs. Lebanese television reported that Israeli aircraft attacked two runways, forcing the facility to close and sending flights to airports elsewhere in the Middle East. Footage showed a column of black smoke drifting over the modern facility, considered an emblem of Lebanon's post-civil war reconstruction.

This is not a conflict Israel sought -- it is part of a response to the murderous actions of a foe tht wants noting less than the destruction of every Jew in the Middle East. Israel has time and again made concessions in search of peace, but the jihadis are unwilling that even a tiny sliver of teh Middle East remain in the hands of non-Muslims..

May God continue to bles teh people of israel, as he did their fathers in days of old.

Posted by: Greg at 10:18 PM | Comments (29) | Add Comment
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1 and let us point out, neither Hamas not Hezbollah
are "jihadis" but religious nationalists,as neither believe in a worldwide Sunni caliphate.
the tendency of pro-Zionist neocons to attempt to
inflame Americans by this inference is akin to the Bush regime's multitude of pre-Iraq War broad references associating Saddam and Osama.

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:t6v0VS3uV-4J:www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3269847,00.html+hamas+not+jihadi&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=4

Posted by: Ken Hoop at Fri Jul 14 05:02:26 2006 (DZbll)

2 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/07/14/MNGIBJV7MB1.DTL

and LEBANESE CHRISTIANS,ABANDONED BY US ISRAEL-WORSHIPPING NEOCON STRATEGY, ARE NOW FORMING ALLIANCES WITH GREG'S SO-CALLED "JIHADISTS"

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It looks like Japan may come to realize that the best defense is a good offense when it comes to a rogue state like North Korea.

In their toughest comments to date on North Korea's missile tests, Japanese officials on Monday called for a debate on whether Japan should pursue military capabilities that would enable preemptive strikes at North Korean missile bases. Japan currently does not possess such technology.

At the same time, Japan backed away from pushing for a vote at the U.N. Security Council on Monday on a measure to impose tough sanctions on North Korea. U.S. and Japanese diplomats have continued to face regional opposition to the plan, particularly from China and South Korea, the communist state's most important benefactors.

Ultimately, regional objections must be ignored. The reality is that the North Korean dictator cannot be permitted to have access to nuclear weapons or their delivery systems. That means that force must be applied, because he has repeatedly indicated his unwillingness to give them up.

Posted by: Greg at 10:49 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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As it prepares to test weapons that threaten the continental United States, the North Korean dictatorship has announced the intention to go nuclear in the event of a conventional preemptive strike on the launch site or nuclear facilities by the United States.

North Korea ratcheted up the rhetoric in its war of words with Washington by promising an "annihilating strike" with its nuclear deterrent should the United States launch an attack, its media said on Monday.

Over the weekend, North Korea said it would bolster its deterrent in response to a U.S. threat, marking the first time it has so specifically mentioned the subject since a crisis began over its suspected plans to test-fire a long-range missile.

"The army and people of the DPRK are now in full preparedness to answer a pre-emptive attack with a relentless annihilating strike and a nuclear war with a mighty nuclear deterrent," its communist party newspaper said on Monday.

If we have knowledge of where theis so-called "nuclear deterrent" is located, we must destroy it immediately. In addition, Kim Jong Il must now be treated as a target for elimination.

And by the way -- thanks, Bill Clinton, for doing such a great job eliminating the North Korean nuclear program a dozen years back.

Posted by: Greg at 05:50 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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