7/16 Middle East Live Thread

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1666163/posts ^ | 7/16/06 | me

[BurbankKarl]

09:19 MDA: More than 20 people hurt in Katyusha rocket strike in Haifa (Channel 2)

09:16 Residents of Acre, Haifa and its suburbs told to enter bomb shelters (Israel Radio)

09:15 Tenth Katyusha rocket lands in Haifa (Israel Radio)

09:15 Explosions heard in Rosh Hanikra (Israel Radio)

09:11 Katyusha rockets hit Acre and suburbs around Haifa Bay (Channel 2)

09:06 Report: Three to five explosion heard in central Haifa (Israel Radio)

08:47 Chirac: Forces threatening Lebanon`s security, sovereignty must be stopped (AP)

08:41 Sgt. Tal Amgar killed on Navy ship to be buried 16.00 Sun. at Ashdod cemetery (Itim)

08:39 Chirac calls for `show of moderation` in Lebanon, says cease-fire needed (Reuters)

08:37 IDF denies report of air raid on power station south of Beirut (Haaretz)

08:36 Hezbollah says it fought off attempt by IDF ground forces to cross Lebanese border (AP)

08:35 Bush urges Israel `to be mindful of the consequences` of its military actions (AP)

08:19 Jewish man arrested after threatening to stab Palestinians in J`lem`s Old City (Itim)

08:15 Al Manar: Nasrallah to give an interview later Sunday to prove he`s well (Israel Radio)

[michigander]

800 Rockets in Five Days

20:15 Jul 16, '06 / 20 Tammuz 5766

(IsraelNN.com) Hizbullah terrorists have fired some 800 rockets at northern Israeli communities within the past five days.

A barrage of rockets, meanwhile, landed in the Metula area in northern Israel a short time ago.

No injuries or damage reported.

[KJC1]

Americans I think are not being allowed into Syria.

That seems to be correct. And if it is, the Syrian Ambassador just lied his butt off because he said Syria was in fact letting Americans in. The transcript should be interesting for many reasons. First and foremost is that he may have talked his way out of being welcome in the United States by some of the things he said.

[defconw]

I would like to hear what normal non liberal Democrats think. I think it would be useful to get back to a meaningful dialogue instead of all these bomb throwers. Not that the last 6 years of guerrilla warfare have not been a hoot and a half. I enjoy getting liberals frothing.

[browardchad]

OK, let's be fair, even if it is Chirac.

From ynetnews.com:

Chirac stresses need to disarm militias in south Lebanon

President Jacques Chirac said Sunday that there is a need to disarm armed militias in south Lebanon. Chirac said such a move will lay the way to ending the current crisis. (AFP)(07.16.06, 19:54)

Pigs may just start flying.

Seriously, this may indicate, for once, some solidarity among G8 leaders on this issue, rather the useless "road-map" rhetoric.

[roses of sharon]

IMHO the only thing positive would be for Dowd and Lockhart to leave politics and get real jobs.

New blood in the beltway is what we need, especially on the right, real men with SOB tendencies! lol (sorry I'm just in a bad mood)

[michigander]

normal non liberal Democrats

Huh? :-)

[bnelson44]

So how does he propose disarming Hezbullah?

[defconw]

Oh surely there must be a few left hiding out somewhere. :)

[RDTF]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1666694/posts

Iran calls Western incentives acceptable
AP via The State ^ | July 16 06 | A.A Dareini

Posted on 07/16/2006 1:33:18 PM EDT by churchillbuff

- Iran said Sunday that Western incentives to halt its nuclear program were an "acceptable basis" for talks, and it is ready for detailed negotiations.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice responded that Iran should talk directly to negotiators if it wants to discuss the six-nation proposal.

[ohioWfan]

I just heard Chris Dodd blame President Bush for this crisis because he wasn't as 'engaged' in the ME as Clinton was.

The insanity of the left has reached epic proportions.

If I didn't hear that with my own ears, I would have accused someone of lying if they repeated it.

The world's literally gone mad...

[defconw]

Nina Easton thinks that this situation is going to hurt the Republicans. She really needs to step away from the cool aide.

[Rain-maker]

Thanks for digging that G8 statement up and posting it.

Clears up all the media distortions I been reading.

[TheDon]

I think he said a UN resolution would do the trick...

[Chuck54]

Trekking through Lebanon to Syria is not exactly "terrorist" territory. I have not heard of Hezbollah or Israel targeting buses yet. Maybe I'm behind the curve on this one.

Trekking through Iraq for 9 hours may qualify as terrorist terrority but a bus trip to Damascus would not pose the same threat.

Just MHO of course, but if I'm in Beirut I head to nearest servicable airport. I guess they could wait on some tour bus system to get up and running for a more comfortable trip but I don't think so.

[rogator]

"no what? 9 hours full of Swedes on 10 buses treking thru terrorist territory doesn't sound insane to you?"

It sounds to me like the beginning of a Scandinavian joke.
When do the Norwegians come in?

[cibco]

Lebanese Prime Minister is on CNN. Wolfie is doing a good job countering the BS..

[MOgirl]

Hello,

Quick post, then I will be out for about an hour.

Re: Dodd, was that on Fox with Senator Allen? If so, I heard it and was thinking that my year would be made if Sen. Allen would have turned to Dodd and said, "You are simply stupid".

Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

Glad to be here, MOgirl

[TheDon]

Nina must be an Rat, as she saying just the opposite of the truth. I've been wondering how long it would take the Rats to respond to the obvious domestic political windfall this is for the Pubs in an election year. Carter and Clinton are two good reasons to not trust Rats on foreign policy issues, especially in times of war, especially in a Middle East war.

[TexKat]

Haaretz is reporting that Chirac is stating that the G-8 is unanimously calling for a ceasefire....I can't believe that Bush voted for this!

G-8 leaders demand halt to Mideast attacks

Staff and agencies

16 July, 2006

By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - World leaders, managing to resolve sharp differences over an escalating crisis between Israel and Lebanon, declared Sunday that extremist groups in the region cannot be allowed to plunge the Middle East into chaos and must immediately halt their attacks.

The statement said it was critical for Israel to "be mindful of the strategic and humanitarian consequences of its actions." It called on Israel "to exercise utmost restraint" by seeking to avoid casualties among innocent civilians and damage to civilian infrastructure.

The statement called for two captured Israeli soldiers to be freed, for the attacks on Israel by Hezbollah militants to stop and for Israel to end its military action. It also expressed support for the Lebanese government.

The crisis has dominated talks among President Bush and the other leaders attending the annual G-8 summit of major industrial countries. The Group of Eight is made up of the United States, Russia, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, and Canada.

Bush and European leaders disagreed on who should be blamed for the violence, and those differences had to be overcome for the G-8 nations to issue a joint declaration.

While other G-8 leaders questioned whether Israel‘s response to the capture of its soldiers went too far, Bush has placed blame squarely on Hezbollah and its state sponsors — Iran and Syria — and has declined to press Israel for a cease-fire.

In their statement, the leaders expressed "deepening concern about the situation in the Middle East, in particular the rising civilian casualties on all sides and the damage to infrastructure." At least 130 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Lebanon, while about a dozen Israeli civilians have lost their lives.

She said the leaders believe that "first of all, that the Israeli soldiers must be returned unharmed, that the attacks on Israel must stop and that then, of course, also the Israeli military action must be ended."

The U.N. Security Council U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 1559 in September 2004, calling for the disarmament of all militias and strict respect for Lebanon‘s sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and political independence. Hezbollah, which operates in southern Lebanon, has refused to disarm, saying it is a resistance movement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to be more in line with European leaders who have condemned Israel‘s attacks as excessive. Putin has said it was unacceptable for Hezbollah to take hostages and shell others‘ territory, but also for Israel to use massive force in response.

Putin had molded this year‘s G-8 summit — the first hosted by his country — to showcase Russia‘s re-emergence on the world stage after a devastating economic collapse in 1998.

However, he failed to win a much-anticipated agreement with the U.S. on Russia‘s admission to the World Trade Organization , the 149-nation group that sets the rules for world trade. The United States is the only country that has not signed off on Russia‘s membership in the WTO, and Bush dashed Putin‘s hopes for getting in now.

AP - Sun Jul 16, 12:51 PM ET French President Jacques Chirac gestures while speaking during a media conference at the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday July 16, 2006. U.S. President George W. Bush and European allies on Sunday urged Israel to show restraint after four days of steady bombing against its neighbor Lebanon as turmoil in the Middle East overshadowed the Group of Eight summit. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

G8 leaders urge to end to Mideast violence -1

STRELNA (near St. Petersburg), July 16 (RIA Novosti) - G8 leaders adopted a statement on the situation around the Middle East, calling upon the parties in the conflict to stop violence and bring the situation in Gaza and Lebanon back to normal.

French President Jacques Chirac said the leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations supported a UN decision to send a liaison mission to the conflict zone in order to draw a clear picture of the current crisis. The French leader also said the G8 was calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

The French leader said the main goal of the mission was to determine ways to release Israeli hostages kept by Hamas and Hizbollah and normalize the situation in the region.

"The root cause of the problems in the region is the absence of a comprehensive Middle East peace," a joint statement said.

"The immediate crisis results from efforts by extremist forces to destabilize the region and to frustrate the aspirations of the Palestinian, Israeli and Lebanese people for democracy and peace," the document said. "In Gaza, elements of Hamas launched rocket attacks against Israeli territory and abducted an Israeli soldier. In Lebanon, Hizbollah, in violation of the Blue Line, attacked Israel from Lebanese territory and killed and captured Israeli soldiers, reversing the positive trends that began with the Syrian withdrawal in 2005, and undermining the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora."

Chirac also said G8 leaders reaffirmed the necessity of revitalized talks with the President of the Palestinian National Administration Mahmoud Abbas.

Chirac said G8 considered Lebanese government's loss of control over its territory unacceptable and criticized all forces that challenged the government's authority in the country as a destabilizing factor.

But the leaders also called on Israel to exercise control in their statement: "We call upon Israel to exercise utmost restraint, seeking to avoid casualties among innocent civilians and damage to civilian infrastructure and to refrain from acts that would destabilize the Lebanese government."

Following the new wave of violence in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that the abduction of two Israeli soldiers by Hizbollah Wednesday could have been designed, among other things, to frustrate dialogue within Lebanon and added he did not rule out further provocations in the conflict zone.

Israel started a military operation in Lebanon after the abduction of its soldiers, including launching air strikes Lebanon's infrastructure facilities, while also bombing the Gaza Strip.

[KJC1]

Blitzer talking to Lebanese PM Siniora. (taped earlier)

Blitzer asked him if he blames Hezbollah for this mess, he instead goes on and on about Israelis.

Whoa, Blitzer is not letting him off the hook!

Blitzer just asked him if he would send Lebanese troops to deal with Hezbollah and he wouldn't answer directly, instead talking about how he asked for a cease-fire.

Either someone slipped me a Mickey or Blitzer is doing a damn good job today with both Siniora and the Syrian Ambassador--asking tough and direct questions, and asking them more than once after the interviewees avoid them.