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Will someone from the Israeli lobby please explain why the "blockade" of outgoing foreigners is necessary to protect their citizens?

Well, I'm not from the Israel lobby, but I can think of more than a half-dozen reasons why Israel would want to impose a blockade of anyone coming in or out of Lebanon:

1) The stated reason - to stop the bad guys from taking their kidnapped soldiers out of the country.

2) To stop the bad guys from leaving the country. If Israel truly wants to destroy Hezbollah, it would be a disaster - politically and otherwise - for their leaders to slip out of the country and taunt Israel from the comfort of Libya or some other rogue state.

3) To avoid overtaxing their Navy. The last thing Israel want to have to do is board every outgoing ship to make sure the bad guys and the kidnapped soldiers don't slip out. Doing so would be time consuming and wouldn't allow their Navy to complete their main mission. More importantly, keeping outgoing vessels in port makes it easier for the Israeli Navy to interdict incoming ships, which may be bringing missiles into the country.

4) To avoid another U.S.S. Cole-type situation. In addition to creating more work for the Israelis, cluttered seas would make it easier for a ship laden with explosives to blow up a Naval vessel.

5) To keep the radar scope relatively clear so that it's easier for warning systems to pick out real threats like missiles.

6) To control the seas around Lebanon to make sure that no one attacks Israel by sea.

7) The Israelis are thinking two steps ahead. The Israelis bombed the airport in part to stop future problems before they arise. Put yourself in Israel's shoes. Suppose you know that rockets are destined for Hezbollah on a civilian airplane. Do you shoot it down, causing immediate world condemnation and hundreds of civilian casualties? No. You avoid the possibility of this occurring in the first place by taking out the runways of the country's only airport.

Simply put, Israel wants to control the Lebanese land, air and sea battle space. It is in their national interest to do so. Note that Israel has not blocked all exit routes - one or two land routes are available to get to Syria if someone is really determined to go there. But they've created a situation where Israel can better monitor who is getting in and who is getting out. It's obviously not perfect, and the soldiers could theoretically be smuggled through a land border to Syria. But limiting ingress and egress makes that less likely.

I understand that it must be frustrating to be in a war zone where it is difficult to leave due to circumstances beyond your control. Hang in there. Everything should turn out for the best. I and many other FReepers are certainly praying that it will.

What some are missing is that the particular facts of this current "crisis" in the ME present the U.S. and Israeli bashers a unique opportunity to bash both countries with the same broad brush if they pose as a victim/trapped American.

One should take note that the supposed "victim" is the person who opened the thread and, for somebody trapped and desperate to escape with his life, he's found time to post and post and post on and on about this, and guess who he is bashing? The hezzies for starting it and bringing this crap down on Lebanon? Guess again. He's bashing only the U.S. and Israel.