Posted on 07/21/2006 10:12:59 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
An Israeli soldier maneuvers an armored personnel carrier at their position along the Israeli Lebanese border. Israel was amassing thousands more reservists on the Lebanese border to stage ground incursions aimed at destroying Hezbollah positions, warning it would not rule out a full-scale invasion despite mounting calls for a ceasefire.
Well, I have to go get on a conference call. got one at 4 my time, and one at 6. Then I need to get ready to head to DC. Thanks to everyone who has been posting information and what I feel is the best analysis of this situation. If I'm not posting, I'll be reading.
Freepers are the best. I'm proud to be amoung you all.
I'll sure second that motion. Where's their suggestion box?
I am sick of that guy, and I want him out of Israel.
Shep reported that Israel is firing arty flares.
Oh wait . . . it wouldn't work. His mouth would keep on flapping.
I find it hard to understand why people would find it unbelievable that there are Iranian OR Syrian agents there..why wouldn't there be??
Have a good trip!
http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=118&x_article=1148
Timeline of Hezbollah Violence
Hezbollah and its history of international terrorism and violence:
1982: Israel invades Lebanon to drive out the PLO’s terrorist army, which had frequently attacked Israel from its informal "state-within-a-state" in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah, a Shiite group inspired by the teachings and revolution of Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini, is created with the assistance of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The group is called Hezbollah–or "party of God"– after initially taking responsibility for attacks under the name "Islamic Jihad." (Not to be confused with the Palestinian terror organization Islamic Jihad.)
July 19, 1982: The president of the American University in Beirut, Davis S. Dodge, is kidnapped. Hezbollah is believed to be behind this and most of the other 30 Westerners kidnapped over the next ten years.
April 18, 1983: Hezbollah attacks the U.S. embassy in Beirut with a car bomb, killing 63 people, 17 of whom were American citizens.
Oct. 23, 1983: The group attacks U.S. Marine barracks with a truck bomb, killing 241 American military personnel stationed in Beirut as part of a peace-keeping force. A separate attack against the French military compound in Beirut kills 58.
Sept. 20, 1984: The group attacks the U.S. embassy annex in Beirut with a car bomb, killing 2 Americans and 22 others.
March 16, 1984: William F. Buckley, a CIA operative working at the U.S. embassy in Beirut, is kidnapped and later murdered.
April 12, 1984: Hezbollah attacks a restaurant near the U.S. Air Force Base in Torrejon, Spain. The bombing kills eighteen U.S. servicemen and injures 83 people.
Dec. 4, 1984: Hezbollah terrorists hijack a Kuwait Airlines plane. Four passengers are murdered, including two Americans.
Feb. 16, 1985: Hezbollah publicizes its manifesto. It notes that the group's struggle will continue until Israel is destroyed and rejects any cease-fire or peace treaty with Israel. The document also attacks the U.S. and France.
June 14, 1985: Hezbollah terrorists hijack TWA flight 847. The hijackers severely beat Passenger Robert Stethem, a U.S. Navy diver, before killing him and dumping his body onto the tarmac at the Beirut airport. Other passengers are held as hostages before being released on June 30.
Feb. 17, 1988: The group kidnaps Col. William Higgins, a U.S. Marine serving with a United Nations truce monitoring group in Lebanon, and later murders him.
Oct. 22, 1989: Members of the dissolved Lebanese parliament ratify the Taif Agreement. Although the agreement calls for the "disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias," Hezbollah remains active.
Feb. 16, 1992: Sayyad Hassan Nasrallah takes over Hezbollah after Israel kills the group’s leader, Abbas Musawi.
March 17, 1992: With the help of Iranian intelligence, Hezbollah bombs the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, killing 29 and injuring over 200.
July 18, 1994: Hezbollah bombs the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires–again with Iranian help–killing 86 and injuring over 200.
October 1997: The United States lists Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
May 23, 2000: Israel withdraws all troops from Lebanon after 18 years patrolling the "security zone," a strip of land in the south of the country. The security zone was set up to prevent attacks on northern Israel.
June 2000: United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan certifies Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon. Shortly thereafter, the U.N. Security Council endorses Annan’s report. Hezbollah nonetheless alleges Israel occupies Lebanon, claiming the small Shebba Farms area Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 war as Lebanese territory.
Oct. 7, 2000: Hezbollah attacks an Israel military post and raids Israel, kidnapping three Israeli soldiers. The soldiers are later assumed dead. In mid-October, Hezbollah leader Nasrallah announces the group has also kidnapped an Israeli businessman. In 2004, Israel frees over 400 Arab prisoners in exchange for the business man and the bodies of the three soldiers.
March 1, 2001: The British government adds Hezbollah’s "military wing" to its list of outlawed terrorist organizations.
Dec. 11, 2002: Canada lists Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
June 5, 2003: Australia lists Hezbollah’s "military wing" as a terrorist organization.
Sept. 2, 2004: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 calls for "the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias," a reference to Hezbollah.
December 2004: Both the United States and France ban Hezbollah’s satellite television network, Al Manar. A U.S. State Department spokesman notes the channel "preaches violence and hatred."
March 10, 2005: The European Parliament overwhelmingly passes a resolution stating: "Parliament considers that clear evidence exists of terrorist activities by Hezbollah. The (EU) Council should take all necessary steps to curtail them." The European Union nonetheless refrains from placing the group on its list of terror organizations.
July 12, 2006: Hezbollah attacks Israel with Katyushas, crosses the border and kidnaps two Israeli soldiers. Eight other soldiers are killed. Israel launches operation to rescue the soldiers and push Hezbollah from its border. Hezbollah attacks towns across northern Israel with rocket fire.
If you want to see a blog that will get your blood boiling, try this one I JUST stumbled across:
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
Take a look at the comments, like this one:(are these people just F-in nuts???)
"Well, this was a chance for Israel to compromise, to compromise its love for blood and death.
They could have had a simple, peaceful prisoner exchange - innocent women and children, being held illegally anyway, for their fellow murderers.
Israel had a chance to show itself as reasonable, and blew it. They opted instead for another invasion, for more death and destruction that we all know will simply fuel the fires of hate."
Hez declaring victory:
"For Hezbollah, survival may equal victory By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer
26 minutes ago
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah acknowledges that Israeli troops can sweep across south Lebanon. But if he and his militants can survive and keep fighting, he will cement his image as the unlikely new hero of Arab nationalism.
Israeli troops backed by tanks fought their way into southern Lebanon Saturday at the start of a ground assault to drive the Islamic guerrilla group away from the border and put Israeli cities beyond the reach of its rockets.
"I don't want to raise expectations. I never said that the Israelis cannot reach any place in southern Lebanon," says Nasrallah, a black-turbaned Shiite cleric whom Israel has tried repeatedly to kill.
"Our dogma and strategy is when the Israelis come, they must pay a high price. This is what we promise and this is what we will achieve, God willing."
The fighting was sparked by Hezbollah's July 12 capture of two Israeli soldiers and the killing of eight others in a cross-border raid. A massive Israeli offensive followed and Hezbollah responded by firing hundreds of rockets at Israel.
More than 370 people have been killed in Lebanon over the past 11 days, authorities said. In Israel, 34 have died.
Anticipating the ground assault, Nasrallah sought to ensure his group's survival and safeguard its widening base of support in Lebanon and abroad by lowering the bar for what would constitute victory.
In a television interview broadcast Friday, he defined victory as a successful defense.
And he acknowledges the gravity of defeat.
"A defeat in Lebanon will end the region's resistance movements, the Palestinian cause and impose Israel's conditions for a settlement," he warned.
His previous warnings were even more dire.
"If Israel is able to defeat the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon, God forbid, then the Arab world, governments and peoples will drown in eternal humiliation from which they will have no way out."
Hezbollah's chances of victory lie as much in its guerrilla capability as in Nasrallah's leadership. He has led the group since 1992, taking over after his predecessor was killed in an Israeli helicopter attack.
A fiery orator who deftly mixes threats with lighthearted comments, Nasrallah lost his 18-year-old son, Hadi, during a fight with Israeli troops in 1997. He refused to receive mourners, praised God's "ultimate grace and kindness" for choosing a family member as a martyr and allowed another son, Jawad, to join the guerrillas.
"We love martyrdom," he said on Friday. "But we take precautions to deny the enemy an easy victory."
On paper, Hezbollah's chances of surviving a military setback and regrouping to fight again are good. Most of its estimated 5,000-6,000 fighters are hardened by years of combat against Israel during its 18-year control of a border strip in southern Lebanon.
The Iranian- and Syrian-backed organization, listed as a terrorist group by the United States, has a typical guerrilla arsenal that includes assault rifles, mines, light artillery, mortars and — most importantly — missiles with ranges of up to 45 miles.
It enjoys popular support in southern and eastern Lebanon.
Victory or defeat, Nasrallah already has a place in the hearts of millions of Arabs angered and ashamed by their governments' perceived acquiescence to Israeli and U.S. policies.
A defeat on the battlefield is unlikely to change that so long as Hezbollah is seen to have put up a good fight. In fact, it could give the 46-year-old, mid-ranking cleric hero status.
Nasrallah's rise to Arab stardom, said Ibrahim Bayram of Beirut's respected An-Nahar daily, was owed in part to his tireless attempts to rise above the Shiite-Sunni divide by forging close ties with Sunni Muslims — who are the overwhelming majority of the world's Arabs.
"He has ambitions to become a leader of the Muslim world," said Bayram.
Charismatic, sharp and media savvy, Nasrallah seems aware of respect and admiration he and his organization enjoy. He speaks with a confidence that sometimes borders on arrogance.
He also taunts his critics in the Arab world, led by key U.S. allies Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan.
"I say to Arab leaders: I don't want your swords and I don't want your hearts ... Leave us alone."
Such undiplomatic talk resonates with many Arabs. His fiery rhetoric harkens back to Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Egypt's late president who led his nation to disastrous military defeat by Israel in 1967. But Nasser's political resilience and charisma made him a respected Arab nationalist leader until his death in 1970.
"Nasrallah is doing what Arab governments are unwilling or incapable of doing — fighting Israel. He is embarrassing them," said Vali Nasr, an expert on Shiites who lectures on national security affairs at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey, Calif.
"Many people in the Middle East reward courage, not wisdom," said Nasr.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060722/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast_fighting_nasrallah_1;_ylt=AuTiK6ktn7f13ghpYREW5CkUewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA2ZGZwam4yBHNlYwNmYw--
I hope someone at Fox might periodically peruse some of these ME Live threads and see how much we all like her. There has been no wavering in her coverage of this, IMO. She just does a wonderful job. And her knowledge of the area and culture and history (on both sides) shows, which I'm sure is augmented by her actually living there in the region.
On top of that, I really think Jennifer has the patience of a saint..I can't believe she's not pushed Shep over the edge of the cliff where they've been on air together at times...or into the line of fire...LOL. His day or two of decent coverage sure didn't last...
Here is a very good blog describing the rift appearing between the Foreign Office (ie State) and Downing Street (ie Mr Blair):
Note reference to "Yes Prime Minister".
From another posting on AngryArab:
"CAIR et al. are having a demo in Chicago where they told participants to exercise their first ammendments rights by only bringing flags of Lebanon, United States, and Palestine... i was thinking they are also going to ask to bring the "Israeli" flag.
As I've said b/4 this business of drawing a distinction between "civilian" and "non-civilian" is nonsense - "Israel's" invasion is wrong - attacks on civilians or not. Attacks on Hizbullah or not. Attacks on Hizbullah's ideas or not. Nothing makes this right.
Please show up on time.
- Please protest intelligently. Practice your first amendment right to the fullest, but please do so in a courteous and dignified manner.
- Please do notlitter.
- Please cooperate with instructions from the emcee.
- Please cooperate with event security and Chicago Police officers at the plaza maintaining order.
- Please do not show disrespect to the US flag, the Israeli flag, or any other countrys flag.
- Please only bring one of the three flags: the American flag, the Lebanese flag, the Palestinian flag
- The organizers request that everyone please limit their picket signs
to the following slogans:
1. Peace and Security for All
2. Hundreds of Civilians Murdered, For What?
3. State Terrorism is Terrorism
4. No More Double-Standard
5. Bush, Please Stop This Sh-t
6. Israel, Out of Lebanon!
7. End the Killing Now
8. Enough Murdering Civilians
9. Stop Israeli War Crimes
10. $134 Billion US Tax Dollars To Israel Enough!
11. Not in Our Name, Not with Our Money
12. NO To Destruction
13. NO To The Collective Punishment of Civilians
14. The Right To Fight? Or the Might to Smite?
15. NO to Israel's War Against Civilians
16. 500,000 Lebanese Civilians Displaced
17. Beirut Rebuilds, Tel Aviv Destroys
18. Beiruts Civilians are NOT Hezbollah
19. Life not Death
20. No to Arab Terrorism, No to Israeli Terrorism
Thanks for the links Cindy. Am going to save to read all later tonight.
***"He has ambitions to become a leader of the Muslim world," said Bayram.***
Why is that anyone preaching hatred, murder, violence and suicide is seen as "Leader" to these idiots???
TV talking heads, even Fox, complain that what Israel's doing now is pointless...since they invaded Lebanon 20 odd years ago, and then moved out. And what was the result? Hezbollah, who know every nook and cranny of southern Lebanon and dug and booby-trapped tunnels everywhere, not to mention mines and IED's. So, according to Shep on Fox, Israel is setting itself up for misery. He wanted to know how Israel justified moving into Lebanon. (Israel and Jews are smarter than Arab terrorists, even Hezbollah. I bet they have a plan.) Much talk about a DMZ in southern Lebanon, policed by an international force, presumably not the UN. Nato, maybe.
Thank you for reading--I'm nothing but I do know we're in a war and we need to get serious imho.
Thank you again.
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