Posted on 07/27/2006 2:42:08 AM PDT by Clive
BEIRUT - In the days leading up to his death, Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener was a soldier under siege, trapped in his UN compound as the war closed in around him.
But even as the bombing intensified, the Canadian peacekeeper managed to send a letter from the front lines.
"What I can tell you is this; we have on a daily basis had numerous occasions where our position has come under direct or indirect fire from both artillery and aerial bombing," he wrote in an e-mail just nine days before he was killed with three other UN peacekeepers by an Israeli bomb.
"The closest artillery has landed within two metres of our position and the closest 1,000-lb aerial bomb has landed 100 metres from our patrol base."
He attributed the attacks to the grim reality of war, refusing to blame the Israelis for hitting the compound and emphasizing "the nature of my job here is to be impartial and to report violations from both sides without bias."
"This has not been deliberate targeting, but has rather been due to tactical necessity," he wrote.
The statement suggested that Hezbollah fighters were operating close to the UN base.
His death struck a chord with other Canadian troops yesterday as they evacuated stranded foreigners from the southern Lebanese city of Tyre.
"It's brought everything home for a lot of us," said one soldier who had served with Maj. Hess-von Kruedener on a tour of duty.
"He was a real veteran, willing to go anywhere and do anything," added the soldier, who could not give his name for security reasons.
Maj. Hess-von Kruedener was the only Canadian serving as a UN military observer in Lebanon.
It was the sixth tour of overseas duty for the infantryman, a 20-year army veteran who had served in Cyprus, Bosnia and Congo.
For the past nine months, he had been stationed on a patrol base about 10 kilometres from the Israeli border.
His eight-man team was responsible for reporting any violations of a United Nations ceasefire, but as unarmed observers they had no ability to enforce it.
He signed his letters "Maj. H.v.K" but was known as "Wolf" to most of his friends.
Maj. Hess-von Kruedener wrote about what he had seen before the outbreak of all-out war -- a failed attempt by Hezbollah to kidnap Israeli soldiers last November, the Israeli shooting of a shepherd boy a few months later.
Border skirmishes grew increasingly intense as Hezbollah continued to lob rockets into northern Israel.
He described the current fighting as "by far the most spectacular and intensive" he had ever seen. It was so intense it forced his UN team to retreat to their camp.
"We are not safe to venture out to conduct our normal patrol activities. We have now switched to Operational Post Duties and are observing any and all violations as they occur," he recounted.
According to a preliminary UN report, the peacekeepers warned the Israeli army as many as 10 times to stop bombing near their camp.
Yesterday, Maj. Hess-von Kruedener's body was airlifted out of southern Lebanon. The UN border post where he had served was destroyed.
"This has not been deliberate targeting, but has rather been due to tactical necessity," he wrote.
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Kofi?
Nuff said!
Further, his staff has released statements in the past that said :
"The Secretary General is a Christian, who attends a number of Protestant churches in New York."
I don't believe it for one second. He is on the side of the Muslims, and he is clearly an enemy of Israel and the United States.
Naqoura - "UNITED NATIONS INTERIM FORCE IN LEBANON (UNIFIL) - Press Release (PRESS RELEASE SNIPPET: "Another UN position of the Ghanaian battalion in the area of Marwahin in the western sector was also directly hit by one mortar round from the Hezbollah side last night. The round did not explode, and there were no casualties or material damage. Another 5 incidents of firing close to UN positions from the Israeli side were reported yesterday. It was also reported that Hezbollah fired from the vicinity of four UN positions at Alma ash Shab, Tibnin, Brashit, and At Tiri. All UNIFIL positions remain occupied and maintained by the troops.") (July 26, 2006)
Please send me a FReepmail to get on or off this Canada ping list.
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Brilliant.
Like putting eight uniformed, unarmed cops in a gang war so they can take notes on the shooters.
God blees him for saying that anyway.
Yep. The major sounds like he was a dedicated, professional soldier. Unfortunately, he was part of an UN Keystone Kops operation. His death, and the deaths of the other three men, are tragic. But the blame lies squarely with the UN & Hezbollah. They were defenseless, ineffective, and should have been withdrawn before combat began.
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