Annan's Claims On Casualties May Unravel

The New York Sun ^ | July 27, 2006 | BENNY AVNI

[baystaterebel]

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.

[baystaterebel]

Bingo! Kofi dont have Bingo! But he does have a lot of "splainin" to do.

[Darkwolf377]

Will the libs start tossing around "Liar!" so quickly as they do with Bush, or will we see lots of posts on DU like "Let's just step back and wait for the FACTS to come out, people."?

[Peach]

"We've received e-mails from him a few days ago and he was describing the fact that he was taking fire within, in one case, three meters of his position ‘for tactical necessity — not being targeted,'" Mr. MacKenzie said he wrote.

In one such e-mail, obtained by The New York Sun, Hess-von Kruedener wrote about heavy IDF artillery and aerial bombardment "within 2 meters of our position." The Israeli shooting, he added, "has not been deliberate targeting, but has rather been due to tactical necessity."

[cripplecreek]

They were talking about that e-mail on FOX this morning.

[DustyMoment]

This is starting to sound a little more like the truth, not that I expected Coffee to tell it. Jihadist cowards are well known for using innocents and neutrals as their shield.

US out of the UN, UN out of the US!!

[JLAGRAYFOX]

Kofi Annan is as useless to the world as the Congressional Black Caucus is to American Blacks.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Read the article. Just what possible f***ing purpose do the U.N. "troops" serve other than as cover for Pezbullah (sic)? They can't stop attacks on Israel, so why not get them the Hell out of the way of the IDF who can manage peacekeeping a lot more efficiently without them?

[highlander_UW]

Kofi lied...people died! Think we'll be hearing this from the left?...don't worry, it's a rhetorical question.

[Peach]

That's the first thing I heard this morning when I got up so I went looking for the story.

No small wonder the UN outpost was hit.

[rod1]

Kofi was going Anti-Semitic on us all. Who would have thought it possible (sarc.)

[cripplecreek]

ED Hill also said something about someone with the UN being charged with smuggling 25 tons of drugs into the USA. So far I haven't been able to find anything on that.

[goldstategop]

Exactly. The UN post was near a Hezbollah base. But the UN would not bother wait for reports from the field to ascertain why bombs were falling near the UN position. They made up their mind in advance Israel was guilty of deliberately targeting the UN observers without any real proof this was in fact the case. And the facts emerging now have put the lie to Kofi Annan's accusation Israel struck without justifiable cause. If you let Hezbollah terrorists operate in your vicinity, you can end up being collateral damage. They still don't get it up in Turtle Bay.

(Go Israel, Go! Slap 'Em Down Hezbullies.)

[Jameison]

"Mr. Annan has called for "immediate cessation of hostilities." During yesterday's council briefing on the UNIFIL incident, Ms. Lute said, "I reiterate" that call."

You can iterate that call all you want sucker.
Not gonna happen.
Your Hizbullah pals are going to continue to get hammered

[Jameison]

Kofi is a craven, dishonest, anti-semitic knave, and he looks just like a he-goat to boot.
The quicker this sucker's sent to pasture, the better for us all.

[Peach]

I missed that part; probably too busy chuckling out loud to hear whatever was said after the UN letting Hezbollah shoot off rockets 10 feet away to hear anything else that was said.

[DB]

Hezbollah has every incentive to use a UN post for protection - as human shields. And if it fails and the Israelis strike and hit the UN post they win with all the bad PR that will be directed at the Israelis. So it is win, win for Hezbollah.

It is 100% the fault of the UN for having "observers" in a war zone stationed among terrorists.

The outcome is obvious.

And may well be a situation that was deliberately created.

[cripplecreek]

U.N. Employee Is Charged With Drug Smuggling

[Peach]

Prosecutors say Mr. Osman, a Somali citizen who had been employed at the United Nations for 29 years, was an important cog in the largest khat trafficking enterprise America has known. Forty-four defendants were named in yesterday's indictment, and 14 were still at large, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Thanks for finding that.

[baystaterebel]

Actually I think they do get it in Turtle Bay. They wanted to provide a safe haven for Hezbollah. They knew they were being used. Hell there are pictures of the Hezbollah flag flying right next to the UN flag a few meters away.

This outpost was (A) Supposed to be only temporary as Bolton has recently said. (B)The fact that it was still being manned for no reason risking blue helmets lives to do what? Stop the violence? Protect the Innocent?

I am sure commanders told some one at Turtle Bay that Hezbollah was using them as a shield. Did the UN ask Hezbollah to move away and stop jeopardizing its people?

Nope! The screeched at the IDF to stop shelling in their direction.

Go figure.

[Fresh Wind]

UN Spying for Hezbollah