Posted on 07/13/2006 1:00:45 PM PDT by NonValueAdded
From Tourists Streaming into Syria from Lebanon, post 47:
To: cinives
You all might find this damn funny, but my sorry ass is marooned in Beirut, where I have been working for the IMF. If anybody has any helpful suggestions on how I can get out of this war zone, I would be most grateful. Right now, the road to Syria is the only way out of Lebanon for anyone, including U.S. citizens, and the Israelis are bombing that road. I am NOT happy with the Israelis right now. I understand their concerns about their kidnapped soldiers but bombing the Beirut Airport was not going to help them in any way.
47 posted on 07/13/2006 3:47:47 PM EDT by rebel_yell2
Here is the nut of the story: But no U.S. official or American citizen has left Lebanon because there is no way to leave, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, and the U.S. government is discussing contingency plans to help Americans leave. You already knew that. According to the thread there are 25,000 US Citizens, including permanent residents, in Lebanon. Finally,
Pentagon officials have said the U.S. military was closely monitoring the situation and has ships in the region that could be used in the event U.S. officials order an evacuation of American citizens from Lebanon.
The military has the helicopter carrier USS Iwo Jima heading a seven-ship group taking part in an exercise off the coast of Jordan, officials said.
Keeping you in prayers. Stay safe.
[snip]
...State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, and the U.S. government is discussing contingency plans to help Americans leave.
"Conditions permitting, we have urged American citizens to consider leaving Lebanon," McCormack told reporters.
He said the U.S. government was advising U.S. citizens in Lebanon to assess their personal security situation
[snip]
"Right now ... from the U.S. government perspective, there aren't any ways to get out -- reliable ways to get out by air, land or sea," McCormack said.
There you are, Reb, been looking for your posts most of the day. Stay safe. Prayers.
no I wont censor myself...who are you the freakin FCC?
I will say whatever I want, when I want.
Nuts.
Also, there are 40 US college students holed up at American University..but conditions aren't really good.
According to this .. and it was posted a little over an hour ago .. the State Dept. is telling Americans to stay put.
American college students hole up in Beirut"
"Rockets roar overhead
"The ships are all about a few hundred meters from my balcony," she said. As rockets fly overhead, "The sound is awful."
The group is holed up in a low floor on the dormitory, one that is "not a proper shelter," she said. She has access to clean water and some food she bought at a local store during the day, but not much. There are no school officials nearby, so the students are running the shelter operations by themselves.
"It's literally being run by 19-year-olds," she said. "We don't know what to do."
"I just want to go home," she added.
Prospects of that aren't good right now. Beirut airport, about 10 miles south of the school, is closed, bombed earlier this week by Israeli warplanes.
U.S. State Department officials are discussing the possibility of evacuation with the Defense Department, but for now, the roughly 25,000 U.S. citizens in Lebanon are being told to stay put.
b"There aren't any ... reliable ways to get out by air, land or sea," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Friday. U.S. citizens are being told to "assess what is best for their own personal security."
If conditions change and a reliable way out emerges, Americans are urged to leave, McCormack told NBC's Libby Leist. Administrators at the American University of Beirut also are telling its students they are safest where they are. The school is not affiliated with American University in Washington, D.C.
‘Never been bombed’
“(The school) has never been bombed, even during the civil war,” university spokeswoman Ada H. Porter said from New York. “Even during the civil war, all factions respected our borders. We have always had a major hospital that treated everybody, and it has never been closed.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hopefully, you have water/liquids, some food, and a sound structure to bunk in. God bless you, and please .. keep us posted.
bttt
bttt
It appears the Mod Squad doesn't fully agree with that statement...
Oh .. thanks .. didn't look back to see that it was gone.
b-mark
bttt
25,000 Americans in Lebanon. It will take quite an effort to get them all out safely, but it must be done. I understand our Navy is standing by to help with evacuation.
Chilling images come to mind of VietNam in 1975 and crowds of people at the US Embassy hanging on to helicopters.
I pray it will not be like that.
bttt
Sorry, man. No feeling is worse than knowing you should have been on the last plane out, and you missed it.
Of course, this thing all came up so sudden, it couldn't be helped, I imagine. Time to hunker down and wait it out.
BTW, I find that the very best place to be when the bullets start flying is in a cast iron bathtub. Good luck!
The accuracy of modern precision guided weapons is amazing, isn't it? Two right on the centerline.
Hope everyone here knows there's a live thread now - more than 600+ posts when I just looked:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1666027/posts
Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Prayer Ping List.
Please post your prayers to rebel_yell2;
Prayers for you in this touch and go situation.
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