Replies

CNN has posted a copy of the message State has sent to registered citizens in Lebanon so I'm posting it below. Notice that we are going to have "sign a promissory note" and pay for our rescue. At this point, I'd be willing to pay quite a lot to get out of here! Many more bombs just exploded. They sounded much closer than earlier explosions. The IAF is really busy this afternoon. FYI, we are 7 hours ahead of the U.S. east coast.

Message to Americans in Lebanon

The Department of State continues to work with the Department of Defense on a plan to help American citizens depart Lebanon. As of the morning of July 15, we are looking at how we might transport Americans to Cyprus. Once in Cyprus, Americans can then board commercial aircraft for onward travel. Commercial airlines provide the safest and most efficient repatriation options to final destinations.

The Department of State reminds American citizens that the U.S. government does not provide no-cost transportation but does have the authority to provide repatriation loans to those in financial need. For the portion of your trip directly handled by the U.S. Government we will ask you to sign a promissory note and we will bill you at a later date. In a subsequent message, when we have specific details about the transportation arrangements, we will inform you about the costs you will incur. We will also work with commercial aircraft to ensure that they have adequate flights to help you depart Cyprus and connect to your final destination.

The Department of State continues to work around the clock and will continue to send updates to you as appropriate.

601 posted on 07/15/2006 4:06:13 AM PDT by rebel_yell2

I will say a prayer for you. Good luck!

603 posted on 07/15/2006 4:15:40 AM PDT by Sprite518

For the portion of your trip directly handled by the U.S. Government we will ask you to sign a promissory note and we will bill you at a later date.

I hope you can get out of there ASAP, but the above statement really ticks me off. I understand your willingness "to pay quite a lot to get out of here" but, what do we pay taxes for anyway?! Especially given that the situation was not your fault. Government bureaucracy makes no sense to me.

605 posted on 07/15/2006 4:27:47 AM PDT by ELS (Vivat Benedictus XVI!)

FYI.just breaking on DEBKA...

"President Bush just announced that he is sending former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, and his wife, former CIA operative Valerie Plame, to Beirut, to resolve the situation.."

(PS:I thought you could use a little humor...)

606 posted on 07/15/2006 4:32:20 AM PDT by ken5050 (GWB, Reagan, Thatcher, Pope John Paul II, freed hundreds of millions.# of Nobel PeacePrizes: ZERO)

Praying that you do manage to get out safely. Can the company you're working for help with the cost?

611 posted on 07/15/2006 5:20:22 AM PDT by rightwingintelligentsia (Democrats, Euroweenies, and the MSM--the Axis of Appeasement)

Good to hear from you and that something is in the works, the details of which we can hear AFTER you are safe! Sounds like the note is SOP and signing it lets the pencil pushers allow the op to proceed. I would think the IMF would cover your costs as would other businesses who have their people there. Stay safe!

614 posted on 07/15/2006 6:51:52 AM PDT by NonValueAdded (Go home and fix Mexico)

Hey, sign anything they shove in your face as long as it's a way out. Worry about the persnickety bill after you're safe at home. One would think the IMF would pay the bill as I'm sure the companies most Americans work for would do the same. Are there other IMF employees with you? What are the other nationalities in the hotel and what are their plans?

618 posted on 07/15/2006 7:31:37 AM PDT by mtbopfuyn (I think the border is kind of an artificial barrier - San Antonio councilwoman Patti Radle)

Make sure you have a life-preserver, and a helmet of some kind if you go out on a ferry from Beirut.

619 posted on 07/15/2006 7:39:01 AM PDT by Fitzcarraldo

623 posted on 07/15/2006 9:21:21 AM PDT by FReepaholic (Why aren't lawyers ever accused of price gouging?)

To: rebel_yell2; Tony Snow

Hey Tony can you help out a FRiend.

624 posted on 07/15/2006 9:25:11 AM PDT by mware (Americans in armchairs doing the job of the media.)

625 posted on 07/15/2006 9:34:24 AM PDT by null and void (It's a crazy world. Someone ought to sell tickets.)

So, you mean to tell me, that our tax dollars pay for rescue missions all over the world, flying foreign survivors out of Tsunami and earthquake zones ...but, our great country will NOT fly tax paying citizens out of a war zone?!

627 posted on 07/15/2006 9:47:54 AM PDT by tuckrdout (The good man wins his case by careful argument; the evil-minded only wants to fight. Prov. 13:2)

"Government we will ask you to sign a promissory note and we will bill you at a later date."

Just damn! The US Gov. can hand out $35,000 in annual benefits to the average welfare family but it cannot pay for the safe return of US citizens from a war zone.

I am flabbergasted!

632 posted on 07/15/2006 10:28:26 AM PDT by Palladin ("Governor Lynn Swann."...it has a nice ring to it!)

How are you? I see from CNN that Israel is bombing central Beirut. I hope you're out of there.

638 posted on 07/15/2006 10:56:55 AM PDT by Clara Lou (A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged by reality. --I. Kristol)

641 posted on 07/15/2006 11:51:48 AM PDT by jer33 3

The AJC had an article today about a 17 y.o. boy from the Atlanta area stuck in Lebanon. He was suppose to leave today after a month visit to his father's family in northern Lebanon. He's hoping to get home to attend his senior year of high school.

So far it's quiet where he is, but who knows how long that will last.

Six days after he arrived in Lebanon his elderly grandfather died. The family feels the grandfather held out long enough to see his grandson. His trip has been filled with joys and sorrows and now this.

662 posted on 07/15/2006 3:44:00 PM PDT by Atlantian

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794