Posted on 07/18/2006 12:46:21 AM PDT by rebel_yell2
BEIRUT — Thousands of Americans whose vacations and business trips to Lebanon have degenerated with sickening speed into stints in a battle zone remained stranded here under Israeli bombardment Monday, their frustration and anger mounting because the U.S. government hasn't gotten them out faster.
Waiting around Beirut with bags packed and fingers crossed, U.S. citizens derided the embassy for busy phone lines, a lack of information and gnawing uncertainty over when and whether they will get out. Hundreds were expected to be shipped to Cyprus today, but how long the full evacuation will take remains uncertain.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Be safe and God speed, my man. Prayers up.
They still have to assemble all the people at a safe location to remove them. And the cyprus trip is going to be a day and a half round trip...
100 cars a night in a country of 62 million people, with 35,000+ cities, towns and villages, I don't know, that doesn't seem all that much. Of course, when it's your car, it's always one too many !
It's like crime figures, when you read that there were so many thousand murders in the USA last year, people get the impression the USA is some kind of a jungle. And then, when you tell them to make a ratio crime/total population, they usually see things a little differently.
As far as crime goes, naturally, one always has to strive to curve the statistics lower and lower.
safety of my computer chair huhh? Ok, how about a vbied and SAF last night. How about a civilian car slamming into my humvee, on my side and the vbied not going off about two weeks ago. Then maxing out at 15 mph while exfilling to the camp due to damage. Safety from my comp chair, huhh?
As far as reading comprehension goes, clearly, my post was directed to DvdMom. But, since you responded (and she didn't) I will again point out that poitsal did not say rebel was on vacation. Let's try to keep it real. There was plenty of advance warning from our State Department that travel was dangerous and the point was that IF one were aware, one really should expect and prepare for trouble, not cry whine and complain when one finds oneself in deep doody. Especially in public. On FR of all places. Americans once were known for their 'can-do' spirit and for those who work to maintain that spirit, this is in itself an insult.
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You stated pointsal was correct !!
pointsal SAID rebel was On Vacation !!!
LIAR , YAH RIGHT !!!!
1,117 posted on 07/19/2006 11:39:10 PM EDT by DvdMom (Impeach Nifong)
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First, those who would actually defend America (and literally have) and Americans working round the clock in a terrible situation were insulted. Then additional insults were slung to those who pointed out America and Israel are not wiping RY's arse while Israeli's are being attacked and killed. Those who dared point that while this FReeper slung insults against America with nary a concern given to the prevention of American military risks associated with the logistical issues of swooping into a war zone were insulted because this poor FReeper's feelings might be hurt.
Now the the thread has further disintegrated with more insults, resulting in a FReeper being banned for asking questions. I did not see at all where BB was arguing with a Mod, but in the moment I could see how that could have been assumed by the Mod.
Now this is going off on another tangent, with snotty remarks accusing America of not helping German Jews in WWII. FGS.
I see no effort to diffuse any insults on this thread, only continued fanning of flames, cat scratching, hissing extraordinaire- in other words, continued snotty remarks... and we sure can't blame that on Bykr Bayb.
Regardless of RY's situation -REGARDLESS- denigrating Israel because he can't get out and our military for not moving fast enough to save his heinie and then giving him a pass for this behavior is in itself an insult to those who put themselves at risk to save his insulting hide.
His risks are not the only risks at issue.
I guess you just don't see it that way, though. But other FReepers do.
He made it! He got out on the Orient Queen.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1668955/posts?page=283#283
What great news to wake up to!!! Thanks so much for posting that. I'm so relieved for him.
FNC is talking about the Orient Queen right now.
I heard my husband shouting at the TV this morning while I was getting ready for work. I rushed in and he was spitting mad. He had just watched a CNN reporter in a fox hole in Lebanon where there were also children spouting off about we must do something about this crisis. He wasn't reporting at all; he was advocating...
Honest to Pete, the reporters have got to go out of their way to find the complainers. I'll bet they interview lots of grateful people and we never get to see those interviews.
Actually, I'm very unhappy that my tax money is going to evacuate these people--and give them 90 days assistance with housing, food, computers, grief counseling... There are legitimate Americans who need to get out. The others should return and I'm sure they probably will when the shooting is over. I hope we don't pay that too. I love my country, but we can be so naive. We will come to rue this, I'm afraid.
I agree with you, he needed some historical perspective.
'Can someone explain to me (real slow because I'm real slow) why the Iwo Jima and its amphibious landing ship cohorts, which have been in the Red Sea for the past seven days, were only dispatched to the Lebanese coast today, and won't be here until Thursday?'
Sure, they were doing something more important. The MEU's planning for a NEO is already done. Coordination with the embassy remains. If the embassy isn't up to it, there is no point in having the MEU standoff. You'll notice that 53Es have already been transporting evacuees. Notice that they haven't taken many pax/trip. The bottleneck is at the embassy. They haven't screened the folks yet.
'This sounds like the work of the same contingency planners that work at State; a day late and a dime short.'
Sounds like, but isn't. DoD and the Navy/Marine Corps are doing their jobs rather quickly. These aren't fast ships anyway, they had a mission, and the coordination isn't complete. Why standoff Lebanon?
'But then Israel took close to 100,000 foreign nationals hostage by bombing Beirut airport and imposing a blockade.'
Pure BS. Hostage at the bar in a hotel in Beirut, minus Beirut, sign me up.
Grief counseling???
Oh, I'm so disgusted I have to leave. We have absolutely invited trouble to our shores.
I may have been one of those, so I should clarify. No, it's not a crime. Most of the people visiting there are with family. That's understandable, but they also went after the state department strengthened their warning about the area. Many, many Americans who want out actually live there permanently.
I think the problem for posters like me is not so much that people are visiting, but that they are so demanding. They seem to want American passports for the benefits that American citizenship gives, but they lack a discernable love of country. That frustration leads back to questions about why they are in a dangerous place in the first place. It's fine to go, but then don't whine when you get caught. It's really not a straightforward and easy issue.
I can understand your frustration and you list your reasons clearly. But you go over the line when you say the above. That's just not for you to say. You might not like what he says, that's fine. But you cannot assess his life unless you know him personally.
Hear, hear! Absolutely correct. Of course we all have suspicions, but there is a right and wrong way to air them. I do believe it's hard sometimes when we get caught up in an emotional thread like this to respond appropriately. But people have had time to calm down and think this through. We need to get RB2 home first and if people think they need to address him for perceived infractions, then they should do it privately.
Sadly, I'm learning that if life is not perfect... if I look at wrinkles at the process of life, whether or not of my own making, not to express it here on FR. There's too many perfect critics ready to show me the way I need to go...
Thankfully, Rebel_Yell2 is on his way home and that's really what I care about.
The people who lied about his posts, and there were many, can go pound sand. Preferably in an Arab country.
I'm very glad your uninjured. I hope you stay that way.
For the freepers who didn't even believe that Rebel was overseas (not that they'll ever apologize):
I got out on the Orient Queen and am now in Athens en route home. More when I get back and get some sleep. And I have photos!
215 posted on 07/20/2006 5:52:23 AM EDT by rebel_yell2
It sounds like you've done a lot to help RB2. Thank you. I think that all the mud that's been thrown at him by fellow freepers, probably a lack of sleep, fear and everything else, he's had his hands full. And maybe not working at highest capacity. I certainly wouldn't be in his shoes. And thanks for your post. There's good and interesting info there, things that I did not know. I see no reason to think the RB2 will join the whining chorus I heard this morning from BWI.
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