U.S. Rescue Bogs Down in Lebanon

Here is the latest news about American evacs from Beirut, on a thread just started:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1668096/posts

" ...Nine U.S. Navy ships are converging on Lebanon from U.S. Central Command and from U.S. European Command. The European Command ships are arriving in the "joint operating area" already, Walsh said. The CENTCOM ships are expected over the next few days. DoD also has contracted with the Greek-flagged Orient Queen to evacuate Americans from the Lebanese capital. The ship is pierside in Beirut, Walsh said, and it will take on passengers overnight and leave for Cyprus in the morning. He said he anticipates the vessel will carry between 800 and 1,000 Americans to safety.

The admiral said two more ships will be part of the ferrying activity between Beirut and Cyprus. The Rahmah will arrive in Cyrus tomorrow and begin ferrying refugees shortly thereafter. That vessel has a capacity of around 1,400. The trip to Cyprus from Beirut lasts about five hours, DoD officials said.

The United States also is working with European nations that are evacuating their nationals from Lebanon. Walsh said Navy ships from the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy are operating in the waters off Lebanon.

He said the non-combatant evacuation process "is a complex operation that involves an extraordinary level of effort."

"We're sending the very best we have, and we will move at max speed," he added.

The admiral said he expects U.S. Navy vessels, especially large-capacity amphibious ships, to participate in the evacuation. Amphibious ships are designed to conduct beach landings. They're frequently used for humanitarian operations and disaster relief.

Right now, the threat level in Beirut allows the Navy to ferry Americans to Cyprus with the commercial vessels. "But part of our job is to plan for any contingency," he said. "We will have warships positioned strategically and tactically to ensure the safe and secure passage of Americans from Lebanon to Cyprus."
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>>>So, now there are to be 9 instead of 5 ships taking Americans to Cyprus. The first one, the Orient Queen, a cruise ship, takes on passengers tonight and leaves in the morning. It will take 800-1,000 people.

I heard tonight that we expect to take 1,000 per day thru Friday. However, I also heard tonight that the number had gone up from the original estimate of 4,000, then 5,000, to now 8,000. Who knows?

That 1,000 per day must be per vessel, with 2-3 more passenger vessels expected to be carrying Americans to Cyprus within a few more days.

The next ship is the Rahmah, which will get to Cyprus tomorrow and then come on to Beirut. It carries 1,400 - betting that's the one you will get on, tomorrow night or Thursday. It's then 5 hours to Cyprus.

Each of these will be escorted by at least one US Navy warship, perhaps more. There are also UK, Spanish and Italian navy ships operating - the message doesn't say that they will ferry Americans - only that the US Navy is "working with them."

Note also that you may get aboard a large-capacity amphibious vessel. Fun.

While the Navy message said the Orient Queen is "pierside" at this hour, I don't know if that means the "Israeli blockade" of which you spoke has been lifted, or if it was only against small boats all along - or if they have agreed to let these boats pass.

As I told you earlier, the source I spoke with said that it is the Lebanese "government" (at this point, I don't know how anyone differentiates who is Hizbollah and who isn't) who would not allow American ships to dock today.

Has this changed now - or is tonight's departure the first ship of the 48-hour "free pass" that foreign nationals are given to evacuate the country under American auspices?

I'm fretting about the amphibious boats - will they have to run a gauntlet from offshore to retrieve our citizens if our ships are not allowed to dock again - is this a warning concerning that possibility?

Stay extra safe and do try to be in as early a group as you can be. If you're hearing explosions now, it's just going to get worse each day. Israel isn't going to attack an American humanitarian mercy ship, but there's no predicting what the Hizbollah will do. Prayers continuing ....

I agree. If the military can help a stranded soul out, then I'm sure that they will. But to make demands is just too much.

BTW, I read your about page. Terrific! You really had me going there for a while.

I have tried to hold my tongue on this thread, but you have to be the most incredibly ignorant and immature person I've had the misfortune to see post on FR. I suspect you are a dim in disguise. If not, I hope your don't voice your opinions locally because you are giving a black eye to conservatives. :/

I disagree, Jez gave her opinion (though she was wrong about Israel part of blocking).. Israel has to block traffic, it has to protect their citizens and a blockade is necessary. Rebelyell is at least 95% to blame for himself being there, a place I told myself I would never go because of the tensions there.

But Rebelyell2 is one of us, and at least it seems he is not a dual citizen due to being an anchor baby. He has/had business there (though I have yet to completely understand exactly what that business is) and is more that just to be frustrated at his ill timing.. But it was not America's fault or Israel's fault and given the nature of Islamic weirdo's, nobody could of foreseen this deteriorating so quickly.

So Jez's defense of Israel is a just one, they certainly are not holding Reb hostage, OTH Reb's statement about Israel blocking the border is also true. It is also true that Reb did put himself in the area, and that Reb has blamed Israel for being stuck.

If truth makes you "incredibly ignorant and immature" than I hope to be found guilt someday myself. If those quality's are liberal... then I have been misinformed over the years. Truth is above all party lines and on a plane of itself... Parties can try to align themselves to represent the truth, but often fall short on occasion.

That said, I hope Rebel_yell2 makes it out very soon, safe and a little wiser for his experience. I also hope those that have dual citizen's that hate America learn the truth about what they have been supporting. I pray America follows the only "TRUTH" manual we have ... The Bible... and parts of that Bible tells us to support Israel and not to be her enemy.

Agreed. They are inhumane and stupid. I think most don't even bother to read the thread in it's entirity before posting. I have never been more embarrassed by many of my fellow freepers as I have been by many of those posting in this thread.

I don't see the issue as whether or not someone registers with the SD, the issue is if you choose not to register, then I for one do not think you have the right to complain if it is hard to register later during chaos. No one makes the right choices all the time, anyone could get in a jam- the point I tried to make is if you do get in a jam- you need to take at least some responsibility for your situation. It just doesn't set well with me when a person looks for others to blame instead of saying geez, I realize now I should have done x,y, & z- but can anyone suggest what to do now?

It also bugs me that so many do not understand that the US obligation to citizens ends when you leave the US (with some exceptions of course)to visit or work in another country. I truly believe the US does and should try to help US citizens in a jam in other countries- I just think one should have the attitude that whatever the US tries or gets done is great, instead of bashing them for what they don't do or the time frame.

You, my friend, are a RACIST.

I pity you.

ROFL! :)

You, my friend, are a RACIST. I pity you.

You my friend, are an a$$hole. And I pity you much more.

If we didn't live in a P.C. world, serious consideration would be given to evacuating those who look least the Lebanese first because the kidnapping risk to them is a bit higher, all other things being equal.

Very good point.

It is tradition for a country to do whatever they can for their citizens in harms way in other countries. I firmly believe the US should and does do what it can to help citizens in other countries, as do most countries. It is not an obligation, that is the big difference that many are missing. The US government has no obligation for citizens in other countries except in certain circumstances. The difference is in attitude. I think one should not expect the help from the US gov't., and should be greatful if they get help. Not blaming others or complaining about the difficulty or time factor.

I can not speak for Israel, but I do think it is totally different when a member of a nation's military is kidnapped than a citizen of a country going by choice to another country to visit or work.

I used to travel to another countries, as a tourist. I did not expect the US gov't to save me if I got in a jam. I would have been very greatful if they had, and I knew traditionally they had helped citizens- but I did not expect it. My husband and many of my relatives and friends have traveled the world to work and visit- they all understood that the US had no obligation to them in another country. They all made their own plans for emergencies and hoped if things got real bad the US would help. It's ok to hope, not ok to whine or demand or complain about the type of help.

It looks like I've missed an exciting thread today.

I'm real worried about your situation, Rebel Yell. However, to this point you have done nothing but bite the hand that freaken could save you.

Bookmark

Goodnight. I hope that my next post comes to you later this week from Chicago.

Chicago?

How about from Cypress!

We are all praying for you here, you could help by letting us know when you're OK.

;-)

The IAF woke me up with their latest presents to the Lebanese, so I had to check back in. Several Freepers have asked me to write a book-et about international travel (with an appendix about travel to war zones). Entry on currency. Cash is king. If you don't have it, you are toast. At the minimum, have an ATM. I was working with a Canadian colleague who "doesn't trust ATMs." He ran out of cash so he asked me to get some using my ATM card. ATMs are almost universal. Don't travel overseas without TWO. I have heard horror stories over and over about an ATM eating a card. If you have two, which means two different banks, you are covered. This also means having two bank accounts, preferably at major banks: Citi, BAC, Chase. I carry an extra wallet with about $100 equivalent in each of the major currencies: USD, GBP, Euro, JY. But when it comes to the crunch USD rules. I have never had dollars refused anywhere in the world. Discount yes. Turned down no.

No replies.

Ahh, you're stuck there (I am slow but my mind isn't what it used to be). Well, I said a prayer for you the other day. I thought you were there involuntarily.

But to voluntarily go to any Arab country is inviting trouble. Is it up to the USA to rescue people from their bad decisions?

It isn't racism, it is pragmatism. If walk through South Central L.A. ON PURPOSE, I have no one to blame but myself if I get my butt beat.

I'll continue to pray for your safe extraction. Even if you didn't understand me.

Maybe the slowness of the rescue is the US's way of holding back Israel momentarily.

Or maybe sending an American battleship into a war that isn't ours isn't at the top of our to-do list without a little advance planning. Such as looking at the travel advisories, for instance.

What kind of an ignoramous are you?

Do you read prior posts or just shoot from your ignorant, xenophobic hip?

LOL at your petty ignorance. VERY LOUD!!!

This has to be a DU troll. No Freeper could be this clueless, could they . . . ?

The bad news is you may have to ride a duck and be wet and sticky for at least 5 hours or more.

The good news is, if you ride a duck, it will be FREE.

I don't disagree that people who visit countries with travel warnings are taking a risk. But I don't think the US' obligation to its citizens ends when an American travels overseas. We have embassies specifically to protect American interests abroad. This includes providing consular services for Americans traveling to those countries. Granted, the level of protection provided by our consular services is a heck of a lot lower than that what should be expected in the U.S.

A lot of the problem with the federal government (and my biggest gripe about the Bush administration) is that it has NEVER done a good job of managing expectations. For example, instead of just giving a phone number to Fox News to put on its ticker, the State Department should have noted that due to the expected call volume, long wait times are expected. It should have told people not to try to call the embassy in Lebanon, if it knew that the phone infrastructure couldn't handle the deluge.

All things considered, I think the evacuation process has gone as best as could be expected under the circumstances. Some people seem to t the President can snap his fingers and magically have a hundred cruise ships and the entire Sixth Fleet appear in the middle of an active war zone to evacuate Americans. The real world doesn't work that way. Logistics take time to figure out, and become more difficult the further you get from the U.S.

Note that there is and has been a travel warning for Israel for years. If things start to get really dicey in Israel, there are a lot more Americans that will need to get evacuated than in Lebanon. Let's hope that doesn't happen.