Posted on 08/07/2006 3:43:15 PM PDT by DAVEY CROCKETT
Tehran & Damascus Move to Lebanon Lebanon-born Walid Phares is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Author of the recent book Future Jihad, he was also one of the architects of 2004’s United Nations resolution 1559, which called for the disarming of Hezbollah. NRO editor Kathryn Lopez recently talked to Phares about what’s going on in the Mideast, what happened to the Cedar Revolution, and this war we’re all in.
Kathryn Jean Lopez: What is “Future Jihad”? Are we seeing it in the Mideast now?
Walid Phares: “Future Jihad,” which has already begun, refers to a new and potent form of Islamic terrorism, characterized by a Khumeinist-Baathist axis. These are the two trees of jihadism, so to speak — the Salafism and Wahabism embodied in al Qaeda and the sort of jihadism led by Iran and also including Syria, Hezbollah, and their allies in Lebanon.
The alliance has not been in entire agreement as to strategy. The al Qaeda branch began its “Future Jihad” in the 1990s; its efforts culminated on 9/11 and have continued explosively since then. The international “Salafists” aimed at the U.S. in the past decade in order to strengthen their jihads on various battlefields (Chechnya, India, Sudan, Algeria, Indonesia, Palestine, etc.). “Weaken the resolve of America,” their ideologues said, “and the jihadists would overwhelm all the regional battlefields.”
As I argue in Future Jihad, bin Laden and his colleagues miscalculated on the timing of the massive attack against the U.S. in 2001. While they wounded America, they didn’t kill its will to fight (as was the case, for instance, in the Madrid 3/11 attacks). I have heard many jihadi cadres online, and have seen al Jazeera commentators on television, offering hints of criticism about the timing. They were blaming al Qaeda for shooting its imagined “silver bullet” before insuring a strategic follow up. But bin Laden and Zawahiri believe 9/11 served them well, and has put a global mobilization into motion. Perhaps it has, but the U.S. counter strategy in the Middle East, chaotic as the region currently appears, has unleashed counter jihadi forces. The jury is still out as to the time factor: when these forces will begin to weaken the jihadists depends on our perseverance and the public understanding of the whole conflict.
The other “tree” of jihadism, with its roots in Iran, withheld fire after 9/11. They were content to watch the Salafists fight it out with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention within the West, as terror cells were hunted down. Ahmedinejad, Assad, and Nasrallah were analyzing how far the US would go, and how far the Sunnis and Salafis would go as well.
The fall of the Taliban and of the Baath in Iraq, however, changed Iran and Syria’s patient plans. The political changes in the neighborhood, regardless of their immediate instability, were strongly felt in Tehran and Damascus (but unfortunately not in the U.S., judging from the political debate here), and pushed the Khumeinists and the Syrian Baathists to enter the dance, but carefully. Assad opened his borders to the jihadists in an attempt to crumble the U.S. role in Iraq, while Iran articulated al Sadr’s ideology for Iraq’s Shiia majority.
A U.S.-led response came swiftly in 2004 with the voting of UNSCR 1559, smashing Syria’s role in Lebanon and forcing Assad to withdraw his troops by April 2005. In response, the “axis” prepared for a counter attack on the Lebanese battlefield by assassinating a number of the Cedar Revolution leaders, including MP Jebran Tueni. In short, the attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah and the kidnappings of soldiers were the tip of an offensive aimed at drawing attention away from Iran’s nuclear weapons programs and Syria’s assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri. Hezbollah was awaiting its moment for revenge against the Cedar Revolution too.
What we see now is 1) a Syro-Iranian sponsored offensive aimed at all democracies in the region and fought in Lebanon; 2) Israel’s counter offensive (which it seems to have prepared earlier); and 3) an attempt by Hezbollah to take over or crumble the Lebanese government.
Lopez: So…did the Cedar Revolution fail?
Phares: Actually, it would be more accurate to say that the Cedar Revolution was failed. The masses in Lebanon responded courageously in March 2005 by putting 1.5 million people on the streets of Beirut. They did it without “no-fly-zones,” expeditionary forces, or any weapons at all, for that matter, and against the power of three regimes, Iran, Syria, and pro-Syrian Lebanon, in addition to Hezbollah terror. The “revolution” was for a time astoundingly successful; since then it has been horribly failed, and first of all by Lebanon’s politicians themselves. One of their leaders, General Michel Aoun, shifted his allegiances to Syria and signed a document with Hezbollah. Other politicians from the “March 14 Movement” then stopped the demonstrations, leaving them with the support of God knows what. They failed in removing the pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and brought back a pro-Syrian politician to serve as a speaker of the house, Nabih Berri. Meanwhile, even as they were elected by the faithful Cedar Revolution masses, they engaged in a round table dialogue with Hezbollah, a clear trap set by Hassan Nasrallah: “Let’s talk about the future,” he said — with the implication, of course, that they forget about the Cedar Revolution and the militia’s disarming. While political leaders sat for months, enjoying the photo ops with Hassan Nasrallah, he was preparing his counter offensive, which he unleashed just a few days before the Security Council would discuss the future of Iran’s nuclear programs.
The Lebanese government of Prime Minister Seniora also abandoned the Cedar Revolution. His cabinet neither disarmed Hezbollah nor called on the U.N. to help in implementing UNSCR 1559. This omission is baffling. The government was given so much support by the international community and, more importantly, overwhelming popular support inside Lebanon: 80 percent of the people were hoping the Cedar Revolution-backed government would be the one to resume the liberation of the country. Now Hezbollah has an upper hand and the government is on the defensive.
The U.S. and its allies can be accused of certain shortcomings as well. While the speeches by the U.S. president, congressional leaders from both parties, Tony Blair, and Jacques Chirac were right on target regarding Lebanon, and while the U.S. and its counterparts on the Security Council were diligent in their follow up on the Hariri assassination and on implementing UNSCR 1559, there was no policy or plan to support the popular movement in Lebanon. Incredibly, while billions were spent on the war of ideas in the region, Lebanese NGOs that wanted to resume the struggle of the Cedar Revolution and fighting alone for this purpose were not taken seriously at various levels. Policy planners thought they were dealing with the “Cedar Revolution” when they were meeting Lebanon’s government and Lebanese politicians. The difference between the high level speeches on Lebanon and the laissez-faire approach from lower levels is amazing. Simply put, there was no policy on supporting the Cedar Revolution against the three regimes opposing it and the $400 million received by Hezbollah from Iran.
The Cedar Revolution was basically betrayed by its own politicians and is now essentially without a head. Nevertheless, as long as the international support remains, the Revolution will find its way and will face the dangers. The one and a half million ordinary citizens who braved all the dangers didn’t change their minds about Hezbollah’s terror. The resistance and counter-attack was to be expected. Unfortunately, thus far Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah have outmaneuvered the West and are at the throats of the Cedar Revolution. The international community must revise its plans, and, if it is strongly backed by the U.S. and its allies, including France, the situation can be salvaged. The good seeds are still inside the country.
More at link...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1683791/posts
Iranian government to dispatch Arab speaking minority to Lebanon
IranPressNews ^ | 8/14/06 | IranPressNews
Posted on 08/14/2006 9:15:22 PM PDT by freedom44
According to received reports, the Islamic regime is encouraging young Arabic-speaking residents from city of Ahvaz (Province of Khuzestan*) to participate in the war in Lebanon alongside Hezbollah against Israeli forces. Each person is being offered approximately $10,000. The Islamic regime has told the volunteers that since they are Arabic-speakers, their presence in Lebanon will not be conspicuous. Volunteers will first go through a short basic training camp in Iran and then will be dispatched to Lebanon.
Previous reports also indicate that the Islamic regime has also granted full pardons to criminals who are either serving life-in-prison or are on death-row in Iran, in exchange for their volunteering to go to Lebanon. The conditions of prisons in Iran is so deplorable that already 400 prisoners have chosen going to war in Lebanon over staying in the regime’s prisons.
* The province of Khuzestan borders on Iraq and a large majority of the residents of that province are bilingual Persian and Arabic-speakers.
[Saddam also dumped his prisons, just before the war started, as did Cuba, and sent them all here.........
Makes me think Iran is getting ready for a big war, not one that has a peace signed by the UN......granny]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1683786/posts
Tucson Police say cellphone purchases were suspicious, but not criminal (What did I tell you?!!!)
KVOA Tucson Channel 4 News ^
Posted on 08/14/2006 9:06:25 PM PDT by SandRat
Tucson Police are trying to track down two men of Middle Eastern descent who, reportedly, bought a number of cell phones within a 36-hour period over the weekend at a Tucson Sam's Club.
The incident comes on the heels of other similar incidents across the country.
The incidents have prompted terror investigations because, authorities say, those cell phones can be untraceable and used as detonators.
Tucson Police issued a news Release Tuesday afternoon regarding the incident that occurred three days ago.
Tucson Police were called to Tucson's Sam's Club on Friday just before noon on a 'suspicious activity" call.
Apparently, someone saw two men purchasing disposable cell phones.
TPD Sgt. Mark Robinson said, "It was two men of Middle Eastern descent buying a qantity of cell phones, more cell phones than one would think would use for personal use."
Employees at Sam's Club told News 4 that they saw Tucson Police show up at the business.
A spokeswoman for wWal-mart who also owns Sam's Club issued this statement.
"Wal-mart stores limit the sale of prepaid phones to three phones per transaction at Wal-Mart stores and Supercenters. At our Sam's Clubs (membership clubs), we limit the sale to five per transaction. This policy is a part of our agreement with manufacturers. We continue to assist law enforcement with ongoing investigations. We are not discussing the purchases or other details pertinent to the incident. Our goal is to assist law enforcement as they conduct an investigation. It simply would not assist the investigation for us to make any comments." Sharon Weber, a Wal-Mart spokesperson
Sgt. Robinson says the men didn't break any laws.
"We know that people use these phones for criminal activity such as dealing drugs or smuggling people into the United States. Those are a couple of uses tied to these phones. I believe nationally the FBI has tied these phones to terrorism."
However, Tucson Police say right now there's nothing to tie these men to criminal activity.
Sgt Robinson said, 'We don't know if these particular indviduals were involved in any kind of criminal activity at this time. That's why it's just a suspicious activity investigation. it's not a criminal investigation.'
The incident was turned over to the FBI.
Authorities encourage citizens to report any suspicious activity.
http://www.cnsnews.com/ForeignBureaus/archive/200608/INT20060814e.html
Hamas Sees Hizballah 'Victory' as Cause for New Intifada
By Julie Stahl
CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief
August 14, 2006
Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Islamic Jihad fired rockets similar to Hizballah's katyushas at the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on Monday just as the cease-fire between Israel and the Hizballah terrorist organization was beginning to take hold.
But even before the cease-fire, a Hamas columnist said that Palestinians would be the greatest beneficiaries of what he called the Hizballah victory. He said it paved the way for a third Palestinian uprising.
Writing in the Hamas paper Al-Risala, columnist Ibrahim Abu Heija said that the "Palestinian resistance" [a euphemism for terrorism] would be the "greatest beneficiary" of what he called Hizballah's victory.
"This is an important moment that the Palestinian resistance must seize," wrote Abu Heija in the paper, which is published twice weekly and distributed in the Hamas power base of Gaza.
Palestinian groups "benefited" from a similar moment six years ago, at the beginning of the Al-Aqsa intifadah, Abu Heija said.
Hizballah congratulated the Lebanese people on their "big victory" over Israel in a leaflet distributed to citizens on Monday.
Hizballah claimed victory when Israel withdrew unilaterally from a south Lebanese security zone six years ago, in May 2000 -- a move that inspired Palestinians to launch their violent uprising later that year.
More than 1,000 Israelis -- many of them civilians -- have been killed since then in Palestinian terror attacks.
"And now, after the cease-fire [hudna] has been tried and the experience of changing the [Palestinian] Authority reached its peak, the door will be opened for a third Palestinian intifada [uprising], that will transform the resistance from the stage of reaction [to Israeli] actions to [resistance] that is carried out at our initiative," he said, according to a translation provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
"In general, it is important for the Palestinian resistance to exploit the effects of the victory in Lebanon for its own interests in order to achieve its rights and move forward towards its objectives, and to encourage the whole public to unite behind its program," he wrote last week.
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility on Monday for launching two Grad rockets that landed at the port of Ashkelon, a city that's been repeatedly hit by Kassam rockets.
The rockets are similar to the Katyushas, which Hizballah has been firing at northern Israel.
Following the attack, Palestinians reported that three Palestinians had been killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza. The army said it had identified three terrorists as they returned to collect their rocket launcher and had fired on them.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2313135,00.html
Muslims face extra checks in new travel crackdown
By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent
London Times
August 15, 2006
THE Government is discussing with airport operators plans to introduce a screening system that allows security staff to focus on those passengers who pose the greatest risk.
The passenger-profiling technique involves selecting people who are behaving suspiciously, have an unusual travel pattern or, most controversially, have a certain ethnic or religious background.
The system would be much more sophisticated than simply picking out young men of Asian appearance. But it would cause outrage in the Muslim community because its members would be far more likely to be selected for extra checks.
Officials at the Department for Transport (DfT) have discussed the practicalities of introducing such a system with airport operators, including BAA. They believe that it would be more effective at identifying potential terrorists than the existing random searches.
They also say that it would greatly reduce queues at secur-ity gates, which caused lengthy delays at London airports yesterday for the fifth day running. Heathrow and Gatwick were worst affected, cancelling 69 and 27 flights respectively. BAA gave warning yesterday that the disruption would continue for the rest of the week.
Passengers are now allowed to take one small piece of hand luggage on board but security staff are still having to search 50 per cent of travellers. Airports have also been ordered to search twice as many hand luggage items as a week ago.
BAA was criticised yesterday for failing to commit itself to recruiting more security staff and for claiming that its existing 6,000 staff at seven airports would be able to handle the extra searches. Tony Douglas, the chief executive of Heathrow, said that X-ray screening of hand luggage would be much faster under the new rules on size and contents, leaving staff free to carry out more searches.
The new measures, which include a ban on taking any liquids through checkpoints, are expected to remain in place for months. A DfT source said it was difficult to see how the restrictions could be relaxed if terrorists now had the capability to make liquid bombs.
The DfT has been considering passenger profiling for a year but, until last week, the disadvantages were thought to outweigh the advantages. A senior aviation industry source said: “The DfT is ultra-sensitive about this and won’t say anything publicly because of political concerns about being accused of racial stereotyping.”
Three days before last week’s arrests, the highest-ranking Muslim police officer in Britain gave warning that profiling techniques based on physical appearance were already causing anger and mistrust among young Muslims. Tarique Ghaffur, an assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said: “We must think long and hard about the causal factors of anger and resentment.
“There is a very real danger that the counter-terrorism label is also being used by other law-enforcement agencies to the effect that there is a real risk of criminalising minority communities.”
Sir Rod Eddington, former chief executive of British Airways, criticised the random nature of security searches. He said that it was irrational to subject a 75-year-old grandmother to the same checks as a 25-year-old man who had just paid for his ticket with cash.
Philip Baum, an aviation security consultant, said that profiling should focus on ruling out people who obviously posed no risk rather than picking out Asian or Arabs.
A DfT spokesman refused to make any comment or answer any questions on profiling.
AIRPORT UPDATE
· British Airways plans to cancel forty short-haul and four long-haul flights from Heathrow today as well as eleven domestic flights from Gatwick. Other airlines expect to operate near-normal schedules.
· All airports will allow passengers to carry one small piece of hand luggage, but no liquids are allowed through the security search point other than prescribed medicines and baby food.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/08/15/do1501
.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2006/08/15/ixopinion.html
Multiculturalism is to blame for perverting young Muslims
By Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester
(Filed: 15/08/2006)
Daily Telegraph
Islamic radicalism did not begin with Muslim grievances over Western
foreign
policy in Iraq or Afghanistan. It has deep roots, going back to the
13th-century reformer Ibn Taimiyya, through Wahhabism to modern
ideologues
such as Sayyid Qutb in Egypt or Maududi in Pakistan.
The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan gave it the cause it was looking
for,
and Afghanistan became the place where Muslim radicals were trained,
financed and armed (often with Western assistance).
The movements that were born or renewed do not have any kind of
centralised
command structure, but co-operate through diffuse networks of affinity
and
patronage. One of their most important aims is to impose their form of
Islam
on countries such as Pakistan, Egypt, Malaysia and Indonesia.
This may
be
why they were not regarded as an immediate threat to the West. Their
other
aims, however, include the liberation of oppressed Muslims in
Palestine,
Kashmir, Chechnya and elsewhere, and also the recovery of the Dar
Al-Islam
(or House of Islam), in its historic wholeness, including the Iberian
peninsula, the Balkans and even India.
In this cause, the rest of the world, particularly the West, is Dar
al-Harb
(House of War). These other aims clearly bring such movements into
conflict
with the international community and with Western interests in
particular.
So how does this dual psychology - of victimhood, but also the desire
for
domination - come to infect so many young Muslims in Britain?
When I
was
here in the early 1970s, the practice of Islam was dominated by a kind
of
default Sufism or Islamic mysticism that was pietistic and apolitical.
On my
return in the late 1980s, the situation had changed radically.
The
change
occurred because successive governments were unaware that the numerous
mosques being established across the length and breadth of this country
were
being staffed, more and more, with clerics who belonged to various
fundamentalist movements.
There were no criteria for entry, no way of evaluating qualifications
and no
programme for making them aware of the culture that they were entering.
Until quite recently, ministers and advisers did not realise the scale
of
the problem, even though it was repeatedly brought to their attention.
Secondly, in the name of multiculturalism, mosque schools were
encouraged
and Muslim pupils spent up to six extra hours a day learning the Koran
and
Islamic tradition, as well as their own regional languages.
Finally,
there
are the grievances. Some of these are genuine enough, but the complaint
often boils down to the position that it is always right to intervene
where
Muslims are victims (as in Bosnia or Kosovo), and always wrong when
they may
be the oppressors or terrorists (as with the Taliban or in Iraq), even
when
their victims are also mainly Muslims.
Given the world view that has given rise to such grievances, there can
never
be sufficient appeasement, and new demands will continue to be made. It
is
clear, therefore, that the multiculturalism beloved of our political
and
civic bureaucracies has not only failed to deliver peace, but is the
partial
cause of the present alienation of so many Muslim young people from the
society in which they were born, where they have been educated and
where
they have lived most of their lives. The Cantle Report, in the wake of
disturbances in Bradford, pointed out that housing and schools policies
that
favoured segregation, in the name of cultural integrity and cohesion,
have
had the unforeseen consequence of alienating the different religious,
racial
and cultural groups from one another.
A very significant number of policies will have to be rethought.
In
this,
the Government will need expert help. There must be greater
encouragement
for moderate Muslim voices to be heard more clearly. All religious
leaders,
representing any faith, wanting to work here, must be required to show
that
they are properly qualified, can speak English and are willing to
undertake
courses in adaptation to culture in this country: a number of suitable
institutions offer such courses. Immigration policy should be shaped in
such
a way as to be able to discover whether potential immigrants have
sympathy
for characteristically British values and for the way of life here.
The cultural heritage of people who come here must be respected. They
should
be able to take pride in their language, literature, art and spiritual
background. At the same time, if they are to adjust to life in this
country,
they should be prepared to live in mixed communities, and not on their
own.
Their children should attend school along with those who come from the
host
culture, or from other cultures and traditions. They should be willing
to
learn through the medium of English and to be socially mobile, rather
than
"ghetto-ised" on the basis of religion, language or culture.
Politicians keep talking about the need to teach British values so that
there can be national cohesion. But what are these values, and whence
do
they come?
The most fundamental of these has to do with the innate
dignity
of all human beings, with fundamental equality, with liberty and with
safety
from harm. Those learning such values will know how to respect the
dignity
of people who are quite different from them in appearance, language or
belief.
They will not see themselves as superior because of their religious or
cultural roots, but regard every human life as of equal worth.
They
will be
committed to freedom of belief and of expression. They will know that
their
fellow citizens have the right to safety from harm and that this
extends not
only to individual security, but also the safety of those institutions,
such
as democracy or a free press, that make liberty possible and actual.
Values, however, are not free-standing; they are deeply rooted in a
vision
of society. Whether we like it or not, characteristic British values
arise
out of the Christian faith and its vision of personal and common good.
These
were clarified by the Enlightenment and became the bed-rock of our
modern
political arrangements. The Enlightenment, however, by consigning
Christianity to the private sphere, also removed the basis and
justification
for these values in the public sphere.
It is this basis and justification that needs to be recovered if our
values
are to be secure, and if they are to help inculcate the virtues of
generosity, loyalty, moderation and love that lead to personal
fulfilment
and social wellbeing.
The author is the Bishop of Rochester.
Rachel Sylvester is away
Comments
Thanks Richard, for highlighting the real problem- the state charity of
the
welfare state. Virtually every social problem today has it's roots in
this
system that positively rewards irresponsibility, laziness and
self-destruction.
Posted by John R on August 15, 2006 11:13 AM
August 14, 2006 PM Anti-Terrorism News
10 Katyusha rockets explode in Lebanon - Israel's military said
Hezbollah fired at least 10 rockets into southern Lebanon
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060814/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast_fighting_rockets
Italy: Over 13,000 Potential Terrorist Targets "Under Control"
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.330497660&par=0
FBI: No terror threat to Michigan bridge (Updated)
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/14/mackinac.ap/index.html
FBI: No terror groups in cell phone case
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060814/ap_on_re_us/phones_terror_charges
Two Fox News journalists kidnapped in Gaza: witness
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060814/ts_nm/mideast_gaza_kidnapping_dc
(India) Grenade explosion kills three, wounds four
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20133277-1702,00.html
Hezbollah declares 'historic victory' over Israel
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060814/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_israel_1095
Flight evacuated at LAX after reports of suspicious item
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/08/14/mexico.flight.ap/index.html
Britain investigates links to Pakistan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060814/ap_on_re_eu/britain_terror_plot_135
Germany Is Investigating Links With UK Terror Plot Suspects
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=alCm4DiiZxuI&refer=germany
Chertoff: U.S. Should Review Terror Laws
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/08/13/D8JFU9FO0.html
(UK) Welsh muslims say aircraft bomb plot 'a fake'
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=17555315&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=welsh-muslims-say-aircraft-bomb-plot--a-fake--name_page.html
Iraq: Video of Dog-Bomber Posted To The Internet
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.330417492&par=0
Jill Carroll Part 2: A Spy with a Homing Device
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0815/p01s01-woiq.html
Google Alert - Shooting at Mall
Mini-mart worker shot to death
San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA
... to the Hello Hollywood Enterprises market in a small strip mall in
the ... or other employees apparently were in the store when the
shooting
occurred, police said. ...
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/15276928.htm
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&hl=en&client=google&ncl=http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/15276928.htm
Armored-car guard shot in neck
Chicago Tribune - United States
... in the mall to get her nails done about 3:30 pm and said she
encountered
several plainclothes police officers--and much gossip--in the wake of
the shooting. ...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/southsouthwest/chi-0608150186aug15,1,4133419.story?coll=chi-newslocalssouthwest-hed
Photographer shot more than pictures
Phuket Gazette - Phuket,Thailand
... A former colleague at the mall told investigators that, just before
quitting her job, K ... Not having been involved in the shooting, they
will appear as witnesses ...
http://www.phuketgazette.net/news/index.asp?fromsearch=yes&Id=5167
Google Alert - jihadi threats
Threats extend beyond al-Qaida, experts say
Baltimore Sun - United States
... Europe increasingly faces disaffected local Muslims with easy
access
to an active jihadi Internet presence and the exhortations of extremist
imams sent from ...
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.alqaida15aug15,0,7699026.story?coll=bal-attack-headlines
Pakistan’s future rests on defeating terror: PM
Gulf Times - Doha,Qatar
... "We do not threaten anyone and we do not accept threats from
anybody
... And neighbouring India wants Islamabad to stamp out jihadi groups
waging war in disputed ...
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=102519&version=1&template_id=41&parent_id=23
Various Contributions to UN-Lebanese Peacekeeping Force
(free) Despite the threat Hezbollah has always been for its troops,
France is ready to send about 5,000 troops. French contingent would be
August 15, 2006
http://www.isria.net/article.php?art=665&chx=126&nav=
--- Nuclear: Iran not confident in Europe
(free) Iran and the UN Security Council are getting closer to the
deadline of August 31, 2006 when Iran should have halted its uranium
enrichment August 15, 2006
http://www.isria.net/article.php?art=667&chx=126&nav=
--- Lebanon: Ceasefire an "Important Step Forward", Bush says
(free) In line with Israeli recent statements, US President Bush told
the ceasefire also is a defeat for Hezbollah given the Lebanese will
profit from it August 15, 2006
http://www.isria.net/article.php?art=669&chx=126&nav=
/
Google Alert - plan to attack u.s. and America
Le rendez-vous de la fin de l'été
de defensa - Fléron,Belgium
... The Israeli plan, according to ... of what the United States has
been
planning for Iran.” (The initial US Air Force proposals for an air
attack
to destroy ...
http://www.dedefensa.org/article.php?art_id=3039
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&hl=en&client=google&ncl=http://www.dedefensa.org/article.php%3Fart_id%3D3039
The Foiled UK Terror Plot and the "Pakistani Connection"
Alarab online - London,UK
... are confident we have disrupted a plan by terrorists ... in the
foiled
August terror attack, has been ... Anti-Terrorism Branch, in liaison
with
US Homeland Security ...
http://english.alarabonline.org/display.asp?fname=2006%5C08%5C08-15%5Czopinionz%5C966.htm&dismode=x&ts=15/08/2006%2004:57:21%20%C3%A3
Israel humbled by arms from Iran
Israel humbled by arms from Iran
By Adrian Blomfield in Ghandouriyeh
(Filed: 15/08/2006)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/08/15/wmid15.xml
Abandoned Hizbollah positions in Lebanon yesterday revealed conclusive
evidence that Syria - and almost certainly Iran - provided the
anti-tank
missiles that have blunted the power of Israel's once invincible
armour.
After one of the fiercest confrontations of the war, Israeli forces
took
the small town of Ghandouriyeh, east of the southern city of Tyre, on
Sunday evening, hours before a ceasefire brokered by the United Nations
took effect.
At least 24 Israeli soldiers were killed in the advance on the
strategic
hilltop town as Hizbollah fighters were pushed back to its outskirts,
abandoning many weapons.
The discovery helped to explain the slow progress made by Israeli
ground
forces in nearly five weeks of a war which Hizbollah last night claimed
as "a historic victory." Israeli political and military leaders are
facing mounting criticism over the conduct of the offensive, which was
intended to smash the Iranian-backed Shia militia.
Outside one of the town's two mosques a van was found filled with green
casings about 6ft long. The serial numbers identified them as AT-5
Spandrel anti-tank missiles. The wire-guided weapon was developed in
Russia but Iran began making a copy in 2000.
Beyond no-man's land, in the east of the village, was evidence of
Syrian-supplied hardware. In a garden next to a junction used as an
outpost by Hizbollah lay eight Kornet anti-tank rockets, described by
Brig Mickey Edelstein, the commander of the Nahal troops who took
Ghandouriyeh, as "some of the best in the world".
Written underneath a contract number on each casing were the words:
"Customer: Ministry of Defence of Syria. Supplier: KBP, Tula, Russia."
Brig Edelstein said: "If they tell you that Syria knew nothing about
this, just look. This is the evidence. Proof, not just talk."
The discovery of the origin of the weapons proved to the Israelis that
their enemy was not a ragged and lightly armed militia but a
semi-professional army equipped by Syria and Iran to take on Israel.
The
weapons require serious training to operate and could be beyond the
capabilities of some supposedly regular armies in the Middle East. The
Kornet was unveiled by Russia in 1994. It is laser-guided, has a range
of three miles and carries a double warhead capable of penetrating the
reactive armour on Israeli Merkava tanks. Russia started supplying them
to Syria in 1998.
Israeli forces were taken by surprise by the sophistication of the
anti-tank weapons they faced. They are believed to have accounted for
many of the 116 deaths the army suffered. Dozens of tanks were hit and
an unknown number destroyed.
The missiles were also used against infantry, in one case bringing down
a house and killing nine soldiers. They played an important part in
Hizbollah's tactics of using a network of concealed positions to set up
ambushes for the Israelis as they inched in. Last night, Hassan
Nasrallah, the Hizbollah leader, said his men had achieved "a
strategic,
historic victory" over "a confused, cowardly and defea-ted" enemy. He
said the militia would not disarm, as Israel and the UN Security
Council
were demanding. It would be "immoral, incorrect and inappropriate," he
said. "It is the wrong timing on a pyschological and moral level."
As the militia leader was claiming victory, Ehud Olmert, the Israeli
prime minister, defended his handling of the crisis and said that the
massive air, ground and sea attack had changed the face of the Middle
East. But he admitted that the military and political leadership was
guilty of "shortcomings", not least in underestimating the threat from
anti-tank weapons.
Critics say that he placed too much faith in the ability of the air
force to break the back of Hizbollah and delayed launching a major
ground offensive until it was too late.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud Party leader and a rival, said: "There
were many failures - failures on identifying the threat, failures in
preparing to meet the threat, failures in the management of the war,
failures in the management of the home front."
Last night, President George W. Bush blamed Iran and Syria for
fomenting
the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah. "We can only imagine how
much
more dangerous this conflict would be if Iran had the nuclear weapon it
seeks," he said.
Agence France Press
Aug. 14, 2006
Holocaust cartoon fair opens in Iran
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/14082006/323/holocaust-cartoon-fair-opens-iran.
html
TEHRAN (AFP) - An international contest of cartoons on the Holocaust
opened in Tehran in response to the publication in Western papers last
September of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.
"We staged this fair to explore the limits of freedom Westerners
believe
in," Masoud Shojai, head of the country's "Iran Cartoon" association
and
the fair organizer, said.
"They can freely write anything they like about our prophet, but if one
raises doubts about the Holocaust he is either fined or sent to
prison,"
he added.
"Though we do not deny that fact that Jews were killed in the (second
world) war, why should the Palestinians pay for it?" Shojai told the
opening ceremony of the month-long fair in Tehran's Palestine
Contemporary Art Museum.
He added that around 1,100 cartoons were submitted by participants from
more than 60 countries and that more than 200 are on show.
He said the top three cartoons will be announced on September 2, with
the winners being awarded prizes of 12,000, 8,000 and 5,000 dollars
respectively.
Shojai did not elaborate on the source of the prize money, but
emphasized that it did not come from any governmental body.
The fair is being staged by Iran Cartoon and the country's largest
selling newspaper Hamshahri newspaper, which is published by Tehran's
conservative municipality.
The contest was announced in February in a tit-for-tat move after
caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed were first printed in Denmark and
then picked up and published worldwide, enraging Muslims.
Iran's fiercely anti-Israeli regime is supportive of so-called
Holocaust
revisionists, who maintain that the systematic slaughter by the Nazis
of
mainland Europe's Jews and other groups during World War II was either
invented or exaggerated.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has also prompted international
anger by dismissing the Holocaust as a "myth" used to justify the
creation of Israel.
Irish engineer taken hostage in Nigeria
Ireland Online - Dublin,Ireland
Bryan Fogarty from Oughterard in Co Galway was kidnapped along with two
Britons and a Pole in Port Harcourt in Nigeria last night. ...
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=192139312&p=y9zy4xxy8
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&hl=en&client=google&ncl=http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp%3Fj%3D192139312%26p%3Dy9zy4xxy8
The untold story of the photo The Star's readers have voted the greatest of all
The Girl in the Picture
August 15, 2006 Edition 1
This is the picture that most readers chose as the best in The Star's Pic-a-Winner competition.
Tomorrow we'll publish the names of the winners of the competition.
Today, for the first time in South Africa we publish the full story of the picture as well as other photographs that have never been seen here.
The picture is a tribute not only to a great photographer, but equally to his remarkable subject, The Girl in the Picture.
Out of the horror the picture portrays comes an inspiring story of courage and humanity.
The pages are also a tribute to The Associated Press agency. The Star, the media partner of Vulindlela Communications, which brought out the World Press Photo 2006 exhibition to Joburg, chose 10 pictures out of the competition's best pictures over the past 50 years. No fewer than 4 of these were taken by AP.
The story that follows is an edited version of The Survivor, written by Horst Faas and Marianne Fulton for Dirck Halstead's great website http://digitaljournalist.org/
Suddenly she realises her feet aren't burning. And the naked little girl starts running, running, running. Out of the inferno. Towards the photographer.
Nick Ut focuses his seven-year-old Leica and clicks. He hears her scream: "Nong qua, nong qua (too hot, too hot)!" Phan Thi Kim Phuc thinks she is dying.
The picture catapults him into fame, helps stop the war, saves Kim's life and begins a remarkable friendship that has lasted 34 years.
Their story begins at dawn that Thursday morning, June 8 1972.
Huynh Cong "Nick" Ut, just 21, knew the Vietnam War intimately. At 14, soon after his brother, an Associated Press photographer, died in a battle, he started as a darkroom assistant in the agency's Saigon headquarters. At 16 he became an AP photographer.
Forty kilometres from Saigon, in the village of Trang Bang, Phan Thi Kim Phuc lived with her seven brothers and sisters between the ages of 18 and 1. She was 9.
Her father and mother owned a small roadside restaurant and some land just behind the Cao Dai pagoda. The family believed in the Cao Dai religion, a faith combining elements of Christianity, Buddhism and Taoism.
By 1972, most United States helicopter units had left Vietnam. It had become more difficult for reporters to reach the isolated areas where South Vietnamese troops, often surrounded by communist guerrillas and regular north Vietnamese soldiers, were fighting.
At about 5am, Ut loaded his camera gear, field survival kit, flak-jacket and steel-helmet into one of the AP's Japanese-made minibuses outside their Saigon office.
Nick travelled alone with his driver that day. It had been reported that North Vietnamese troops had blocked the road and it was Nick's assignment to reach the South Vietnamese units that had been sent there to engage the enemy and re-open the road.
At the city limits both Nick and the driver put on their flak-jackets: the open areas between villages along Route 1 with their paddies and hedgerows were sniper territory. Their vehicle soon mingled with buses and commercial vehicles, which also set out for travel at daybreak.
By 7.30am, Nick Ut had reached the outskirts of the village of Trang Bang and his driver joined a long queue of waiting vehicles - less than 1,5km away, North Vietnamese troops still controlled a section of Route 1 in Trang Bang.
Soldiers of the Vietnamese 25th Division had fanned out around the village and tried to sweep through it.
"We passed hundreds of refugees fleeing the village. They cooked and slept outside the village, hoping to return when the fighting stopped," Ut later reported.
Nick joined the troops. There were some firefights and casualties. As the troops approached the village across the paddy fields, civilians emerged to flee towards the South Vietnamese lines.
At about noon, the field commander of the Vietnamese troops asked for additional air support from South Vietnam Airforce units based some 24km away. Nick made his way back to Route 1, waiting like the soldiers.
A yellow smoke grenade was thrown marking the target area for the approaching Skyraiders, Korean-war vintage planes.
Trang Bang had fallen silent - and the speculation was that the North Vietnamese and their Vietcong allies had already withdrawn.
The villagers waited in fear. Years later, Kim Phuc told the BBC: "We heard the Viet Cong were coming and that they wanted to use the village. And then in the daytime, the soldiers came in and there was fighting.
"We were so scared. I remember my family decided to seek refuge in the temple, the pagoda, because we thought it was a holy place. We could seek refuge there and we could be safe."
The family didn't realise until the very last moment that they would be in the target area of an airstrike, which was aimed at North Vietnamese troops but mistakenly caught civilians.
The planes arrived overhead at about 1pm.
The rest is photographic history: the two Skyraider aircraft bombed the edge of the village, near the Cai Dai pagoda, in a familiar pattern: first explosive bombs, then incendiary bombs - large containers with a mix of explosives, white phosphorous and the black oily napalm - and ending up with heavy machinegun fire during closing strafing runs.
Then the planes disappeared. And then the terrified, burned and wounded villagers came running from the village, towards the line of soldiers and reporters standing across the road.
Nick Ut recalled in a 1999 interview: "When we moved closer to the village we saw the first people running. I thought 'Oh my God' when I suddenly saw a woman with her left leg badly burned by napalm.
"Then came a woman carrying a baby, who died, then another woman carrying a small child with its skin coming off.
"When I took a picture of them I heard a child screaming and saw that young girl who had pulled off all her burning clothes."
Nick Ut recalled that Kim Phuc screamed "too hot, too hot" as he photographed her.
Years later she said in an interview with the BBC: "I saw the airplane. I saw the fire. I got burned. I was so scared and crying and running out of the fire.
"Suddenly my clothes were burnt off by fire. I saw the fire over my body and especially my arm. I remember at that moment I thought I would be ugly, and not normal like other children.
"I was so scared because I did not see anyone around me. Just fire and smoke. I was crying and I was running out of the fire and the miracle was my feet were not burned. I kept running and running and running.
"Panicking under the fire, I suddenly realised that my feet had not been burned. At least I could run away. If my feet would have been burned I would have died in the fire.
"After that I passed out."
When the girl stopped, Nick Ut and another correspondent poured water over her burns.
Nick Ut heard her saying to her older brother, Phan Than Tam, "I think I am going to die." (Tam is seen in Ut's picture, running alongside her, on the left of the picture)
He was one of the few reporters able to communicate with the injured villagers and carried Kim Phuc to his car.
"Then other members of her family - her younger brother Phan Than Phuc (5), Tam (12), her uncle and an aunt rushed into the car. Ut climbed aboard and asked the driver to speed towards the provincial hospital in Cu Chi, halfway to Saigon.
"I am thirsty, I am thirsty, I need water," Kim Phuc continued to cry. She screamed, obviously in great pain and then lost consciousness. Nick, beside her, tried to console her saying, "Don't worry, we will reach hospital very soon."
They reached the hospital within the hour. The doctors and nurses there had seen and treated burn and shrapnel wounds for many years.
Nick Ut knew that the doctors would attend first those whose lives could most likely be saved, and put others who were expected to die aside for later treatment.
He pleaded with the doctors and nurses to take care of Kim Phuc - and they did. Ut told them what he had seen on Route 1, what he had photographed and that he expected his pictures to be published everywhere.
Only when Kim Phuc was on the operating table did Nick leave the hospital and head towards Saigon, to bring his film to the AP.
Click here!
There Nick prepared a selection of eight 12 x 17cm prints for the next "radio photo cast" at 5pm - but an editor at the AP rejected the photo of Kim Phuc running down the road.
Pictures of nudes of all ages and sexes, and especially frontal views, were an absolute no-no at AP in 1972.
While the argument went on, writer Peter Arnett and Horst Faas, then head of the Saigon photo department, came back from an assignment.
Horst argued by telex with the New York head-office that an exception must be made, with the compromise that no close-up of the girl Kim Phuc alone would be transmitted.
The New York photo editor, Hal Buell, agreed that the news value of the photograph overrode any reservations about nudity.
Nick never forgot Kim Phuc. During the war, he visited her several times after she had returned to Trang Bang in November 1972. "I used to stop by and ask how Kim was doing," he said.
Nick's later pictures of her showed a smiling, confident girl, but Kim Phuc faced endless years while doctors fought for her life.
Her chin was molded to her chest by burn wounds. Her left arm was almost lost, except for the bones and scarred flesh. Seventeen operations were necessary to give Kim Phuc a life back worth living.
And then, after three years, they were torn apart.
When the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese troops was imminent, Nick Ut was evacuated and finally landed in the United States where he began a new career for AP in California with his wife, Le Tuyet Hong, and two children.
Kim Phuc became a showpiece for the victors and her studies in Hanoi were often interrupted for interviews.
Then she was sent to Cuba to study Spanish and pharmacy.
She and Nick were reunited in 1989 after a magazine wanted to do a story about Kim Phuc and him.
"So we went to Cuba, and I saw Kim again. She introduced me to her fiancé, Bui Huy Toan, a student from North Vietnam," Nick recalled.
It was 17 years after the dramatic day in Trang Bang and 14 since he saw her last, a few weeks before the end of the war.
Reminiscing about the reunion in Havana while meeting again in London years later, Kim Phuc said: "For many months in hospital I just lived in great pain. I cannot remember much, just the pain.
"But then the pain subsided, and I could go back home to Trang Bang. For the first time I really looked at myself, and my first thought was that with a scarred body like mine I would never have a boyfriend.
"Fortunately that wasn't so - and I could introduce 'Uncle Nick' to my boyfriend, who is now my husband and father of my two sons."
In 1992 on their honeymoon flight back to Havana from Moscow, both Kim Phuc and her husband defected.
After they had walked off the plane in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, Nick Ut talked to Kim Phuc on the phone.
"She was so happy," said Nick Ut.
Nick Ut visits Kim Phuc and her family often in Toronto.
"Kim and I are almost like family. She calls me 'uncle' and I talk with her almost every week," he said.
In 2000, the two were honoured guests at a large exhibition at the London Science Museum, which was opened by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
"Is that really you?" the queen said, when she saw the now 37-year old Phan Thi Kim Phuc standing next to her picture from 1972, clad in a black silk traditional Vietnamese Ao Dai tunic and trousers.
Beside Kim stood Nick Ut and Horst Faas, AP's Saigon photo editor in 1972, who had selected and transmitted the photograph.
Behind Kim stood her husband Bui Huy Toan.
Kim Phuc was asked by the queen about the picture and how her life had changed.
She had no regrets.
A few years before, in November 1997, she was named a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) "for a culture of peace".
She also established the Kim Foundation for the healing of children of war.
"I want to give back in the same way that so many gave to my healing," she said at the Unesco ceremony in Paris.
"Yes, I forgive, but I don't forget in order to prevent the same thing from happening again."
Kim Phuc has not visited her homeland since leaving in 1986.
"I am not ready yet, financially or emotionally," she said. "Some day, I'll go. Now I'm just happy to be free."
Working as a photographer, Nick Ut had many close calls. During the Cambodian campaign, he was wounded twice, once in the stomach and once in the upper right chest area.
Ironically, he was hit a third time very close to where the picture of Kim had been taken.
North Vietnamese troops had attacked Trang Bang again.
"I rushed towards the area where I knew Kim Phuc was when a mortar exploded in front of me. I was hit. My colleagues rushed me to the hospital.
"I still have some shrapnel in my leg," Nick said.
Nick Ut returned to Vietnam for the first time in 1989 to work on a story about the search for Americans missing in action.
In 1993, he was asked to open The Associated Press new Hanoi bureau with his old friend and Saigon colleague George Esper.
In April 2000, Nick, accompanied by his old bosses of 1972, Faas and Richard Pyle (chief of bureau, Saigon) revisited Trang Bang and met Phan Thi Kim Phuc's relatives, who still live within 100m of the scene of the incident of June 8 1972.
Among them was Kim Phuc's brother, Phan Than Tam, who runs an open-air coffee shack on the very spot where a South Vietnamese bomb hit that day.
As she looks back on that June day all those years ago, Kim Phuc says she can forgive, but she can't forget.
And one of her memories is of the man she calls "Uncle Nick".
"He saved my life," she says. "He's wonderful, isn't he?
"I am so grateful that he didn't only do his job, but he's a human being helping another."..
http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3392670%3E
Prime Minister's Office [Israel]
Aug. 14, 2006
PM Olmert’s Speech at the Knesset Regarding the War in the North
http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Communication/PMSpeaks/speechknes140806.htm
Madam Speaker,
Distinguished Knesset,
At the outset, I wish to send condolences, on my behalf and on behalf
of
the Government, the Knesset and the entire nation, to the families of
the 158 killed –civilians and IDF soldiers.
Yes, we are a nation which counts its dead. We count the dead daily,
pained by their passing, and grieving for each and every one of them,
because each of them has a family, each of them is an entire world.
Each of them, as with each of us, wanted to live a normal life, like
anyone. And for that desire, for that right, we have fought for dozens
of years; we fought for the last month, and unfortunately, we will have
to continue fighting for many years to come.
I wish a speedy recovery to the injured, IDF soldiers and civilians.
We
all pray to the Creator that they will heal and convalesce.
Madam Speaker, I also take this opportunity to express gratitude and
appreciation, on behalf of the people of Israel, to the Chief of
General
Staff, IDF commanders, the soldiers in the regular army and in the
reserves; to those tens of thousands, who even now are endangering
themselves, displaying supreme courage, in the struggle against a cruel
enemy, in a struggle which is the most just and moral.
I wish to thank the members of the security and rescue forces, the
heads
of local authorities and their staff, the tens of thousands of
volunteers who acted in full coordination with government offices, to
all those who mobilized – also from parties in this house, on all
fronts. And above all, I salute the residents of the North – you,
through your great devotion, patience and stamina, are the essential
component in the strength of the State of Israel.
Members of Knesset,
Approximately one month ago, the Government approved the IDF operation
against the Hizbollah terrorists – following an act of terror, during
which volleys of Katyushas were fired on communities in the north,
killing 8 IDF soldiers and kidnapping Ehud (Udi) Goldwasser and Eldad
Regev.
The overall responsibility for this operation rested on me as Prime
Minister. I have no intention of sharing, nor do I ask to share this
responsibility with anyone. This responsibility derives from my
position as Prime Minister of Israel.
The decision by the Government of Israel not to ignore the situation,
echoed, and will continue to echo in world capitals both near and far.
It clarified to all peoples and nations that the State of Israel would
not absorb any more attacks on its sovereignty and would not restrain
itself anymore when its citizens were harmed. Furthermore, it would
respond with force to any act of terror, from the north or the south,
from the east or from the sea. Anywhere.
Madam Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of Knesset,
This morning, UN Resolution 1701 became valid. This resolution
contains
a list of responsibilities which are meant to fundamentally change the
situation on our northern border.
In my speech to the Knesset on July 17, 2006, several days after the
outbreak of the campaign, I said, and I quote:
“And in Lebanon, we will insist on compliance with the terms stipulated
long ago by the international community, as unequivocally expressed
only
yesterday in the resolution of the 8 leading countries of the world:
- The return of the hostages, Ehud (Udi) Goldwasser and Eldad Regev;
- A complete cease fire;
- Deployment of the Lebanese army in all of Southern Lebanon;
- Expulsion of Hizbollah from the area, and fulfillment of United
Nations Resolution 1559.”
This resolution is a political accomplishment for Israel, however its
significance is crucial to all nations of the free world, who struggle
against global terror. The entire international community is partner
to
the perception that the terror state which established itself in
Lebanon
must be destroyed. The UN Security Council unanimously, and with the
support of the 15 member states, accepted this historic resolution,
which clarifies that there is only Israel and Lebanon. There is no
longer a state within a state. There is no longer sponsorship for a
terror organization by a state. And no longer is a terror organization
allowed to operate within Lebanon, as the long arm of the axis of evil
which reaches out from Teheran to Damascus, uses Lebanon’s weakness and
transforms it, its citizens and its infrastructure into a tool for its
war.
Finally, a single address for discussions regarding the northern border
has been determined, and that is the sovereign government of Lebanon.
It will bear full responsibility for all its territory, and the entire
international system is committed to this.
We will continue to act to bring the kidnapped soldiers home. We will
do so with perseverance and with all the means at our disposal, both
overt and covert, as decreed in the Security Council Resolution.
I appointed Ofer Dekel, former Deputy Head of the Security Services, as
my special representative to coordinate the efforts to bring Udi, Eldad
and Gilad home. Yesterday morning, before the Cabinet meeting, I met
with the families of the kidnapped soldiers and updated them regarding
the agreement which was reached.
Goldwasser, Regev and Shalit families: I saw your pain. I read the
frustration and expectation in the looks of Benny Regev and Eldad’s
brothers. I saw the eyes of Karnit Goldwasser, and the tormented gaze
of Aviva Shalit. My heart goes out to you. And I know that all of us,
the entire Knesset and the entire nation, are with you. I promised
you,
and I will personally lead all steps, and be involved in every detail
regarding the return of Udi, Eldad and Gilad. And with G-d’s help,
they
will be home soon.
I believe that the realization of the UN Resolution creates good
conditions for their return. The entire international community is
committed to this.
Both in the matter of bringing the boys home and the matter of
political
accomplishments, we should wait a while and maintain a measure of
healthy doubt, caution and vigilance.
The test of this resolution is in the precise implementation of each
and
every clause. We intend to follow its implementation carefully. We
will not ignore violations and will reserve our right to respond as we
see fit.
Madam Speaker, Members of Knesset,
The IDF operation over the last month, in the air, at sea and on land –
brought about a change in the regional strategic balance, first and
foremost vis-à-vis the Hizbollah terror organization.
IDF soldiers dealt a severe blow, the dimensions of which are not yet
publicly known, to this murderous organization, its military and
organizational infrastructure, its long-term ability, the huge weapons
arsenal it has built and accumulated for many years, and also to the
self-confidence of its people and leaders.
In every battle, in every encounter with Hizbollah terrorists, the
fighters of the IDF had the upper hand – of this there is no doubt.
The leaders of this terrorist organization went underground, and from
there they are busy spreading lies and hiding the truth of the cost to
them and their people.
In this regard, I wish to clarify: these people will not be exonerated.
They will not be exonerated. We will continue to chase them wherever
they are and for however long it takes. It is our moral duty to
ourselves, and we have no intention of apologizing or asking permission
from anyone to do so.
We also suffered painful blows, both on the home front and on the front
line. We did not mislead ourselves when we embarked, because of the
inevitability of the circumstances, on this war. We did not mislead
anyone. We said rockets would fall, missiles would fall, and that we
would pay a heavy price – the most precious – in human lives.
We spoke out of a sense of profound responsibility towards every
citizen
on the front line and on the home front, and we knew – we all knew –
that there was no choice but to embark on this campaign. Otherwise, we
would have found ourselves facing even greater dangers in the future.
Members of Knesset,
I see and hear those voices which express discontent, even
disappointment, as if their expectations have yet to be realized. And
I
say to them and to all of us: friends, patience. Patience.
The struggle of the Zionist movement against terror, as with the free
world’s struggle with terror, did not begin today, and will not end in
the foreseeable future. This is a long, difficult, complex struggle
which demands restraint, determination, stamina and perseverance. We
all saw how much power there is in the stamina and patience
demonstrated
by the Israeli home front, an ability which surprised even our enemies.
A nation which wishes to defeat dark and fanatical fundamentalist
terror
must have nerves of steel. We, the people who returned to its land
after 2,000 years, have patience. And therefore, we will be
victorious.
Members of Knesset,
There were also shortcomings. We will have to examine ourselves in all
the systems. I say here, first and foremost, to the IDF soldiers and
their commanders, G-d forbid, never give up. You are the heroes of the
people of Israel, and you will receive my full backing and support.
We will not hesitate to examine everything which requires examination.
We will hide nothing, nor will we cover up. This is the lifeblood of a
democratic society. However, we will not do this because of screaming
and the hurling of accusations. We cannot afford the luxury of
wallowing in wild arguments and mutual recriminations. We cannot
afford
this luxury because we must ensure that the next time – and there may
well be a next time – things will be done better. Even if we think we
learned all the lessons, even next time there will be things which must
be fixed. Because, ladies and gentlemen, this is war.
Madam Speaker, Members of Knesset,
I wish to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Government,
and especially Minister of Defense Amir Peretz and Minister of Foreign
Affairs Tzipi Livni for their measured and responsible actions. I wish
to thank the members of Knesset, from all parties, the members of the
opposition and members of the coalition, opponents and friends alike,
who remained restrained during the storm of battle.
I again wish to tell those in the world who still criticize our
actions,
preach morals to us and level groundless criticism at us:
We will not apologize. The State of Israel is right!
Members of Knesset, Citizens of Israel,
Israel’s economy remains stable and strong, despite 30 days of
fighting.
I have complete trust in the Israeli economy, in its robustness and its
stability. This war obligates us to accept a number of decisions
regarding the State’s agenda for the coming years. My Government and I
will focus our energies, resources and abilities towards taking care of
the residents of the north, and that area.
We will allocate all necessary resources, in the framework of the
multi-year national plan so that the north can return to being a
blooming center of life, education and science, of industry and
technological development, of tourism and culture. This Sunday, the
Government will approve the operating principles which the Minister of
Finance will present, which are based on many days of work by a special
team established for this purpose, consisting of experts – and next
Sunday, we will approve the detailed plans, so that we can lead the
north and its citizens forward.
For the sake of this national mission, we will need all the strength,
capability, creativity, mutual responsibility, volunteerism and
unconditional mobilization that Israeli society – at all levels and in
all sectors – demonstrated during the past month.
This spirit, which is vital to restoring the north to what it always
was
– a blossoming region full of creativity and industry, with a normal,
tranquil way of life – is the best possible response to our enemies.
During the 3,000 years of our existence as a people, we encountered
many
enemies, who rose against us to destroy us. With G-d’s help, we
withstood them all. We will withstand the hardships and pain of these
days – and will continue to build the State of Israel with pride.
We will never surrender, falter or break.
Thank you.
Globes
Aug. 14, 2006
"Globes" poll shows drastic fall in support for gov't
Only 6% of those polled think that the agreement achieves most of
Israel's goals.
by Globes correspondent 14 Aug 06 17:12
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000122748&fid=94
2
The first political outcome of the 33 days of war has been a drastic
drop in support for Kadima and Labor, according to a "Globes-Smith"
poll
conducted by Rafi Smith.
The survey, which was conducted just before the ceasefire went into
effect, reveals that were elections held today, Kadima would win less
than 20 Knesset seats (compared with 29 in the last election in
February), while Labor would get 12 seats only. This result represents
a
marked change from the trend during the past month of war in the north,
when the public expressed its support for the government and the IDF,
with views that could be described as "patriotic."
The poll also reveals that around half the public think the ceasefire
will hold up for a month, while 35% think it will last no more than a
week.
Only 6% of respondents think that UN Security Council Resolution 1701
is
good and achieves most of Israel's goals, and only a quarter of those
polled think that this is the best agreement Israel could achieve,
under
the circumstances. 38% feel the agreement is not good but that there is
no alternative but to accept it. In all, 66% think the agreement is not
a good one.
58% of respondents feel that Israel achieved only a few of its goals,
or
achieved nothing at all, against 16% who thought so 11 days ago. Only
3%
feel that Israel has achieved all, or most of its goals, against more
than a third who thought so a week ago.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il -
on August 14, 2006
C Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2006
What the Pentagon can now do in secret.
Kavkaz Center - Istanbul,Turkey
... groups and other Special Forces units to conduct covert operations
against suspected terrorist targets in as ... (The Defense Department
and the White House did ...
http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2006/08/15/5285.shtml
Singling out suspects is in EVERYONE'S interest
Daily Mail - UK - UK
... finite resources of the security forces on the sort of people
likely
to commit terrorist atrocities. If the police are looking for a 6ft 5in
white male aged ...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/newscomment.html?in_page_id=1787&in_article_id=400637
Google Alert - today's fatwa
Immigration a national security issue
London Free Press - Canada
... Congress, denounced him as one of four people who are "behind
today's
wave of ... contends this statement is akin to the issuance of a fatwa
pronouncing blasphemy ...
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Columnists/Leishman_Rory/2006/08/15/1756343.html
I Hate to Say, "I told you so"
What a waste of a war.
Israel dragged its name through the mud. Newly elected Israeli PM Ehud Olmert jeopardized his entire government.
I said at the very beginning of the war that Israel didn't have the will to stick out the fight to accomplish their goal: ridding southern Lebanon of Hezbollah through force. What Lebanese, the international community, and surprised Israelis learned is that a militia in a country half Israel's size - in terms of both population and landmass, with much less wealth, with only two major allies (Syria and Iran), and little international or Arab support could leave Israel scrambling for a month.
Not only did Israel not accomplish its goal, but it was attacked worse than it ever imagined.
Even more surprising, Israel - ever the UN skeptic - went running to the UN to resolve the conflict. And because of the nature of the UN battle, Lebanon came out on top.
If winning is achieving one's goals, then Israel lost.
But just because Israel lost doesn't mean that Hezbollah won. Not having any specific goals, thus not failing to accomplish them, doesn't mean that you won. Hezbollah lowered the bar so low that merely surviving meant winning, which is absolutely ridiculous. I could claim that I won this conflict.
As I said a few days into this conflict, "nothing good can come of this. It's better to stick to the National Dialogue and the slow, democratic process of bringing Hezbollah into the fold using small sticks and carrots. Israel does not have the will to keep this up."
Here's where I was wrong:
1. The jury's still out about post-conflict Hezbollah power. They haven't been as empowered as the pundits claim. I don't think they'll be as empowered as I thought they would be. They've been hit very hard, even if they maintain their Shia base.
2. Iran isn't benefiting. If the international community is smart, they'll tighten the screws even more on Iran. Finally, the Arab countries are angry (and, perhaps, frightened) enough that they'll begin putting even more pressure on the Iranians.
3. Syria does not come out stronger militarily or diplomatically. The Syrians are rolling in Lebanese cash, right now. They're raking in the conflict dough brought to them by refugees. However, they're still isolated, and they've dug themselves into a deeper hole. The Saudis, Egyptians, and Jordanians were already angry with the Syrians. Now, I suspect, they're in high dudgeon.
The Arabs now understand what Lebanese anti-Syrians have been saying for so long: the Syrian regime does not bring stability. It inherently creates instability.
4. The Arabs realize that they must act. Arab governments and foreign ministers now realize they have a lot more power than they thought they had. The United States cannot solve all of their problems for them. The United States cannot be blamed for all of their problems. They now (at least I hope) truly understand that they must take sides.
As I said at the beginning of this conflict, the United States, France, the UN, Saudia Arabia, Egypt, and the Lebanese government, all working together, were unable to get Hezbollah to disarm. How can we expect Israel to achieve this goal? We can't, which is why they shouldn't have tried.
However, the Arab regimes might finally understand that if they unite around a few specific issues, they might be able to accomplish a lot more in the region than the US, France, the UN, and the Lebanese government combined.
Thank God, Prime Minister Saniora is leading Lebanon. He's got the right values, the right will, and the right connections to educate Arab regimes about what they can better do to strengthen Lebanon and the region:
1. Don't just throw money at Lebanon. Invest in Lebanese governmental institutions.
2. Pressure Syria heavily.
3. Squeeze Iran.
4. Promote Lebanese democracy by becoming more active in it. Don't use proxies to speak on your behalf. Your ambassadors can take part in shaping modern Lebanon, just as the American, French, and British ambassadors do. And your word carries more weight than theirs since it's you who are backing your words with billions of dollars.
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