Free Republic

Just suppose the United States and Israel agreed to withdraw gracefully from Lebanon, limit the destruction and bloodshed, and put this chapter behind them. Now, conceivably, the big task can be tackled. On September 1, unless Iran desists in its pursuit of nuclear weapons, it will be time for a confrontation between the US and Iran. We can expect some sanctions against Iran then in two weeks or so. These are warranted by the UN. "They will be well-deserved," Under-Secretary of State Nicholas Burns told reporters Thursday. "It's not a mystery to the Iranians what is going to happen." For...

Thank you, Hezbollah, for showing us that we, the Lebanese people, don’t need an army or a government or an infrastructure. As long as we have “sacred unity”, steadfastness and brotherhood and all the other slogans, we do not need organized society, and History will judge us well on our actions. We don’t need incomes, a GDP, a budget or any of those Western economic concepts, since our love for each other under the rubble and the wreckage of our country is sufficient to sustain us. What’s the big deal if our Hariri-inflicted $40 billion deficit grows to $50 billion,...

As Israeli ground forces cross over into Lebanon in an effort to destroy Hizbullah's capacity to fire rockets and missiles at Israeli civilians, the president of Lebanon Emile Lahoud is taking sides and flexing his nation's muscle for the first time. He told a German magazine that he "respects Hizbullah" and its terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah, and he has threatened to turn the Lebanese army against Israel. This would cause a self-inflicted, and perhaps lethal, wound on Lebanon. Militias associated with several Lebanese political parties -including the party of the speaker of the parliament and of the Lebanese Communist Party...

Hundreds demonstrate in Haifa against IDF operations: Wave Palestinian flags, call Olmert murderer. Thousands protest in similar rally in Um al-Fahem. Gush Shalom and Hadash activists in TA protest Qana incident; labor party youth movement rallies in support of government More than a hundred leftists, Jewish and Arab, demonstrated in Haifa against IDF operations in Lebanon and Gaza. The protestors, who participated in a number of anti-war rallies in recent weeks, called for an immediate ceasefire, release of kidnapped soldiers, and negotiations with Hizbullah and Hamas. The recent killings in Qana intensified the reactions of the protestors, who referred to...

QANA, Lebanon (CNN) -- Israel has agreed to suspend airstrikes on southern Lebanon for 48 hours to investigate a Sunday airstrike that killed more than 60 people in Qana, Lebanon, a U.S. State Department spokesman said. Spokesman Adam Ereli said the Israelis reserve the right to take action against targets preparing attacks against it during the 48-hour period, but the bombing halt should "significantly speed and improve the flow of humanitarian aid." Israeli officials also agreed to allow safe passage for 24 hours for residents of southern Lebanon to leave the region. Israel earlier said it mistakenly destroyed a four-story...

the ethnic map of Lebanon:

IDF controls 'terror capital' Bint Jbeil Col. Amnon Eshel Assulin, Commander of the IDF Armored Brigade, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday IDF troops operating in the village of Bint Jbeil, considered the "capital of terror" in southern Lebanon, had proven their ability to reach any location in Lebanon, and could even enter Beirut if the government decided on that course of action. Assulin told the Post that that IDF had taken control over Bint Jbeil and had so far killed at least 40 Hizbullah guerrillas. "The town is completely controlled by us," Asulin said, adding that dozens of...

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise visit to Lebanon on Monday to launch diplomatic efforts aimed at ending 13 days of warfare between Israel and Hizbullah. Rice arrived in Beirut in the afternoon and was set to meet with Prime Minister Fuad Saniora in the previously unannounced stopover before heading to Israel, Saniora's office said. Rice has tried to walk delicately between supporting the democratic government of Lebanon while not dictating to Israel how it should handle its own security. "We all want to urgently end the fighting. We have absolutely the same goal," Rice told reporters...

The cool rage of Hassan Nasrallah crackled over the telephone line to a Beirut television station. Israeli jets had just tried to kill him from the air, destroying his home and office. "You wanted an open war, and we are ready for an open war," the Hizbullah leader warned. His missile-armed militia would reach deep into Israel. "Our homes will not be the only ones to be destroyed, our children will not be the only ones to die," he vowed. "You wanted to change the rules of the game? You don't know who you're fighting." He had a point. Israel's...