Lebanon - Short, Sweet, and Simple

Isn't news supposed to be timely?

2006-08-27T14:59:00.000+04:00

is this news to anyone?

Israel/Lebanon: Evidence indicates deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure

press release, 08/23/2006

Amnesty International today published findings that point to an Israeli policy of deliberate destruction of Lebanese civilian infrastructure, which included war crimes, during the recent conflict.

The organization's latest publication shows how Israel's destruction of thousands of homes, and strikes on numerous bridges and roads as well as water and fuel storage plants, was an integral part of Israel's military strategy in Lebanon, rather than "collateral damage" resulting from the lawful targeting of military objectives.

The report reinforces the case for an urgent, comprehensive and independent UN inquiry into grave violations of international humanitarian law committed by both Hizbullah and Israel during their month-long conflict.

"Israel's assertion that the attacks on the infrastructure were lawful is manifestly wrong. Many of the violations identified in our report are war crimes, including indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks. The evidence strongly suggests that the extensive destruction of power and water plants, as well as the transport infrastructure vital for food and other humanitarian relief, was deliberate and an integral part of a military strategy," said Kate Gilmore, Executive Deputy Secretary General of Amnesty International.

The Israeli government has argued that they were targeting Hizbullah positions and support facilities and that other damage done to civilian infrastructure was a result of Hizbullah using the civilian population as a "human shield".

"The pattern, scope and scale of the attacks makes Israel's claim that this was 'collateral damage', simply not credible," said Kate Gilmore, Executive Deputy Secretary General of Amnesty International.

"Civilian victims on both sides of this conflict deserve justice. The serious nature of violations committed makes an investigation into the conduct of both parties urgent. There must be accountability for the perpetrators of war crimes and reparation for the victims."

The report, Deliberate destruction or 'collateral damage'? Israeli attacks against civilian infrastructure, is based on first-hand information gathered by recent Amnesty International research missions to Lebanon and Israel, including interviews with dozens of victims, officials from the UN, Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and Lebanese government, as well as official statements and press reports.

The report includes evidence of the following:
* Massive destruction by Israeli forces of whole civilian neighbourhoods and villages;
* Attacks on bridges in areas of no apparent strategic importance;
* Attacks on water pumping stations, water treatment plants and supermarkets despite the prohibition against targeting objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population;
* Statements by Israeli military officials indicating that the destruction of civilian infrastructure was indeed a goal of Israel's military campaign designed to press the Lebanese government and the civilian population to turn against Hizbullah.

The report exposes a pattern of indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, which resulted in the displacement of twenty-five percent of the civilian population. This pattern, taken together with official statements, indicates that the attacks on infrastucture were deliberate, and not simply incidental to lawful military objectives.

Amnesty International is calling for a comprehensive, independent and impartial inquiry to be urgently established by the UN into violations of international humanitarian law by both sides in the conflict. It should examine in particular the impact of this conflict on the civilian population, and should be undertaken with a view to holding individuals responsible for crimes under international law and ensuring that full reparation is provided to the victims. (is this the same kind of reparation the Palestinians were meant to be given? let's not hold our breath shall we?)

The New Israel

2006-08-27T14:47:00.000+04:00

This guy makes a very good point - many (myself included) have been saying this for years ... i don't know about anyone else, but i never thought it could actually be an option because i didn't know about the land owned by the BLM .... now, i'm wondering whether human lives are worth that much less than land and money that it won't even be considered ........... am i idealistic? am i naive? probably. but i can hope. (bold etc. are mine)

The New Israel
Posted by: "Jon Presco" braskewitz@yahoo.com
Tue Aug 22, 2006 9:25 am (PST)
Stephen Kinsella and I share the same vision.
Jon

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/kinsella5.html
http://gbgm-umc.org/UMW/Joshua/manifest.html

New Israel: A Win-Win-Win Proposal
by N. Stephan Kinsella

Let me preface this with the following rather obvious denunciations of terrorism in order to avoid charges of pacifism and anti-Americanism now being hurled at those who dare to question the role American foreign policy might have played in the recent attacks. Here goes. The terrorists are 100% guilty, and they and any governments, organizations, or individuals that aided and abetted them deserve severe punishment. They are really bad guys. American intervention and meddling, even if it helped to provoke these savage people and to make such attacks more likely, provide no excuse for the atrocities of September 11. And since I'm discussing Israel below as well, I suppose I had better also say that I explicitly denounce antisemitism, some of my best friends are Jews, yada yada yada. Okay? Got that out of the way? Are all the PC idiots – whose perverse anti-discrimination laws helped contribute to the recent deaths of over 6,000 people – satisfied? Probably not, but let me proceed.

So. The terrorists are completely responsible for their unjustifiable, murderous actions. Nevertheless, it can still be pointed out that American foreign policy is a significant cause of the anti-American hatred which generates terrorism. It is implausible that we are attacked merely because we are "democratic" and they "hate our freedoms," as George Bush and others, such as neocons and Objectivists, imply. It is beyond cavil that they hate us, at least in part, because we hurt their fellow Muslims (e.g. civilians in Iraq) and aid their hated enemy, Israel. The enemy of my friend, the friend of my enemy, and all that.

Therefore, in addition to hunting down and extirpating those responsible for the recent attacks, we ought to re-examine our foreign policy. As Justin Raimondo writes, citing George Washington's Farewell Speech, "Our foreign policy should consist of the following principle, one handed down to us by the Founders: entangling alliances with none, free trade with all. It is a foreign policy that puts America first – not Israel, not Kosovo, not Taiwan, not 'human rights,' nor 'democracy,' but America's interests, narrowly conceived." Therefore, we ought to bring the troops home and stop sending billions of dollars a year to prop up regimes such as Israel and Egypt. Calling some of the troops home would, if nothing else, help save money. And if we had a less meddlesome, more properly limited foreign policy, there might well be less hatred of America and thus fewer terrorist attacks on us. We might not eliminate terrorism, but even reducing its level and frequency would save lives.

As noted above, our support for Israel seems to be one reason that so many Arabs hate us. As Norman Podhoretz reluctantly acknowledges, "To be sure, one of the great 'crimes' of America in Arab eyes remains its support of Israel." And Jacob Weisberg begrudgingly admits that for Osama Bin Laden, "the existence of Israel, and of Jews, is a significant irritant," and that "[o]ur abandonment of Israel might diminish one of Bin Laden's sources of suicidal recruits." So. Under a proper foreign policy we would not be militarily and financially supporting regimes abroad, including Israel and others in the Middle East. This could also be expected to reduce Arab/Muslim hatred of America.

But obviously, it is not politically acceptable for America to completely abandon Israel. Accordingly, I have another proposal: relocate Israel to America.

Yes, I'm serious. Consider: the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) currently administers 264 million acres of public lands – about one-eighth of the land in the United States. Most of these lands are located in the western United States, including Alaska, and include extensive grasslands, forests, high mountains, arctic tundra, and deserts. The federal government has no business owning millions of acres of public lands. These resources should be put into private hands, not hoarded by government.

Combine these insights – we should not be involved in the middle East; the feds have no business owning public forests – with the political reality that we cannot simply abandon Israel and allow it to be overwhelmed by hostile Arabs, and an obvious solution presents itself: offer to Israeli Jews a new homeland, carved out of BLM-administered public lands.

There is plenty room to do it. Israel has an area of only about 5 million acres (7800 square miles), just slightly smaller than New Jersey. Its population includes about 5 million Jews (about the same as the number of Jews already in America). Israel's area is less than 2% of the public land controlled by the BLM. Perhaps even a smaller area would suffice, say 2 or 3 million acres. Sufficient space could no doubt be carved out of the public land in any number of states – Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming, or Utah, for example. Or, as suggested in the "New Israel" map above, between Nevada and Utah Utah (yellow on the map denotes BLM-administered public land; the red patch indicates a possible location for New Israel). Or, heck, put New Israel up in Alaska's 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ("Anwar"), and lease the oil exploration and production rights to them. The (New) Israelis an oil power – how's that for turnabout! I propose, therefore, that we dedicate sufficient BLM land to form New Israel, and grant it special status as an independent territory. After a sufficient number of Israelis (and perhaps some American Jews) moved there, America could recognize it as a sovereign state. New Israel could either be a successor state to treaty and related obligations of Israel, or it could be a new state altogether, if some remnant of Old Israel survived. A treaty between the U.S. and New Israel should guarantee free trade. And New Israel's status as an independent state would prevent New Israelis from becoming American citizens, which is important because Israelis are socialistic, at least by libertarian standards.

After selecting a location and dedicating it to this purpose, the U.S. government would announce that it is withdrawing all support for Israel within, say, five to ten years (or sooner, if possible). That would give Israelis sufficient time to relocate. We could save $3 billion a year currently sent to Israel or, if politically necessary, use some or all that amount for some time, to help fund the relocation and to provide seed money to New Israeli businesses and homeowners. (Private alternatives would of course be preferable.) Some Israelis might move; others might stubbornly refuse the offer, valuing consanguinity with a specific patch of dirt over their own safety. That is their right, but I do not see that it is America's obligation to risk its citizens' lives to protect this preference. Those that would stay, would do so at their own peril. By offering them New Israel, we would be guaranteeing to Israelis a homeland and a better life (albeit, farther away from the Wailing Wall and Arab bombs). This is overly generous, in my view. We would have done all that is required of us, and more.

It might be objected that this proposal is heartless and does not give adequate weight to the importance Jews attach to the "Holy Land." I appreciate the argument that we should not let Israel and Jewry perish. But the location is secondary; certainly, it is not worth American lives to have the homeland in this place instead of that place. Why must thousands of American lives be lost to terrorism just because one subset of Jews have a preference for an arbitrary longitude and latitude? The primary purpose of a Jewish homeland was always to provide a sanctuary to Jews, not to give them prime real estate. Let them build a new Wailing Wall in New Israel if they want. It's what Americans would do.

In fact, Theodore Herzl, the so-called "Father of Zionism," and the Zionist Congress at one point considered forming a Jewish state in both Argentina and Uganda. While these plans were of course ultimately rejected, that they were seriously considered indicates that it is not outrageous or antisemitic to propose a homeland in a place other than Israel (Palestine).

If Uganda and Argentina were once considered possible locations for a Jewish state, why not America? Wouldn't everyone – Americans, Jews, Arabs – be better off? The New Israelis would be closer to civilization and their 6 million Jewish-American cousins; the land would no doubt be more fertile and scenic; and New Israelis would no longer have to put up with bombings and daily fighting. The Arabs would be happier and maybe even hate us a little bit less. They might even tolerate any Jews remaining in Palestine, as their smaller numbers would pose less of a political threat.

As for America, we could save several billion dollars a year by withdrawing aid from Egypt and eventually eliminating financial aid to Israel. We would also get to unload some of our public lands and put it in private hands. Additionally, Americans would no doubt benefit from a closer relationship with the Israelis, a productive, intelligent, and resourceful group (if that is not politically incorrect to acknowledge). And maybe not quite as many Americans would be murdered by Israel-hating Muslim terrorists.

UNHRC Resolution re: Israeli human rights violations in Lebanon

2006-08-27T14:32:00.000+04:00

On Friday, 11 August, the Human Rights Council met in special session and adopted the resolution below.

The resolution was adopted through a roll-call vote with 27 votes in favour (Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Cuba, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Russian Federation, Saudi
Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uruguay, Zambia)

11 against (Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, UK)

8 abstentions (Cameroon,Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Nigeria, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Switzerland)

1 absent (Djibouti)

RESOLUTION AS ADOPTED
S-2/RES/1.

THE GRAVE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN LEBANON CAUSED BY ISRAELI MILITARY OPERATIONS

The Human Rights Council, Reaffirming the purposes and principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations, Reaffirming also the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, and recalling the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of theChild and other human rights instruments,

Acknowledging that peace and security, development and human rights are the pillars of the United Nations system, Recalling General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006 in which the Assembly decided that the Human Rights Council: (a) Should address situations of violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations, and make recommendations thereon; and (b) Shall respond promptly to human rights emergencies, Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, relevant human rights instruments and international humanitarian law, in particular the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 on the Laws and Customs of War on Land which prohibit attacks and bombardment of civilian populations and objects and lay down obligations for general protection against dangers arising from military operations against civilian objects, hospitals, relief materials and means of transportation, Recalling the commitments of the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto, Reaffirming that each High Contracting Party to the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Fourth Geneva Convention) is under obligation to take action against persons alleged to have committed or to have ordered the commission of grave breaches of the Convention, and recalling the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, Emphasizing that human rights law and international humanitarian law are complementary and mutually reinforcing, Stressing that the right to life constitutes the most fundamental of all human rights, Condemning Israeli military operations in Lebanon, which constitute gross and systematic human rights violations of the Lebanese people, Appalled at the massive violations of the human rights of the people of Lebanon by Israel resulting in the massacre of thousands of civilians, injuries, extensive damage to civilian infrastructure, displacement of 1 million people, and outflows of refugees fleeing heavy shelling and bombardment against the civilian population, Strongly condemning the indiscriminate and massive Israeli air strikes, in particular on the village of Qana on 30 July 2006, and the targeting of United Nations peacekeepers at the United Nations observer post in southern Lebanon on 25 July 2006, Taking note of the strong condemnation by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights of the killing of civilians in Qana, her call to take measures to protect civilian lives and civilian objects and her reiteration of the need for independent investigation, with the involvement of international experts,

Noting the extreme concern expressed by the Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights of internally displaced persons, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and the Special Rapporteur on the right to food about the continuing adverse impact on the human rights and the humanitarian situation of the civilian population in Lebanon,

Emphasizing that attacks and killings of innocent civilians and the destruction of houses, property and infrastructure in Lebanon are a breach of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, international law and international humanitarian law as well as are flagrant violations of human rights,

Recognizing the urgent need to address the dire humanitarian situation in Lebanon, including through the immediate lifting of the blockade of Lebanon imposed by Israel,

Noting with concern the environmental degradation caused by Israeli strikes against power plants and their adverse impact on health,

Concerned at the targeting of the communication and media networks in Lebanon,

Outraged at the continuing senseless killings by Israel, with impunity, of children, women, the elderly and other civilians in Lebanon,

1. Strongly condemns the grave Israeli violations of human rights and breaches of international humanitarian law in Lebanon;

2. Condemns the massive bombardment of Lebanese civilian populations, especially the massacres in Qana, Marwaheen, Al Duweir, Al Bayadah, Al Qaa, Chiyah, Ghazieh and other towns of Lebanon, causing thousands of deaths and injuries, mostly among children and women, and the displacement of 1 million civilians, according to a preliminary assessment, thus exacerbating the magnitude of the human suffering of the Lebanese;

3. Also condemns the Israeli bombardment of vital civilian infrastructure resulting in extensive destruction and heavy damage to public and private properties;

4. Calls upon Israel to abide, immediately and scrupulously, by its obligations under human rights law, in particular the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and international humanitarian law;

5. Urges all concerned parties to respect the rules of international humanitarian law, to refrain from violence against the civilian population and to treat under all circumstances all detained combatants and civilians in accordance with the Geneva Conventions;

6. Also calls upon Israel to immediately stop military operations against the civilian population and civilian objects resulting in death and destruction and serious violations of human rights;

7. Decides to urgently establish and immediately dispatch a high-level commission of inquiry comprising of eminent experts on human rights law and international humanitarian law, including the possibility of inviting the relevant United Nations special procedures to be nominated to the Commission:

(a) To investigate the systematic targeting and killings of civilians by Israel in Lebanon;

(b) To examine the types of weapons used by Israel and their conformity with international law

(c) To assess the extent and deadly impact of Israeli attacks on humanlife, property, critical infrastructure and the environment;

8. Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide all administrative, technical and logistical assistance required to enable the Commission of Inquiry to fulfil its mandate promptly and efficiently;

9. Calls upon the international community urgently to provide the Government of Lebanon with humanitarian and financial assistance to enable it to deal with the worsening humanitarian disaster, rehabilitation of victims, return of displaced persons and restoration of the essential infrastructure;

10. Requests the Commission of Inquiry to report to the Council no later than 1 September 2006 on progress made towards the fulfilment of its mandate.

The uselessness of Resolution 1701

2006-08-27T14:16:00.000+04:00

August 14, 2006
Playing Into Israel's Hands: The Flaws in the UN Resolution
By KARIM MAKDISI
Beirut.

On 12 August, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1701 aimed at ceasing hostilities' between Israel andHizbullah. It went into effect at 8am this morning local time, 33 days after Israel used the pretext of Hizbullah's capture of two IDF soldiers to wage an open war on Lebanon in order implement a joint US-Israeli plan to permanently neutralize Hizbullah ahead of apossible US attack on Iran.

While Resolution 1701 is certainly an improvement on the disastrous initial draft presented by the US and France a week earlier (see my earlier piece in CounterPunch http://www.counterpunch.org/makdisi08072006.html), it remains a weak and ambiguous resolution that has ultimately rewarded the use of violence to settle disputes in breech of international law and the UN Charter itself; and is in any case not reflective of the reality on the ground in terms of the balance of terror that clearly exists between Hizbullah and Israel. This resolution will now be used by the US and Israel in a manner inconsistent with its spirit and intent, which as stated by Kofi Annan is "to save civilian lives, to spare the pain and suffering that the civilians on both sides are living through."

As such, Resolution 1701 includes a number of strategically placedTrojan horses that were inserted to circumvent Lebanese and Arab nopposition to the earlier draft resolution which would have effectively rendered Lebanon a failed state, its sovereignty denied. This earlier draft was reflective of initial US and Israeli political objectives, but its successful negotiation required a swift and decisive Israeli military victory over Hizbullah in order to impose a victor's peace terms on Lebanon under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. The modifications to the early draft resolution that are embodied inResolution 1701 thus reflect the realities of Israel's military defeat. Perhaps more importantly, they reflect a belated, pragmatic US acknowledgement that it can no longer rely solely on Israel and the logic of a military solution to achieve its objectives in Lebanon. Key modifications thus center around reinforcing Lebanon's "sovereignty" (supported by a beefed-up UNIFIL) in the expectation that the pro-US elements of the Lebanese government will be able to successfully disarm Hizbullah politically where Israel failed militarily. In other words, it takes us back to where we were before the Israeli war, albeit with a greater sense of urgency and the real threat of civil war looming in Lebanon should Lebanon's current fragile political unity, achieved ironically because of Israel's onslaught, falter.

Here are a few observations with regard to the final text of Resolution 1701:

1. It does not stop the war and does little to ensure the protection of the civilian population of Lebanon. While Hizbullah must cease "all attacks," Israel must cease only those "offensive military operations." There is no need to point out the obvious loopholes that exist here for Israel to attack anything, anywhere, including civilian targets, in the name of self-defense, or indeed carry out any offensive non-military' operations (whatever these may be). Israel has already announced it will not lift is blockade of Lebanon in clear violation of both this resolution and international law norms.

2. The paragraph dealing with the principles of a permanent ceasefire and long term solution has removed a critical point referred to inthe original draft and that is key to Hizbullah's demands: resolving the status of the occupied Sheba'a farms. The only reference toSheba'a in Resolution 1701 is a part of a laundry list that the UN Secretary General must compile in the next 30 days. This apparent removal of Sheba'a from the negotiation of a permanent solution, coupled with the public US guarantee that Israel will not be required to give up Sheba'a regardless of any UN report, essentially guarantees that resistance will continue, at least in the South, for many months to come. (months -- what an optimistic guy)

3. It legitimizes temporary Israeli occupation of Lebanese lands until a combination of Lebanese army and expanded UNIFIL forces begin to deploy in southern Lebanon, and yet rejects the right of Hizbullah to resist occupation. Given that it may take weeks before a beefed up UNIFIL is in place to the satisfaction of Israel, Hizbullah has already made it clear that it will abide by the rules of set forth in April 1996 (agreed to by the US, Israel and Lebanon whereby the right of resistance was granted as long as they were directed against Israeli military targets in occupied Lebanon). This is a potential Trojan horse because it may lead to conflict between the Lebanese army and UNIFIL on the one hand, and Hizbullah on the other.

4. It adopts the Israeli narrative by placing the blame of this war entirely on Hizbullah and creating the false impression that civilian deaths and infrastructure damage in Lebanon and Israel were somehow equivalent. Hasan Nassrallah and the Hizbullah cabinet ministers made it clear that this was their first and most important reservation to the resolution, and one should not underestimate the importance to Hizbullah of setting the narrative straight in terms of legitimizing the right of resistance to Israeli occupation and aggression. It is impossible to see how any long-term plan to disarm Hizbullah if its narrative, and the terms which flow logically from that narrative (such as an effective security plan for southern Lebanon, and the negotiated exchange of Israeli and Lebanese prisoners), are not accepted by the Lebanese government and the UN.

5. It fails to question the legality of Israel's war and does not condemn Israel's disproportionate response to Hizbullah's operation as well as other clear violations of international humanitarian laws as documented by the UN Human Rights Council (which has begun an investigation into Israel's "grave violation of human rights"). In other words, it fails to distinguish between the laws of war (e.g. imminent threat to security) and the laws applicable in war (e.g. Geneva Conventions), and in so doing the resolution implicitly accepts Israel's and America's logic that self-defense may include civilians and civilian infrastructure. This could have major repercussions on the law of wars to come.

6. The resolution directs high praise to Lebanon's seven point plan in the preamble in order to play up the role of the Lebanese government, but then goes on to ignore most of its key substantive points: the unconditional cessation of fire; the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli army to the Blue Line; the placement of the occupied Sheba'a and Kfarshouba Hills under UN jurisdiction until border delineation is finalized; and the exchange of prisoners.

7. It removes reference to a second resolution authorizing an international force under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. There can be little doubt that Hizbullah's success on the battlefield ensured the removal of this clause; and that the Lebanese government would otherwise have had to accept it. The significance of this cannot be under-estimated, as it has averted, for now, a civil war and total breakdown of the Lebanese state, and perhaps even a regional war in which Iran and the Shia'a of Iraq would have been involved.

However, there is a potential Trojan horse that is inserted in the resolution's final pre-ambular paragraph: "determining that the situation in Lebanon constitutes a threat to international peace and security." This language is derived from Chapter 7 logic, not that of Chapter 6 which is concerned with the "Pacific settlement of disputes." In other words, Chapter 6 is adopted before a "threat to international peace and security" is actually determined; while Chapter 7 deals with enforcement mechanisms after such a "threat" is in fact established. Since Hizbullah has been singled out for blame in Resolution 1701, and its disarming seen to be the main long-term remedy, then this is an attempt to manipulate the text to refer indirectly to Chapter 7 in order to determine that Hizbullah's presence as an armed group' is itself a threat to international peace and security.

8. It creates vague and thus potentially irresponsible terms of reference for an expanded UNIFIL force, which has been authorized to monitor the cease fire, accompany the Lebanese army as it deploys in the South, and assist in humanitarian issues and the return of displaced people, all in addition to its original terms under 425 and426. It is not clear how, or if UNIFIL can ever fulfill such lofty terms.

9. The key parts of Resolution 1701 as far as the US and Israeli interpretation is concerned are those dealing with the isolation and neutralization of Hizbullah. This plan requires that all states agree to an arms embargo as well as the prohibition of any technical training or assistance' save those authorized by Lebanese government. This is clearly intended to sever links between Hizbullah and Iran and Syria. There is no mention of any arms restrictions on Israel.

Resolution 1701 clearly envisions that the long-term solution to this conflict rests on the need for disarming "all armed groups" in keeping with Resolution 1559 (previously rejected by Hizbullah), the establishment of a buffer zone free of any "armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the government," and a de facto arms embargo on Lebanon except for those authorized by the government itself. In other words, Israel and the US are openly interpreting this resolution as a de facto enforcement mechanism for 1559.

In this regard, UNIFIL is there to support the Lebanese government "in securing borders and other entry points to prevent arms or related material from entering Lebanon." More cryptically, the resolution authorizes UNIFIL to take "all necessary action" to ensure that that the areas under its mandate are not used for "hostile activities." This may result in UNIFIL being urged to confront Hizbullah or other armed groups in southern Lebanon. It is potentially very dangerous, and will place UNIFIL staff in danger of being seen as the enemy.

Overall, if the UN is to be judged in terms of its primary mandate,that of ensuring international peace and security via the principle of collective security, then it has quite clearly failed the people of Lebanon, just as it has the people of Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. More than anything, Resolution 1701 confirms fears held by many that the UN as a political body has been demoted in the post 9/11 unipolar era to a subsidiary of the US government at the cost of its legitimacy and effectiveness. Lebanon avoided total capitulation in this resolution because of Hizbullah's resistance on the groundand its success in achieving a balance of terror with Israel, not because the UN Security Council international law in a just manner. This is a dangerous signal thatthe UN is sending to the world.

In the meantime, those of us living in Lebanon await news of another round of war, as political in-fighting has already begun in Lebanon between the March 14 camp and Hizbullah.

Karim Makdisi is Assistant Professor of International Relations inthe Dept of Political Studies and Public Administration at the American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.

Email: km18@aub.edu.lb

http://www.counterpunch.org/makdisi08142006.html

Sad but True

2006-08-27T14:10:00.000+04:00

The rules of POLITICAL CORRECTNESS when it comes to the Israeli-Arab conflict

Rule # 1: In the Middle East, it is always the Arabs that attack first, and it's always Israel who defends itself. This is called "Retaliation".

Rule # 2: The Arabs, whether Palestinians or Lebanese, are not allowed to kill Israelis. This is called "Terrorism".

Rule # 3: Israel has the right to kill Arab civilians, this is called "Self-Defense", or these days "Collateral Damage".

Rule # 4: When Israel kills too many civilians. The Western world calls for restraint. This is called the "Reaction of the International Community".

Rule # 5: Palestinians and Lebanese do not have the right to capture Israeli military, not even a limited number, not even 1 or 2. This is called "Kidnapping".

Rule # 6: Israel has the right to capture as many Palestinians as they want (Palestinians: around 10,000 to date, 300 of which are children, Lebanese: 1,000s to date, being held without trial). There is no limit; there is no need for proof of guilt or trial. This is called "War on Terrorism".

Rule # 7: When you say "Hezbollah", always be sure to add "supported by Syria and Iran". This is called: "Axis of Evil".

Rule # 8: When you say "Israel", never say "supported by the USA, the UK and other European countries", for people (God forbid) might believe this is not an equal conflict. This is called "Helping our Friends".

Rule # 9: When it comes to Israel, don't mention the words "occupied territories", "UN resolutions", " Geneva conventions". This could distress the audience and is called "Anti-Semitism".

Rule # 10: Israelis speak better English than Arabs. This is why we let them speak out as much as possible, so that they can explain rules 1 through 9. This is called "Neutral Journalism".

Rule # 11: If you don't agree with these rules or if you favor the Arab side over the Israeli side, you must be a very dangerous anti-Semite. You may even have to make a public apology if you express your honest opinion like Mel Gibson. This is called "Democracy".

Please learn the proper terminology and use it appropriately to maintain your job; this is called "Equal Opportunity Employment".

Israel DID NOT "respond to an unprovoked attack"

2006-08-27T13:49:00.000+04:00

this is a very VERY well-written article that takes a few points of view into account and offers a well-founded resolution (also presents an interesting challenge to the Israeli government).

Israel responded to an unprovoked attack by Hizbullah, right? Wrong
The assault on Lebanon was premeditated - the soldiers capture simply provided the excuse. It was also unnecessary.
George Monbiot
Tuesday August 8, 2006
The Guardian

Whatever we think of Israel's assault on Lebanon, all of us seem to agree about one fact: that it was a response, however disproportionate, to an unprovoked attack by Hizbullah. I repeated this "fact" in my last column, when I wrote that "Hizbullah fired the first shots". This being so, the Israeli government's supporters ask peaceniks like me, what would you have done? It's an important question. But its premise, I have now discovered, is flawed.

Since Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000, there have been hundreds of violations of the "blue line" between the two countries. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) reports that Israeli aircraft crossed the line "on an almost daily basis" between 2001 and 2003, and "persistently" until 2006. These incursions "caused great concern to the civilian population, particularly low-altitude flights that break the sound barrier over populated areas". On some occasions, Hizbullah tried to shoot them down with anti-aircraft guns.

In October 2000, the Israel Defence Forces shot at unarmed Palestinian demonstrators on the border, killing three and wounding 20. In response, Hizbullah crossed the line and kidnapped three Israeli soldiers. On several occasions, Hizbullah fired missiles and mortar rounds at IDF positions, and the IDF responded with heavy artillery and sometimes aerial bombardment. Incidents like this killed three Israelis and three Lebanese in 2003; one Israeli soldier and two Hizbullah fighters in 2005; and two Lebanese people and three Israeli soldiers in February 2006. Rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel several times in 2004, 2005 and 2006, on some occasions by Hizbullah. But, the UN records, "none of the incidents resulted in a military escalation".

On May 26 this year, two officials of Islamic Jihad - Nidal and Mahmoud Majzoub - were killed by a car bomb in the Lebanese city of Sidon. This was widely assumed in Lebanon and Israel to be the work of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency. In June, a man named Mahmoud Rafeh confessed to the killings and admitted that he had been working for Mossad since 1994. Militants in southern Lebanon responded, on the day of the bombing, by launching eight rockets into Israel. One soldier was lightly wounded. There was a major bust-up on the border, during which one member of Hizbullah was killed and several wounded, and one Israeli soldier wounded. But while the border region "remained tense and volatile", Unifil says it was "generally quiet" until July 12.

There has been a heated debate on the internet about whether the two Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hizbullah that day were captured in Israel or in Lebanon, but it now seems pretty clear that they were seized in Israel. This is what the UN says, and even Hizbullah seems to have forgotten that they were supposed to have been found sneaking around the outskirts of the Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab. Now it simply states that "the Islamic resistance captured two Israeli soldiers at the border with occupied Palestine". Three other Israeli soldiers were killed by the militants. There is also some dispute about when, on July 12, Hizbullah first fired its rockets; but Unifil makes it clear that the firing took place at the same time as the raid - 9am. Its purpose seems to have been to create a diversion. No one was hit.

But there is no serious debate about why the two soldiers were captured: Hizbullah was seeking to exchange them for the 15 prisoners of war taken by the Israelis during the occupation of Lebanon and (in breach of article 118 of the third Geneva convention) never released. It seems clear that if Israel had handed over the prisoners, it would - without the spillage of any more blood - have retrieved its men and reduced the likelihood of further kidnappings. But the Israeli government refused to negotiate. Instead - well, we all know what happened instead. Almost 1,000 Lebanese and 33 Israeli civilians have been killed so far, and a million Lebanese displaced from their homes.

On July 12, in other words, Hizbullah fired the first shots. But that act of aggression was simply one instance in a long sequence of small incursions and attacks over the past six years by both sides. So why was the Israeli response so different from all that preceded it? The answer is that it was not a reaction to the events of that day. The assault had been planned for months.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "more than a year ago, a senior Israeli army officer began giving PowerPoint presentations, on an off-the-record basis, to US and other diplomats, journalists and thinktanks, setting out the plan for the current operation in revealing detail". The attack, he said, would last for three weeks. It would begin with bombing and culminate in a ground invasion. Gerald Steinberg, professor of political science at Bar-Ilan University, told the paper that "of all of Israel's wars since 1948, this was the one for which Israel was most prepared ... By 2004, the military campaign scheduled to last about three weeks that we're seeing now had already been blocked out and, in the last year or two, it's been simulated and rehearsed across the board".

A "senior Israeli official" told the Washington Post that the raid by Hizbullah provided Israel with a "unique moment" for wiping out the organisation. The New Statesman's editor, John Kampfner, says he was told by more than one official source that the US government knew in advance of Israel's intention to take military action in Lebanon. The Bush administration told the British government.

Israel's assault, then, was premeditated: it was simply waiting for an appropriate excuse. It was also unnecessary. It is true that Hizbullah had been building up munitions close to the border, as its current rocket attacks show. But so had Israel. Just as Israel could assert that it was seeking to deter incursions by Hizbullah, Hizbullah could claim - also with justification - that it was trying to deter incursions by Israel. The Lebanese army is certainly incapable of doing so. Yes, Hizbullah should have been pulled back from the Israeli border by the Lebanese government and disarmed. Yes, the raid and the rocket attack on July 12 were unjustified, stupid and provocative, like just about everything that has taken place around the border for the past six years. But the suggestion that Hizbullah could launch an invasion of Israel or that it constitutes an existential threat to the state is preposterous. Since the occupation ended, all its acts of war have been minor ones, and nearly all of them reactive.

So it is not hard to answer the question of what we would have done. First, stop recruiting enemies, by withdrawing from the occupied territories in Palestine and Syria. Second, stop provoking the armed groups in Lebanon with violations of the blue line - in particular the persistent flights across the border. Third, release the prisoners of war who remain unlawfully incarcerated in Israel. Fourth, continue to defend the border, while maintaining the diplomatic pressure on Lebanon to disarm Hizbullah (as anyone can see, this would be much more feasible if the occupations were to end). Here then is my challenge to the supporters of the Israeli government: do you dare to contend that this programme would have caused more death and destruction than the current adventure has done?

Why do you love Lebanon?

2006-08-27T13:43:00.000+04:00

A member of A Small World, answered the question the "Why do you love Beirut?" as such, enjoy it!

I love Beirut for its opposites.

I love Beirut because I see a girl in a mini skirt and her sister in a tchador.

I love Beirut because it is neither West nor East it is both.

I love Beirut because one can party till 6 in the morning and not realize that it is tuesday morning.

I love Beirut because Beirutis live as if they are going to die tomorrow and party as if they are going to live forever.

I love Beirut because I can be swimming in the morning and 30 minutes later I'm on the slopes skiing or doing apres ski.

I love Beirut because I have never seen the sun this strong anywhere in the world.

I love Beirut because I can see 6,000 years of history.

I love Beirut because Christians and Muslims are living an understanding and do not need to have Christian Muslim understanding classes.

I love Beirut because every Beiruti has a political opinion and will share it with you even if you could care less about his and you want to share yours with him.

I love Beirut for all the conspiracy theories and how many people actually believe them.

I love Beirut because any night I can find a friend to go out with.

I love Beirut because I do not need to call my friends to go and see them at their houses I just stop by.

I love Beirut because as soon as I arirve at one of my friends houses his mom takes me to the kitchen and becomes the spokesperson of the refrigerator.

I love Beirut because one can smell gardenia , and jasmine.

I love Beirut because strawberries taste like strawberries and fruits taste like fruits.

I love Beirut because the food is so good that one gains pounds even if she tries to lose.

I love Beirut because although the Lebanese women at times look alike as some did their surgeries at the same plastic surgeon they are the most elegant women I have ever seen.

I love Beirut because when I go out at night I don't know at which women to look at as each one is gorgeous in her own way.

I love Beirut because everyone knows me by name.

I love Beirut because I don't have to explain myself.

I love Beirut because of the traffic jams and the people you meet because of them.

I love Beirut because of the noise pollution from cars honking.

I love Beirut for the spirituality of the people whether Muslim or Christian.

I love Beirut because I'm the first to call my Muslim friends on Ramadan and they are the first to call me on Easter.

I love Beirut because on May 1st I see Muslims visiting Harissa (Virgin Mary) just like I see Christians.

I love Beirut because we can differentiate between a Jew and an Israeli.

I love Beirut because on the 22nd of every month I see Muslims going to Mar Charbel (Saint Charbel) and believing that a miracle will happen.

I love Beirut because women look like as if they are out of a Vogue magazine.

I love Beirut because you eat to live and live to eat.

I love Beirut because one leaves one cafe to go to another and one does this all day.

I love Beirut because all the Lebanese living outside want to come back and the Lebanese who are in Lebanon envy the ones who are living abroad not realizing what it means to live away from Beirut.

I love Beirut because my sister , her husband are there and my niece and nephew who are 5 are waiting to see their uncle.

I love Beirut because my niece asks me to bring her a pink skirt and tells me : "I love You".

I love Beirut because a girl or a guy can easily tell you I just had a couple of Lexo or Xanax as if they just had a chewing gum.

I love Beirut because for every Lebanese we have a singer.

I love Beirut because the Lebanese star singers sing in nightclubs.

I love Beirut because women go into the swimming pool with full make up.

I love Beirut because guys go in with their cigars.

I love Beirut because it has been destroyed 7 times in History and has risen.

I love Beirut because since 1975 the Beirutis have withstood the PLO, Syrians , and the Israelis.

I love Beirut because the Beirutis will not accept anyone to occupy them and rule over them.

I love Beirut because we feel that it is better to die on our feet than to live on our knees.

I love Beirut because each street is a two way street even if it is a one way officially.

I love Beirut because one can park anywhere and not get a ticket.

I love Beirut because one can go as fast as his speedometer.

I love Beirut because MEA (Middle East Airlines) lands there.

I love Beirut because on MEA we can clap in unison when we are about to land.

I love Beirut not because it is my city , but because it is the city of every Lebanese.

I love Beirut because it welcomes every exile freethinker , independent mind of the Arab world.

I love Beirut because we have hundreds of newspapers and our press is finally Free.

I love Beirut because most Arabs dreams of coming to Beirut and wishes his capital was more like Beirut.

I love Beirut because when I explain Beirut to my Western friends, my friends see the passion of Beirut in my eyes.

I love Beirut because there is so much misconception about Beirut in the media and in the minds of people who have never visited.

I love Beirut because when I tell my friends that I'm going to Beirut they tell me can you take me with you.

I love Beirut because we argue over who is going to pay the bill at a restaurant as everyone wants to pay it.

I love Beirut because although many whine about not making enough money everyone is living.

I love Beirut because if I do the cross before I start driving the person next to me does not ask me if I fear that I'm going to get into a car accident but instead does his cross as well.

I love Beirut because we accept our differences as we disagree with each other.

I love Beirut because it serves as a beacon of freedom to the rest of the Arab world.

I love Beirut because to praphrase what Gibran said about Lebanon "Had Beirut not been my city I would have chosen it to be."

I love Beirut because there is no city like it.

I love Beirut because even if Beirut is being destroyed you are still beautiful and will remain beautiful no matter how disfigured you are.

I love Beirut because you are always on my mind.

I love Beirut for no reason.

I love Beirut for all the reasons of the world."

**And another one:

I am a beiruti

I love Beirut with all my heart and soul.

I love it's people, it's energy, it's unique beauty, I love so many small things.

I love many small parts of Ashrafieh, Monot, Abdel Wahab, Rue du Liban,Sursock, the trees that arc over the roads bringing shade and shading off rain, I love getting lost in it..

I love the Corniche at dusk and dawn, the magnificent beirut sunset from anywhere, the AUB campus, Bliss street ,hamra street and the smell of falafel, shawarma and sweets,

I love that you can be stuck in traffic at 3am somewhere..

I love how informal our darak are with us drivers sometimes

I love the "everything goes" attitude

I love how I hear three langauges all the time and it's totally normal. e.g."Maitre, El Hseb Please"

I love Zaatar W Zeit after a heavy night of partying..always finding a place to sit in that teeny place

I love sitting at Casper & Gambini overlooking the ancient Roman Ruins,

I love Martyre Square,

I love the churches and mosques scattered around the city

I love how complex being Lebanese is

I love how people ALL around the world keep telling me that someone they know or heard of or their parents has been to Lebanon and talks about its gorgeousness and amazing people

I love the mediterranean, and we will clean it!

I love our amazing cuisine, so proud of our HOMMOS and FALAFEL and MEZA and the world wide reputation of our food (people now refer to Arabic food as Lebanese Food!)

I love the world class rest, bars and night clubs we have. WOW..I love the old B-018...and the new one...and the Classic one too...

I love our new and upcoming Lebanese designers (clothes, shoes, bags,jewelery)... and their gorgeous little shops.

I love Sour, Saida, Jounieh, Tripoli, Baalbak, Chouf..

I love the smell of the city after the rainfall, and the spring smell of gardenia...or the boys who sell you gardenia necklaces at traffic lights..

I love how we get wild flowers growing everywhere in spring, red, white and yellow..

I love the energy of the people, their eternal optimism, faith in their city and country, resilience, passion, love, hospitality..

I love you and will see you soon beirut

The last few days

2006-08-15T11:50:00.000+04:00

I've been so caught up with meeting various deadlines that I've had no time to blog ... so this is the longest entry so far.
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first piece of info: hizballah are going to pay for the rebuilding of people's homes AS WELL AS pay their rent for a year INCLUDING furniture ... this is not an organization that's going to lose popularity any time soon -- if indeed the point of this last month was to destroy hizballah, then those who tried have failed miserably ...... if you think the resistance was popular before, now, it's popularity is off the scale and through the roof!

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an article from yesterday's haaretz

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/750384.html

Last update - 16:00 14/08/2006
IDF general: Troops lacking food can steal from Lebanese stores

By Haaretz Service

"If our fighters deep in Lebanese territory are left without food our water, I believe they can break into local Lebanese stores to solve that problem," Brigadier General Avi Mizrahi, the head of the Israel Defense Forces logistics branch, said Monday.

Mizrahi's comments followed complaints by IDF soldiers regarding the lack of food on the front lines. "If what they need to do is take water from the stores, they can take," Mizrahi told Army Radio.

According to Mizrahi, the logistics branch is prepared for the possibility that combat soldiers will have to remain in Lebanon during the winter.

(and so Israel ignores another UN resolution - what a surprise. Following are the resolutions it has ignored so far:

[Note: the United States either voted for or abstained on every one of these resolutions]

252 (1968), 267 (1969), 298 (1971), 476 (1980), 478 (1980) calls on Israel to rescind its annexation of Jerusalem

262 (1968) condemns Israel's attack on Beirut's civilian airport

270 (1969) condemns Israeli air attacks on villages in southern Lebanon

279 (1970), 285 (1970), 313 (1972) demands the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon

280 (1970) deplores Israeli failure to abide by resolutions 262 and 270; condemning Israeli attacks on Lebanon

316 (1972) deplores Israeli attacks on Lebanon and calls for the immediate release of "all Syrian and Lebanese military and security personnel abducted by Israeli armed forces on 21 June 1972 on Lebanese territory"

317 (1972) deplores Israeli abduction of Syrian and Lebanese soldiers in Lebanon and calls for their immediate return

332 (1973) condemns Israeli attacks on Lebanon and calls upon Israel to desist

337 (1973) condemns Israel for seizing a Lebanese airliner from Lebanese airspace

347 (1974) condemns Israeli violation of Lebanese sovereignty and calls upon Israel to refrain from such actions

446 (1979), 452 (1979), 465 (1980) calls upon Israel to cease its settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories

468 (1980), 469 (1980), 484 (1980) calls upon Israel to rescind its deportation of elected Palestinian leaders

497 (1981) calls upon Israel to rescind its annexation of the Golan Heights

515 (1982) demands Israel lift its blockade of Beirut so urgent needs of the civilian population can be met

520 (1982) condemns Israeli incursions into Beirut

592 (1986) deplores Israeli opening fire on defenseless students in occupied territories

605 (1987) deplores Israeli firing on defenseless civilians

607 (1988), 608 (1988), 636 (1989), 641 (1989), 681 (1990), 694 (1991), 726 (1992), 799 (1992) calls on Israel to refrain from and rescind deportations of Palestinian civilians

The text of all these resolutions is available on the UN Information System on Palestine .)
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this is the article jostein gaarder wrote and later said he was misunderstood ... (bold and italics are mine)

God's Chosen People
by Jostein Gaarder
Aftenposten 05.08.06
From the Norwegian by Sirocco

There is no turning back. It is time to learn a new lesson: We do no longer recognize the state of Israel. We could not recognize the South African apartheid regime, nor did we recognize the Afghan Taliban regime.Then there were many who did not recognize Saddam Hussein's Iraq or theSerbs' ethnic cleansing. We must now get used to the idea: The state of Israel in its current form is history.

We do not believe in the notion of God's chosen people. We laugh at this people's fancies and weep over its misdeeds. To act as God's chosenpeople is not only stupid and arrogant, but a crime against humanity. We call it racism.

Limits to tolerance

There are limits to our patience, and there are limits to our tolerance.We do not believe in divine promises as justification for occupation and apartheid. We have left the Middle Ages behind. We laugh uneasily at those who still believe that the God of flora, fauna, and galaxies has selected one people in particular as his favorite and given it funny stone tablets, burning bushes, and a license to kill.

We call child murderers 'child murderers' and will never accept that such have a divine or historic mandate excusing their outrages. We say but this: Shame on all apartheid, shame on ethnic cleansing, shame on every terrorist strike against civilians, be it carried out by Hamas, Hizballah, or the state of Israel!

Unscrupulous art of war

We acknowledge and pay heed to Europe's deep responsibility for the plight of the Jews, for the disgraceful harassment, the pogroms, and the Holocaust. It was historically and morally necessary for Jews to get their own home. However, the state of Israel, with its unscrupulous art of war and its disgusting weapons, has massacred its own legitimacy. It has systematically flaunted International Law, international conventions, and countless UN resolutions, and it can no longer expect protection from same. It has carpet bombed the recognition of the world. But fear not! The time of trouble shall soon be over. The state of Israel has seen its Soweto.

We are now at the watershed. There is no turning back. The state ofIsrael has raped the recognition of the world and shall have no peace until it lays down its arms.

Without defense, without skin

May spirit and word sweep away the apartheid walls of Israel. The state of Israel does not exist. It is now without defense, without skin. May the world therefore have mercy on the civilian population. For it is not civilian individuals at whom our doomsaying is directed.

We wish the people of Israel well, nothing but well, but we reserve the right not to eat Jaffa oranges as long as they taste foul and are poisonous. It was endurable to live some years without the blue grapes of apartheid.

They celebrate their triumphs

We do not believe that Israel mourns forty killed Lebanese children more than it for over three thousand years has lamented forty years in the desert. We note that many Israelis celebrate such triumphs like they once cheered the scourges of the Lord as "fitting punishment" for the people of Egypt. (In that tale, the Lord, God of Israel, appears as aninsatiable sadist.) We query whether most Israelis think that one Israeli life is worth more than forty Palestinian or Lebanese lives.

For we have seen pictures of little Israeli girls writing hateful greetings on the bombs to be dropped on the civilian population ofLebanon and Palestine. Little Israeli girls are not cute when they strut with glee at death and torment across the fronts.

The retribution of blood vengeance

We do not recognize the rhetoric of the state of Israel. We do not recognize the spiral of retribution of the blood vengeance with "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." We do not recognize the principle of one or a thousand Arab eyes for one Israeli eye. We do not recognize collective punishment or population-wide diets as political weapons. Two thousand years have passed since a Jewish rabbi criticized the ancient doctrine of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."

He said: "Do to others as you would have them do to you." We do not recognize a state founded on antihumanistic principles and on the ruins of an archaic national and war religion. Or as Albert Schweitzer expressed it: "Humanitarianism consists in never sacrificing a human being to a purpose."

Compassion and forgiveness

We do not recognize the old Kingdom of David as a model for the 21st century map of the Middle East. The Jewish rabbi claimed two thousand years ago that the Kingdom of God is not a martial restoration of the Kingdom of David, but that the Kingdom of God is within us and among us. The Kingdom of God is compassion and forgiveness.

Two thousand years have passed since the Jewish rabbi disarmed and humanized the old rhetoric of war. Even in his time, the first Zionist terrorists were operating.

Israel does not listen

For two thousand years, we have rehearsed the syllabus of humanism, butIsrael does not listen. It was not the Pharisee that helped the man who lay by the wayside, having fallen prey to robbers. It was a Samaritan; today we would say, a Palestinian. For we are human first of all -- then Christian, Muslim, or Jewish. Or as the Jewish rabbi said: "And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?" We do not accept the abduction of soldiers. But nor do we accept the deportation ofwhole populations or the abduction of legally elected parliamentarians and government ministers.

We recognize the state of Israel of 1948, but not the one of 1967. It isthe state of Israel that fails to recognize, respect, or defer to the internationally lawful Israeli state of 1948. Israel wants more; more water and more villages. To obtain this, there are those who want, withGod's assistance, a final solution to the Palestinian problem. The Palestinians have so many other countries, certain Israeli politicians have argued; we have only one. (what many other countries? i honestly don't know what he's talking about)

The USA or the world?

Or as the highest protector of the state of Israel puts it: "May God continue to bless America." A little child took note of that. She turned to her mother, saying: "Why does the President always end his speeches with 'God bless America'? Why not, 'God bless the world'?"

Then there was a Norwegian poet who let out this childlike sigh of the heart: "Why doth Humanity so slowly progress?" It was he that wrote so beautifully of the Jew and the Jewess. But he rejected the notion of God's chosen people. He personally liked to call himself a Muhammedan.

Calm and

We do not recognize the state of Israel. Not today, not as of this writing, not in the hour of grief and wrath. If the entire Israeli nation should fall to its own devices and parts of the population have to flee the occupied areas into another diaspora, then we say: May thesurroundings stay calm and show them mercy. It is forever a crime withoutmitigation to lay hand on refugees and stateless people.

Peace and free passage for the evacuating civilian population no longerprotected by a state. Fire not at the fugitives! Take not aim at them! They are vulnerable now like snails without shells, vulnerable like slow caravans of Palestinian and Lebanese refugees, defenseless like women and children and the old in Qana, Gaza, Sabra, and Chatilla. Give the Israeli refugees shelter, give them milk and honey! Let not one Israeli child be deprived of life. Far too many children and civilians have already been murdered.

source:http://www.boomantribune.com/

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Before Attack, Confusion Over Clearance for Convoy
By SABRINA TAVERNISE
Published: August 13, 2006

HASBAYA, Lebanon, Aug. 12 — The cars set off down the narrow mountain road a few hours before sunset. They were trying to leave villages the Israeli Army occupied two days before, moving with what they thought was permission to pass.

But then the missiles came. Shortly after nightfall, Israeli aircraft fired into the convoy, containing more than a thousand Lebanese villagers. The military said in a statement that it had received a request for the convoy to move, but had denied it. It said it had suspected that cars in the area contained Hezbollah guerrillas carrying weapons, and only later discovered that the cars were part of the refugee convoy.

Six people were killed and more than 30 were wounded, according to witnesses and Red Cross officials. Among the dead were a Lebanese soldier, a baker, a Red Cross worker and the wife of a mayor of one of the villages.

What followed was a scene of panic under a large yellow moon. Drivers switched off their headlights, afraid of being shot, and frantically began turning around on the narrow road, which runs between two mountains near the winemaking village of Kefraya. An ambulance worker driving with the convoy was killed trying to get to the wounded, and it was an hour before nearby emergency workers could get in to pick up the bodies.

"We saw the light and the sound of the bomb," said Ronitte Daher, a newspaper reporter from the village of Qlayah, who was traveling in the convoy with her sister. "I got out of the car and heard voices of people crying and shouting.

She did not know what to do, and switched off her lights. Someone shouted to get out of the car and run for cover. Other cars were driving in reverse. She turned her car around.

"When I was turning, I saw a dead body," she said. "I know that man. I saw his children crying and shouting, 'Please help us! Please help us!'"

Israeli planes have been striking Lebanese civilians since the beginning of the war, hitting a truckload of fleeing farmers, a Lebanese photographer and a village during a funeral. Even so, Friday's strike still came as a shock: the convoy was more than 500 cars long and included a town mayor, an entire Lebanese Army unit and its own ambulance.

The Israeli military said it had banned the movement of cars south of the Litani River, though the convoy was hit well north of it.

Crowding may have been part of the problem. The villagers had been waiting in Merj 'Uyun, a few miles south of here, since early Friday. Many had not been out of their houses since the Israelis came late last week, and they were desperate to leave.

Finally, around 4 p.m., they piled behind each other in a long bumper-to-bumper line and began moving out. The road was a mess, torn with large craters, and it took more than two hours to move several miles, according to the mayor of Merj 'Uyun , Fuad Hamra, who was in the convoy.

As soon as the cars were hit, all within about three minutes of one another, drivers farther back began hearing about it on their cellphones and many simply stopped in the dark. Some cars parked in areas that looked safe. Others, like Ms. Daher, drove to Jib Janine, a nearby town.
Shortly after the attack, clumps of cars were idling in two parking lots south of Jib Jenine. People stood outside in the bright moonlight.

Ms. Daher stayed in the home of a family she had never met. They gave her water.

"I saw some people," she said. "I asked it's safe here? They said, yes, come."

Ms. Daher, a reporter for Nahar Newspaper, one of Lebanon's main newspapers, said that she tried to take photographs of the soldiers from the window of her house on Thursday, but that soldiers shot at the house when they saw her.

"They asked people not to look out the windows," she said, speaking by telephone from Beirut, where she finally arrived Saturday afternoon.

She described a frozen town, in which Israeli soldiers and Lebanese civilians were terrified of one another.

"They are afraid of any movement in the houses, so we tried to keep calm," she said. Israelis, according to Mr. Hamra and other residents, had destroyed some houses in the villages they occupied late last week, and residents did not feel safe inside their homes.

Residents were similarly baffled about the convoy. The Israelis have warned several days ago that they would strike anyone driving south of the Litani River, and reiterated that warning the statement they released Saturday about the mistaken strike. But the convoy was hit far north of the river, after the convoy had passed out of active fighting.

"Something went wrong," Mr. Hamra said by telephone from Beirut. "We were promised that we would have the clearance from Israelis and the road would be cleared. Neither happened."

"Probably the clearance wasn't cleared enough." (a sense of humor yet!)************************************************************************************

Rally Near White House Protests Violence in Mideast
By ROBERT PEAR
Published: August 13, 2006
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 — Thousands of people rallied near the White House on Saturday to protest what they described as Israeli aggression in Lebanon and the United States' unwavering support for Israel.

Others rallied Saturday, including a San Francisco face-off over Israel.

The diverse crowd included many Arab-Americans and Muslims, college students and families, as well as veterans of prior demonstrations against the war in Iraq.

"We want to know why our tax money is going to support war crimes,'' said Mounzer Sleiman, vice chairman of the National Council of Arab-Americans, one of more than 15 speakers who addressed the protesters gathered in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, under a cloudless sky.

The crowd erupted periodically in chants, "Israel out of Lebanon now" and "Free, free Palestine.''

Dr. Khalil A. Katato of West Bloomfield, Mich., an oncologist who came to Washington by bus with his wife and five children, said, "We are protesting U.S. support of Israeli aggression on the Palestinian and Lebanese people.''

His wife, Daad Katato, said she made the trip to protest the war in Iraq, and to show sympathy for children killed or injured during Israel's military operations in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

The criticism of Israel at Saturday's rally contrasted with the sentiment in Congress, where support for Israel is overwhelming and bipartisan. By a vote of 410 to 8, the House last month expressed "strong support'' for Israel and condemned Hezbollah and Hamas for armed attacks on Israeli territory. The Senate approved a similar resolution by voice vote.

President Bush was at his ranch in Crawford, Tex., winding up a 10-day vacation. He was due back at the White House on Sunday.

At the rally on Saturday, the prevailing sentiments were expressed in signs held aloft by marchers: "Occupation is a crime — Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine." "Stop Israeli terrorism." "No justice, no peace.''

Brian Becker, national coordinator of a coalition called Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, a sponsor of the rally, asserted that President Bush had given Israel a green light to crush Hezbollah in Lebanon, then "sent cluster bombs to the Israeli Defense Forces to kill Lebanese children.'' Israel has asked the Bush administration to speed delivery of rockets armed with cluster munitions, which could be used to strike Hezbollah missile sites in Lebanon, and a senior American official said this week that the request was likely to be approved.

Several speakers at the rally criticized Mr. Bush for mentioning the religious background of those arrested this week in a plot to blow up airplanes flying from Britain to the United States. Mr. Bush said the plot showed that "this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation.''

Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, said Mr. Bush owed Muslims an apology. "There is no Islamic fascism,'' Mr. Bray said. "There is no doctrine of fascism in Islam.''

Esam Omesh, president of the Muslim American Society, said, "We all stand united against the violence and the killing in the holy land.''

Ramsey Clark, the former attorney general, drew cheers when he said, "We have a solemn obligation to impeach President Bush.'' Mr. Clark, who has served on the defense team for Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, also advocated the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Two students from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. — Ali Khan, 28, a Pakistani-American, and his wife, Afnan Khan, 22, who was born in the United States to Iraqi parents — were less strident. They said they were protesting the death of civilians, especially Lebanese children.

"They are all innocent,'' Mr. Khan said.

************************************************************************************

WATCHING LEBANON
Washington's interests in Israel's war.
by SEYMOUR M. HERSH
Issue of 2006-08-21
Posted 2006-08-14

In the days after Hezbollah crossed from Lebanon into Israel, on July 12th, to kidnap two soldiers, triggering an Israeli air attack on Lebanon and a full-scale war, the Bush Administration seemed strangely passive. "It's a moment of clarification," President George W. Bush said at the G-8 summit, in St. Petersburg, on July 16th. "It's now become clear why we don't have peace in the Middle East." He described the relationship between Hezbollah and its supporters in Iran and Syria as one of the "root causes of instability," and subsequently said that it was up to those countries to end the crisis. Two days later, despite calls from several governments for the United States to take the lead in negotiations to end the fighting, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that a ceasefire should be put off until "the conditions are conducive." (idiots - THIS is why there is no peace: because there is an illegal, illegitimate state that insists on violating the borders and rights of legitimate nations and their peoples with the support of superpowers' leaders who can't see further than the tip of their nose rather than accepting that it depends on the understanding and cooperation of those very nations to help it be what it is says it is aiming to be: a legal, welcome state that is at peace with its neighbours. and i didn't bold anything else because the whole article turned into one big bold mass.)

The Bush Administration, however, was closely involved in the planning of Israel's retaliatory attacks. President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney were convinced, current and former intelligence and diplomatic officials told me, that a successful Israeli Air Force bombing campaign against Hezbollah's heavily fortified underground-missile and command-and-control complexes in Lebanon could ease Israel's security concerns and also serve as a prelude to a potential American preemptive attack to destroy Iran's nuclear installations, some of which are also buried deep underground.

Israeli military and intelligence experts I spoke to emphasized that the country's immediate security issues were reason enough to confront Hezbollah, regardless of what the Bush Administration wanted. Shabtai Shavit, a national-security adviser to the Knesset who headed the Mossad, Israel's foreign-intelligence service, from 1989 to 1996, told me, "We do what we think is best for us, and if it happens to meet America's requirements, that's just part of a relationship between two friends. Hezbollah is armed to the teeth and trained in the most advanced technology of guerrilla warfare. It was just a matter of time. We had to address it."

Hezbollah is seen by Israelis as a profound threat—a terrorist organization, operating on their border, with a military arsenal that, with help from Iran and Syria, has grown stronger since the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon ended, in 2000. Hezbollah's leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, has said he does not believe that Israel is a "legal state." Israeli intelligence estimated at the outset of the air war that Hezbollah had roughly five hundred medium-range Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 rockets and a few dozen long-range Zelzal rockets; the Zelzals, with a range of about two hundred kilometres, could reach Tel Aviv. (One rocket hit Haifa the day after the kidnappings.) It also has more than twelve thousand shorter-range rockets. Since the conflict began, more than three thousand of these have been fired at Israel.

According to a Middle East expert with knowledge of the current thinking of both the Israeli and the U.S. governments, Israel had devised a plan for attacking Hezbollah—and shared it with Bush Administration officials—well before the July 12th kidnappings. "It's not that the Israelis had a trap that Hezbollah walked into," he said, "but there was a strong feeling in the White House that sooner or later the Israelis were going to do it."

The Middle East expert said that the Administration had several reasons for supporting the Israeli bombing campaign. Within the State Department, it was seen as a way to strengthen the Lebanese government so that it could assert its authority over the south of the country, much of which is controlled by Hezbollah. He went on, "The White House was more focussed on stripping Hezbollah of its missiles, because, if there was to be a military option against Iran's nuclear facilities, it had to get rid of the weapons that Hezbollah could use in a potential retaliation at Israel. Bush wanted both. Bush was going after Iran, as part of the Axis of Evil, and its nuclear sites, and he was interested in going after Hezbollah as part of his interest in democratization, with Lebanon as one of the crown jewels of Middle East democracy."

Administration officials denied that they knew of Israel's plan for the air war. The White House did not respond to a detailed list of questions. In response to a separate request, a National Security Council spokesman said, "Prior to Hezbollah's attack on Israel, the Israeli government gave no official in Washington any reason to believe that Israel was planning to attack. Even after the July 12th attack, we did not know what the Israeli plans were." A Pentagon spokesman said, "The United States government remains committed to a diplomatic solution to the problem of Iran's clandestine nuclear weapons program," and denied the story, as did a State Department spokesman.

The United States and Israel have shared intelligence and enjoyed close military coöperation for decades, but early this spring, according to a former senior intelligence official, high-level planners from the U.S. Air Force—under pressure from the White House to develop a war plan for a decisive strike against Iran's nuclear facilities—began consulting with their counterparts in the Israeli Air Force.

"The big question for our Air Force was how to hit a series of hard targets in Iran successfully," the former senior intelligence official said. "Who is the closest ally of the U.S. Air Force in its planning? It's not Congo—it's Israel. Everybody knows that Iranian engineers have been advising Hezbollah on tunnels and underground gun emplacements. And so the Air Force went to the Israelis with some new tactics and said to them, 'Let's concentrate on the bombing and share what we have on Iran and what you have on Lebanon.' " The discussions reached the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, he said.

"The Israelis told us it would be a cheap war with many benefits," a U.S. government consultant with close ties to Israel said. "Why oppose it? We'll be able to hunt down and bomb missiles, tunnels, and bunkers from the air. It would be a demo for Iran."

A Pentagon consultant said that the Bush White House "has been agitating for some time to find a reason for a preemptive blow against Hezbollah." He added, "It was our intent to have Hezbollah diminished, and now we have someone else doing it." (As this article went to press, the United Nations Security Council passed a ceasefire resolution, although it was unclear if it would change the situation on the ground.)

According to Richard Armitage, who served as Deputy Secretary of State in Bush's first term—and who, in 2002, said that Hezbollah "may be the A team of terrorists"—Israel's campaign in Lebanon, which has faced unexpected difficulties and widespread criticism, may, in the end, serve as a warning to the White House about Iran. "If the most dominant military force in the region—the Israel Defense Forces—can't pacify a country like Lebanon, with a population of four million, you should think carefully about taking that template to Iran, with strategic depth and a population of seventy million," Armitage said. "The only thing that the bombing has achieved so far is to unite the population against the Israelis."

Several current and former officials involved in the Middle East told me that Israel viewed the soldiers' kidnapping as the opportune moment to begin its planned military campaign against Hezbollah. "Hezbollah, like clockwork, was instigating something small every month or two," the U.S. government consultant with ties to Israel said. Two weeks earlier, in late June, members of Hamas, the Palestinian group, had tunnelled under the barrier separating southern Gaza from Israel and captured an Israeli soldier. Hamas also had lobbed a series of rockets at Israeli towns near the border with Gaza. In response, Israel had initiated an extensive bombing campaign and reoccupied parts of Gaza.

The Pentagon consultant noted that there had also been cross-border incidents involving Israel and Hezbollah, in both directions, for some time. "They've been sniping at each other," he said. "Either side could have pointed to some incident and said 'We have to go to war with these guys'—because they were already at war."

David Siegel, the spokesman at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, said that the Israeli Air Force had not been seeking a reason to attack Hezbollah. "We did not plan the campaign. That decision was forced on us." There were ongoing alerts that Hezbollah "was pressing to go on the attack," Siegel said. "Hezbollah attacks every two or three months," but the kidnapping of the soldiers raised the stakes.

In interviews, several Israeli academics, journalists, and retired military and intelligence officers all made one point: they believed that the Israeli leadership, and not Washington, had decided that it would go to war with Hezbollah. Opinion polls showed that a broad spectrum of Israelis supported that choice. "The neocons in Washington may be happy, but Israel did not need to be pushed, because Israel has been wanting to get rid of Hezbollah," Yossi Melman, a journalist for the newspaper Ha'aretz, who has written several books about the Israeli intelligence community, said. "By provoking Israel, Hezbollah provided that opportunity."

"We were facing a dilemma," an Israeli official said. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "had to decide whether to go for a local response, which we always do, or for a comprehensive response—to really take on Hezbollah once and for all." Olmert made his decision, the official said, only after a series of Israeli rescue efforts failed.

The U.S. government consultant with close ties to Israel told me, however, that, from Israel's perspective, the decision to take strong action had become inevitable weeks earlier, after the Israeli Army's signals intelligence group, known as Unit 8200, picked up bellicose intercepts in late spring and early summer, involving Hamas, Hezbollah, and Khaled Meshal, the Hamas leader now living in Damascus.

One intercept was of a meeting in late May of the Hamas political and military leadership, with Meshal participating by telephone. "Hamas believed the call from Damascus was scrambled, but Israel had broken the code," the consultant said. For almost a year before its victory in the Palestinian elections in January, Hamas had curtailed its terrorist activities. In the late May intercepted conversation, the consultant told me, the Hamas leadership said that "they got no benefit from it, and were losing standing among the Palestinian population." The conclusion, he said, was " 'Let's go back into the terror business and then try and wrestle concessions from the Israeli government.' " The consultant told me that the U.S. and Israel agreed that if the Hamas leadership did so, and if Nasrallah backed them up, there should be "a full-scale response." In the next several weeks, when Hamas began digging the tunnel into Israel, the consultant said, Unit 8200 "picked up signals intelligence involving Hamas, Syria, and Hezbollah, saying, in essence, that they wanted Hezbollah to 'warm up' the north." In one intercept, the consultant said, Nasrallah referred to Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz "as seeming to be weak," in comparison with the former Prime Ministers Ariel Sharon and Ehud Barak, who had extensive military experience, and said "he thought Israel would respond in a small-scale, local way, as they had in the past."

Earlier this summer, before the Hezbollah kidnappings, the U.S. government consultant said, several Israeli officials visited Washington, separately, "to get a green light for the bombing operation and to find out how much the United States would bear." The consultant added, "Israel began with Cheney. It wanted to be sure that it had his support and the support of his office and the Middle East desk of the National Security Council." After that, "persuading Bush was never a problem, and Condi Rice was on board," the consultant said.

The initial plan, as outlined by the Israelis, called for a major bombing campaign in response to the next Hezbollah provocation, according to the Middle East expert with knowledge of U.S. and Israeli thinking. Israel believed that, by targeting Lebanon's infrastructure, including highways, fuel depots, and even the civilian runways at the main Beirut airport, it could persuade Lebanon's large Christian and Sunni populations to turn against Hezbollah, according to the former senior intelligence official. The airport, highways, and bridges, among other things, have been hit in the bombing campaign. The Israeli Air Force had flown almost nine thousand missions as of last week. (David Siegel, the Israeli spokesman, said that Israel had targeted only sites connected to Hezbollah; the bombing of bridges and roads was meant to prevent the transport of weapons.)

The Israeli plan, according to the former senior intelligence official, was "the mirror image of what the United States has been planning for Iran." (The initial U.S. Air Force proposals for an air attack to destroy Iran's nuclear capacity, which included the option of intense bombing of civilian infrastructure targets inside Iran, have been resisted by the top leadership of the Army, the Navy, and the Marine Corps, according to current and former officials. They argue that the Air Force plan will not work and will inevitably lead, as in the Israeli war with Hezbollah, to the insertion of troops on the ground.)

Uzi Arad, who served for more than two decades in the Mossad, told me that to the best of his knowledge the contacts between the Israeli and U.S. governments were routine, and that, "in all my meetings and conversations with government officials, never once did I hear anyone refer to prior coördination with the United States." He was troubled by one issue—the speed with which the Olmert government went to war. "For the life of me, I've never seen a decision to go to war taken so speedily," he said. "We usually go through long analyses."

The key military planner was Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, the I.D.F. chief of staff, who, during a career in the Israeli Air Force, worked on contingency planning for an air war with Iran. Olmert, a former mayor of Jerusalem, and Peretz, a former labor leader, could not match his experience and expertise.

In the early discussions with American officials, I was told by the Middle East expert and the government consultant, the Israelis repeatedly pointed to the war in Kosovo as an example of what Israel would try to achieve. The NATO forces commanded by U.S. Army General Wesley Clark methodically bombed and strafed not only military targets but tunnels, bridges, and roads, in Kosovo and elsewhere in Serbia, for seventy-eight days before forcing Serbian forces to withdraw from Kosovo. " Israel studied the Kosovo war as its role model," the government consultant said. "The Israelis told Condi Rice, 'You did it in about seventy days, but we need half of that—thirty-five days.' "
There are, of course, vast differences between Lebanon and Kosovo. Clark, who retired from the military in 2000 and unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat for the Presidency in 2004, took issue with the analogy: "If it's true that the Israeli campaign is based on the American approach in Kosovo, then it missed the point. Ours was to use force to obtain a diplomatic objective—it was not about killing people." Clark noted in a 2001 book, "Waging Modern War," that it was the threat of a possible ground invasion as well as the bombing that forced the Serbs to end the war. He told me, "In my experience, air campaigns have to be backed, ultimately, by the will and capability to finish the job on the ground."

Kosovo has been cited publicly by Israeli officials and journalists since the war began. On August 6th, Prime Minister Olmert, responding to European condemnation of the deaths of Lebanese civilians, said, "Where do they get the right to preach to Israel? European countries attacked Kosovo and killed ten thousand civilians. Ten thousand! And none of these countries had to suffer before that from a single rocket. I'm not saying it was wrong to intervene in Kosovo. But please: don't preach to us about the treatment of civilians." (Human Rights Watch estimated the number of civilians killed in the NATO bombing to be five hundred; the Yugoslav government put the number between twelve hundred and five thousand.)

Cheney's office supported the Israeli plan, as did Elliott Abrams, a deputy national-security adviser, according to several former and current officials. (A spokesman for the N.S.C. denied that Abrams had done so.) They believed that Israel should move quickly in its air war against Hezbollah. A former intelligence officer said, "We told Israel, 'Look, if you guys have to go, we're behind you all the way. But we think it should be sooner rather than later—the longer you wait, the less time we have to evaluate and plan for Iran before Bush gets out of office.' "

Cheney's point, the former senior intelligence official said, was "What if the Israelis execute their part of this first, and it's really successful? It'd be great. We can learn what to do in Iran by watching what the Israelis do in Lebanon."

The Pentagon consultant told me that intelligence about Hezbollah and Iran is being mishandled by the White House the same way intelligence had been when, in 2002 and early 2003, the Administration was making the case that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. "The big complaint now in the intelligence community is that all of the important stuff is being sent directly to the top—at the insistence of the White House—and not being analyzed at all, or scarcely," he said. "It's an awful policy and violates all of the N.S.A.'s strictures, and if you complain about it you're out," he said. "Cheney had a strong hand in this."

The long-term Administration goal was to help set up a Sunni Arab coalition—including countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt—that would join the United States and Europe to pressure the ruling Shiite mullahs in Iran. "But the thought behind that plan was that Israel would defeat Hezbollah, not lose to it," the consultant with close ties to Israel said. Some officials in Cheney's office and at the N.S.C. had become convinced, on the basis of private talks, that those nations would moderate their public criticism of Israel and blame Hezbollah for creating the crisis that led to war. Although they did so at first, they shifted their position in the wake of public protests in their countries about the Israeli bombing. The White House was clearly disappointed when, late last month, Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, came to Washington and, at a meeting with Bush, called for the President to intervene immediately to end the war. The Washington Post reported that Washington had hoped to enlist moderate Arab states "in an effort to pressure Syria and Iran to rein in Hezbollah, but the Saudi move . . . seemed to cloud that initiative."

The surprising strength of Hezbollah's resistance, and its continuing ability to fire rockets into northern Israel in the face of the constant Israeli bombing, the Middle East expert told me, "is a massive setback for those in the White House who want to use force in Iran. And those who argue that the bombing will create internal dissent and revolt in Iran are also set back."
Nonetheless, some officers serving with the Joint Chiefs of Staff remain deeply concerned that the Administration will have a far more positive assessment of the air campaign than they should, the former senior intelligence official said. "There is no way that Rumsfeld and Cheney will draw the right conclusion about this," he said. "When the smoke clears, they'll say it was a success, and they'll draw reinforcement for their plan to attack Iran."

In the White House, especially in the Vice-President's office, many officials believe that the military campaign against Hezbollah is working and should be carried forward. At the same time, the government consultant said, some policymakers in the Administration have concluded that the cost of the bombing to Lebanese society is too high. "They are telling Israel that it's time to wind down the attacks on infrastructure."

Similar divisions are emerging in Israel. David Siegel, the Israeli spokesman, said that his country's leadership believed, as of early August, that the air war had been successful, and had destroyed more than seventy per cent of Hezbollah's medium- and long-range-missile launching capacity. "The problem is short-range missiles, without launchers, that can be shot from civilian areas and homes," Siegel told me. "The only way to resolve this is ground operations—which is why Israel would be forced to expand ground operations if the latest round of diplomacy doesn't work." Last week, however, there was evidence that the Israeli government was troubled by the progress of the war. In an unusual move, Major General Moshe Kaplinsky, Halutz's deputy, was put in charge of the operation, supplanting Major General Udi Adam. The worry in Israel is that Nasrallah might escalate the crisis by firing missiles at Tel Aviv. "There is a big debate over how much damage Israel should inflict to prevent it," the consultant said. "If Nasrallah hits Tel Aviv, what should Israel do? Its goal is to deter more attacks by telling Nasrallah that it will destroy his country if he doesn't stop, and to remind the Arab world that Israel can set it back twenty years. We're no longer playing by the same rules."

A European intelligence officer told me, "The Israelis have been caught in a psychological trap. In earlier years, they had the belief that they could solve their problems with toughness. But now, with Islamic martyrdom, things have changed, and they need different answers. How do you scare people who love martyrdom?" The problem with trying to eliminate Hezbollah, the intelligence officer said, is the group's ties to the Shiite population in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut's southern suburbs, where it operates schools, hospitals, a radio station, and various charities.

A high-level American military planner told me, "We have a lot of vulnerability in the region, and we've talked about some of the effects of an Iranian or Hezbollah attack on the Saudi regime and on the oil infrastructure." There is special concern inside the Pentagon, he added, about the oil-producing nations north of the Strait of Hormuz. "We have to anticipate the unintended consequences," he told me. "Will we be able to absorb a barrel of oil at one hundred dollars? There is this almost comical thinking that you can do it all from the air, even when you're up against an irregular enemy with a dug-in capability. You're not going to be successful unless you have a ground presence, but the political leadership never considers the worst case. These guys only want to hear the best case."

There is evidence that the Iranians were expecting the war against Hezbollah. Vali Nasr, an expert on Shiite Muslims and Iran, who is a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and also teaches at the Naval Postgraduate School, in Monterey, California, said, "Every negative American move against Hezbollah was seen by Iran as part of a larger campaign against it. And Iran began to prepare for the showdown by supplying more sophisticated weapons to Hezbollah—anti-ship and anti-tank missiles—and training its fighters in their use. And now Hezbollah is testing Iran's new weapons. Iran sees the Bush Administration as trying to marginalize its regional role, so it fomented trouble."

Nasr, an Iranian-American who recently published a study of the Sunni-Shiite divide, entitled "The Shia Revival," also said that the Iranian leadership believes that Washington's ultimate political goal is to get some international force to act as a buffer—to physically separate Syria and Lebanon in an effort to isolate and disarm Hezbollah, whose main supply route is through Syria. "Military action cannot bring about the desired political result," Nasr said. The popularity of Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a virulent critic of Israel, is greatest in his own country. If the U.S. were to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, Nasr said, "you may end up turning Ahmadinejad into another Nasrallah—the rock star of the Arab street."

Donald Rumsfeld, who is one of the Bush Administration's most outspoken, and powerful, officials, has said very little publicly about the crisis in Lebanon. His relative quiet, compared to his aggressive visibility in the run-up to the Iraq war, has prompted a debate in Washington about where he stands on the issue.

Some current and former intelligence officials who were interviewed for this article believe that Rumsfeld disagrees with Bush and Cheney about the American role in the war between Israel and Hezbollah. The U.S. government consultant with close ties to Israel said that "there was a feeling that Rumsfeld was jaded in his approach to the Israeli war." He added, "Air power and the use of a few Special Forces had worked in Afghanistan, and he tried to do it again in Iraq. It was the same idea, but it didn't work. He thought that Hezbollah was too dug in and the Israeli attack plan would not work, and the last thing he wanted was another war on his shift that would put the American forces in Iraq in greater jeopardy."

A Western diplomat said that he understood that Rumsfeld did not know all the intricacies of the war plan. "He is angry and worried about his troops" in Iraq, the diplomat said. Rumsfeld served in the White House during the last year of the war in Vietnam, from which American troops withdrew in 1975, "and he did not want to see something like this having an impact in Iraq ." Rumsfeld's concern, the diplomat added, was that an expansion of the war into Iran could put the American troops in Iraq at greater risk of attacks by pro-Iranian Shiite militias.
At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on August 3rd, Rumsfeld was less than enthusiastic about the war's implications for the American troops in Iraq. Asked whether the Administration was mindful of the war's impact on Iraq, he testified that, in his meetings with Bush and Condoleezza Rice, "there is a sensitivity to the desire to not have our country or our interests or our forces put at greater risk as a result of what's taking place between Israel and Hezbollah. . . . There are a variety of risks that we face in that region, and it's a difficult and delicate situation."

The Pentagon consultant dismissed talk of a split at the top of the Administration, however, and said simply, "Rummy is on the team. He'd love to see Hezbollah degraded, but he also is a voice for less bombing and more innovative Israeli ground operations." The former senior intelligence official similarly depicted Rumsfeld as being "delighted that Israel is our stalking horse."
There are also questions about the status of Condoleezza Rice. Her initial support for the Israeli air war against Hezbollah has reportedly been tempered by dismay at the effects of the attacks on Lebanon. The Pentagon consultant said that in early August she began privately "agitating" inside the Administration for permission to begin direct diplomatic talks with Syria—so far, without much success. Last week, the Times reported that Rice had directed an Embassy official in Damascus to meet with the Syrian foreign minister, though the meeting apparently yielded no results. The Times also reported that Rice viewed herself as "trying to be not only a peacemaker abroad but also a mediator among contending parties" within the Administration. The article pointed to a divide between career diplomats in the State Department and "conservatives in the government," including Cheney and Abrams, "who were pushing for strong American support for Israel."

The Western diplomat told me his embassy believes that Abrams has emerged as a key policymaker on Iran, and on the current Hezbollah-Israeli crisis, and that Rice's role has been relatively diminished. Rice did not want to make her most recent diplomatic trip to the Middle East, the diplomat said. "She only wanted to go if she thought there was a real chance to get a ceasefire."

Bush's strongest supporter in Europe continues to be British Prime Minister Tony Blair, but many in Blair's own Foreign Office, as a former diplomat said, believe that he has "gone out on a particular limb on this"—especially by accepting Bush's refusal to seek an immediate and total ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. "Blair stands alone on this," the former diplomat said. "He knows he's a lame duck who's on the way out, but he buys it"—the Bush policy. "He drinks the White House Kool-Aid as much as anybody in Washington." The crisis will really start at the end of August, the diplomat added, "when the Iranians"—under a United Nations deadline to stop uranium enrichment—"will say no."Even those who continue to support Israel's war against Hezbollah agree that it is failing to achieve one of its main goals—to rally the Lebanese against Hezbollah. "Strategic bombing has been a failed military concept for ninety years, and yet air forces all over the world keep on doing it," John Arquilla, a defense analyst at the Naval Postgraduate School, told me. Arquilla has been campaigning for more than a decade, with growing success, to change the way America fights terrorism. "The warfare of today is not mass on mass," he said. "You have to hunt like a network to defeat a network. Israel focussed on bombing against Hezbollah, and, when that did not work, it became more aggressive on the ground. The definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different result."

War Question & Answer

2006-08-11T13:48:00.000+04:00

i really tried to put my two cents in with bold and italics here ... but really, there's so little (in my opinon) superfluous information that i ended up bolding everything!

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Lebanon War Question and Answer
by Stephen R. Shalom
August 07, 2006

* Doesn't Israel have the right to defend itself?

One has the right to self-defense if one is not oneself guilty of aggression. So, for example, the Soviet Union could not invoke self-defense when its occupation troops in Afghanistan were attacked by Afghan mujahideen. Instead, it ought to have withdrawn its troops. Likewise, the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories is illegal and unjust and Israel can't claim self-defense when Palestinians struggle by legitimate means to end the occupation. The proper Israeli response to such Palestinian actions is not self-defense, but full withdrawal from the occupied territories.

The situation with Lebanon is different; whereas in Palestine, Israel was engaged in an ongoing aggression, in Lebanon the Israeli violations of Lebanese rights prior to July 12, 2006, were far less substantial, and less immediate.

But even when a country's own prior acts aren't contributory causes of an attack, international law places various limitations on the right of self-defense to that attack.

One limitation is that the right of self-defense is meant to give nations the right to take measures to repel an armed attack until the UN Security Council can act to stop the aggression. If an enemy's tanks are hurtling toward your capital city, any delay in responding would mean further losses and further harm. In the case of the Hezbollah raid across the Israeli border on July 12, 2006, the act of aggression took place and was over; it was not an ongoing aggression to which any delay in responding would have meant additional harm to Israel. Once the immediate danger is over, international law requires that victims of aggression bring their cases to the Security Council for action.

Of course, the Security Council is not always able to act. But the main obstacle to Security Council action has generally been the veto wielded by Washington on behalf of Israel.

A second requirement of international law is that acts taken in self-defense must be proportionate to the offense.

But, to quote Representative Jerrold L. Nadler of New York, 'Since when should a response to aggression and murder be proportionate?'[1] Or, since when does the side which starts a war get to decide how it will be fought?

Wouldn't we consider it disproportionate if the police bombed an apartment building in an effort to catch a murderer? Or to carpet bomb the area of a city which we thought (or knew) to be harboring the person or persons responsible for a murder? The requirement of proportionality makes good moral sense even when dealing with murderers.

Consider our reaction in an international case. India has been subject to many terrorist attacks. The latest train bombings in Mumbai may well be the work of home-grown terrorists radicalized by Hindu pogroms against Muslims. But probably some of the terrorist acts -- like the assault on the Indian parliament in New Dehli in December 2001 -- involved a Pakistani role. Should India have launched a major military assault on the jihadi training camps in Pakistan, not to mention a broader assault throughout Pakistan, killing numerous civilians and destroying the country's infrastructure? Anyone concerned about world peace would surely have urged India to refrain from such an action. Starting a war that would lead to massive numbers of deaths in response to a far smaller-scale provocation would clearly have been disproportionate.[2]

Consider another example. In June 2006, the Lebanese government announced that it had broken an Israeli-run assassination team operating within Lebanon.[3] What would our reaction have been if the Lebanese government had responded to this Israeli aggression (assuming it was convincingly proved) by initiating air and missile strikes throughout Israel, killing hundreds of civilians, wrecking the civilian infrastructure, and driving more than a quarter of the population from their homes? Surely we would consider such a response by Beirut to be wholly disproportionate, even in the face of a clear provocation.

* But can any country accept having rockets raining down on its citizens?

No country should have to suffer rockets raining down on its citizens. Nor should any country have to suffer far more lethal air raids and artillery shelling on its citizens, as Lebanon is suffering today. But in any event this Israeli war was not launched to stop Hezbollah rocket fire from Lebanon. That rocket fire was a response to the massive Israeli attack on Lebanon, including its power plants, its bridges and roads, its ports, its cities and villages.

Look at the timing. Here is the complete list of Katyusha and other rockets launched from Lebanon against civilian areas of Israel between May 2000, when Israel announced its withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and July 12, 2006, as derived from reports of the UN Secretary General based on reports from UN observers at the border.[4]

Rocket attacks on civilians from Lebanon, May 2000-July 12, 2006[a]

date
number
result
responsibility
31 March 2002
3
no damage or casualties mentioned
probably launched by Palestinians

2 April 2002
at least 1
no damage or casualties mentioned
unknown elements

6 April 2002
4
5 civilians wounded in divided border village of Ghajar
"suspected Palestinian shooters"

7 October 2003
3
2 landed in Lebanon killing a child; 1 landed in Israel causing no damage or casualties
"unidentified elements"

7 June 2004
3-4
none hit Israel
"unidentified elements presumed likely to be Palestinians"[b]

9 Oct. 2004
1
no casualties or property damage
"generally believed to be Palestinian militants"

28 Oct. 2004
1
no casualties or property damage
"generally believed to be Palestinian militants"

15 Nov. 2004
1
no casualties or property damage
"generally believed to be Palestinian militants"

11 May 2005
1
property damage, no casualties
"unidentified armed elements"

12 May 2005
2
"no impact reported by UNIFIL. While UNIFIL was unable to verify this claim, local residents reported hearing explosions."
IDF[c] claimed Hezbollah responsible

25 Aug. 2005
2
no casualties
Hezbollah denied
responsibility; Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility

27 Dec. 2005
4
some damage, no casualties
those responsible not identified, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida's leader in Iraq claimed responsibility.

28 May 2006 a.m.
at least 8
3 landed in IDF position, wounding one [unclear where others aimed; no other casualties or injuries mentioned]
Hezbollah denied involve-ment. Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Lebanon initially claimed responsibility in retaliation for the killing of a leading member in Lebanon and his brother on 26 May. The claim was retracted later that day.[d]

28 May 2006 p.m.
rocket fire
no Israeli civilian casualties mentioned
"unidentified armed elements fired small arms" wounding one IDF soldier. No claim of responsibility, and Hezbollah denied any involvement. The incident triggered a major exchange of fire. The IDF used air strikes, artillery, mortar, and tank fire, wounding two Lebanese civilians. Hezbollah "responded with rocket, mortar and small-arms fire."

12 July 2006
"several"
none mentioned[e]
Hezbollah, as part of a diversion for its cross-border abduction operation

a. The reports mention several instances when the Lebanese government or the UN observers discovered and disarmed Katyushas: March 2005, June 2005, Dec. 30, 2005.

b. In response, Israel attacked sites of the Palestinian group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -- General Command.

c. Israeli Defense Forces. Of course, as with the U.S. Department of Defense, whether the Israeli armed forces are engaged in offense or defense is an empirical matter and not something to be determined based on the word "defense" in their title.

d. In response, Israel attacked sites of the Palestinian group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -- General Command. The Jerusalem Post reported that "The apparent pretext for the May 28 attacks was the decision by Islamic Jihad to blame Israel for the assassination of one of its leaders in Sidon two days earlier."[5] The Lebanese government claimed to have the confession of a leading member of an assassination ring established by Israel.[6]

e. The Israeli military claimed that several civilians were wounded.[7]

This table makes a number of points clear. First, Not a single Israeli civilian was killed by a rocket from Lebanon from May 2000 to July 12, 2006. And second, until May 28, 2006, there was not a single confirmed rocket fired at civilians by Hezbollah. (True, in some of the cases where the responsible party was unidentified, it might have been Hezbollah, but that's inconsistent with the group's usual policy of proudly taking responsibility for its attacks.) Often the perpetrators were Palestinians, responding to events in Palestine (for example, the bloody Israeli offensive on the West Bank in Spring 2002).

On May 28, 2006, during the exchange of fire between the Israeli military and Hezbollah in which two Lebanese but no Israeli civilians were injured, Israeli civilians in the north were ordered by the IDF "to take to the safety of bomb shelters -- some so out of use that it was difficult to locate the keys."[8]

So this war can hardly be justified as a war to stop Hezbollah from launching Katyushas against Israeli civilians. Moreover, the simplest way for Israel to stop the rockets that are now hitting its population is to accept a ceasefire. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has declared that his organization would stop firing its rockets if Israel stopped its air-raids.[9]

* Are you comparing Hezbollah's indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets, where the intention is to kill civilians, with Israel's attacks on military targets where sometimes civilians are unintentionally and regrettably killed?

It is a war crime to fire rockets, as Hezbollah is doing, at civilian targets. But this is not the only war crime, nor the war crime with the greatest civilian toll.

It is worth thinking about why we categorize Hezbollah's rocket attacks as war crimes. What if Hezbollah had announced that they were aiming at military targets (which surely exist in northern Israel, including within cities[10])? As Amnesty International notes,[11] even if the rocket strikes were aimed at military targets "they would be indiscriminate attacks, given the nature of the weapons used" and hence war crimes. Now even though Israeli weapons are far more accurate than the Hezbollah rockets, they are by no means surgical. Of the more than 600 reported Lebanese war deaths by July 28, a majority have been women and children[12]; UNICEF estimates that more than a third have been children.[13] So, we can conclude that "given the nature of the weapons used" by the IDF, Israel is guilty of (at best) indiscriminate attacks, and hence war crimes.

Hezbollah rockets sometimes contain ball bearings which are designed to increase the harm to human beings.[14] Israel has used artillery-fired cluster munitions in populated areas.[15] Both of these are likely war crimes, the only significant difference being that the latter probably have had far more lethal consequences.

Here is what Human Rights Watch concluded on the basis of extensive on-the-ground research:

"This report documents serious violations of international humanitarian law (the laws of war) by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Lebanon between July 12 and July 27, 2006, as well as the July 30 attack in Qana. During this period, the IDF killed an estimated 400 people, the vast majority of them civilians, and that number climbed to over 500 by the time this report went to print. The Israeli government claims it is taking all possible measures to minimize civilian harm, but the cases documented here reveal a systematic failure by the IDF to distinguish between combatants and civilians.

"Since the start of the conflict, Israeli forces have consistently launched artillery and air attacks with limited or dubious military gain but excessive civilian cost. In dozens of attacks, Israeli forces struck an area with no apparent military target. In some cases, the timing and intensity of the attack, the absence of a military target, as well as return strikes on rescuers, suggest that Israeli forces deliberately targeted civilians.

***

"By consistently failing to distinguish between combatants and civilians, Israel has violated one of the most fundamental tenets of the laws of war: the duty to carry out attacks on only military targets. The pattern of attacks during the Israeli offensive in Lebanon suggests that the failures cannot be explained or dismissed as mere accidents; the extent of the pattern and the seriousness of the consequences indicate the commission of war crimes."[16]

* But doesn't Hezbollah place its fighters and its weapons amid civilians, making Hezbollah -- and not Israel -- responsible for any civilian deaths?

International humanitarian law is quite clear that while it is a violation of the laws of war to intermingle military activity with civilians, the other side is still under an obligation to minimize harm to civilians. This is common sense: if a criminal was firing on police from an apartment building, would the police be justified in calling in air strikes to level the building? Of course the criminal was behaving improperly, but this hardly justifies the authorities in disregarding the welfare of the population.

But there are three further points to note. First, the Israeli claim of Hezbollah using civilians as shields is overstated. As Human Rights Watch reported,

"The Israeli government claims that it targets only Hezbollah, and that fighters from the group are using civilians as human shields, thereby placing them at risk. Human Rights Watch found no cases in which Hezbollah deliberately used civilians as shields to protect them from retaliatory IDF attack. Hezbollah occasionally did store weapons in or near civilian homes and fighters placed rocket launchers within populated areas or near U.N. observers, which are serious violations of the laws of war because they violate the duty to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties. However, those cases do not justify the IDF's extensive use of indiscriminate force which has cost so many civilian lives. In none of the cases of civilian deaths documented in this report is there evidence to suggest that Hezbollah forces or weapons were in or near the area that the IDF targeted during or just prior to the attack."[17]

Second, the broad Israeli definition of military targets makes an intermingling of military and civilian activity inevitable. Israel defines as legitimate targets the private residences of Hezbollah political leaders; these, not surprisingly, are located in residential areas. (By similar logic, Hezbollah would be justified in targeting the residential sectors of Tel Aviv where Israeli politicians live.) Israel defines as legitimate targets Hezbollah political offices -- recall that Hezbollah is and has been a legal political party in Lebanon, with members of parliament, and two members of the cabinet. Israel defines Hezbollah's TV station as a legitimate military target

Third, Israel has been directly and intentionally targeting civilian infrastructure, which has caused an immense humanitarian crisis. Sometimes there is the pretense that such attacks are militarily necessary, but often the truth has been acknowledged. Israeli army chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz, for example, warned that if the abducted soldiers were not returned, the IDF "would target infrastructure and 'turn back the clock in Lebanon by 20 years.'"[18] The Israeli offensive, said Halutz, "was open-ended. 'Nothing is safe [in Lebanon], as simple as that,' he said."[19]

As Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, notes,

"International humanitarian law permits attacks on infrastructure only if it is making an effective military contribution, and the military benefits of its destruction outweigh the civilian costs. That case is difficult, if not impossible, to make for the extensive attacks on electrical facilities, bridges and roadways throughout the country."[20]

The International Crisis Group reports that Israel has targeted "economic infrastructure bearing little or no relation to Hizbollah; the airport (far more than necessary to meet any reasonable military goal); Beirut's entire southern suburb (far beyond Hizbollah's infrastructure); the ports of Beirut and Jounieh (in Christian territory); industrial plants; bridges leading to the south (presumably in order to cut it off, interfere with Hizbollah's resupply, prevent militants from moving the Israeli captives around and alienate the local population, but all this at enormous humanitarian cost); [and] the army, including check points in Christian areas (highly questionable since the army has stayed out of the conflict, avoided using its anti-aircraft capacity despite the onslaught, focused on maintaining domestic law and order and, above all, remains the only instrument capable of extending the state's authority over the country as a whole).[21]

Israeli attacks on fuel supplies have forced the closing of hospitals; attacks on roads have interfered with delivering urgently-needed humanitarian aid:

"Getting emergency United Nations humanitarian aid to the hundreds of thousands of Lebanese displaced by the worsening conflict became even harder today after the UN said that Israeli shelling had severed the vital supply route between Syria and Beirut, as well as forcing the cancellation of all but one convoy to the devastated south of the country."[22]

* But didn't Israel provide warning to Lebanese civilians?

Warnings to civilians are proper, but do not absolve Israel of responsibility for war crimes.

First, as the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights has pointed out,

"Many people are simply unable to leave southern Lebanon because they have no transport, because roads have been destroyed, because they are ill or elderly, because they must care for others who are physically unable to make the journey, or because they simply have no where else to go."[23]

And given that Israel has conducted bombing raids throughout the country -- 33 farm workers were killed in a single raid in the northeast of the country on August 4[24] -- many might despair of ever reaching safety.

Second, warnings do not entitle combatants to declare areas free fire zones, where anything goes. As Roth notes, if failure to heed warnings justified the creation of free fire zones, "Palestinian militant groups might 'warn' all settlers to leave Israeli settlements and then be justified in treating as legitimate targets those who remained."[25]

And, we might add, it would mean that if Hezbollah warned all civilians to leave northern Israel, then it would be justified in blanketing the area with Katyushas.

Despite the clear legal prohibition against doing so, Israeli officials have announced that they are treating sections of Lebanon precisely as free fire zones -- even though many non-combatants still remain there.[26]

* Are you saying that the Israeli-Lebanese border was quiet for the past six years?

No, it wasn't. There were several different border problems.

Israeli warplanes routinely violated Lebanese airspace, often intentionally flying low over cities so as to create sonic booms that terrified the population. In some of his bi-annual reports, the Secretary General referred to almost daily incursions by the Israeli Air Force, in others he noted that "overflights by jets, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles or drones were numerous and particularly intrusive and provocative."

Sometimes Hezbullah responded to these Israeli overflights with anti-aircraft fire, sometimes after a delay, and the shells landed across the border. The UN repeatedly called for Israel to stop its flights and for Hezbollah to stop its anti-aircraft fire, noting that violations by one side did not justify violations by the other. Both sides continued. In June 2002 Hezbollah anti-aircraft fire wounded two Israeli civilians, and on August 10, 2003, killed a teenage boy and injured four other civilians. Hezbollah stopped anti-aircraft fire in mid-2004, but the Israeli overflights, often with their sonic booms over populated areas, continued, despite UN protests.

The main border problem, however, involved the Shebaa farms, a small piece of territory, 1.6 square miles in size. When Israel withdrew its troops from Lebanon in May 2000, it held on to the Shebaa farms, claiming that this was part of the Golan Heights area of Syria which Israel occupied in 1967 and therefore unrelated to the withdrawal from Lebanon. The Lebanese government, however, maintains that the Shebaa farms belong to Lebanon, not Syria, and therefore the Israeli withdrawal was not complete. Hezbollah declared its intention to continue its struggle to liberate all of Lebanese territory from Israeli occupation. Over the past six years Hezbollah frequently attacked IDF forces in the Shebaa farms area, eliciting sharp Israeli reprisals against Hezbollah positions.

* Hasn't the UN Security Council ruled that the Shebaa Farms area does not belong to Lebanon and that Israel has fully withdrawn from Lebanese territory? Hasn't the issue of the Shebaa farms just been concocted by Hezbollah to justify its continued attacks on Israel?

The Security Council had indeed ruled that Israel's May 2000 withdrawal from Lebanon was complete, and Hezbollah may well be exploiting the Shebaa farms issue in order to improve its domestic position in Lebanon. But it is not the case that Hezbollah invented the issue.

Israeli analyst Asher Kaufman[27] found that when Lebanon and Syria were both controlled by France,

"French maps located the Shebaa farms within Syrian territory. In practice, however, the residents of the area continued to consider themselves part of Lebanon. They paid taxes to Lebanon and conducted all their legal and administrative affairs in Hasbaya and Marj 'Ayun, rather than in Quneitra, the contiguous Syrian regional capital. French officers who served in the region noticed this anomaly and reported to the High Commission in Beirut on the discrepancy between maps and de facto practice, and suggested amending the maps so they would correspond with local practice. However, nothing was done to resolve the matter, neither by France, nor by the Syrian or Lebanese governments."

Kaufman notes that "from the early 1950s to 1967, Syria physically took control over the region of the Shebaa farms, imposing a de facto reality on what previously was no more than imperfectly drawn French maps," but

"Syrian and Lebanese border residents continued to live their lives for the most part disregarding the artificial and unmarked borderline. The farmers of the Shebaa farms had free access to their lands and it mattered very little to them whose sovereignty their private property was under. The Israeli occupation in 1967, however, created a reality in which, for the first time, access to their land was limited at first and finally prohibited." For the Lebanese, the Shebaa farms was an issue before April 2000. This could be seen "in the list of demands Lebanon compiled in preparation for a possible peace accord with Israel. The withdrawal from Lebanon was at the center of Israeli public debate for years. Lebanon could not remain indifferent to these developments and indeed Lebanese specialists made lists of territorial, financial and other demands from Israel. One of the numerous accusations put forth by Lebanese border specialists was that Israel intended to annex the Shebaa farms even if it withdrew from South Lebanon and that the Lebanese government must therefore prepare for such a step and assert its rights over the area. The Lebanese government, however, made it an official Lebanese claim only on May 4, 2000, demonstrating again its unprofessional handling of the matter."

When the UN made its determination in 2000 based on historical maps that the Shebaa farms were not Lebanese, the documents in Paris archives showing that French officers on the scene had recommended revising the maps to conform to local practice had not yet been discovered (by Kaufman). But with their discovery in 2002, the Lebanese case for the Shebaa Farms was much stronger.[28]

Israel's UN ambassador Dan Gillerman has stated that "Lebanon had said it wanted the Shebaa Farms back -- they should ask the Syrians to give back, since Israel could not give Lebanon back something that was not Israel's."[29] But Lebanon has asked the Syrians, who have verbally agreed that the territory belongs to Lebanon. Of course, Syria can't transfer the land to Lebanon because it is occupied by Israel, part of the Syrian Golan Heights, which Israel conquered in 1967 and formally annexed in 1981 (leading to a unanimous Security Council resolution calling the annexation null and void[30]).

In the past few days, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has proposed that as part of a settlement of the current crisis Israel turn the Shebaa farms over to the Lebanese government as a good will gesture.[31] But here's the crucial point: if this piece of land could be returned to Lebanon today, it could have been returned to Lebanon at any earlier point. Had Israel announced at any time between 2002 and 2005 that, as a confidence-building step toward peace it was turning the area over to Lebanon, they would have removed one of the main incendiary issues between the two countries. Given that Israel's claim to the Shebaa farms is zero (at best the territory has been taken from Syria), given that the land is strategically insignificant, and given the moral claim of the Lebanese farmers separated from their land, it is hard to see why this would not have been preferable to the escalating tensions on the border.

There are, of course, other issues as well between Israel and Lebanon. Israel has refused to turn over all the maps showing the location of landmines it had placed in southern Lebanon, which have continued to kill and maim Lebanese farmers. And Israel still holds some Lebanese prisoners,[32] which encourages Hezbollah to take hostages to trade for them. Indeed, Hezbollah "had called 2006 'the year of retrieving the prisoners' and, for many months, Hassan Nasrallah had publicly proclaimed the movement's intention of seizing soldiers for the purpose of a prisoner exchange. In November 2005, he spoke of the 'duty to capture Israeli soldiers and swap them for the Arab prisoners in Israel.'"[33]

* But aren't the Lebanese prisoners still in Israel guilty of horrible atrocities? Why should these people be released?

The most famous of the Lebanese prisoners, Samir Quntar, has been jailed since 1979. He is charged with killing several civilians, including a child, in cold blood.[34] However, many IDF soldiers, and their leaders, are also guilty of awful war crimes. (Yes, the nature of the crimes are different, given the weapons of each side: Where Quntar is charged with killing several civilians face to face, the IDF kills hundreds of civilians from a distance. Both are war crimes.) In a just world all those guilty of crimes would be appropriately punished, but it is hard to reject a prisoner exchange that might reduce tensions with the claim that one side alone is guilty of crimes.

One can understand a reluctance to exchange prisoners for those who have been kidnapped just for the purpose of serving as bargaining chips. But Israel does not oppose such hostage-taking on principle (though it is contrary to international law). Rather, Israel opposes it when others do it, but it has engaged in the practice itself, on a vast scale with respect to Palestinians (including in June 2006 a third of the Palestinian cabinet and many legislators[35]), but also with Lebanese.[36]

* How can there ever be peace as long as Hezbollah retains its arms? Hasn't the Security Council demanded that all militia groups in Lebanon be disarmed?

Security Council resolution 1559 called on all Lebanese militias to disarm. Hezbollah has refused to do so and, given the terrible history of civil war in the country, the Lebanese government is disinclined to force them to do so. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has said that Hezbollah is a resistance organization and not a militia and thus doesn't fall under the purview of 1559.[37]

Some Israeli apologists have argued that the current war is simply Israel's effort to enforce 1559 on Hezbollah. But nothing in 1559 authorizes individual states to take it upon themselves to enforce the resolution. And to Lebanese who saw their country occupied by Israel for 22 years in flagrant violation of Security Council resolution 425, not to mention all the other resolutions that Israel continues to disregard,[38] nothing could be more hypocritical than Israel claiming to enforce UN resolutions.

Having private armed groups in a society is clearly a problem. The question is, how best to address the problem. The key is to remove those conditions that provide Hezbollah with a justification for keeping its weapons, namely, the need to defend itself and the country against Israel. Thus, the worst strategy is an Israeli attack on Lebanon. If there were no Shebaa farms issue, no prisoners issue, no Israeli overflights issue, no landmines issue, it would be much harder for Hezbollah to justify holding on to its weapons. Before the abduction of the Israeli soldiers on July 12, 2006, the Lebanese government made clear that what was keeping it from deploying its troops all the way to the border was the absence of a comprehensive peace with Israel, and that the obstacles to achieving such a peace were these very issues, none of which involved serious costs to Israel.[39]

Hezbollah has achieved great popularity among Lebanon's Shia population for its social welfare programs and in Lebanon as a whole for the major role it played in ending the long Israeli occupation. Without the Zionist bogeyman -- a role that Israel has played to perfection -- Lebanon's Shia community might return from adhering in its majority to Hezbollah's socially-reactionary, fundamentalist agenda, to the progressive politics that a substantial portion of it once supported.[40]

* You are assuming that if Israel acts nice, everyone will accept it. Isn't Israel surrounded by implacable enemies who want to see it destroyed? Isn't anti-Semitism rife in the region?

It's true that repairing bilateral relations with Lebanon won't be easy. Israel will never be able to normalize its relations with any of its neighbors until it resolves the Palestinian issue. This issue persists not because of implacable hatreds but because of Israel's refusal to offer minimal justice to Palestinians.[41] And Israel's refusal in this regard is made possible by the diplomatic, military, and economic support of the United States government.

When a nation calling itself "the Jewish state" oppresses people, it is not surprising that the victims tend to develop a hatred of Jews. This equating of Israel's crimes and all Jews is of course unwarranted, and one way to mitigate this unfortunate association is for Jews to forthrightly criticize Israeli wrongdoing. Blanket endorsement of Israeli crimes by non-Israeli Jews just confirms the anti-Semites in their stereotypes. Anti-Semitism has become much more pronounced in the Middle East in recent years. But the solution is not to drop bombs on everyone. (Some will immediately reply, "so you want us to go quietly to the gas chambers?" as if the two choices in the world are behaving like sheep or behaving like ogres.) Instead Israel has to offer Palestinians a real, independent, viable state.

* But didn't Israel withdraw from Gaza as the first step in giving the Palestinians a state?

No. The "Gaza disengagement" was designed to relieve Israel of the need to directly rule over this densely populated mass of impoverished Palestinians, while retaining control over Gaza's airspace, its coast, and its borders, thus turning it into a gigantic prison; at the same time, Israel aims to take over the best land and resources of the West Bank, leaving the Palestinians with non-contiguous pieces of territory with no hope of a viable national existence. Living conditions in Gaza were desperate -- with an 65-75 percent poverty rate and a 35-40 percent unemployment rate -- even before Israel decided to destroy Gaza's only electrical plant and arrest many of its elected leaders in response to the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier, which followed the Israeli kidnapping of two Palestinians,[42] and before that the killing of many Palestinian civilians[43] and the withholding of the Palestinians' tax revenues to cause economic strangulation.[44]

Neither in Gaza nor in Lebanon will the iron fist bring justice. When the director of Israeli military intelligence declared in 2003, "Better Palestinian mothers should cry and not Jewish mothers"[45] he was expressing a view not only deeply immoral, but tragically ineffective, for the result of such brutal policies is likely to be weeping by Lebanese, Palestinians, and Israelis alike. And in this volatile region, with Israel's nuclear arsenal and who knows whose chemical weapons, there is the danger that the spiral of conflict will result in utter catastrophe.

Notes

1. Clyde Haberman, "At Israel Rally, A Word Fails," New York Times, July 18, 2006, p. B1.

2. Of course, Pakistan has nuclear weapons and so an Indian attack might lead to a nuclear cataclysm. Presumably, however, that's not the only reason we would urge restraint on India.

3. UPI, "Israeli intel network discovered in Lebanon," June 13, 2006.

4. Rockets fired at "IDF positions" are excluded from this list of attacks on civilians. Compiled from the following Security Council documents: S/2000/718, 20 July 2000; S/2000/1049, 31 Oct. 2000; S/2001/66, 22 Jan. 2001; S/2001/423, 30 Apr. 2001; S/2001/714, 20 July 2001; S/2002/55, 16 Jan. 2002; S/2002/746, 12 July 2002; S/2003/38, 14 Jan. 2003; S/2003/728, 23 July 2003; S/2004/50, 20 Jan. 2004; S/2004/572, 21 July 2004; S/2004/572.Add.1, 21 July 2004; S/2005/36, 20 Jan. 2005; S/2005/460*, 21 July 2005; S/2006/26, 18 Jan. 2006; and S/2006/560, 21 July 2006.

5. Liat Collins, "Not so quiet on the northern front," Jerusalem Post, June 1, 2006, p. 5.

6. See UPI, "Israeli intel network discovered in Lebanon," June 13, 2006; Associated Press, "Lebanon accuses Israeli air force of detonating car bomb that killed Palestinian militants," June 16, 2006; "Lebanese Army Issues Statement On 'Terrorist Network Working For' Israel," Lebanese National News Agency website, Beirut, in Arabic 13 June 2006 (BBC Monitoring International Reports, July 4, 2006). Israel denied involvement in the assassination, but "Israel rarely acknowledges action outside Israel and the territories." Steven Erlanger, "Lebanon: Car Blast Kills Jihad Official," New York Times, May 27, 2006, p. A2.

7. Greg Myre and Steven Erlanger, "Clashes Spread to Lebanon as Hezbollah Raids Israel," New York Times, July 13, 2006, p. A1.

8. Liat Collins, "Not so quiet on the northern front," Jerusalem Post, June 1, 2006, p. 5.

9. Edward Cody, "Hezbollah Threatens Tel Aviv; Chief's Statement Clarifies Strategy," Washington Post, Aug. 4, 2006, p. A13.

10. Jonathan Cook writes that there are hundreds of "military installations next to or inside Israel's northern communities. Some distance from Nazareth, for example, Israel has built a large weapons factory virtually on top of an Arab town -- so close to it, in fact, that the factory's perimeter fence is only a few metres from the main building of the local junior school." (Jonathan Cook, "Israel, not Hizbullah, is putting civilians in danger on both sides of the border," ZNet, August 4, 2006.)

11. Amnesty International, Israel/Lebanon: Israel And Hizbullah Must Spare Civilians. Obligations under international humanitarian law of the parties to the conflict in Israel and Lebanon, AI Index: MDE 15/070/2006, 26 July 2006.

12. Statement of Jan Egeland, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, to the United Nations Security Council on the Humanitarian Situation in the Middle East, New York, 28 July 2006.

13. Statement of UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman, 30 July 2006.

14. Human Rights Watch, "Lebanon: Hezbollah Rocket Attacks on Haifa Designed to Kill Civilians," July 18, 2006.

15. Human Rights Watch, "Israeli Cluster Munitions Hit Civilians in Lebanon," July 24, 2006.

16. Human Rights Watch, Fatal Strikes Israel's Indiscriminate Attacks Against Civilians in Lebanon, August 2006, Volume 18, No. 3 (E), p. 3.

17. Human Rights Watch, Fatal Strikes, p. 3.

18. Donald Macintyre, "Israel launches ferocious assault on Lebanon after capture of troops," The Independent (London), July 13, 2006, p. 4.

19. Stephen Farrell, "Our aim is to win -- nothing is safe, Israeli chiefs declare," The Times (London), July 14, 2006.

20. Kenneth Roth, "Fog of War Is No Cover for Causing Civilian Deaths," Forward, August 4, 2006.

21. International Crisis Group, Israel/Palestine/Lebanon: Climbing Out Of The Abyss, Middle East Report N°57, 25 July 2006, p. 14.

22. UN Press Office, "No time to lose, UN warns as emergency aid supplies to Lebanon cut off by shelling," August 4, 2006.

23. UN Press Release, "High Commissioner for Human Rights condemns killings of civilians in Qana, South Lebanon," 31 July 2006.

24. Rory McCarthy et al., "Warning of aid crisis after Israelis hit highway: Bombs kill 33 farm workers in Beka'a valley in one of war's deadliest strikes," Guardian, August 5, 2006, p. 16.

25. Roth, "Fog of War."

26. For example, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said regarding the border region, "we will continue to fire against anyone who enters the designated strip." Greg Myre and Helene Cooper, "Israel Plans to Occupy Strip Inside Lebanon," New York Times, July 25, 2006.

27. See Asher Kaufman, "Understanding the Shebaa Farms dispute," Palestine Israel Journal, Vol.11 No.1 2004.

28. See Akiva Eldar, "Too Late for Their Own Good," Ha'aretz, July 9, 2002.

29. "Immediate, Comprehensive Ceasefire Needed in Lebanon Prior to Political Discussion, Acting Foreign Minister Tells Security Council," Security Council SC/8796, UN Department of Public Information, report on Security Council 5503rd Meeting (PM) 31 July 2006.

30. SC Resolution 497, 17 Dec. 1981.

31. Jonathan Pearlman, "Disputed plot may be key to Lebanon settlement," Sydney Morning Herald, August 3, 2006.

32. Most sources refer to two or three Lebanese prisoners, but the Jerusalem Post lists four: see Khaled Abu Toameh, "Palestinian prisoners' families demand they be part of any deal," The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition, July 30, 2006.

33. International Crisis Group, Climbing Out Of The Abyss, p. 10.

34. Those who defend him as a hero argue that he was aiming to attack a military facility, though they elide the question of how the civilians died. See "Free Samir Kuntar the Longest-Held Lebanese Detainee in the Israeli Prisons."

35. Anne Barnard and Sa'id Ghazali, "Israelis Arrest Hamas Official; Dozens Held In Bid To Free Soldier," Boston Globe, June 30, 2006, p. A1.

36. See Arik Diamant, "Hundreds of Palestinian 'suspects' have been kidnapped from their homes and will never stand trial," Yediot Aharanot, July 5, 2006. In April 2000, the Israeli Supreme Court outlawed the holding of people as bargaining chips, but the practice continued. See Human Rights Watch, "Background Briefing: Israel's Proposed 'Imprisonment of Combatants not Entitled to Prisoner of War Status Law,'" June 2000.

37. Orly Halpern and Nicholas Blanford, "A Second Front Opens for Israel," Christian Science Monitor, July 13, 2006, p. 1.

38. Security Council resolution 242, calling on Israel to withdraw from the territories it occupied in 1967 and the basis for peace in the region, is perhaps the most important of the resolutions Israel has ignored. But there is a long list of others. Here is a sampling:

Selected UN Security Council Resolutions on the Middle East
[Note: the United States either voted for or abstained on every one of these resolutions]
252 (1968), 267 (1969), 298 (1971), 476 (1980), 478 (1980) calls on Israel to rescind its annexation of Jerusalem
262 (1968) condemns Israel's attack on Beirut's civilian airport
270 (1969) condemns Israeli air attacks on villages in southern Lebanon
279 (1970), 285 (1970), 313 (1972) demands the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon
280 (1970) deplores Israeli failure to abide by resolutions 262 and 270; condemning Israeli attacks on Lebanon
316 (1972) deplores Israeli attacks on Lebanon and calls for the immediate release of "all Syrian and Lebanese military and security personnel abducted by Israeli armed forces on 21 June 1972 on Lebanese territory"
317 (1972) deplores Israeli abduction of Syrian and Lebanese soldiers in Lebanon and calls for their immediate return
332 (1973) condemns Israeli attacks on Lebanon and calls upon Israel to desist
337 (1973) condemns Israel for seizing a Lebanese airliner from Lebanese airspace
347 (1974) condemns Israeli violation of Lebanese sovereignty and calls upon Israel to refrain from such actions
446 (1979), 452 (1979), 465 (1980) calls upon Israel to cease its settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories
468 (1980), 469 (1980), 484 (1980) calls upon Israel to rescind its deportation of elected Palestinian leaders
497 (1981) calls upon Israel to rescind its annexation of the Golan Heights
515 (1982) demands Israel lift its blockade of Beirut so urgent needs of the civilian population can be met
520 (1982) condemns Israeli incursions into Beirut
592 (1986) deplores Israeli opening fire on defenseless students in occupied territories
605 (1987) deplores Israeli firing on defenseless civilians
607 (1988), 608 (1988), 636 (1989), 641 (1989), 681 (1990), 694 (1991), 726 (1992), 799 (1992) calls on Israel to refrain from and rescind deportations of Palestinian civilians
The text of all these resolutions is available on the UN Information System on Palestine.

39. See, for example, S/2006/26, 18 Jan. 2006, paragraph 18, and S/2006/560, 21 July 2006, paragraph 15, and the remarks of Lebanon's prime minister, Fouad Siniora, in the verbatim record of the Security Council meeting of April 21, 2006, S/PV.5417.

40. See the comments of Gilbert Achcar on these matters: "The Middle East in Flames," ZNet, August 4, 2006.

41. For background on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, see Stephen R. Shalom, "Background to the Israel-Palestine Conflict," Z Magazine, May 2002.

42. Ken Ellingwood, "2 Palestinians Held in Israel's First Arrest Raid in Gaza Since Pullout," Los Angeles Times, June 25, 2006, p. A20.

43. See the statistics compiled by B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights organization.

44. John Murphy, "Israel acts to cut off Hamas; Tax transfer is halted; Olmert urges nations to cease financial aid," Baltimore Sun, p. 1A. In May, Israel agreed to release about 5 percent of the funds to medical aid groups. Ken Ellingwood, "Israel to Give Some Funds to Palestinians," Los Angeles Times, May 22, 2006, p. A11.

45. Major General Aharon Ze'evi (Farkash) quoted in Gideon Levy, "The IDF's chorus of incitement," Ha'aretz, 26 October 2003.

From Mustafa Hamed

2006-08-10T14:08:00.000+04:00

I got this from a friend of mine in London.
***************

This is exactly the kind of strategy the US and Israel and UK will play to divert attention from the Lebanon scene while Israel 'does what it wants'!!!! typical!!!! mesh mumkin!!! now they want to show the world how they are victim of terror and how Israel is also fighting the war on terror!!! while they are killing more and more people in Lebanon

UK on highest alert as bomb plot foiled
By FT Reporters
Published: August 10 2006 08:25 Last updated: August 10 2006 09:13

The UK was put on its highest state of alert on Thursday after British police announced the foiling of a terrorist plot to blow up transatlantic passenger aircraft in mid-flight. The announcement followed a number of arrests in London overnight. It is believed that flight from the UK to the US were the principal target.

“Overnight the police, with the full knowledge of ministers have carried out a major counter-terrorism operatioin to disrupt what we believe to be a major threat to UK and international parters,” said John Reid, home secretary. In a statement, police said a major terrorist plot allegedly to blow up aircraft in mid-flight had been disrupted in a joint pre-planned intelligence-led operation by the Met’s Anti-terrorist Branch and Security Service.

Long

2006-08-09T23:27:00.000+04:00

From : mona isk

please check these two sites

http://www.theuncampaign.org/
http://www.tecklb.com/index2.php

***********************************************************************************

From: jacqueline nerette jnerette40@yahoo.com
Subject: Fwd: Fw: We need your help!
Sent: 09 August 2006 06:39:04

Dear friends,

The attached call for help is from my daughter, Aisha Bain whom many of you know is currently in Lebanon on a humanitarian's mission along with a group of Activists. They are planning to have a Citizen Convoy on Saturday, August 12 where a group of hundreds plans to drive to South Lebanon to provide humanitarian assistance which is desperately needed to thousands of stranded in the conflict (children, disabled, old people and women), too poor to have means of trnsportation or money to leave..

As you know, Israel is bombing any and all cars moving in South Lebanon, suspicion possible Hezbollah's fighters. PLEASE READ THE DETAILS BELOW.

I am forwarding this to you, asking for your help in several front. 1) PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE, PARTICULARLY THE MEDIA. 2) I ask for your PRAYERS and 3) assist however you can as requested in the message below.

I need not to tell you that I am very concern. I feel this is potentially suicidal

Thank you for your assistance.
Jacqueline

----- Original Message -----
From: Aisha Bain
Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2006 4:24 PM
Subject: We need your help!

Ok, finally what the hell am i doing here?

I am wirting to you quickly and informally as I have much to do and many people to contact.

Long story short, after many meetings with local activists, NGOs, etc. we have come up with a campaign of Lebanese Civilian Resistance Against Israeli Agression. This campaign will come in parts and serve to do many things:

Citizen Convoy THIS Saturday the 12th.
1) provide much needed relief to those trapped in south Lebanon and who are still not receiving aid (this information is CONFIRMED) through citizen convoys of all Lebanese and internationals in solidarity.
2) Promote national unity and inclusion for all parts of Lebanese society - Shiite, Sunni, Druse, Christian, the displaces, upper class, lower class - all have been invited aside from any politicians or political groups.
3) Send a political message to the Israel and the international communtiy that this is their country and their people whom they will travel to and support without seeking Israel's permission despite the continued bombing of the very roads that are preventing this very aid from being delivered.

In short - we are organizing hundreds of people and roughly 100 cars to carry much needed aid, supplies and medicine to the south. We wil be reaching a southern location and then branching out to reach the various villages that have been cut off. We may have to bring them by hand and traverse the countryside since mostroads are gone. We are counting on safety in numbers, having a large international presence and excellent media coverage for security. The state of Israel and the Israeli press are all being notified and international media governments are being informed of this notification so that Israel can not claim ignorance to this event and attack "by mistake." Appropirate permission has been obtained from Hezbollah to ensure not being fired upon from the Lebanese side, they have agreed to cooperate. All cars will be covered with a Lebanese flag, no other flags will be presented, humanitarian aid agencies have been informed but they must abide by the same rules to join the convoy. this is not an international organization response, this is a Lebanese civilian resistance convoy joined by the support of internatonals to join in solidarity.

There will be other convoys and missions to follow, many based on information from this first mission and info adam, huwaida, myself and others will collect in the next few days with some Lebanese activists.

We are also working on assisting the return of some of the displaced in definance of Israel's attempt to cleanse the south of it's people.

Many things are needed. Though we have been able to secure food aid supplies from humanitarian organizations on the ground for this mission, gas is serious problem and we will need to gather funds to support future convoys. There are also other logistical costs we will need to raise funds to cover.

Second, many have asked me about the children and then displaces. I have found a great Lebanese organization that is helping the 100,00s of displaced and especially the children called Sami Doun. I have seen their work directly - not only providing much need supplies like beds, clothes, diapers and necessary goods - which are still very much lacking, but also other important things like toys for children. I have gotten to know many of them personally, all of whom are volunteers, are amazing and sacrificing much everyday to carry out this work. they also coordinate with other grassroots NGOs to try and ensure all the needs are being met for this overwhelming population. They are also focusing on the displaced in the buildings scattered around the city - the ones i told you are being ignored by the government. And they work in the mountains and in the south.

I'm afraid for the moment, sending money is a much better alternative than sending actual supplies because getting themhere can be a logistical nightmare depending on Israel's bombing of strategic roads.

For those who can raise funds this is a great organization, and i can make sure that the money goes where it is directly needed and will have an incredible impact.
For those of you who have the capacity to help, raise funds, work on coordination, have media access, raise funds, etc. please let me know, we can really use your help.

We will also need volunteers for these convoys and some to work with these organizations.

There is a website but it was just put up and is still in progress. if anyone can offer "on call" web assistance it would be greatly appreciated as there is a 7 hour time difference and we may need updates more regularly.

the website is www.lebanonsolidairty.org

Please spread the word and tell me what you're interested in and if you can help at all.

Also please be aware that Saturday Sugust 12th is an International Solidarity Day with Lebanon and their are activities are protests happening all over the world. Find the nearest protect near you - damn, i can not say that with a striaght face.

anyway, that's the LONG short story. I have a ton to do and have been here eight years trying to upload 12 measly photos!! THE AGONY!!

one of the press releases is pasted below. The call for action is on the wedsite.

much love and one more update to send you written at 4 a.m.- good times. damn these photos and man do need a shower!

i'm noy even spell checking this - gotta run
much love,
me
_____________________________

‘Lebanon: An Open Country for Civil Resistance’
Civilian Resistance: Call For Action & Solidarity For Lebanon

We, the people of Lebanon, call upon the local and international community to join a campaign of civil resistance to Israel’s war against our country and our people. We declare Lebanon an open country for civil resistance.

In the face of Israel’s systematic killing of our people, the indiscriminate bombing of our towns, the scorching of our villages, and the attempted destruction of our civil infrastructure, we say NO!

In the face of the forced expulsion of a quarter of our population from their homes throughout Lebanon, and the complicity of governments and international bodies, we re-affirm the acts of civil resistance that began from the first day of the Israeli assault, and we stress and add the urgent need TO ACT!

We urge you to join us in defying Israel’s aggression against our country and in defending the rights of the inhabitants throughout Lebanon, and particularly in the South, to live on their land. When the United Nations, created to preserve peace and security in the world, is paralyzed; when governments become complicit in war crimes, then people must show their strength and rise up. When justice and human rights are scorned, those who care must unite in their defense.

Building on our belief in our country, the various efforts of Lebanon’s already vibrant civilian resistance, and on the arrival of the internationals coming to Lebanon for solidarity, we declare that Lebanon is an open country for civil resistance, starting from August 12.

On August 12 at 7 am, we will gather in Martyrs’ Square to form a civilian convoy to the south of Lebanon. Hundreds of Lebanese and international civilians will carry relief as an expression of solidarity for the inhabitants of the heavily destroyed south who have been bravely withstanding the assault of the Israeli military.

After August 12th, the campaign will continue with a series of civil actions for which your presence and participation is needed. Working together in solidarity we will overcome the complacency, inaction, and complicity of the international community and we will deny Israel its goal of removing Lebanese from their land and destroying the fabric of our country.

To sign up to join the convoy, contact either:
Rasha Salti convois.citoyens.sud.liban@gmail.com 03 970855
Rania Masri mailto:rania.masri@balamand.edu.lb&cc=&bcc=&subject=&amp;body=&curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&a=8ae4f095393d260ad5374cf7db75de7eba1abdc8b6f5f100490c1cf523abe60c 03 135279 - or - 06 930250 x 5683 or x 3933

Please check the website of this campaign after midnight tonight: www.lebanonsolidarity.org

This campaign is thus far endorsed by more than 200 organizations, including: The Arab NGOs Network for Development (ANND), International Solidarity Movement (ISM), Cultural Center for Southern Lebanon, Norwegian People’s Aid, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections, Frontiers, Kafa, Nahwa al-Muwatiniya, Spring Hints, Hayya Bina, Lebanese Transparency Association, Amam05, Lebanese Center for Civic Education, Let’s Build Trust, CRTD-A, Solida, National Association for Vocational Training and Social Services, Lebanese Development Pioneers, Nadi Li Koul Alnas, and Lecorvaw.

************************************************************************************

From: Seyed Hossein Shahidi hshahidi@aub.edu.lb

Tens of thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday, 5 August, to call for peace in the Middle East and justice for the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples. The march started at noon at the Speaker's Corner, in Hyde Park, passed by the United States Embassy and the British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s residence at Downing Street, and ended at 5pm after speeches in Parliament Square.

The organizers - the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament - said between 80,000 to 100,000 had taken part. The police put the number at 20,000. The organizers had asked the participants to bring along children's shoes - commemorating children killed in the war on Lebanon - to be placed outside Downing Street and at nearby memorials to the British war victims.

Pictures by Hossein Shahidi Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences AUB http://www.iranian.com/Shahidi/2006/August/London/index.html

************************************************************************************

From: Maria Velinova Koinova <mailto:mk102@aub.edu.lb&msg=10CC1238-335E-4C61-9BDF-63B0F515954B&start=0&len=309114&src=&type=x>
Subject: [aub-faculty] Three upcoming actions

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you are staying safe and out of harm's way in these horrible times. Please distribute the following information to your contacts about two upcoming actions in Washington D.C. (Aug. 6, Sunday and Aug 8, Tuesday) and about a global action (Vigil) organized by Amnesty International US for Monday, Aug. 7.

Please urge your friends and contacts to participate.

Thank you!
With many prayers and hopes that the end of this nightmare is near,
Dr. Maria Koinova
Assistant Professor, PSPA

Upcoming Actions (chronologically):
1. Silent Vigil, Washington, D.C., this Sunday, Aug 6, 2006 - 8-10 p.m. starts at Farragut Square Park and ends in front of the White House, black or white clothes, bring candles. Please see info below.
2. Organize your own vigil or join an existing one in line with the global action of Amnesty International US. Action planned for Monday, Aug. 7, 2006, see web-site: http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/israel_lebanon/vigil.html
3. Humanitarian Relief Action, Lebanese Embassy and 15 Arab-American Organizations, Washington D.C.area, Tuesday, Aug 8, 2006 5-8 pm. See flyer attached.

On Point One: the Silent Vigil in Washington this Sunday, Aug. 6, 2006.
The Lebanese American Community of the Washington Metropolitan Area
In association with Arab American Associations and Human Rights Activists
Is organizing a Silent Vigil In Protest of the Invasion of Lebanon and commemoration of the Qana Massacre....one week after
Date: Sunday August 6th Time: 8:00- 10:00 pm
Location: We will meet in Farragut Square Park at K Street and Connecticut Ave, NW - across the street from Farragut North Metro Station. Then at sunset, we will walk as a group to the White House with lighted candles where the vigil will end at 10 pm.

The purpose of the Vigil is:
* To demand an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon
* To mourn and express outrage at the loss of innocent civilian lives in Lebanon
* To condemn the internal displacement of one third of the population of Lebanon
* To deplore the systematic destruction of the country

What you can do:
* Please come in big numbers, women, men and children
* Forward this message to all your contacts
* Bring American and Lebanese flags
* Wear black or white Bring candles with you (bring drip guards or votives on a plate or tray to catch the wax)

************************************************************************************

From: Ayse Gul Altinay altinay@sabanciuniv.edu
Subject: [iipe2004] Fwd: we accuse - itham ediyoruz - www.weaccuse.net
Sent: 08 August 2006 14:27:35

Dear all,

below is a petition that has originated in Turkey, but is rapidly moving around the globe.

If you are interested in signing it, you can do so using the form on the website.

I hope everyone is safe and well!
ayse

The statement we wrote in order to condemn US, British and Israeli belligerency is at http://www.weaccuse.net . If you support this declaration, you can include your signature with the form presented at the website.

************************************************************************************

Right now a tragedy is unfolding in the Middle East. Thousands of innocent civilians have been killed or wounded in the bombings in Lebanon, Palestine and Israel and the death toll is rising every day. If the US, Syria or Iran get involved, there is a chance of a catastrophic larger war.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called for an immediate ceasefire and the deployment of international troops to the Israel-Lebanon border, and been strongly supported by almost every world leader. This is the best proposal yet to stop the violence, but the US, the UK, and Israel have refused to accept it.

I have just signed a petition calling on US President Bush, UK Prime Minister Blair, and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert to support Kofi Annan\s proposal. If millions of people join this call, and we advertise our views in newspapers in the US, UK, and Israel, we can help pressure these leaders to stop the fighting. Go to the link below and sign up now!

http://www.ceasefirecampaign.org

***********************************************************************************

From: Edel Havin Beukes edel@beukes.net

The War on Lebanon and the Battle for Oil
by Michel Chossudovsky
GlobalResearch
Wednesday July 26, 2006 http://tinyurl.com/e6lhr

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

Is there a relationship between the bombing of Lebanon and the inauguration of the World's largest strategic pipeline, which will channel more a million barrels of oil a day to Western markets?

Virtually unnoticed, the inauguration of the Ceyhan-Tblisi-Baku (BTC) oil pipeline, which links the Caspian sea to the Eastern Mediterranean, took place on the 13th of July, at the very outset of the Israeli sponsored bombings of Lebanon. One day before the Israeli air strikes, the main partners and shareholders of the BTC pipeline project, including several heads of State and oil company executives were in attendance at the port of Ceyhan. They were then rushed off for an inauguration reception in Istanbul, hosted by Turkey's President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in the plush surroundings of the Çýraðan Palace. Also in attendance was British Petroleum's (BP) CEO, Lord Browne together with senior government officials from Britain, the US and Israel. BP leads the BTC pipeline consortium. Other major Western shareholders include Chevron, Conoco-Phillips, France's Total and Italy's ENI. (see Annex)

Israel's Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Binyamin Ben-Eliezer was present at the venue together with a delegation of top Israeli oil officials. The BTC pipeline totally bypasses the territory of the Russian Federation. It transits through the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Georgia, both of which have become US "protectorates", firmly integrated into a military alliance with the US and NATO. Moreover, both Azerbaijan and Georgia have longstanding military cooperation agreements with Israel. In 2005, Georgian companies received some $24 million in military contracts funded out of U.S. military assistance to Israel under the so-called "Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program" Israel has a stake in the Azeri oil fields, from which it imports some twenty percent of its oil. The opening of the pipeline will substantially enhance Israeli oil imports from the Caspian sea basin.

But there is another dimension which directly relates to the war on Lebanon. Whereas Russia has been weakened, Israel is slated to play a major strategic role in "protecting" the Eastern Mediterranean transport and pipeline corridors out of Ceyhan.

Militarization of the Eastern Mediterranean

The bombing of Lebanon is part of a carefully planned and coordinated military road map. The extension of the war into Syria and Iran has already been contemplated by US and Israeli military planners. This broader military agenda is intimately related to strategic oil and oil pipelines. It is supported by the Western oil giants which control the pipeline corridors. In the context of the war on Lebanon, it seeks Israeli territorial control over the East Mediterranean coastline. In this context, the BTC pipeline dominated by British Petroleum, has dramatically changed the geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean, which is now linked , through an energy corridor, to the Caspian sea basin: "[The BTC pipeline] considerably changes the status of the region's countries and cements a new pro-West alliance. Having taken the pipeline to the Mediterranean, Washington has practically set up a new bloc with Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Israel, " (Komerzant, Moscow, 14 July 2006)

Israel is now part of the Anglo-American military axis, which serves the interests of the Western oil giants in the Middle East and Central Asia. While the official reports state that the BTC pipeline will "channel oil to Western markets", what is rarely acknowledged is that part of the oil from the Caspian sea would be directly channeled towards Israel. In this regard, an underwater Israeli-Turkish pipeline project has been envisaged which would link Ceyhan to the Israeli port of Ashkelon and from there through Israel's main pipeline system, to the Red Sea. The objective of Israel is not only to acquire Caspian sea oil for its own consumption needs but also to play a key role in re-exporting Caspian sea oil back to the Asian markets through the Red Sea port of Eilat.

The strategic implications of this re-routing of Caspian sea oil are farreaching. In April 2006, Israel and Turkey announced plans for four underwater pipelines, which would bypass Syrian and Lebanese territory. "Turkey and Israel are negotiating the construction of a multi-million-dollar energy and water project that will transport water, electricity, natural gas and oil by pipelines to Israel, with the oil to be sent onward from Israel to the Far East, The new Turkish-Israeli proposal under discussion would see the transfer of water, electricity, natural gas and oil to Israel via four underwater pipelines. "Baku oil can be transported to Ashkelon via this new pipeline and to India and the Far East.[via the Red sea]" "Ceyhan and the Mediterranean port of Ashkelon are situated only 400 km apart. Oil can be transported to the city in tankers or via specially constructed under-water pipeline. From Ashkelon the oil can be pumped through already existing pipeline to the port of Eilat at the Red Sea; and from there it can be transported to India and other Asian countries in tankers. (REGNUM )

Water for Israel

Also involved in this project is a pipeline to bring water to Israel, pumping water from upstream resources of the Tigris and Euphrates river system in Anatolia. This has been a long-run strategic objective of Israel to the detriment of Syria and Iraq. Israel's agenda with regard to water is supported by the military cooperation agreement between Tel Aviv and Ankara.

The Re-routing of Central Asian Oil

Diverting Central Asian oil and gas to the Eastern Mediterranean (under Israeli military protection), for re-export to Asia, serves to undermine the inter-Asian energy market, which is based on the development of direct pipeline corridors linking Central Asia and Russia to South Asia, China and the Far East. Ultimately, this design is intended to weaken Russia's role in Central Asia and cut off China from Central Asian oil resources. It is also intended to isolate Iran. Meanwhile, Israel has emerged as a new powerful player in the global energy market.

War and Oil Pipelines

Prior to the bombing of Lebanon, Israel and Turkey had announced the underwater pipeline routes, which bypassed Syria and Lebanon. These underwater pipeline routes did not overtly encroach on the territorial sovereignty of Lebanon and Syria.

On the other hand, the development of alternative land based corridors (for oil and water) through Lebanon and Syria would require Israeli-Turkish territorial control over the Eastern Mediterranean coastline through Lebanon and Syria. The implementation of this project requires the militarisation of the East Mediterranean coastline, sea ways and land routes, extending from the port of Ceyhan across Syria and Lebanon to the Lebanese-Israeli border. Is this not one of the hidden objectives of the war on Lebanon? Open up a space which enables Israel to control a vast territory extending from the Lebanese border through Syria to Turkey.

"The Long War"

Israeli Prime minister Ehud Olmert has stated that the Israeli offensive against Lebanon would "last a very long time". Meanwhile, the US has speeded up weapons shipments to Israel. There are strategic objectives underlying the "Long War" which are tied to oil and oil pipelines. The air campaign against Lebanon is inextricably related to US-Israeli strategic objectives in the broader Middle East including Syria and Iran. In recent developments, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice stated that the main purpose of her mission to the Middle East was not to push for a ceasefire in Lebanon, but rather to isolate Syria and Iran. (Daily Telegraph, 22 July 2006)

At this particular juncture, the replenishing of Israeli stockpiles of US produced WMDs points to an escalation of the war both within and beyond the borders of Lebanon. [no wonder no-one found any WMD's in Iraq ... they're all in the USA!!!! duh!!!]

******************
Bush Told to Plan for Chávez Oil Shock
by Andy Webb-Vidal
Caracas Monday July 24, 2006 http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14001903/

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

Richard Lugar, chairman of the US Senate foreign relations committee, has urged the Bush administration to adopt specific "contingency plans" for a potential disruption to oil supplies from Venezuela. In a letter sent to Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, last Friday, a copy of which has been obtained by the Financial Times, Mr Lugar warned the US that it needed to "abandon" reliance on a "passive approach" to energy diplomacy. Mr Lugar's warning follows the release last month of an investigation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that the US was ill-prepared for an oil embargo by Venezuela, the world's fifth largest exporter.

President Hugo Chávez, whose government has been emboldened by a torrent of oil revenues, has several times warned that he would "cut off" oil supplies to the US if Washington persisted in allegedly plotting his overthrow. "Venezuela's leverage over global oil prices and its direct supply lines and refining capacity in the US give Venezuela undue ability to impact US security and our economy," Mr Lugar wrote in his letter to Ms Rice. The GAO study, commissioned by Mr Lugar, a Republican, estimated that a Venezuelan oil boycott would raise oil prices by $11 (EUR9, £6) per barrel over a six-month period and reduce US economic output by $23bn. Bernardo Alvarez, Venezuela's ambassador to the US, dismissed as "absurd" the GAO study's premise that Mr Chávez would purposefully shut off oil supplies, citing the economic impact it would have on his own country.

Venezuela ships two-thirds of its oil to the US, or about 1.5m b/d and oil accounts for about 80 per cent of export revenue and half of fiscal revenue. Mr Lugar, while acknowledging that an embargo seemed unlikely, said that it would be "negligent" of the US to rely on "ad hoc" responses, such as use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. "However unrealistic Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's repeated threats to disrupt oil supply may be, we have a responsibility to plan appropriate contingencies that protect the American people," he wrote. Mr Lugar added that there was a "real risk" that Venezuela could "act in concert" with other countries to disrupt oil supplies. Mr Chávez is due to visit several countries in Asia over the next two weeks, including Iran. Myles Frechette, a former US ambassador and now a consultant on Latin American affairs, said: "Lugar believes that when an opportunity presents itself, Chávez will try to break his oil links with the US."

Venezuelan oil exports to the US fell six per cent in the first four months of 2006 to 178m barrels, compared with the same period last year. One of Mr Chávez's policy goals is to reduce dependence on the US as its main market and send more oil to China. ["But murder, far more callous, is about to be perpetrated by the Democratic Party as it enters the 2006 midterm campaigns with what is surely--barring a miracle--going to be one of its major planks in 2008: "Don't worry," they will promise, "the Democrats will restore cheap gasoline for all and find a no-pain answer to all of our energy woes. High prices are the fault of greedy oil companies and price gougers, not a lack of supply." I can promise you now, Hillary Clinton, that if the Democratic Party adopts this approach it will find in me an enemy that will make FTW's editorial posture towards the Bush administration over the last five years look like abject friendship." - _Michael Ruppert, April 29, 2006, speech at in NYC at the Local Solutions to the Energy Dilemma]

[There is no plan for a Chavez oil shock because there is no spare capacity on the market to replace what the U.S. would lose. The only possible plan is that of regime change or war. That is what Senator Lugar is referring to when he says the U.S. must "abandon a passive approach" to energy diplomacy with Venezuela. - MK]

*******************
Lebanese Hospital Struggles With Wounded
by Kathy Gannon
Associated Press Monday July 24 2006 http://tinyurl.com/q5xf7

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

Dirty bandages hid the worst of 8-year-old Zainab Jawad's swollen, bloodied nose Monday. Her arm was strapped to her chest and fractured in two places. Stretched out on a bed a Najem Hospital, Zainab squeezed shut her brown eyes as memories of the attack flooded back, some of her words muffled as she fought sobs. A day earlier, Israeli bombs destroyed her family's home in the southern village of Ayta Chaeb. Then rockets slammed into the car as they fled.

"I don't want to remember, but I can't help it. What I remember most is the sound, the sound of the planes and I was scared because I thought there were so many," she said. "I fell asleep last night, but all I could hear in my sleep were planes."

Zainab's aunt was in the next bed. Her mother, Usra Jawad, and 4-year-old brother, Mohammed, were across the hall. Mohammed's eyes fluttered as he slipped in and out of consciousness; his leg was in a cast to his hip. His mother's leg was in traction, with steel pins in several places.

The week before, Usra Jawad's three sisters visited her village to see the new family home. When the bombing started, the four sisters fled in a car with the two children, hoping to reach their parents home north of Tyre. But rockets hit their car. Two of the sisters, both teachers, were killed.

"Now I have no house. My sisters are dead," Usra Jawad said. "I can't do anything."

Jawad Najem, a surgeon at the hospital, said patients admitted Sunday had burns from phosphorous incendiary weapons used by Israel. The Geneva Conventions ban using white phosphorous as an incendiary weapon against civilian populations and in air attacks against military forces in civilian areas; Israel said its weapons comply with international law.

"Mahmoud Sarour, 14, was admitted to the hospital yesterday and treated for phosphorous burns to his face," Najem said.

Mahmoud's 8-month-old sister, Maryam, suffered similar burns on her neck and hands when an Israeli rocket hit the family car. The children were with their father, mother and other relatives when the car was hit by an Israeli missile. The father died instantly. The Sarour family was evacuated from Tyre to Cyprus on Monday aboard a ferry chartered by Germany. The Sarours had to go to the port by taxi because the Lebanese Red Cross suspended operations outside Tyre after Israeli jets blasted two ambulances with rockets, said Ali Deebe, a Red Cross spokesman in Tyre. In the incident Sunday, one Red Cross ambulance went south of Tyre to meet an ambulance and transfer the wounded to the hospital.

"When we have wounded outside the city, we always used two ambulances," Deebe said. The rocket attack on the two vehicles wounded six ambulance workers and three civilians - an 11-year-old boy, an elderly woman and a man, Deebe said. "One of the rockets hit right in the middle of the big red cross that was painted on top of the ambulance," he said. "This is a clear violation of humanitarian law, of international law. We are neutral and we should not be targeted."

Kassem Shalan, one of the ambulance workers, told AP Television News that nine people were injured. "We were transferring the wounded into our vehicle and something fell and I dropped to the floor," he said.

Amateur video provided by an ambulance worker confirmed Deebe's account of damage to the vehicles, showing one large hole and several smaller ones in the roof of one ambulance and a large hole in the roof of the second. Both were destroyed. The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident.

Israeli rockets have been hitting around Najem Hospital for most of the last two weeks, said nursing director Inaya Haydar. "I don't sleep very much at night, sometimes two hours, sometimes I don't sleep at all." Six members of Haydar's family were killed three days ago in Srifa, her home village southeast of Tyre.

Before the Israeli assault began July 12 in response to Hezbollah militants capturing two Israeli soldiers, Haydar commuted 30 minutes a day to her village. Since the bombardment began, she has not left the hospital. Haydar's parents and younger sister have fled to the mountains north of Tyre. Her fiance, a Lebanese studying engineering in Sweden, wants Haydar to leave as well. "At midnight last night he called me and said: 'Please leave there and come to Sweden.' But I can't. If I leave ... then who is left here in the hospital to help our people and our country. I am Lebanese, this is my country. I love my country. I should stay." She gestured toward another hospital room by way of explanation. Inside, lay a day-old infant in an incubator. The baby was born in Tibnin, south of Tyre; his mother stayed home because she was too ill to travel after a Caesarean delivery. "He was two hours old when he came and so sick," Haydar said. "They had to get him here quickly. If we were not here, who would help him?"

[Interesting to see Forbes syndicate this AP report detailing how Lebanon is being destroyed. The finance community needs the real-deal news in order to make money. After reading this report I can almost hear the phones ringing in elite circles to negotiate the IMF extortion they call "loans" to rebuild Lebanon. - MK]

************************************************************************************

From: Samira Khoury <sk05@aub.edu.lb>
Subject: we must address the roots of the ME crisis: Washington Post (fwd)

Dr. John Waterbury is the President of the American University of Beirut...definitely any solution/proposal/resolution that falls short of addressing the roots of the crisis will always fall short of any realistic credibility/viability...Samira Khoury _______________________________
A Bad Status Quo We Must Address the Roots of the Mideast Crisis
By John Waterbury
Monday, August 7, 2006; Page A15

BEIRUT -- Unfortunately, it is all connected: Hezbollah, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iran and, indeed, Iraq. One cannot "solve" the Hezbollah problem without coming to terms with all the pieces. Anyone who has dealt with the successive Middle East crises over several decades knows there is a kind of infinite regress of cause and effect. I cut into the process somewhat arbitrarily in 1967. Next June will be the 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War. Six days and 40 years. I wonder if, at the end of formal combat in 1967, Moshe Dayan declared "mission accomplished."

Out of the Israeli triumph of 1967 there emerged a status quo that has prevailed with some modifications ever since, and no matter how unsatisfactory, the international system prefers the status quo to change. Israel has had a distinct preference for the status quo, founded on conventional military superiority over all its neighbors and some strategic depth through its retaining the occupied territories.

While the Cold War continued, the United States was not entirely comfortable with the status quo as it offered the Soviet Union a restive back yard in which to meddle, but the situation was manageable until 1973.

In 1973 Egypt's Anwar Sadat resorted to a limited war against Israel to dislodge it from the Suez Canal and to draw the United States into an active role of mediation. It is doubtful that Sadat anticipated even the limited military success his forces attained. He did anticipate an international crisis. Moscow obligingly threatened intervention, and Henry Kissinger began his famous shuttle diplomacy. Israel gave up the occupied Sinai Peninsula but not the essential ingredients of the status quo: military superiority, Gaza, the West Bank, the Golan Heights. This modification of the status quo was embodied in the Camp David accords of 1979.

From then on, and up to 1989, the Arab states, led by Egypt (and with the exception of Iraq), pretty much abandoned the military option against Israel. Even Iraq was more intent on using its military power against Iran and Kuwait than against Israel. Nor, after 1973, did any of the Arab oil producers, with the exception of Iraq, do anything to drive up prices or interdict oil supply. Arab authoritarians tacitly accepted the status quo in exchange for tacit acceptance of their rule by Washington. Arab governmental, financial and military support for the Palestinians dwindled. Action spoke volumes more than words.

With the end of the Cold War, Washington's alignment with Israel and the status quo in the Arab-Israeli theater become more solid than ever. If Israel seemed willing to move, as under Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak, Washington moved, too. If Israel was unwilling to move, as under Binyamin Netanyahu and Ariel Sharon, Washington asked few questions. Two intifadas shook but did not break the status quo. But time has not healed wounds. There has been none of the oft-trumpeted confidence-building.

The real issues -- safe and recognized borders, settlements, Jerusalem, the occupied territories including the Golan Heights, refugees, nuclear arms -- all remain unresolved. The balance sheet of death and destruction is longer than ever, bitterness on all sides is deeper than ever, and there is no end in sight. Under Barak, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Lebanon, and under Sharon it unilaterally withdrew from Gaza. In neither case was any formal understanding negotiated with Lebanon or the Palestinian Authority. This was a modification of the status quo but not a fundamental change.
It is far too early to tell whether the ferocious battle between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon will lead Israel to question the desirability and viability of the status quo, but surely after 39-plus years of pounding away militarily at the symptoms of the Arab-Israeli conflict, it is time to have a go, once again, at the identifiable causes. It requires U.S. engagement -- bipartisan and involving more than one administration. The process will be harder than anything Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton faced, and it cannot be done quickly.

Perhaps because I work and live in the battle zone, I find the status quo unviable. If this is the devil we know, then Satan, get thee behind me.
--------------------
The writer is president of American University of Beirut

Very very long

2006-08-09T13:03:00.000+04:00

Work is going to be hectic for the next couple of weeks. So I'll basically just be posting huge amounts of info in one go and not commenting much.
***********************************************************************

Statistics about Lebanon (shared by Bruce)
1. Lebanon has 18 religious communities
2. It has 40 daily newspapers
3. It has 42 universities
4. It has over 100 banks (that is banks and not branches of a bank)
5. 70% of the students are in private schools
6. 40% of the Lebanese people are Christians (this is the highest percentall the Arab countries)
7. There's 1 doctor per 10 people in Lebanon (In Europe & America, there's1 doctor per 100 people)
8. The name LEBANON appears 75 times in the Old Testament
9. The name CEDAR (Lebanon's tree) appears 75 times too in the OldTestament!!
10. Beirut was destroyed and rebuilt 7 times (this is why it's compared toThe Phoenix - the mythic bird that rises from its own ashes).
11. There's 3.5 Million Lebanese in Lebanon
12. There's around 10 Million Lebanese outside Lebanon!!!
13. The country was occupied by over 16 countries: Egyptians-Hittites-Assyrians- Babylonians- Persians- Alexander the greats Army- the Roman Empire-Byzantine- the Arabian Peninsula-The Crusaders-the Ottoman Empire Britain- France- Israel- Syria)
14. Byblos (city in Lebanon - a stone's throw away from where the Israelis bombed a "transmission tower" in Aamchit; also where all the beaches have been destroyed as you saw a couple of emails ago) is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world.
15. Lebanon's name has been around for 4,000 yrs non- stop (it's the oldest country/ nation's name in the world!)
16. Lebanon is the only Asian/African country that doesn't have a desert.
17. There are 15 rivers in Lebanon (all of them coming from its ownmountains)
18. Lebanon is one of the most populated countries in its archeologicalsites, in the world!!!
19. The first alphabet was created in Byblos (city in Lebanon)
20. The only remaining temple of Jupiter (the main Roman god) is in Baalbeck, Lebanon (The City of the Sun)
21. The name of the BIBLE comes from the name of our city BYBLOS!!!
22. Lebanon is the country that has the most books written about it.
23. Lebanon is the only non-dictatorial country in the Arab world (Yes,wedo have a President!)24. Jesus Christ made his 1st miracle in Lebanon, in Sidon (The miracle ofTurning water into wine)
25. The Phoenicians (Original People of Lebanon) built the 1st boat, andthey were the first to sail ever!
26. Phoenicians also reached America long before Christopher Columbus did.
27. The 1st law school in the world was built in Lebanon, in Downtown Beirut.
28. People say that the cedars were planted by God's own hands (This is why they're called "The Cedars of God", and this is why Lebanon iscalled "God's Country on Earth")
***********************************************************

I don't remember who sent this to me ... I think it was my aunt but it could have been someone else... either way, the source is reliable.

Paul Saba, a dear friend and colleague, is hoping to run the ad below in the Boston Globe. I think it is an excellent ad and am sending it to you in the hope that you will sign it. If you are willing to join us, please send Paul (http://by101fd.bay101.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&a=8ae4f095393d260ad5374cf7db75de7e86c20c3bf009ca034ade46fde0c1b5df&mailto=1&to=pfs@neaccess.net&msg=7EF16C8B-AC3D-46D2-80E8-55E1EE259F5C&start=0&len=2779&src=&type=x) your name and affiliation (see disclaimer below regarding organizational affiliation).

Many thanks
Sara

Ad for The Boston Globe

End The Killing In Lebanon We call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.
Political negotiations should follow, not precede, a general cease-fire.
The killing must be stopped now.

Signed: Names

*Disclaimer: Individuals have signed as individuals and not on behalf of any institution or organization.
*******************************************************************

Israelis Rain Down Deadly DU On Lebanese Civilians
Written by Paul Joseph Watson
Saturday, 29 July 2006

Esteemed depleted uranium expert Dr. Doug Rokke is pointing the finger at Israel for using deadly and illegal depleted uranium munitions against the Lebanese people which were sold to them by the U.S. government - and calls for an immediate halt to the practice.

Dr. Doug Rokke's military career spanned four decades before he was appointed as the head of the US Army's investigative team into the assessment and teaching of the dangers of depleted uranium.

Dr. Rokke has been called upon as an advisor for the Centers of Disease Control, Department of Defense, National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, U.S Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Department of Transportation, FAA, U.S. Department of Defense. U.S. General Accounting Office, Department of Veterans Affairs, British Royal Society, British House of Lords and House of Commons, United Nations, and Presidential Special Oversight Board. Depleted uranium is a radioactive toxic poison - according to Wikipedia, "Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the enriching of natural uranium for use in nuclear reactors. When most of the fissile radioactive isotopes of uranium are removed from natural uranium, the residue is called depleted uranium."

Depleted uranium is indiscriminate in who it targets. During an appearance on the Alex Jones Show, Dr. Rokke described some of the effects of depleted uranium - a battlefield weapon that once used can never be cleaned up and remains in the atmosphere for eternity. Dr. Doug Rokke's military career spanned four decades before he was appointed as the head of the US Army's investigative team into the assessment and teaching of the dangers of depleted uranium.
Dr. Rokke has been called upon as an advisor for the Centers of Disease Control, Department of Defense, National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, U.S Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Department of Transportation, FAA, U.S. Department of Defense. U.S. General Accounting Office, Department of Veterans Affairs, British Royal Society, British House of Lords and House of Commons, United Nations, and Presidential Special Oversight Board. Depleted uranium is a radioactive toxic poison - according to Wikipedia, "Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the enriching of natural uranium for use in nuclear reactors. When most of the fissile radioactive isotopes of uranium are removed from natural uranium, the residue is called depleted uranium."

Depleted uranium is indiscriminate in who it targets. During an appearance on the Alex Jones Show, Dr. Rokke described some of the effects of depleted uranium - a battlefield weapon that once used can never be cleaned up and remains in the atmosphere for eternity.

"What we know from first hand experience and what happened to those of us in Gulf War I and when we did our research for the US Army - the first thing that hits you is respiratory problems, then you have the rashes, then you start having permanent lung damage within a few months because of radiation and chemical toxicity, then you have neurological problems, then you have gastrointestinal problems."

"You have decalcification of the bones and the teeth - then you have all the eye problems due to the alpha and beta damage to the eyes - and then the cancers, the leukemia and everything else," said Rokke.

"It's catastrophic, the US Army briefing the Pentagon leaders prior to Gulf War II in 2002 flat out acknowledged all of the problems yet they disregard them and say that they don't exist in public."

Following the bombing of Afghanistan a scientific study by British scientists Dr. Chris Busby and Saoirse Morgan concluded that high levels of depleted uranium had contaminated Europe, having drifted on air currents from the Middle East and Central Asia.

Rokke said the Israelis first used depleted uranium munitions against the Egyptians during the Arab-Israeli war in 1973-74.

He outlined the path to the Israeli use of depleted uranium munitions, the 'civilized world's' dirty bombs, in Lebanon over the last two weeks.

Extreme birth deformities across Iraq and the Balkans are attributed to indiscriminate use of depleted uranium.

"The US Army confirmed they had used over 500 tons of uranium munitions just in the first two months in Iraq - that's the shock and awe - the US Army thoroughly confirmed in that the GBU 28 - which is a precision guided bomb if you will - 5,000 pounds of explosives contains a uranium warhead - again these are the bunker busters," said Rokke.

"Well low and behold last week guess what the United States delivered to Israel - over 100 GBU 28's to use against targets in Lebanon."

"The Army thoroughly confirmed that its a radioactive bomb and the shrapnel is there after its use and it's a problem and everything else so it's all there."

"So now we have photographic confirmation - and I want to repeat - photographic confirmation of Israeli tankers loading uranium rounds into Israeli tanks and using them in Lebanon," Rokke told Jones.

"What we have now is deliberate use of radioactive munitions, depleted uranium munitions, which are illegal according to the United Nations."

"We've got all the Lebanese being effected, all the women and children being affected, all the Israelis being effected, and the areas over there are so small you're going to have the whole region effected and contaminated."

"We knew about the GBU 28 delivery, we knew that was a given thing - now we were looking at the damage that's being done to Lebanon and all the damage indicates DU but until we actually got the full photograph of the DU round being loaded by an Israeli tank gunner we didn't have that and that came in yesterday," said Rokke.

The photographs of Israeli soldiers loading DU munitions were strangely deleted from numerous different news websites shortly after they were published but we were able to retrieve these smaller versions from the Getty archive which are captioned below.

LEBANESE BORDER, ISRAEL - JULY 14: An Israeli army soldier carries armor-piercing ammunition as he loads his tank ahead of possible action against Hezbollah militants July 14, 2006 on Israel's northern border with Lebanon. Israel has stepped up its action against Hezbollah targets in an effort to drive the Islamic militants from the border and to force the return of two soldiers captured by the group in a cross-border attack two days ago on July 12. (Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images)

LEBANESE BORDER, ISRAEL - JULY 14: Israeli army tank crew load their Merkeva tanks with armor-piercing ammunition as they prepare for possible action against Hezbollah militants July 14, 2006 on Israel's northern border with Lebanon. Israel has stepped up its action against Hezbollah targets in an effort to drive the Islamic militants from the border and to force the return of two soldiers captured by the group in a cross-border attack two days ago on July 12.

Rokke expands on Israeli use of depleted uranium mission in an article in which he states that, "the use of uranium weapons is absolutely unacceptable, and a crime against humanity. Consequently the citizens of the world and all governments must force cessation of uranium weapons use. I must demand that Israel now provide medical care to all DU casualties in Lebanon and clean up all DU contamination."

On Tuesday we carried a video of Lebanese doctors describing injuries to children as showing all the hallmarks of phosphorous - a chemical weapon also highly contentious in battlefield use. In a related development, former NSA official Wayne Madsen was told by his sources that the Israelis deliberately targeted and killed four UN observers because they had obtained knowledge of Israeli atrocities being perpetrated against the Lebanese population.

(Source: PRISONPLANET.com)
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*Reporters Without Borders in Beirut to express solidarity with Lebanese media*

Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Ménard has gone to Beirut, where he has met with executives and editors of news media that have been the victim of Israeli air strikes including the LBC, New TV and Al Manar television stations. He also met with representatives of the National Council of media.

Since the start of the fighting, the Israeli military has destroyed the transmitters of several TV stations, killing an LBC technician, reduced the premises of Al Manar, the Hezbollah TV station, to ruins, inflicted injuries on a three-member New TV crew and killed a young woman photographer, Layal Nagib, near Tyre.

In the case of the air strikes on LBC's installations, neither the official or unofficial explanations have been in any way satisfactory. The usual Israeli excuses do not suffice, and Reporters Without Borders calls for a transparent investigation to determine who has been responsible. Despite the air strikes, the broadcasts of all of the Lebanese TV stations can again be received in Lebanon. The goal of this visit, for Reporters Without Borders, is to demonstrate its solidarity with Lebanon's journalists - regardless of the positions of the media concerned - and to stress that there can be no grounds for targeting journalists, who like all civilians are protected by the Geneva Conventions, or for targeting any news media, which - according to international conventions - cannot be viewed as military targets.

Reporters Without Borders is therefore preparing to ask the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC) to investigate these Israeli attacks on the grounds that they are violations of the Geneva Conventions. (This Berne-based commission was created to investigate any alleged serious violation of the conventions.)

The Reporters Without Borders secretary-general took advantage of the trip to meet with Nayla Tueni, whose father, Gebrane Tueni, the chief executive of the Arabic-language daily Al-Nahar, was murdered in a car-bombing on 12 December 2005. They spoke about the investigation in her father's case, in which the Lebanese judicial authorities have just appointed an investigating judge to handle the case.

Ménard also talked to Gisèle Khoury, the wife of Samir Kassir, a journalist with French and Lebanese dual citizenship who was killed in a bombing on 2 June 2005. In the investigation of this case, French anti-terrorism judge Jean Louis Bruguière travelled to Beirut for the first time on July 4.

Finally, Ménard was also able to see May Chidiac, the LBC presenter who was badly injured by a bomb on 25 September 2005. Despite losing a leg and an arm in the attack, she has just gone back to work as a programme host on July 25. Ménard hailed her courage. He also reiterated that the investigations into all of these bombings must be pursued to the end in order to establish who ordered them.

--
Maghreb & Middle-East Desk
Lynn TEHINI
Reporters Without Borders
5 rue Geoffroy-Marie F - 75009 Paris
33 1 44 83 84 78 -- 33 1 45 23 11 51 (fax)
middle-east@rsf.org
www.rsf.org
www.leblogmedias.com (en français)
Sections mailing list Sections@reporters-sans-frontieres.org
https://reporters-sans-frontieres.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sections
*******************************************************************

About sponsorship
Middle East policy

To Israel with love
Aug 3rd 2006 WASHINGTON, DC

From The Economist print edition
AP

Why America gives Israel its unconditional support

ANYBODY who doubts the size of the transatlantic divide over Israel should try discussing the Middle East conflagration in Britain and then doing the same in America. Everybody watches much the same grisly footage. But, by and large, people draw very different conclusions. The emphasis in Britain is overwhelmingly on the disproportionate scale of the response. Americans are much more inclined to give Israel the benefit of the doubt‹and to blame Hizbullah. Some Jewish organisations are so confident of support for Israel that they even take out slots during news programmes, pleading for donations.

Opinion polls confirm that Americans are solidly on Israel's side. A USA Today/Gallup poll conducted on July 28th-30th showed that eight in ten Americans believed that Israel's action was justified‹though a majority were worried about the scale of the action. A plurality (44%) thought that America was doing "about the right amount" to deal with the conflict. An earlier USA Today poll found that 53% put "a great deal" of the blame for the current crisis on Hizbullah, 39% put the blame on Iran and only 15% blamed Israel. Similarly, Americans are far more likely than Europeans to side with Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A Pew Global Attitudes survey taken between March and May found that 48% of Americans said that their sympathies lay with the Israelis; only 13% were sympathetic towards the Palestinians. By contrast, in Spain for example, 9% sympathised with the Israelis and 32% with the Palestinians. The political establishment is even more firmly behind Israel than the public is. Support for Israel stretches from San Francisco liberals like Nancy Pelosi to southern-fried conservatives like Bill Frist. The House and Senate have both passed bipartisan resolutions condemning Hizbullah and affirming Congress's support for Israel. The House version passed by 410 to 8 (of which three were from districts in Michigan with concentrations of Arab-Americans). The Senate resolution, sponsored by 62 senators‹including the leaders of both parties‹passed unopposed.

Indeed, the parties are engaged in a competition to see who can be the most pro-Israeli. Twenty or so Democrats, including Ms Pelosi, the House leader, and Harry Reid, the Senate leader, demanded that Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, retract his criticisms of Israel or have his invitation to address Congress cancelled. (Mr Maliki, strongly backed by the administration, was eventually allowed to go ahead.) Several leading Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, have addressed pro-Israeli rallies. The contrast with the simmering rage within the Labour Party over Tony Blair's support for George Bush could hardly be more marked. Pro-Israeli forces command the intellectual high ground as well as the corridors of power. Commentators such as Charles Krauthammer issue column after column ridiculing the notion of proportionality and stressing Hizbullah's responsibility for civilian casualties. Most middle-of-the-road commentators question the effectiveness, rather than the morality, of Israel's actions. Out-and-out critics of Israel are relegated to the sidelines.

Why is America so much more pro-Israeli than Europe? The most obvious answer lies in the power of two very visible political forces: the Israeli lobby (AIPAC) and the religious right. AIPAC, which has an annual budget of almost $50m, a staff of 200, 100,000 grassroots members and a decades-long history of wielding influence,is arguably the most powerful lobby in Washington, mightier even than the National Rifle Association.

"Thank God we have AIPAC, the greatest supporter and friend we have in the whole world," says Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister. The lobby, which is the centrepiece of a co-ordinated body that includespressure groups, think-tanks and fund-raising operations, produces voting statistics on congressmen that are carefully scrutinised by political donors. It also organises regular trips to Israel for congressmen and their staffs. (The Washington Post reports that Roy Blunt, the House majority whip, has been on four.) The Christian right is also solidly behind Israel. White evangelicals are significantly more pro-Israeli than Americans in general; more than half of them say they strongly sympathise with Israel. (A third of the Americans who claim sympathy with Israel say that this stems from their religious beliefs.) Two in five Americans believe that Israel was given to the Jewish people by God,and one in three say that the creation of the state of Israel was a step towards the Second Coming. Religious-right activists are trying to convert this latent sympathy into political support. John Hagee, a Texas televangelist who believes that supporting Israel is a "biblical imperative", recently founded Christians United for Israel. Last month he brought 3,500 people from across the country to Washington to cheer Israel's war against Hizbullah. Mr Hagee's brigades held numerous meetings on Capitol Hill; both Mr Bush and Mr Olmert sent messages to his rally. These pressure groups are clearly influential. Evangelical Christians make up about a quarter of the American electorate and are the bedrock of Mr Bush's support. Congressmen take on AIPAC at their peril. But they deal with well-heeled lobbies every day. And the power of the religious right can hardly explain why Democrats are so keen on Israel. Two other factors need to be considered: the war on Islamic radicalism, and deep cultural affinities between America and Israel.

Seeing themselves in Israel

Americans instinctively see events in the Middle East through the prism of September 11th 2001. They look at Hizbullah and Hamas with their Islamist slogans and masked faces and see the people who attacked America‹and they look at Israeli citizens and see themselves. In America the "war on terror" is a fact of life, constantly reiterated. The sense that America is linked with Israel in a war against Islamist extremism is reinforced by Iranian statements about wiping Israel off the surface of the earth, and by the political advance of the Islamists of Hamas in Palestine.But the biggest reason why Americans are so pro-Israel may be cultural. Americans see Israel as a plucky democracy in a sea of autocracies‹a democracy that has every right to use force to defend itself. Europeans, on the other hand, see Israel as a reminder of the atavistic forces‹from nationalism to militarism‹that it has spent the post-war years trying to grow beyond. Americans are staunch nationalists, much readier to contemplate the use of force than Europeans. A German Marshall Fund survey in 2005 found 42% of Americans strongly agreeing that "under some conditions, war is necessary to obtain justice" compared with just 11% of Europeans. A Pew survey found that the same proportion of Americans and Israelis believe in the use of pre-emptive force: 66%. Continental European figures were far lower.

Yet all this unquestioning support does not mean that America will give Israel absolute carte blanche to do whatever it wills. Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, was visibly shaken after the tragedy in Qana where at least 28 civilians, half of them children, were killed by Israeli bombs.

There are growing worries both about Israel's conduct of the war and its wider impact on the Middle East. Many of these anxieties are expressed by the "realist faction". Chuck Hagel, a Republican maverick, has given warning that America's relationship with Israel "cannot be at the expense of our Arab and Muslim relationships". Richard Haass, a State Department official under George Bush senior who now heads the Council on Foreign Relations, has laughed publicly at the president's "birth of a new Middle East" optimism about the crisis. Some of the worries extend to conservatives. Tony Blankley, a former press secretary for Newt Gingrich and a fire-breathingcolumnist for the Washington Times, says that "We ignore world opinion at our peril."

A few cracks are starting to appear. But they are still insignificant in the mighty edifice of support.

(LET'S DISPROVE THIS STATEMENT!!! LET'S BRING DOWN THIS EDIFICE ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!!!)

Very very very long

2006-08-09T12:51:00.000+04:00

Canadian health professionals,"Statement of concern for the public
Posted by: "Edward C. Corrigan" http://by101fd.bay101.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&a=8ae4f095393d260ad5374cf7db75de7e803982a140143f428d35e66b2d8f99fb&mailto=1&to=ecorrigan@linkd.net&msg=F6EC5760-5EBE-4049-9F04-E91F16BC90DD&start=0&len=9714&src=&type=x edcorrigancanada
Date: Fri Aug 4, 2006 3:01 pm (PDT)

Here is a statement on Gaza made by 90 health professional that should be distributed and sent to medical professionals to sign the statement and to appraise them of the situation. Thanks for your help. Ed Corrigan Canadian health professionals "Statement of concern for the public health situation in Gaza" July 2006
http://scienceforpeace.sa.utoronto.ca/Posted_Letters/HealthProfGazaStatement.pdf *******************************************************************

Omar Barghouti: Israel's Latest Massacre in Qana
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/story-073106113153.htm *******************************************************************

Dear Activist
If you agree with the following petition, please endorse and post the link throughout your network! "Demand an Immediate International Criminal Tribunal for Israel to Stop Global War!"(see that?! they're calling it a global war now!)

http://www.petitiononline.com/un040806/petition.html *******************************************************************

For pictures from various demonstrations in cyprus www.ykp.org.cy/nowar

(also, check out their "mission statement" - it's in turkish, greek,and english) *******************************************************************

http://www.counterpunch.org/tilley08052006.html
it seems to me that someone on this list was equating apartheid with what's going on now in the middle east -- this article is a must read!

http://www.counterpunch.org/gebauer08022006.html
i didn't know whether to feel sorry for the people because they were being led by the nose, or angry because they were allowing themselves to be treated like this ... disbelief at the calculated heartlessness that permeates the entire zionist consciousness was at the forefront of my mind though - how can people's pain and suffering become such a well-oiled a business?
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for those who haven't seen MP Galloway's interview
http://skynews-clips.videoloungetv.com/public/skynews/latest/galloway_060806.wmv
or
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14391.htm *******************************************************************

Wild dogs are devouring the victims of Israel’s Bombing Raids By Mike Whitney http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14149.htm *******************************************************************

If you guys could help me out with this, I'd really appreciate it!

Dear all, Over the last few days, the IPB Secretariat has collected a certain number of statements and analyses on the current Middle East crisis, which you can read at www.ipb.org <http://www.ipb.org> (on home page).

We also offer an initial list of websites. Please note that this does not mean that we necessarily endorse the viewpoints and political positions contained in them. We believe it is important to hear views from many sides in order to grasp the complexity of the problem.

We would be happy to receive more documentation and links, and we will put up more material when our staffing situation allows. The situation in the region continues to worsen quite rapidly, and the number of commentaries and statements being produced is enormous.

Thanks to Solveig Hole,* *intern, for making this first collection. Meanwhile you can read our own IPB declaration on the home page of the website.

This was read out to the crowd 'to loud cheers' at the anti-war demonstration in London on Saturday July 29.

CEASEFIRE NOW!
Colin Archer
Secretary General
26 July 2006
******************************************************************

From the "Tallahassee Democrat"
Article title: FSU professors, family escape from Lebanon

To view the contents on www.hometownlife.com, go to: http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006607250328
(a very good mix of fact and emotion)
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Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel www.pacbi.org
(there are some very interesting article links on this site ... also check out)

http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=315_0_1_0_C

http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=317_0_1_0_C
(proposed EU sanctions against Israel due to human rights violations)

http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=314_0_1_0_C
(it's a bit weird at first to read South Africa refer to Israel as an apartheid state ... weird but apt)

http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=A305_0_1_0_M
(Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) proposed sanctions against Israel)

http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=A311_0_1_0_M
(Metal and Electrical Workers Union of South Africa (MEWUSA) support sanctions against Israel)

http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=A303_0_1_0_M
(The Sanctions Against Israel Coalition (South Africa) statement regarding the massacre at Qana)

http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=322_0_1_0_C http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=313_0_1_0_C
(Ireland and Scotland cancel cricket games with Israel)

http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=321_0_1_0_C
(general South African population supports diplomatic and trade sanctions against Israel)

http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=316_0_1_0_C
(Venezuelan president - long live Chavez for calling Bush a terrorist from the start!! - recalls his ambassador from Israel)

http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=A312_0_1_0_M
(MPs attack the Brit government for continuing to sell arms to Israel)

http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=A310_0_1_0_M
(organizers of the the Edinbra (yes, I know it's Edinburgh) Film Fest. cancel Israeli sponsorship of the event)

http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=A309_0_1_0_M
(Greece pulls out of the Haifa film festival)

http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=A308_0_1_0_M
(letter to Cabinet Minister Hain from the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign)

http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=320_0_1_0_C
(op-ed on the cultural boycott of Israel re: cricket & film fests) *******************************************************************

www.antiwar.org

Video

2006-08-06T15:31:00.000+04:00

I had lost this link so I haven't had the time to watch it yet.

A very reliable source tells me it's worth the long watch (approx. 1 hour) as it shows many parallels between the Palestinian genocide by the Israelis and the current Israeli tactics and actions in Lebanon.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7828123714384920696

Changed Lives

2006-08-06T15:21:00.000+04:00

This war isn't only about the people who are dying ... it's not only about the bridges, roads, beaches, and homes (not houses) that have been destroyed ... it's about the people who are left stranded. Some of my friends are stranded. I'd like to share a little of their lives (I have their permission to do this).

1- Sarah
She's in hammana - one of the first places to be hit. She's a graphic designer who spends her time helping her mother run their pharmacy. She, her mother, and her sister get yelled at because there isn't enough medicine to go around. They live with people who have set up flags and tents almost literally in their backyard; people whose desperation they have to deal with everyday - people who they are literally forced to care about. The good news is that Sarah is going to back to university and study pharmacy rather than obtain her mba. In her words: "graphic design and business are all bullsh*t. i want to help."

2- Mohammad
He and his family escaped their home in Dahyeh when this whole fiasco started. Since then, he's been forced to keep going to work which means his wife, Zeina, who is 6 months pregnant and huge, has been looking for somewhere safe for them to stay. Somewhere close to beirut so Mohammad can go to work and come home at night. Somewhere close to a hospital in case Mohammad's father, who is in the final stages of liver cancer, should need one at 3 in the morning. Somewhere where their 3 year old daughter, Nour, can see the sunlight instead of the bleak walls of a basement.

3- Carla
She's in Geneva. She went there on holiday to visit her fiance. They were supposed to be getting married in October. Now, because no one knows what the situation will be like by then, she and her fiance are getting married in a civil ceremony in Geneva. No white dress, no bridal shower, no hen night, no wedding reception, no church ... and worst of all: no family or friends.

4- Salwa and Najat
They're sisters. They're in their sixties. They can't go to their home in Beirut because someone allowed some families from the south to "move in". They're not about to kick the people out so they're staying at the home of a family friend in the mountains. They don't drive and there are no shops within walking distance, so they depend on whoever has time to get them basic supplies (of which Lebanon is running out of faster than you can say toilet paper).

5- Toufic
His graduation ceremony from university was supposed to happen this month. He has worked his butt off to keep his grades up so he could remain eligible for financial aid. The culmination of all his hard work over the years was to get the highest grade on his senior project as well as an interview with a multinational. He needs a job to be able to support his parents, both of whom are jobless. Instead of the stellar future he was looking at just a couple of weeks ago, he's now looking at the walls of his home. He can't go anywhere or do anything.

***
Those are changed lives.

Prayer

2006-08-06T15:15:00.000+04:00

This is by the same person who wrote "A letter to the world". He and his family are very good friends with some of my close friends and their parents.

Adeline, thank you for sharing this.

*************
Prayer

Do you sometimes look at your watch and don't know what time it is?

Do you sometimes go sleep, wake up thinking you're somewhere but discover you're somewhere else?

Do you sometimes go to a room in your house and wonder why you went there?

Do you sometimes feel so helpless that you say to yourself "God help me" regardless of what your religion is?

- I do too!

I can go on with an exhaustive list of those little things that we have in common and define us as human beings...

Does one have any right to decide of the fate of others?

We could go on and point out responsibles and blame them for the death of innocent people because it's the easiest we can do, but would the problem be solved?

Some of you blame Israelis or Arabs, others Islam or Judaism, others the CIA and the United States...Would this bring the innocent victims back to life?

Many of you think "those are war casualties", for me they're human beings and I feel ashamed if that Arab little boy or that Israeli little girl asks me "Why did I die?"...

Why did they die? Did they die for any reason at all? Was the "Cause" worth the blood they spilled?

Almost 58 years and our people are still suffering. Now show me if you can tell little Mohammed and little Sarah if their blood helped for anything!

Do you deserve Qatioshas? - No you don't! But my people and my family members who have F16s and Apaches flying over their beds do not deserve to die either.

For what? For the personal ego of Olmert and Nasrallah who think they're saviors??!!

Let's send the slaughtered Jewish and Arab babies to them both and see what God they worship!

That's enough! We're tired of their flying gadgets; we're tired of their stupid politics and beliefs!
We have grown-ups with a 12-year-old-child's slang fighting their own war by sending other people's children to die!!!

That's enough! I want Sarah as much as Mohammed to live the life they are meant to have!
Shed your tears people; shed your tears to this human cruelty instead of encouraging this party or that to keep fighting!

Let's mourn these innocent people who are dying by hundreds but are not seen because of our media!

Whichever God you worship, no religion tells you to kill and to those who do not concur go read the books!

My sympathy to all the victims and I urge every single one of you who still has some compassion to read these lines in the name of all the victims who died asking "Why?!":

"We are sorry for the pain the human cruelty imposed on you.

We are sorry for the blood you shed for the weakness of our governors.

You do not deserve to die and for that we cannot but cry.

Your names will be remembered and your souls never forgotten.

Were you a Sarah or a Mohammed, we shall weep you equally as your lives were equally important.

Peace to all of us..."

Dory A.Azar

The problem with telling Hizb Allah to "knock it off"

2006-08-06T14:50:00.000+04:00

Below is an email I (and my mailing list) received from an American friend of mine. He asks why the Lebanese government doesn't (in his words) just tell Hizb Allah to knock it off. I suppose this is a question many people are asking. Unfortunately, like everything else in my little country, it's not that simple. Below his email are a few replies he got back which try to shed some light on the situation so far ...

*****************************
This is the email from my American friend, Robert:

First let me start by offering my modest words of condolences of the Lebanese that have lost their lives, and profound thankfulness of those that have been able to find haven from the violence. I was just as shocked when I heard of the war that erupted on Lebanese soil. That such terror is happening in a country of great beauty has created conflict in my mind. I offer the same condolences to Israelis and Palestinians too, with the same shock seeing that this violence has perpetuated for far too long.

Secondly, while I am an American, allow me to give some background and insight to myself. I was born in Texas, but have lived overseas for half of my life in Papua New Guinea, Nigeria and Canada. In these places, I have come to understand the role of a global citizen. What I mean by this term is realizing that while you were born in one geographic, social and cultural defined space, you are still a member of the human race and have obligations to that broad group. Despite differences in geography, society and culture, we share the same joy and the same pains. This idea I live every day.

Thirdly, I am a liberal and socialist American. I have studied my country’s history and past government Administrations. I know we did wrong in the past and now and I am shamed of the harm we have caused, not just outside of our borders but within our borders to our own citizens. This is not to say that the US has done some incredibly good things and has helped influenced peaceful events to take place. I will say that when we get involved directly, all hell breaks loose, while when we act more subtly or without thought the good events happen. Furthermore, I have become a soldier for charity in my community and I try to voice my opinion to my government in the ways I can.

And lastly, I also know that Israel has been acting way out of order in its past years. As a global citizen, I am ashamed of the actions Israel has taken against its neighbors. As well as ashamed of the actions Palestine has taken.

With that out of the way, I would like to pose a question in the attempt to understand out of my own ignorance of Lebanese society. If this most recent volley of bombs was started by Hizballah, and it is what Israel is really trying to stop, why hasn’t the Lebanese government or its citizens told Hizballah to stop its bombing campaign? To knock it off? To stop acting on the behalf of the Lebanese population? I am understanding that Lebanon did not want this to happen nor thought it would ever happen, so why let Hizballah continue? It is one thing to wag a finger and put blame on someone else for the bad things happening, but the blame also falls on the person doing the wagging and not acting, not trying to stop the bad from happening in the first place. Even in the modern US, did citizens protest its own government from military actions.

***
Reply #1 from Elie:

Hizballah kidnapped 2 Israeli soldiers to exchange them for 3 Lebanese who were incarcerated for the past 30 years in the Israeli jails. During past exchanges of prisoners, Israel agreed to exchange these 3 with other prisoners that were returned to Lebanon, but reneged on the agreement. Hizballah announced that they will negotiate an exchange through a 3rd party and Israel replied with thousands of air raids over Lebanon. The first thousand shots were Israeli and Hezballah only returned fire. It is a pity that people believe what Israel now says instead of following the facts and checking the sequence of events. It is a pity that all over the world people believe what the Israeli government says while in Israel itself, the Israeli people believe Hassan Nasrallah - the leader of Hizballah - more than their own government.

***
Reply #2 from Ghassan:

im not one for a political debate, but i can offer some insight, or rather my own views. Im going to speak very frankly, not something u would ever read in a newspaper.

The middle east has been a hot spot for more than a thousand years, literally. Back to the romans and earlier. i bet even the cavemen were like "what the hell." Back to the point. the people living in the middle east are ancestors of a mixtures of bablonians, assyrians, mesopotamians, pheonicians and God knows what else. Those guys you read about in history text books.

The point is, they have earned and learned to live together for thousands of years, through wars, peace, religion changes etc.. The state of israel is new. Imposed by whom? the Brits. One morning you wake up, and Israel has a state. Its only decades old. Its built on land that was previously occupied. you cant just get used to your neighbor. especially an administration like israel.

Israel gave birth to Hezbollah. Cause and effect. The fact they had been occupying the south of Lebanon, ignited the people to form an army, or militia called hezbollah because their land was occupied. Everyone seen Braveheart? These arent terrorists who decided they wanted to screw with the west like Al-Qaeda or whatever. They were never the coziest of neighbors either. I remember the US was celebrating a 300 year old "historic" church, and the media went on for quite some time. um hey, have u heard of the mideast? do u want to know "historic." The time span is an important factor. So for the "people" to rise up against hezbollah and speak out...it aint like the west. just not that simple. never has been. frankly i dont think it will ever be. wish i were more optimistic. Dont get me wrong i dont approve of any of the bloodshed from both sides. I aint offering a solution either. As Rumsfeld so eloquently describes Iraq, its a "quagmire."

Hope everyone is going to the blogs. Medical supplies running out is cruel.

***
Reply #3 from Roy:

Robert, in order for you to have some insight on the lebanese way of thought when it comes to hezbollah, you need to see the causality first. A lot of blame is laid, granted, but it's not fair to call it finger pointing. Lebanon was part of the maps drawn up after both world wars in oder to be split up by the more powerfu countries. Then, it was part of the region prmised to the Zionists. This is where the blame begins. A populated area "given" to a people. Rational reasoning seems to take a back seat to greed here. To add to this, the United States decided to back the Zionists with weapons that are beyond the capabilities of anyone in the region. The palestinians were thrown out of their lands and rules were imposed on their lives. This was not called terrorism since it was done by an army... it was ironic that while this was happening, the jews were colle cting on the holocaust... then, retalitaion was attempted in vain. What were they to do? die? leave? live according to someone else's rules? occupation is a form of terrorism. So an islamic group made a resistance force. They decided that lebanon is a good base of operations. other arab countries could have been better, but no one wants to take a risk on their ground. So now you have a resistance that is stronger than the lebanese army, supported by other islamic movements, using terrorist tactics. In the meantime, you have a terrorist nation flying warplanes over lebanese lands, attacking infrastructure "when necessary" and keeping a full population in concentrated areas. That's when 2 soldiers were kidnapped in order to negotiate for the thousands of lebanese detainees in zionist prisons. I don't know what you think the lebanese government can do here, try to go for another civil war? get more people killed? Do you realize this turned into a war with lebanon despite lebanon having nothing to do with it? but what can you expect out of hezbollah? lay down weapons and allow palesinians to be sent into "reservations"? oh, crap reservations are for indians... no wonder americans don't think this is a big deal, i guess when something's repeated, it doesn't take the same toll on the conscience...

***
Reply #4 from Chahin:

There's a major point you have to grasp too. Hizb Allah is a wholly reactionary force, and Nasrallah is very keen to capitalise on justified "natural rights" of self-defence and vengence which are protected by international laws. It was born out of the 1982 invasion to repel the Israeli invasion which more than overstayed their welcome.

When the Israelis first arrived, many villages greeted them with rice and roses for liberating them from PLO forces who had forcefully used these villages as bases and staging grounds. Buth when they came, they never left... Apparently they had other plans for the country as an entity (they attempted to rearrange the political system and power structure), but also for two of the biggest reasons everyone wants our tiny nation: 1- Extrememly strategic location as well as a culture receptive to East and West. 2- Water, water, water.

When the party (and its milita) was formed, it used tactics and conducted operations which could be viewed as "criminal" to say the least. I am refering to the kidnapings and hijacking and whatnot. However, the Hizb Allah of then is not the same group that is lead by their current leader, Nasrallah. Go back to when this revered sheikh grabbed the reigns and you will truly be astonished by him. He is a genius at calculating political situations and carefully picks what to do and what to say. He also has a track record of always delivering what he promises and moreso, what he threatens.

This war was "sparked" by the capture of these two soldiers, but the conflict was always there, instigated by Israel. They claim to have pulled out of Lebanon in accordance with UNSC resolution 425, but this is no true. Even UNIFIL and the UN has confirmed numerous Israeli fly-by's over Lebanese territory, Lebanese prisoners unlawfully held without charges in Israeli prisoners, maps of mines planted by occupationary forces and in 2004 (not 100% sure of the year) pipes were discovered underground in south Lebanon that were built by the Israelis during the occupation to steal Lebanese water (which they continued to do after they "withdrew"). Let us also not forget the 15 year old Lebanese sheperd who was shot by Israeli patrol guards across the border.

Now let me portray my stance. When I first heard of the operation on July 12th carried out by resistance operatives, the first thought to come to my head was, "oh fuck." It was pretty obvious (to me and many others) what the Israeli reaction would be. Their Prime Minister and Defence Minister are both men without extensive military backgrounds (which is not the norm in Israel). Military people tend to have a more leniant approach to conflicts. Military men will tend to try to avoid leading their nation into a war. Apart from this, the Israelis were just itching for a reason to go full out on Lebanon, as has been proven by the current conflict at hand.

So I got very angry at what Hizb Allah did because I knew the country was going to be set alight. However, Hizb Allah acted perfectly within their "natural rights" as Nasrallah put it. The capture of the Israeli soldiers was a direct reaction to Israel's holding of Lebanese prisoners. This was not the first time such a thing has happened. It is typical of Hizb Allah to capture Israelis and trade them for prisoners (it's been done a bunch of times with Germany as the mediator).

Oh and if you have any interest in the Palestine crisis with the captured Israeli soldier there, go read up on what happened days before that shit storm broke out. Apart from the continuous oppression of the Palestinian people, two of their people were abducted by Israeli forces, one of whom is a doctor.

***
Reply #5 from Ziad:

Robert,
Roy and Chahin portrayed the historical circumstances perfectly, though I'm going to answer your question: "Why doesn't the Lebanese Government tell Hizbullah to knock it off?"

A brief history is needed I suppose. Lebanon had been a victim of a Syrian military presence since 1976, and occupation since the Taif Accords were drawn up in 1989. In 2005, following the much advertised "Cedar Revolution" and resolution 1559 backing it up, we were able to get rid of the Syrians. Ever since the end of the war, Syria had been supporting Hizbullah militarily and politically, and at the same time crippling the Lebanese military and government. When Syria left Lebanon in 2005, it basically left behind a weak government, a weak Lebanese army, and a incredibly strong, financially supported, popular, hyped up militia in the south, known as Hizbuillah.

Now you know the conditions that lead to the pathetic status quo we were left with. With Hizbullah armed to the teeth, and with no Lebanese citizen wanting to risk another civil war (at least the intelligent ones of the bunch), Siniora's government had no choice but to handle the situation in some way as not to alienate the Shiite community... Hence the national dialogue. This was partaken to find solutions to the many problems facing Lebanese society, one of which were Hizbullah's weapons.

So something was actually being done. Even though it was a slow process, there still was an internal initiative to remove the arms under the context of national unity and brotherhood. However, Hizbullah had betrayed the dialogue by kidnapping those two soldiers. For Hisbullah I suppose, the welfare of Lebanon as a sovereign state is directly linked to the war against Israel, and the welfare of palestine, in the context of the historical/regional struggles that have plagued the middle east since 1948.

For those who associate themselves more with the regional conflict with Israel, Hizbullah is doing all arabs a favor. For those who don't, Hizbullah is bringing the Lebanese to ruin. As for the Lebanese government, our military cannot stand up against Hizbullah, its a losing battle. Even if they were able to win it would still be a losing battle, because it would mean alienating around 40% of the population of Lebanon.

Is this life?

2006-08-06T14:26:00.000+04:00

Another article courtesy of AmericanLebanese Yahoo group (does Mr. Semel know?)

Posted by: "emerald1188"
Sat Aug 5, 2006 7:01 am (PST)

Trying to make sense of the war
By Nayla Razzouk

BEIRUT: "Is there still war outside?" wondered a six-year-old boy with dark shadows under his eyes, one of 1,700 people hiding from Israeli bombardments on the asphyxiating third, fourth and even fifth underground floors of a parking lot in Beirut's southern suburbs.

In a neighbourhood long deserted by its residents, nothing leads one to think that there is an underground shelter, much less that 1,700 people were hiding inside — except for the fleet of scooters parked outside.

After an obscure passage through cement stairs leading five floors below, the air becomes thicker and a surreal scene of underground life emerges as if from the movies to show a sea of families, gathered across the giant open space of the parking lot.

Each family crams a single car parking space, delineated by red parallel lines painted on the shining grey floor. Despite the air-conditioning system, most are soaking wet from the humidity.

"My house is in B3, come and visit us," a smiling seven-year-old Samah told journalists. [B3?!! Her home is a parking spot!!! No walls, no doors, no toys, no food, no clean clothes -- just a cold hard floor and two red lines. And she's still smiling!! I'm crying, and she's smiling! Jesus Christ help them!]

A teenager is skidding across a long alley, pushing a cart where two boys and a girl are giggling from the thrill of the only available amusement activity.

An elderly woman moans from the pain to her bones, as she lies on a thin rug on the ground.

"We have been living five floors below, we are sleeping on the floor of a public parking, what do you want? Her bones ache from the humidity," said her grandson, Ali.

"We cannot even go back home to shower during the day because of renewed bombardments. We can hardly clean the children with wet cloths. Can you imagine all these people taking turns in the few toilets of a public parking lot?"

Under a `No Entry' sign usually designed for cars, children scream happily as they run in all directions across the grey floor.

Despite the gloomy, near-dark underground second floor, they are gleefully playing hide-and-seek.

"We are like Nasrallah, the Israelis will never catch us," said a seven-year-old Ali.

A little girl with a ponytail is jumping on one leg along the bright-red lines delineating single parking spaces.

Instead of children's rhymes, cheerful little girls and boys chant slogans as they giggle on a children's roundabout. A boy sitting on the central wheel flashes a victory sign.

A group of children are sitting in a circle on the ground.They are not playing truth-or-dare. They may be boys and girls, but they are old souls. They have seen a lot and endured even more. They are engaged in a serious debate that would outwit any grownup.

"Who is the president of Israel? Why does he want to kill us?" asked Ali Baddah, 10.

"The president is Sharon, the criminal, who wants our land," answered promptly his sister Hawra, in reference to former prime minister Ariel Sharon who has been in a coma for months.

"Not even, it is (US President George) Bush, the killer," said their eldest brother Hassan.

"In any case, the resistance is the bravest," stated 11-year-old Musa Nureddin whose family fled under a rain of bombs to Beirut's suburbs all the way from Markaba, a village dangerously close to the borders with Israel.

"But the Israelis have warplanes and helicopters. They have tanks, and America," said six-year-old Mohammed Khansa.

"No, listen. The resistance fighters are forcing the Israelis to engage in close combat because it is the only way they can win without warplanes," explained patiently his older brother Nureddin, as the rest of the children nodded affirmatively, as if they suddenly understood the situation.

"In any case, God is with them," said eight-year-old Roula Hilal.—AFP

From Counterpunch

2006-08-06T13:31:00.000+04:00

The following two articles I received courtesy of the members of the AmericanLebanese Yahoo group. Bold and italics are mine.

*******************
Posted by: "shik11@aol.com"
Fri Aug 4, 2006 7:30 pm (PST)

August 3, 2006
War of the Generals
http://www.counterpunch.org/avnery08032006.html

Knife in the Back
By URI AVNERY

The day after the war will be the Day of the Long Knives. Everybody will blame everybody else. The politicians will blame each other. The generals will blame each other. The politicians will blame the generals. And, most of all, the generals will blame the politicians. Always, in every country and after every war, when the generals fail, the "knife in the back" legend raises its head. If only the politicians had not stopped the army just when it was on the point of achieving a glorious, crushing, historic victory That's what happened in Germany after World War I, when the legend gave birth to the Nazi movement. That's what happened in America after Vietnam. That's what is going to happen here. The first stirrings can already be felt.

THE SIMPLE truth is that up to now, the 22nd day of the war, not one single military target has been reached. [not counting the Lebanese soldiers whose barracks were bombed as they slept] The same army that took just six days to rout three big Arab armies in 1967 has not succeeded in overcoming a small "terrorist organization" in a time span that is already longer than the momentous Yom Kippur War. Then, the army succeeded in just 20 days in turning a stunning defeat at the beginning into a resounding military victory at the end. In order to create an image of achievement, military spokesmen asserted yesterday that "we have succeeded in killing 200 (or 300, or 400, who is counting?) of the 1000 fighters of Hizbullah." The assertion that the entire terrifying Hizbullah consisted of one thousand fighters speaks for itself. According to correspondents, President Bush is frustrated. The Israeli army has not "delivered the goods". Bush sent them into war believing that the powerful army, equipped with the most advanced American arms, will "finish the job" in a few days. It was supposed to eliminate Hizbullah, turn Lebanon over to the stooges of the US, weaken Iran and perhaps also open the way to "regime change" in Syria. No wonder that Bush is angry. Ehud Olmert is even more furious. He went to war in high spirits and with a light heart, because the Air Force generals had promised to destroy Hizbullah and their rockets within a few days. Now he is stuck in the mud, and no victory in sight.

AS USUAL with us, at the termination of the fighting (and possibly even before) the War of the Generals will start. The front lines are already emerging. The commanders of the land army blame the Chief-of-Staff and the power-intoxicated Air Force, who promised to achieve victory all by themselves. To bomb, bomb and bomb, destroy roads, bridges, residential quarters and villages, and - finito! The followers of the Chief-of-Staff and the other Air Force generals will blame the land forces, and especially Northern Command. Their spokesmen in the media already declare that this command is full of inept officers, who have been shunted there because the North seemed a backwater while the real action was going on in the South (Gaza) and the Center (West Bank). There are already insinuations that the Chief of Northern Command, General Udi Adam, was appointed to his job only in homage to his father, General Kuti Adam, who was killed in the First Lebanon War.

THE MUTUAL accusations are all quite right. This war is plastered with military failures - in the air, on land and on the sea. They are rooted in the terrible arrogance in which we were brought up and which has become a part of our national character. It is even more typical of the army, and reaches its climax in the Air Force. For years we have told each other that we have the most-most-most army in the world. We have convinced not only ourselves, but also Bush and the entire world. After all, we did win an astounding victory in six days in 1967. As a result, when this time the army did not win a huge victory in six days, everybody was astounded. Why, what happened? One of the declared aims of this war was the rehabilitation of the Israeli army's deterrence power. That really has not happened. That's because the other side of the coin of arrogance is the profound contempt for Arabs, an attitude that has already led to severe military failures in the past. It's enough to remember the Yom Kippur war. Now our soldiers are learning the hard way that the "terrorists" are highly motivated, tough fighters, not junkies dreaming of "their" virgins in Paradise. But beyond arrogance and contempt for the opponent, there is a basic military problem: it is just impossible to win a war against guerillas. We have seen this in our 18-year stay in Lebanon. Then we drew the unavoidable conclusion and got out. True, without good sense, without an agreement with the other side. (We don't speak with terrorists, do we? - even if they are the dominant force on the ground.) But we did get out. God knows what gave today's generals the unfounded self-confidence to believe that they would win where their predecessors failed so miserably. And most of all: even the best army in the world cannot win a war that has no clear aims. Karl von Clausewitz, the guru of military science, pronounced that "war is nothing more than the continuation of politics by other means". Olmert and Peretz, two complete dilettantes, have turned this inside out: "War is nothing more than the continuation of the lack of policy by other means."

MILITARY EXPERTS say that in order to succeed in war, there must be (a) a clear aim, (b) an aim that is achievable, and (c) the means necessary for achieving this aim. All these three conditions are lacking in this war. That is clearly the fault of the political leadership. Therefore, the main blame will be laid at the feet of the twins, Olmert-Peretz. They have succumbed to the temptation of the moment and dragged the state into a war, in a decision that was hasty, unconsidered and reckless. As Nehemia Strassler wrote in Haaretz: They could have stopped after two or three days, when all the world agreed that Hizbullah's provocation justified an Israeli response, when nobody was yet doubting the capabilities of the Israeli army. The operation would have looked sensible, sober and proportional. But Olmert and Peretz could not stop. As greenhorns in matters of war, they did not know that the boasts of the generals cannot be relied on, that even the best military plans are not worth the paper on which they are written, that in war the unexpected must be expected, that nothing is more temporary then the glory of war. They were intoxicated by the war's popularity, egged on by a herd of fawning journalists, driven out of their minds by their own glory as War Leaders. Olmert was roused by his own incredibly kitschy speeches, which he rehearsed with his hangers-on. Peretz, so it seems, stood in front of the mirror and already saw himself as the next Prime Minister, Mister Security, a Second Ben-Gurion. And so, like two village idiots, to the sound of drums and bugles, they set off at the head of their March of Folly straight towards political and military failure. It is reasonable to assume that they will pay the price after the war. [I don't think it's reasonable at all -- who will collect? Bush? Blair? Condi? The "international community"? If none of these people gave them the "bill", why assume they'll make them pay anything? The Israeli population? Somehow, I doubt they care that much. They didn't lose their homes, lives, and livelihoods on the scale that we did, so they don't have the anger we do -- what's their motivation? I could be wrong -- my judgement severely clouded; let me know.]

WHAT WILL come out of this whole mess? No one talks anymore about eliminating Hizbullah or disarming it and destroying all the rockets. That has been forgotten long ago. At the start of the war, the government furiously rejected the idea of deploying an international force of any kind along the border. The army believed that such a force would not protect Israel, but only restrict its freedom of action. Now, suddenly, the deployment of this force has become the main aim of the campaign. The army is continuing the operation solely in order to "prepare the ground for the international force", and Olmert declares that he will go on fighting until it appears on the ground. That is, of course, a sorry alibi, a ladder for getting down from the high tree. The international force can be deployed only in agreement with Hizbullah. No country will send its soldiers to a place where they would have to fight the locals. And everywhere in the area, the local Shiite inhabitants will return to their villages - including the Hizbullah underground fighters. Further on, the force will also be totally dependent on the agreement of Hizbullah. If a bomb explodes under a bus full of French soldiers, a cry will go up in Paris: bring our sons home. That is what happened when the US Marines were bombed in Beirut. The Germans, who shocked the world this week by opposing the call for a cease-fire, certainly will not send soldiers to the Israeli border. That's just what they need, to be obliged to shoot at Israeli soldiers. And, most importantly, nothing will prevent Hizbullah from launching their rockets over the heads of the international force, any time they want to. What will the international force do then? Conquer all the area up to Beirut? And how will Israel respond? Olmert wants the force to control the Lebanese-Syrian border. That, too, is illusory. That border goes around the entire West and North of Lebanon. Anybody who wants to smuggle weapons will stay away from the main roads, which will be controlled by the international soldiers. He will find hundreds of places along the border to do this. With the proper bribe, one can do anything in Lebanon. Therefore, after the war, we will stand more or less in the same place we were before we started this sorry adventure, before the killing of almost a thousand Lebanese and Israelis, before the eviction from their homes of more than a million human beings, Israelis and Lebanese, before the destruction of more than a thousand homes both in Lebanon and Israel.

AFTER THE war, the enthusiasm will simmer down, the inhabitants of the North will lick their wounds and the army will start to investigate its failures. Everybody will claim that he or she was against the war from the first day on. Then the Day of Judgment will come. The conclusion that presents itself is: kick out Olmert, send Peretz packing and sack Halutz. In order to embark on a new course, the only one that will solve the problem: negotiations and peace with the Palestinians, the Lebanese, the Syrians. And: with Hamas and Hizbullah. Because it's only with enemies that one makes peace.

*Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom. He is one of the writers featured in _The Other Israel: Voices of Dissent and Refusal_ (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/156584789X/counterpunchmaga) . He is also a contributor to CounterPunch's hot new book _The Politics of Anti-Semitism_ (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1902593774/counterpunchmaga) . He can be reached at: _avnery@counterpunch.org_ (mailto:avnery@counterpunch.org) .

*********************
http://www.counterpunch.org/atzmon07222006.html

July 22-23, 2006

Israel’s New Math
2 = 500,000
By GILAD ATZMON

This is obviously the outcome of the newly emerged Hebraic arithmetic laws. For 2 kidnapped Israeli soldiers who are still kept alive, 500,000 innocent Lebanese civilians are displaced. For 2 abducted Israeli soldiers, Lebanon, a sovereign state, is brought back down on its knees. Its civil infrastructure is ‘gone’. Some of its capital’s residential quarters and southern villages are already wiped out. Indeed, ‘two equals half a million’ is the new arithmetic the Israelis insist upon imposing on the region. Is it that surprising? Not at all, as predicted by Gershon Sholem already in the 1930’s: once the Jews start to speak Hebrew, it won’t take long before they consider themselves to be God.

In the Bible Sodom and Gomorrah were "brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven" (Genesis 13:13; 18:20; 19:24, 29; Hosea 11:8). The two towns where erased by God for the sins of its inhabitants. In the Biblical narrative (Genesis 18), God informs Abraham that he intends upon demolishing the city of Sodom because of its gross immorality. Abraham pleads with God not to do it. God is willing to agree as long as there were 50 righteous people in town, then 45, then 30, 20, or even just 10 decent people.

While the Biblical tale is saturated with God’s fury and vengeance, it is Abraham, a morally orientated human being who insists upon saving the inhabitants of Sodom. Yet, not many contemporary Abrahams have been raising their voices within Israeli society. In a demonstration against the emerging brutal attack against Lebanon, less than one thousand Israeli showed up. But far more worryingly, not many Abrahams are noticeable amongst our world leaders. While Bush was clearly caught up welcoming the brutal wiping out of yet another Arab country, his twin ideological brother, PM Blair, supports Israel’s “right to defend itself”. One should ask the British PM the obvious question: if indeed Israel is solely engaged in merely “defending itself” how come there is no Navy rescue mission of Britons from Tel Aviv or Haifa? Somehow, Mr. Blair, it is rather apparent that Israel’s aim of ‘defending itself’ is so extensive in its brutality that it is actually Beirut and southern Lebanon that are wiped out.

Following Sholem’s prophecy, it is rather clear that the almighty Israelis indeed endorsed the role of a cruel God. Flying American F-16’s, the Israelis ‘brimstone and fire’ Lebanese cities and villages out of existence. Last night, the IAF angels dropped 23 tons of explosives on a one single bunker in Beirut. They really want to kill so it seems.

However, within the Biblical tale, even God is willing to bargain, “just present me with 50, 40, 30, 20 righteous people,” he tells Abraham. Seemingly, Israel, the almighty regional God, is far less willing to bargain. Till this point in time, it has rejected any ceasefire initiatives. The Israelis want to ‘finish the job’ so they say.

One may wonder what exactly is that job which they want to finish. Indeed they spread collateral damage all over Lebanon but seemingly they do not touch the Hezbollah. Instead, rather murderously, they punish the entire Lebanese people. They flatten Beirut’s southern neighbourhoods, they destroy the Lebanese civil infrastructures, they destroy the state’s economy, half a million Lebanese are now displaced, hundreds are dead. And guess what, they don’t win. Ostensibly, the Hezbollah is gaining power. In fact, from this point onwards, the Hezbollah can only win. In other words, the Hezbollah has won the battle already.

More than anything, it is the Hezbollah that made Israel reveal its very devastating notion of blood arithmetic i.e. 2 = 500,000. For those who fail to understand, people who believe in ‘two equals half a million’ can easily nuke whoever they consider to be their enemies with out the slight hesitation. 2 = 500,000 is there to suggest that Israel isn’t just a regional danger, it is the biggest threat to world peace. This is something I’ve known for a while but now thanks to the Hezbollah this will become common knowledge.

While in the history of the conflict, no Arab army has yet to defeat the Israeli military might, the Hezbollah, a tiny paramilitary group of patriotic warriors has managed to transform northern Israeli cities into ghost towns. They did it without a navy, without an air force, without tanks. For those who don’t know, Israel is all about ‘good life’. It is all about trading in the stock exchange. Having a BBQ party on the beach. Big imported pop acts in open-air concerts. Rather than Peace Israelis are after ‘Shalom’ which really means: one-sided security for the Jews only. The Hezbollah (as well as the Hamas) made it clear to the Israelis, you will never live in Shalom unless you dig into the notion of Peace.

It is important to mention that Israel could never win this war, it could only lose and in fact it lost already. Israel’s power of deterrence is minced to pieces by a lightly armed paramilitary organisation. Considering the emerging humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, the world public attention from now on will be dedicated to the growing devastation the ‘God-like’ Israelis have left behind. Israel on its side is going to be left with a war of attrition. It took the Hezbollah 20 years to get the IDF out of Lebanon. The Israelis know very well that if the IDF failed miserably in defeating the Hezbollah, no army in the world can do the job any better. Hezbollah is there to stay. Israel is now left with a very hostile neighbour and a very strong Hezbollah on its very vulnerable northern border.

The Old Testament’s almighty God is indeed merciless at times, he acts with fury and vengeance but he isn’t vulnerable. In Genesis 18 the people of Sodom do not fight back, they just pass away. The one who looks back with awe is transformed into a salty statue. But the ‘God-like’ Israelites are rather vulnerable. One billion Arabs are waiting for them behind the corner. One billion Arabs who are humiliated daily by an Anglo-American Zionised west that backs ‘Israel’s right to defend itself’. One billion Arabs that are looking at stolen Palestine, smashed Gaza and torn apart Lebanon. Those Arabs have a good reason to be cheered by the Hezbollah. It is the Hezbollah that gives them a very good reason to look forward with pride.
But the Hezbollah is not the only winner. Clearly, the Israeli attack leads towards a huge humanitarian crisis. While the Americans and British are concerned mainly with rescuing their citizens in Beirut (many of them indeed Lebanese by origin), Syria is there to offer safe shelter to a growing flood of thousands of Lebanese refugees. While Blair and Bush engage in giving the green light to Israeli brutality, it is Syria that gives a hand to the real victims. It is about time we shake off our views and admit that from a purely ethical point of view. It is Syria and Iran who support the oppressed people in this battered region. i.e.. the Palestinians and now the Lebanese. For me this is more than enough to suggest that at least ethically, Iran and Syria are the most progressive powers around.

And just one final word about the God-like Israelites; indeed, it is very clear that they do not love their neighbours. But how to say it, people who inflict so much pain on others probably do not like themselves either. Even murderers don’t like themselves being murderers.

*Gilad Atzmon was born in Israel and served in the Israeli military. He is the author of two novels: A Guide to the Perplexed and the recently released My One and Only Love. Atzmon is also one of the most accomplished jazz saxophonists in Europe. His recent CD, Exile, was named the year's best jazz CD by the BBC. He now lives in London and can be reached at: atz@onetel.net.uk

A letter to the world

2006-08-05T23:12:00.000+04:00

Posted by Sarah Zaouk on AmericanLebanese Yahoo group. Her friend Dory emailed it to her.

A letter to the World...

With my beloved Lebanon I shall start, as you deserve your fame and to your courage I cannot but lean. How much more tears should you shed for the others to realize how great you are? How much more blood should you spill for the others to recognize what you really are? Today I cannot but bend down on my knees to your majestic presence... I worship your sea, your sand, your mountains and cedars. I worship your Mosques and Churches. I worship your children, fathers and mothers. Now I understand why the greatest empires and civilizations spilled their blood on this land. Now I understand why the first Christian miracle was meant to be on this land... Now I understand why Jesus, Mohammed, Moses and Ali are all united on this land.

To my honorable fellow Lebanese, thank you! Thank you for being what you are! People think we are fond of savaging each other, today we showed them how united we are... Call yourselves Arabs, call yourselves Phoenicians, call yourselves Turks, call yourselves Armenians, call yourselves Kurds, call yourselves anything cause you are all of these together, as no one in this world struggled for them as much as you did and are still doing.

To the Israeli government, I say we are tired of cleaning the Holocaust rubble we were never responsible for. You do not need to exterminate millions to prove to the world what you endured.

To the Americans, I would rather not say anything as most of the words in this letter are jargon to you. Yes, there are countries on the map other than the United States and yes I am aware that you are not capable of pointing out Lebanon, nor Palestine, nor Irak nor Afghanistan nor even France on this map. For that, I cannot blame you but in fact I can only pity your nation.

To the Brits, it is probably a good time to figure out who is ruling your country: the Queen, Tony Blair or Bush?

To the Germans; you are indeed still paying your debts!

To the rest of the world, I thank some of you for the effort you are doing for "this forgotten spit of land called Lebanon".

My letter is not over yet and will not be before I say somethingto the Arab World:
You just proved that the Arab nation is just a myth, just a dream.

Shame on most of you! Lebanon has been fighting in the name of Arabs much more than any of you! Lebanon sacrificed his children for your cause! The Lebanon you always blamed for not being Arab enough has been bleeding for the last 60 years for your sake! But Lebanon cannot keep your golden thrones! Lebanon cannot keep your castles and Harem! Maybe this is why Lebanon was not Arab enough for you...

How can you close your eyes at night, knowing that there are people lying under tons of rubbles fighting the war you do not want to bring "to your backyards"?

We have fought for Jesus, Mohammed and Ali. Our people died for Palestine and supported the cause to the last breath. Egypt, pride of Nasser! Jordan pride of the Palestinians who live in your capital! What a shame for the Arabs you are! What a disgrace for Lebanon you are...

"Let the cheap Lebanese blood spill! It is not oil, It is not gold so let it go"...and for that we thank you all!

Dory A.Azar

Nahwa Al Muwatiniya

2006-08-05T23:07:00.000+04:00

Dear Nahwa Al-Muwatiniya members, friends, partners and Lebanon’s lovers,

Times are hard for us, but completely unbearable for people in the south.

It is time that we take a proactive role in showing our solidarity with people in the south! Nahwa Al-Muwatiniya, Civil Society Organizations For Life along with many local and international NGOs are participating in the Citizens Convoy to act in solidarity with our citizens in the South.
More details are included below in an email forwarded to us from the organizers of this action. Date and place will be set soon, so be ready for more details.

Your presence is highly highly needed!

Please reply by mail or by calling 03-760891 or 03-004715

…Towards A Better Future,
Nahwa Al-Muwatiniya

Citizen Convoys: Call for Solidarity and Action for South Lebanon

We, Lebanese citizen and members of Lebanon's civil society reject and denounce the forced expulsion of populations in south Lebanon.

We denounce Israel's injunction to our fellow countrymen in the south to flee their homes so as to avoid dying from shelling.

We reject Israel's summon for our citizen to "move far from the zones of combat" through the use of tract.

We do not tolerate that Israel should invoke these summons to claim its innocence from the crimes later committed by its army. No one should be forced to flee from where they live or face the penalty of death. That such an intimation be perceived and accepted as the Israeli government's well-intioned and humane regard for the Lebanese is unacceptable. That it should furthermore serve to acquit Israel subsequently of its responsibility in the massacre of civilians is intolerable.

In the face of Israel's imminent and publicly proclaimed destruction of more towns and villages in the south, we call for a solidarity with the inhabitants of the south who made the choice to stay and resist.

With this call we affirm our commitment to stand by their side, traveling in citizen convoys to the towns and villages of the south, to express our solidarity with them and our rejection of the Israel's current policy of devastation.

With this call:
- We beckon you to denounce the forced expulsion of populations
- To defend the rights of the inhabitants of the south to live on their land and in their homes,
- And to join our convoys

We invite you to sign the following declaration:
We, citizen of the world fully affirm our rejection of Israel's policies of total destruction of towns and villages in south Lebanon and of the massacres of their inhabitants. By joining the citizen convoys and with our direct presence by their side we attest of our concrete solidarity with them.

To sign this call, please send your signature (reply) to the following address: convois.citoyens.sud.liban@gmail.com
Until our website is up and running, which we expect to announce shortly.

Yahoo Group: AmericanLebanese

2006-08-05T22:55:00.000+04:00

I cried when I read this. I feel everything she has written. I feel it in the deepest parts of my heart and soul.

Written By
Ninar keyrouz
07/30/06

It was the best summer of my life, better yet, it was the best time of my life, I couldn't have been happier, ever before… I'm home,with my family and my cousins… The World Cup and my team winning, Italy! To think that people went to Germany to cheer and live this event, oh no, there were tourists who came to Lebanon to live it at its best! My cousins coming from Cyprus after 17 years, the family reuniting…

Shopping with pleasure and not because there's nothing else to do, was a needed feeling(and wardrobe) that the boutiques of Kaslik, ABC Ashrafieh and the Habtour glamorously and generously provided me, as I would cruise them after a beautiful day at the beach, that was my make over, I was changed and finally looked like an authentic Lebanese!

Now I'm ready to go out, one place in the whole world is high, full of life, beautiful people, who don't just sit at the bar with their faces showing their worries about their taxes, bills or worse, debts, but happy faces, faces I missed, faces I love, faces better then 1000 Mg of Vitamin C, or hundreds of dollars worth Psychiatrist sessions! Lebanese faces, with loud voices and lots of body language! And the place to be is not New York or Cannes during the film festival (and believe me I've been to both) but it is DT [downtown] Beirut!

I used to tell my mom, niyelik [lucky you], you know Lebanon before the war, during its best years of glamour, you lived it, I didn't… But these sleepless nights of Gemayze, Monot and DT Beirut made me regret what I said to her, Lebanon couldn't be more beautiful, it was the brightest shining star of the Mediterranean!

And the Pearl of this warm sea was my old time favorite resort, Portemilio ,where nostalgic French music would bring back my teenage innocent dreams, mixed with my new Arabic music ,both bringing me back to life, with a new heart, new mind and a very new sexy tan , the tan that you must have to go out at night ,especially if you're thinking of hitting WHITE,or ASIA ,both on roof tops of DT Beirut Buildings ,over viewing Beirut, Jounieh and the Mediterranean… WHITE, was the place to be, beautiful famous people lighting up the sky of Lebanon, making its stars jealous of their beauty…White, pure, peaceful and happy was my heart …

I knew it right then, during this summer of my dreams that it is here where I belong, that to Lebanon I will come back, and in his arms I will find my dreams and ambitions and make them come true. And the best feeling was that I wasn't scared of going back to the States anymore, because I knew this place would wait for me forever and when I was ready I'd come back, and it would still be waiting, only even more beautiful…I had faith in that, I was at peace with myself , I was happy, it was perfect…

I should have known, it was too good to be true.

July 12…everything started to change…I was at the beach, because I couldn't imagine that hitting and closing the Airport was the beginning of a war on us and I had no idea, that all of my dreams, plans and even happiness would fade away, by the murdering merciless hands of Israel.

The first days came to us Lebanese as a shock, I don't know how to describe it, I don't know if it was fast, slow, an illusion, a nightmare that started wearing the face of reality very bitterly and got to our system like those death penalty injections they give to guilty prisoners, only in our case, we were sentenced to death without a trial, without defense, we were the victims, again, of the powerful and the strong, of the law of the jungle…

After 18 days and 17 nights, I am back to the United States; "Welcome back home Miss Keyrouz", said to me this kind African American Immigration officer at the airport of Washington DC…"I hope your family is safe". Home…his words echoed in my ears slapping my soul with potions of guilt and shame… I wasn't home….I am not home, I wanted to tell him, and yes my family is safe thank God for that, this, I was able to say to him, holding back my tears, my voice trembling, he would think because of the long trip I had, he didn't hear "their" planes on top of our heads playing hide and seek with our children," the rules of the games have changed", Olmert had said, and the rules did change indeed, as they were the only winner, taking it all…

Unpacking was my only punishment, and I apologize to the souls of the Lebanese children who have paid with their blood, that unpacking was my harshest punishment; Every single thing I brought back with me from Lebanon reminded me of a moment, of my family, I can hear the laughter, and I can see the faces, I can feel the warm hugs, and I cry.

And nothing I shopped for means anything anymore, I have no energy or will to wear any of this and look good.

How can I when my country is bleeding helplessly?

All the songs, happy or sad, make me cry…cry..cry…

They usually say that crying makes you feel better, but these damned tears are making me fall apart, and nothing, nothing at all, is making me feel better, nothing is getting better.

To the Children of Qana, I light a candle for your souls, you are angels and I ask you to pray for us now. Christian and Muslim children, you are with Jesus, Jesus who made his first miracle in Qana. I apologize that it is your blood that caused the world to ask for a cease-fire…

To Lebanon with love…

To Lebanon my love…

I am filled with pain and shame as I write these words. For here I am sitting peacefully on my couch, watching on the news like a stranger, the hands of evil tear you apart. Yes, I've abandoned you again. But this time against my will. I had a dream, and this time it wasn't the American dream, who took me away from you two years ago. It was, it still is, the Lebanese dream. My dream of going back to you and living among my family there.

I pray to you, to those who died, to God to the Saints, to protect you and ease your pain,
I pray to see my family again, that they all be safe.. I Pray and pray and pray and ask God to forgive me because I can't help but pray that an earthquake would put Israel underground, all of it…!!!!

As I listen to the music I brought with me, I tell you Lebanon:
"Bil libnani bhibak…bhibak..bhibak.." [in Lebanese Arabic I love you ... I love you ... I love you]

More aid via ...

2006-08-05T22:46:00.000+04:00

Can you feel how desperate the situation is? I got this from a mailing list I'm part of.

Auxilia - Our children are our future

Cash donations through:
Al Baraka Bank
Account Number: 5196
Swift Code: ALCVLBBE3X

www.auxilia-international.org
auxilia.international@yahoo.com

Tel: +961 3 561 502
Fax: +961 5 955 377

Aid to Lebanon

2006-08-05T22:40:00.000+04:00

I got this today from my friend, Carla. The numbers are now approximately 900 dead (that's only according to the number of bodies that have been recovered), 4000 wounded, 1 million homeless.

PARTICIPATE IN REDUCING THE SUFFERING CAUSED BY THE WAR ON LEBANON

Over 900,000 refugees are being catered for by many organizations andvolunteers. Yet there is still a serious shortage of clothing and hygiene, especially for the children.These refugees left their homes with nothing except what they were wearing. Three weeks have passed while they are in schools where only minimum hygiene is available. Children as well as adults need a change of clothes. But before that they need a HOT BATH. Schools are not equipped with bathrooms, they only have toilets and wash basins and no hot water. SPNL intends, starting immediately, to install portable bathrooms in the schools where the displaced are being housed temporarily. Temporarily, in certain cases, could be several months!!

During our visits to some of these schools we have already witnessed cases of Lice and Skin diseases among the children. SPNL, The Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon, advocates that people are an integral part of Nature and should be protected and assisted to maintain a hygienic existence. We at SPNL, therefore, request all of you, who wish to help and who feel that they are concerned, to donate to this urgent and noble cause.

What we need is:
1. Children's clothes and underwear
2. Children's shoes
3. Adults' clothes and underwear
4. And on top of all the PORTABLE BATHROOMS, which we have already started manufacturing at a cost of $285 each including hot water and installation.

Donations may be made in kind or in cash at:
SPNL Collection and Distribution Center
Saeb Salam Blvd. (Cornish El Mazraa)
Bourj El Mazraa Bldg.
Adjacent to Lebanese Credit Bank (Bank Credit Libanais)
Beirut
Lebanon
Tel / Fax: 01 302544 / 319336
Email : cmtc@sodetel.net.lb

Or at: Byblos Bank
Verdun Street Branch
BEIRUT
LEBANON
A/C Name: Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL)
A/C No.: 285 2702235 002
Swift: BYBALBBX

Clothes donated will be inspected, ironed and properly packed before distribution. Records of all donations and distributions will be properly kept for reference and verification at any time.
Cash received will be used to pay for the BATHROOMS and to purchase clothes and underwear from local factories who promised to sell us at prices below their cost in contribution to the war effort.

Let us together alleviate the suffering and participate in the effort to sustain the effects of this unfair and cruel war.

Shawki Saidi
Executive Committee Member and Financial Controller
Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon, SPNL
Abdel Aziz Street
Awad Building - Sixth Floor
Beirut
Lebanon
Tel Mobile 961-3-216375 or 961-3-749813
Tel /Fax 961-1- 302544 , 961-1-319336
Email: cmtc@sodetel.net.lb spnlorg@cyberia.net.lb

Keeping it simple

2006-08-05T16:51:00.000+04:00

http://devoted.to/Lebanon

War on Lebanon

2006-08-04T21:20:00.000+04:00

www.waronlebanon.net

New Links

2006-08-04T15:33:00.000+04:00

Human Rights watch: http://www.hrw.org/

www.sodeleb.org

Fires of the Middle East

2006-08-04T15:14:00.000+04:00

I got this from my aunt and uncle in the States; he's American - they're both reporters.

*********************
Fires of the Middle East
Saturday July 29th 2006, 1:05 pm
Filed under: Politics and World Affairs

The fires of the Middle East cannot be contained
By David Gardner - Financial Times
Published: July 27 2006 19:42

There is a despairing sense of déjà-vu enveloping the fighting in Lebanon, that what we are watching is but a rerun of a long-running and wearisomely familiar grudge match. Certainly, there is a strong element of that. But it should not obscure what is so dangerously different in this extraordinarily inflammable situation.

Previous episodes have been bad enough. The worst was Israel's full-scaleinvasion of Lebanon in 1982 to drive out the Palestine Liberation Organisation. That led to a two-month siege of west Beirut that killed19,000 people (as well as the massacre of refugees at Sabra and Shatila). It destroyed not the PLO but Israel's reputation. And, of course, it incubatedIsrael's nemesis, Hizbollah.

In the present conflict, Lt Gen Dan Halutz, Israel's chief of staff, may have been more truthful than he intended when he made his outrageous threat to "turn back the clock in Lebanon by 20 years".

But in all previous chapters of the conflict, the multiple combatants who used the soil and sectarian divisions of Lebanon as a platform for proxy war (Syrians and Israelis, Saudis and Iraqis, Libyans and Iranians, Jordanians and Americans) were mostly able to contain the fighting inside the Lebanese arena.

This is different. The geopolitical context and contours of the Middle Easthave changed. Iraq, above all, has moved the region's tectonic plates. Today's protagonists are playing with matches in the world's largest petrol station.

It is not simply that Israel's assault on Lebanon is in danger of becoming as deadly and wanton as in 1982. Nor is it just that Israel's elite forces are meeting Hizbollah resistance fiercer than they encountered during the occupation they eventually abandoned in 2000. It is that every shot fired inLebanon now echoes around the region and the world. Look carefully, and you will see it is a delusion to imagine this conflict can be contained, while Israel either destroys Hizbollah or drives it out of rocket range.

The prior delusion, of course, was Iraq. That enterprise was supposed to enable the US to pursue a radical new freedom agenda in the region (tough on terrorism, tough on the causes of terrorism). Iraq is now a broken state, a cockpit for sectarian war between Sunni and Shia Islam that claims 100 lives a day, and a target-rich frontline for the totalitarian jihadism preached by Osama bin Laden.

The newly empowered Iraqi Shia majority which is just about preventing the total meltdown of the US project is inflamed by Israel's US-licensed destruction of Shia Lebanon. Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army, modelled on Hizbollah, which fought alongside it against US troops at the 2004 siege ofNajaf, is itching to launch a new uprising.

An even more obvious way for the conflict to expand is if Hizbollah carries out its threat to fire longer-range missiles into the heart of Israel. That looks inevitable with this pace of escalation and it would send Israel ballistic. Under a weak government that defers to an army command with its pride wounded and worried about the erosion of its deterrent power, the urge to retaliate against Hizbollah's patrons and suppliers in Syria and Iran would surely be very high.

How we got from border incidents provoked by Hamas and Hizbollah to the brink of regional conflagration is worth examination. The Bush administration's lethal combination of diplomatic fecklessness and faith inits (and Israel's) ability to bomb its way to a better future is an important part of the reason.

It is not just because the Iraq debacle has consumed so much energy that the conflict at the heart of the Middle East's volatility between Israel andthe Palestinians has been left to fester. Rhetoric about Palestinian statehood aside, George W. Bush, US president, has acquiesced in Israel's creeping landgrab on the occupied West Bank and Arab east Jerusalem.

The US has forfeited nearly all legitimacy in the Arab and Muslim world where, in one of the great dramas of our time, several polls reveal that democratic America is perceived as a greater threat than theocratic Iran. These polls including a study of Muslim attitudes by Gallup show that sentiment is determined by hostility towards US policies rather than western values. Three particular moments under the Bush administration have shaped this hostility.

In April 2002, the Arab world watched aghast, live on satellite television, as the Bush administration gave Israel the diplomatic space to retake the West Bank and take apart Palestine's nascent national institutions (thereby, incidentally, helping prepare the ground for the triumph of Hamas).

In April 2004, even bigger Muslim audiences watched, sometimes on a splitscreen, the US razing of Fallujah and Israel's destruction of Rafah in south Gaza. Soon after, the scandal broke over abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and on April 16 Mr Bush endorsed a letter for the now stricken Ariel Sharon recognising Israeli tenure in illegal West Bank settlements seen by Arabs as a second Balfour declaration.

The third moment is unfolding, as Mr Bush and Condoleezza Rice, his secretary of state, confuse diplomacy with the realisation of Israel's war aims, and what is left of America's reputation is buried in the smoking ruins of south Beirut and southern Lebanon.

One aspect of this moment needs to be read with especial care. In the wake of Iraq, Israel has correctly noted the growing alarm of the US and its Sunni Arab allies at the advance of Shia radicalism under Iran's leadership. There was even some private satisfaction, in Cairo, Riyadh and Amman, at the beating ostensibly being administered to Hizbollah at the beginning. Saudi officials warned against confusing "legitimate resistance" with"irresponsible adventurism"; the kingdom's Wahhabi clerics counselled the faithful against sympathy for the idolatrous Shia. But Israel's unbridled destruction of Lebanese lives and livelihoods has changed all that.

Arab leaders fear the reaction of their peoples, it seems, as much as they fear Iranian influence in the Levant and the Gulf. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, a close US ally who in 2002 got an Arab summit unanimously to offer a comprehensive peace to Israel in return for all the Arab land it seized inthe 1967 Six Day War, said this week that "patience cannot last forever". In his stated view, the stakes are now clear and have never been higher: "Ifthe peace option fails because of Israeli arrogance, there will be no other option but war."

From a Deeply Wounded Heart

2006-08-04T15:00:00.000+04:00

I received this by email. I felt it to be a wonderful juxtaposition of emotions and fact -- you may or may not agree. (note: quotation marks, bold, and italics are the author's)

From a Deeply Wounded Heart

Dear Sirs,

It is very easy to make war…

It is hard to make peace…

It is very hard to maintain it…

It is quite unfortunate that most of the world, including yourselves and the so-called “international community”, always choose the “easy” way…

As far as I remember, and further to the 9/11 tragic events, President Bush had vowed to “preserve and keep international peace”, and I quote a part of his speech on
September 11, 2002, where he states:

“We will use our position of unparalleled strength and influence to build an atmosphere of international order and openness in which progress and liberty can flourish in many nations. A peaceful world of growing freedom serves American long-term interests, reflects enduring American ideals and unites America’s allies.”

It is quite unfortunate that those who condemn “terrorism” the most, are the ones who foster it most in other countries…

It is quite unfortunate that those who talk about worldwide peace the most, are the ones who least preserve it…

It is quite unfortunate that those who claim to be the defenders of nations’ Liberty, Sovereignty and Freedom, are those who violate them the most…

Ironically enough, and even more sadly, some people seem to have a wrong conception of the “atmosphere of international order and openness in which progress and liberty can flourish in many nations”…

It seems that the above sentence means quite the opposite, as if it were a figure of speech, when one says one thing but means right the converse…

It seems that the multiple UN Resolutions issued in favor of peace in the Middle East and especially in our so dear agonizing Lebanon, have been a nice “puppet show” for the international opinion and a mere waste of paper and ink…

It seems that the “deep wound” of the shocking occurrence of September 11th, 2001, has healed much quicker than we thought, and has been forgotten much sooner than it should have been…

It seems that all the bitterness and sorrow that some “great” nations tasted, have so rapidly vanished…

It is so heartbreaking that the main founder of the “International Convention of Human Rights”, witness the very outrageous rape of the latter in its own territory…

It is so unacceptable that the main founders and/or promoters of the “Geneva Convention”, arrogantly violate it in other countries, and yet somehow brag about it…

It is such a shame and disgrace that the UN Security Council meet twice and issue no resolution or decision for an immediate “cease fire” and peace process in the Middle East…

It seems that Israeli terrorism has been given some kind of “cover” or green light by the so biased UN, to continue its inhuman actions against “disposable third-world-humans”… And the “great” nations along with the “international community” just sit there and watch, or should I say “enjoy the show”…

It seems that terrorism, when “adopted” by other nations, is quite acceptable…

It seems that terrorism, when “adopted” by other nations, is synonym for “self defense”…

It seems that terrorism, when “adopted” by other nations, is a legitimate right to commit massacres against Humanity…

It seems that the executioner, the slaughterer, the killer, the assassin and the slayer have all become the victim…

It seems that the terrorists are slaughtered unarmed civilians…

It seems that the terrorists are shredded children…

It seems that the terrorists are amputated elderly men and women…

It seems that the terrorists are massacred families in their homes…

It seems that the terrorists are the civil defense rescuers buried half-alive under their bombed quarters…

It seems that the terrorists are the firefighters murdered when doing their heroic duty…

It seems that the terrorists are the Red Cross members butchered while doing their rescue attempts…

It seems that military targets are the shelters where hundreds of helpless agonizing civilians were so brutally massacred…

It seems that military targets are hospitals and care centers…

It seems that military targets are civilian roads and bridges in a way to isolate the needy and the ill in remote areas…

It seems that military targets are Churches and Mosques…

It seems that military targets are national fresh water dams…

It seems that military targets are homes, houses and civilian buildings…

It seems that military targets are Red Cross vans and civilian rescue vans…

It seems that military targets are food & supply trucks…

It seems that military targets are water ducts and all infrastructures…

It seems that military targets are civilian ports and grain storage premises…

It seems that military targets are the Beirut International Airport & all its runways in addition to its gas tanks…

It seems that military targets are telephone lines and antennas…

It seems that military targets are internet service providers…

It seems that military targets are gas tanks and fuel tanks of private companies…

It seems that military targets are gas stations throughout the country in a way to cripple civilians…

Or are the “CNN” lenses blind when it comes to showing the real picture in Lebanon???

It is true that they show pictures of a few wounded Israeli soldiers all day long, with some “nagging” here and there, in addition to damaged Israeli military targets…

But they never show the tragedy inflicted by the barbarian random Israeli shelling of all Lebanon, and the screams of agonizing civilians on the roads with shattered missing parts and organs…

It is quite amazing how, for a couple of prisoners, they turn an entire country to ruins… What would they do then, if more than two soldiers were captured, or if their homes, possessions, and work of an entire lifetime were totally destroyed in a matter of minutes or even seconds???
Burn the entire continent?! Or maybe half the Globe!

If for a mere couple of prisoners they apply the policy of burnt land and mass destruction…

If for a mere couple of prisoners they use internationally banned weapons like:
Ø Disintegrating bombs which cause many more casualties and fatalities
Ø Phosphoric bombs that burn everything in their path and upon impact
Ø Chemical toxic weapons with odors causing nausea, vomiting, headache and maybe many more effects “yet-to-be-discovered”

And with all the above, the “great” nations (which by the way have nothing “great” in them except their lies and broken promises) see that nothing is wrong, and is all acceptable…

Then it should also be acceptable that all those means be used, God forbid, against them too…

But then again, I wouldn’t wish for anyone to “taste that bitter cup”…

Not even for those who bring humiliation to Humanity…

From underneath the ruble of a country being reborn…

From the heart of the fire that is purifying our souls…

From the solid determination of our engraved faith…

From the proud rise of our eternal Cedars…

I tell you and shout to the world in a loud confident voice:

We are here to stay!!!

And no matter how twisted and ruthless the enemies’ ways are,

I quote President Bush’s speech when he addressed the Nation after the 9/11 disaster, and
ensure you:

“Make no mistake… we will prevail”!!!

LONG LIVE FREE LEBANON!!!

A Very Proud Lebanese

Pro-Israeli Jews who Control the American Media

2006-08-02T23:52:00.000+04:00

This is only a partial list! Compiled by Jeffrey Blankfort (radio program producer with KPOO in San Francisco, KZYX in Mendocino and KPFT/Pacifica in Houston. Jewish-American journalist who has been a pro-Palestinian human rights activist since 1970. Former editor of the Middle East Labor Bulletin and co-founder of the Labor Committee of the Middle East. Founding member of the Nov. 29 Coalition on Palestine. He won a sizable lawsuit against the Jewish Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in February 2002 for its vast illegal spying against him, as well as other peaceful political groups and individuals (including anti-Apartheid groups/activists. http://www.corkpsc.org/piwp/php/authors.php?auid=900)

MORTIMER ZUCKERMAN, owner of NY Daily News, US News & World Report and chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organizations, one of the largest pro-Israel lobbying groups.

LESLIE MOONVES, president of CBS television, great-nephew of DavidBen-Gurion, and co-chair with Norman Ornstein of the Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligation of Digital TV Producers, appointed by Clinton.

JONATHAN MILLER, chair and CEO of AOL division of AOL-Time-Warner.

NEIL SHAPIRO, president of NBC News.

JEFF GASPIN, Executive Vice-President, Programming, NBC.

DAVID WESTIN, president of ABC News.

SUMNER REDSTONE, CEO of Viacom, "world's biggest media giant" (Economist,11/23/2) owns Viacom cable, CBS and MTVs all over the world, Blockbustervideo rentals and Black Entertainment TV.

MICHAEL EISNER, major owner of Walt Disney, Capitol Cities, ABC.

RUPERT MURDOCH, Owner Fox TV, New York Post, London Times, News of theWorld (Jewish mother).

MEL KARMAZIN, president of CBS.

DON HEWITT, Exec. Director, 60 Minutes, CBS.

JEFF FAGER, Exec. Director, 60 Minutes II. CBS.

DAVID POLTRACK, Executive Vice-President, Research and Planning, CBS.

SANDY KRUSHOW, Chair, Fox Entertainment.

LLOYD BRAUN, Chair, ABC Entertainment.

BARRY MEYER, Chair, Warner Bros.

SHERRY LANSING, President of Paramount Communications and Chairman of Paramount Pictures' Motion Picture Group.

HARVEY WEINSTEIN, CEO. Miramax Films.

BRAD SIEGEL, President, Turner Entertainment.

PETER CHERNIN, second in-command at Rupert Murdoch's News. Corp., owner of Fox TV.

MARTY PERETZ, owner and publisher of the New Republic, which openlyidentifies itself as pro-Israel. Al Gore credits Marty with being his mentor.

ARTHUR O. SULZBERGER, JR., publisher of the NY Times, the Boston Globe and other publications.

WILLIAM SAFIRE, syndicated columnist for the NYT.

TOM FRIEDMAN, syndicated columnist for the NYT.

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, syndicated columnist for the Washington Post. Honored by Honest Reporting.com <http://reporting.com/>, website monitoring "anti-Israel media."

RICHARD COHEN, syndicated columnist for the Washington Post.

JEFF JACOBY, syndicated columnist for the Boston Globe.

NORMAN ORNSTEIN, American Enterprise Inst., regular columnist for USAToday, news analyst for CBS, and co-chair with Leslie Moonves of the Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligation of Digital TV Producers, appointed by Clinton.

STEPHEN EMERSON, every media outlet's first choice as an expert on domestic terrorism.

DAVID SCHNEIDERMAN, owner of the Village Voice and the New Times network of "alternative weeklies."

DENNIS LEIBOWITZ, head of Act II Partners, a media hedge fund.

KENNETH POLLACK, for CIA analysts, director of Saban Center for Middle East Policy, writes op-eds in NY Times, New Yorker.

BARRY DILLER, chair of USA Interactive, former owner of Universal Entertainment.

KENNETH ROTH, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch.

RICHARD LEIBNER, runs the N.S. Bienstock talent agency, which represents 600 news personalities such as Dan Rather, Dianne Sawyer and BillO'Reilly.

TERRY SEMEL, CEO, Yahoo, former chair, Warner Bros.

MARK GOLIN, VP and Creative Director, AOL.

WARREN LIEBERFORD, Pres., Warner Bros. Home Video Div. of AOL- TimeWarner.

JEFFREY ZUCKER, President of NBC Entertainment.

JACK MYERS, NBC, chief.

SANDY GRUSHOW, chair of Fox Entertainment.

GAIL BERMAN, president of Fox Entertainment.

STEPHEN SPIELBERG, co-owner of Dreamworks.

JEFFREY KATZENBERG, co-owner of Dreamworks.

DAVID GEFFEN, co-owner of Dreamworks.

LLYOD BRAUN, chair of ABC Entertainment.

JORDAN LEVIN, president of Warner Bros. Entertainment.

MAX MUTCHNICK, co-executive producer of NBC's "Good Morning Miami".

DAVID KOHAN, co-executive producer of NBC's "Good Morning Miami".

HOWARD STRINGER, chief of Sony Corp. of America.

AMY PASCAL, chair of Columbia Pictures.

JOEL KLEIN, chair and CEO of Bertelsmann's American operations.

ROBERT SILLERMAN, founder of Clear Channel Communications.

BRIAN GRADEN, president of MTV entertainment.

IVAN SEIDENBERG, CEO of Verizon Communications.

WOLF BLITZER, host of CNN's Late Edition.

LARRY KING, host of Larry King Live.

TED KOPPEL, host of ABC's Nightline.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN Reporter.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN Host.

MIKE WALLACE, Host of CBS, 60 Minutes.

BARBARA WALTERS, Host, ABC's 20-20.

MICHAEL LEDEEN, editor of National Review.

BRUCE NUSSBAUM, editorial page editor, Business Week.

DONALD GRAHAM, Chair and CEO of Newsweek and Washington Post, son of...

CATHERINE GRAHAM MEYER, former owner of the Washington Post.

HOWARD FINEMAN, Chief Political Columnist, Newsweek.

WILLIAM KRISTOL, Editor, Weekly Standard, Exec. Director Project for a New American Century (PNAC).

RON ROSENTHAL, Managing Editor, San Francisco Chronicle.

PHIL BRONSTEIN, Executive Editor, San Francisco Chronicle.

RON OWENS, Talk Show Host, KGO (ABC-Capitol Cities, San Francisco).

JOHN ROTHMAN, Talk Show Host, KGO (ABC-Capitol Cities, San Francisco).

MICHAEL SAVAGE, Talk Show Host, KFSO (ABC-Capitol Cities, San Francisco) Syndicated in 100 markets.

MICHAEL MEDVED, Talk Show Host, on 124 AM stations.

DENNIS PRAGER, Talk Show Host, nationally syndicated from LA. Has Israeli flag on his home page.

BEN WATTENBERG, Moderator, PBS Think Tank.

ANDREW LACK, president of NBC.

DANIEL MENAKER, Executive Director, Harper Collins.

DAVID REZNIK, Editor, The New Yorker.

NICHOLAS LEHMANN, writer, the New Yorker.

HENRICK HERTZBERG, Talk of the Town editor, The New Yorker.

SAMUEL NEWHOUSE JR, and DONALD NEWHOUSE own Newhouse Publications, includes 26 newspapers in 22 cities; the Conde Nast magazine group, includes The New Yorker; Parade, the Sunday newspaper supplement; American City Business Journals, business newspapers published in more than 30 major cities in America; and interests in cable television programming and cable systems serving 1 million homes.

DONALD NEWHOUSE, chairman of the board of directors, Associated Press.

PETER R KANN, CEO, Wall Street Journal, Barron's.

RALPH J. & BRIAN ROBERTS, Owners, Comcast-ATT Cable TV.

LAWRENCE KIRSHBAUM, CEO, AOL-Time Warner Book Group

AUH Needs Your Help

2006-08-02T23:38:00.000+04:00

This is an article that is being pitched to ABC news. (PITCHED!!! LIKE A HOLLYWOOD MOVIE!! THIS IS NOT A HOLLYWOOD MOVIE FOR GOODNESS' SAKE!!) IF it is deemed ratings worthy, it will be produced as a legitimate news piece. Please, read the article and post your comment at the bottom. The more comments the article receives, the greater the chances that it will be aired on the news.

In case you do not read the article, just know that our hospitals are running out of fuel. WHen all the fuel does run out, incubators, life support machines, heart monitors, kidney dialysis machines ... they will all cease to function. People will die. Please, we need your voices. If this story makes it to the mainstream headline news, then maybe, just maybe, Israel will be forced to allow fuel into Lebanon.

Israel is not targeting Hizballah ... Israel's actions accomplish one goal: ethnic cleansing. Think about it. They've boxed us in by destroying our roads and ports so we cannot escape. They annihilated our food sources. Now, they will stop our hospitals from functioning. They're killing us off. And the US, UK, UN, EU ... the world ... is letting them.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/07/beirut_er_times.html

Assault on Lebanon

2006-08-02T22:59:00.000+04:00

Please visit this link often. It shows where the Israelis are attacking; and it's updated as frequently as possible (considering the frequency with which Lebanon is being bombed). http://lebanonupdates.blogspot.com/

My homeland is being destroyed. Its beautiful beaches are black with oil from the Israeli warships. Its beautiful coastline, which took the better part of 10 years to clean up after the last war, has once again been turned into a quagmire of filth. Its vibrant capital has been silenced. Its tranquil moutain atmosphere is shattered day and night with the screaming of the chemical smart bombs (courtesy of the US and UK) and the wailing of my people.

Is my voice reaching anyone? Is my pain visible? Is anything I am doing enough to save my home?

I want to go home. My beautiful, beautiful home. I want to wake up on a summer morning and see the sea from my balcony, knowing that I will soon be there - warmed by the sun, caressed by the waves. I want to hear the crickets chirping from underneath the pine trees as dusk falls - reminding me that I only have a few short hours before my night life begins. A night life unlike any other I have ever experienced. Many people rave about the London night-life ... London pales to translucency before Beirut.

I want to go home.

Israel says it is targeting Hizballah. IT'S LYING! What Israel has done is to kill our ports and our routes to Syria - blocking us on all sides. Israel is doing to us what it did to the Palestinians. It is putting us in a box. Strangling us. There's no way out.

Up north there are beaches. Amchit, where Israel said it targeted a transmission tower is a beach restort. The majority of the villages on the coast in the north and south are filled with clean, sandy beaches where families, youths, and tourists spend the mild summer months.

Do you know what there is in Baalbak? Ruins. Ancient Greek temples, thousands of years old. The site of the Baalbak international festival -- one of the most beautiful, moving, haunting experiences I have ever had was watching Michael Flatley's dance troupe perform amidst the ruins of the temples. One of the temples is the only one of its kind in the entire history of the world: Baalbak is the only place in the world where a temple was erected solely for the great god Baal (Jupiter). It takes hours to see all the ruins and understand their significance.

Many times I have taken tourists around my home. From the north to the south. I've shown them the mountains, the ruins, the modern reconstruction, the mosques, the churches, the beaches. It amazes me how such a small piece of land can be so rich in history and culture. It astounds me how, no matter how many times I see these places, I am never bored by them. The beauty of the quiet seaside village of Byblos never fades. The majesty of the temples in Baalbak never decreases. This is my home.

Do not destroy my home because you are envious. Do not make me homeless because you want my home for yourself. Respect my home and I shall gladly invite you to visit. Visit as often as you like, my door shall always be open. Let me show you my home as I see it, and you shall love it as I do. Please, come only with good intentions, and you will find that I shall welcome you with open arms.

Oren Ben-Dor: Who are the real terrorists in the Middle East?

2006-08-01T22:41:00.000+04:00

Published: 26 July 2006

What exactly is being defended? Is it the citizens of Israel or the nature of the Israeli state?

As its citizens are being killed, Israel is, yet again, inflicting death and destruction on Lebanon. It tries to portray this horror as necessary for its self-defence. Indeed, the casual observer might regard the rocket attacks on Israeli cities such as Haifa and my own home town, Nahariya, as justifying this claim.

While states should defend their citizens, states which fail this duty should be questioned and, if necessary, reconfigured. Israel is a state which, instead of defending its citizens, puts all of them, Jews as well as non-Jews, in danger.

What exactly is being defended by the violence in Gaza and Lebanon? Is it the citizens of Israel or the nature of the Israeli state? I suggest the latter. Israel's statehood is based on an unjust ideology which causes indignity and suffering for those who are classified as non-Jewish by either a religious or ethnic test. To hide this primordial immorality, Israel fosters an image of victimhood. Provoking violence, consciously or unconsciously, against which one must defend oneself is a key feature of the victim-mentality. By perpetuating such a tragic cycle, Israel is a terrorist state like no other.

Many who wish to hide the immorality of the Israeli state do so by restricting attention to the horrors of the post-1967 occupation and talking about a two-state solution, since endorsing a Palestinian state implicitly endorses the ideology behind a Jewish one.

The very creation of Israel required an act of terror. In 1948, most of the non-Jewish indigenous people were ethnically cleansed from the part of Palestine which became Israel. This action was carefully planned. Without it, no state with a Jewish majority and character would have been possible. Since 1948, the "Israeli Arabs", those Palestinians who avoided expulsion, have suffered continuous discrimination. Indeed, many have been internally displaced, ostensibly for "security reasons", but really to acquire their lands for Jews.

Surely Holocaust memory and Jewish longing for Eretz Israel would not be sufficient to justify ethnic cleansing and ethnocracy? To avoid the destabilisation that would result from ethical inquiry, the Israeli state must hide the core problem, by nourishing a victim mentality among Israeli Jews.

To sustain that mentality and to preserve an impression of victimhood among outsiders, Israel must breed conditions for violence. Whenever prospects of violence against it subside, Israel must do its utmost to regenerate them: the myth that it is a peace-seeking victim which has "no partner for peace" is a key panel in the screen with which Israel hides its primordial and continuing immorality.

Israel's successful campaign to silence criticism of its initial and continuing dispossession of the indigenous Palestinians leaves the latter no option but to resort to violent resistance. In the wake of electing Hamas - the only party which, in the eyes of Palestinians, has not yet given up their cause - the Palestinian population of Gaza and the West Bank were subjected to an Israeli campaign of starvation, humiliation and violence.

The insincere "withdrawal" from Gaza, and the subsequent blockade, ensured a chronicle of violence which, so far, includes Palestinian firing of Kasem rockets, the capture of an Israeli soldier and the Israeli near re-occupation of Gaza. What we witness is more hatred, more violence from Palestinians, more humiliation and collective punishments from Israelis - all useful reinforcement for the Israeli victim mentality and for the sacred cow status of Israeli statehood.

The truth is that there never could have been a partition of Palestine by ethically acceptable means. Israel was created through terror and it needs terror to cover-up its core immorality. Whenever there is a glimmer of stability, the state orders a targeted assassination, such as that in Sidon which preceded the current Lebanon crisis, knowing well that this brings not security but more violence. Israel's unilateralism and the cycle of violence nourish one another.

Amidst the violence and despite the conventional discourse which hides the root of this violence, actuality calls upon us to think. The more we silence its voice, the more violently actuality is sure to speak.

In Hebrew, the word elem (a stunned silence resulting from oppression or shock) is etymologically [basically, linguistically] linked to the word almut (violence). Silence about the immoral core of Israeli statehood makes us all complicit in breeding the terrorism that threatens a catastrophe which could tear the world apart.

okbendor@ yahoo.com
/The writer teaches the philosophy of law and political philosophy at University of Southampton/

http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article1197235.ece

Insanity

2006-07-31T18:54:00.000+04:00

A friend sent me this link http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/7/13/202447/377 and I've pasted the info below (for those who do not wish to click).

*****************
U.S. Policy in Lebanon
by L C Johnson

Thu Jul 13, 2006 at 05:24:47 PM PDT
By Ray Close

(Ray is my friend, and a former CIA analyst in the Near East division. Ray is also a member of the Steering Group for Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, of which I am also a member. Today, Ray sent me, and other intelligence professionals, the following letter; Ray gave me his permission to disseminate this important letter widely. -- Larry C. Johnson)

Dear Friends:

Not surprisingly, some (not all) of my Israeli and American Jewish friends have objected strenuously to my characterization of Israel's response to recent Hamas and Hizballah actions as disproportionate and counterproductive.
Let me make it crystal clear where I stand.

One of the definitions of madness is ... continued below

L C Johnson's diary :: ::

One of the definitions of madness is the repetition countless times of the same action, always expecting a different result. For more than half a century, the Israelis have been applying the tactic of massively disproportionate retaliation to every provocative act of resistance attempted by the Palestinians, expecting every time that this would bring peace and security to all the people of the Holy Land. Every single time they have done this this, it has backfired. Every single time. The national philosophy (it is really deeper and more significant that just a military tactic) that underlies this devotion to massive over-reaction, and particularly its corollary, collective punishment, is obviously and demonstrably foolish and futile. It does not intimidate or deter the Palestinians, and it never will. It hardens their determination to resist and to defy. I don't care whether you consider the Palestinians to be terrorists or common criminals or freedom fighters or national resistance heroes. If you are an intelligent and sensitive human being, you learn from your past mistakes and you make a rational decision to try something different. The Israeli leadership for all these many generations has been incapable of performing that really rather simple mental and moral exercise.

Nor does it matter who "started it". If you take land and houses and personal freedoms away from individuals, and if you systematically deprive a whole people of dignity and national identity, they do not forgive or forget their deep sense of injury, deprivation and injustice. Giving them a thorough beating at regular intervals, or endlessly frustrating their hopes of enjoying the benefits of political self-determination and economic prosperity, does not diminish their personal bitterness of alleviate their collective hunger for revenge and restitution. That point should be beyond debate, in my opinion.

I have a memory, too. My first job for the CIA in the early 1950's was establishing an informant network in the Palestinian refugee camps in Southern Lebanon --- in a region where my ancestors had established Christian mission schools starting a century before. It was in exactly that same year, 1953, when a secret unit of the Israeli army slaughtered sixty-eight innocent Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, in a village called Qibya, near Tel Aviv, under official orders from Prime Minister David Ben Gurion. The unit was commanded by an ambitious young lieutenant, exactly my age, named Ariel Sharon. That "lesson", administered before there was a Fatah or a Hamas or a Hizballah, and long before "terrorism" became a household word, was supposed to end Palestinian resistance once and for all, right from the very start. That was only five years after Israel came into existence. Tragically, the intended object lesson has not been learned (by either side) in the 56 years since that day. Who "started it"? I go back to that old definition of madness mentioned above.

In the present situation, I have another grievance to express. The interests of my country, the United States, do not coincide with those of Israel in many important respects today. Let me mention just two of those ways. It is very important to the United States that the independence and national sovereignty of a democratic Lebanon be preserved. That means absolutely nothing to the Government of Israel, despite what they may say to the contrary. Israeli actions going back many years, demonstrated most graphically in the 1980's, clearly prove that point. Current Israeli actions in Lebanon are belligerently challenging the continued viability of the fragile coalition government that is struggling to achieve credibility and legitimacy at a critical period in Lebanon's history. Israeli actions are, even more importantly, threatening to revive the deep sectarian divisions and inter-communal tensions that led to fifteen years of tragic civil war from 1975-1980. American national interests will suffer much more than Israel's if chaos results. Secondly, we Americans have other critical interests to worry about. If we take a position supporting Israel's demand that Hizballah must be totally defeated and disarmed (a futile objective in any case), and especially if Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the revered spiritual leader of Hizballah, is physically harmed, the Shiite populations of Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East will be inflamed --- greatly undermining American prospects of working cooperatively and constructively with the Shiite religious parties in Iraq that control the overwhelmingly majority of political power in that country.

Open confrontation of Hizballah by the United States, allied with Israel, will have a powerful impact on the Iranian people, as well. Argue, if you will, that Iran is a known supporter of Hizballah and Hamas, and thus of international terrorism. That is a reality that none can deny. But let's prioritize our national interests here. It is the people of Iraq and Iran on whom we depend not just for "regime change" in the short term, but for peace and stability (and resistance to terrorism) throughout the region in the decades ahead. It is the people of those countries whose trust and respect we must win. It is the trust and respect of those people that we have lost --- to a significant extent because we are identified in their minds with the narrow interests of Israel. Why is that so difficult for Americans to understand?

Encouraging and supporting Israel in a bloody confrontation with Hizballah in Lebanon may seem to be a justified and reasonable action in the shortest of terms and from the narrowest of perspectives, but the United States of America is not Israel, and we have regional and global interests and responsibilities that far surpass those of this one small ally. Just for once, let's think first of what's best for America.

- Ray Close
By Ray Close a former CIA analyst in the Near East division Member, Steering Group, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity

I Tried To Explain The Difference

2006-07-31T15:50:00.000+04:00

A Jew is a follower of Judaism - which does have certain national, cultural, ethnic, as well as religious facets.

An Israeli is an inhabitant/citizen/national of Israel.

Zionism ... this is the long bit.

Actually, there are three kinds of Zionism: religious, revisionist, and labor. The last is basically non-existent and the first two support the creation of the State of Israel (the first combines with Judaism to reach its conclusions, the second depended on the dominant powers at the time of its inception: Britain, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire, all of whom had a hand in Palestine, to help create the state)

The Zionist movement has been going on in one form or another (religious, revisionist, and now modern) since the early 1800's and actually only moved to Palestine after it failed in New York (!) You see, slowly, through the 1800's, the Europeans and Americans were becoming increasingly anti-Semitic. During this time, Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire, inhabited by Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

In the late 1890's the Zionist congress was formed by an Austrian Jew, Theodor Herzl, which laid down the "rules" for the creation of a State of Israel: they would start with organizing Jews worldwide, strengthening Jewish national feelings, and taking steps to gain political support from all governments for the creation of the State of Israel.

[Side Note: Before Palestine was decided upon, other countries being considered were Argentina and Uganda (I wonder if the Argentinians and Ugandans know this?).]

Eventually, Herzl's original group split and some sections, which were intent on setting up a Jewish homeland anywhere, fizzled away leaving Herzl to lead the Zionists to Palestine, the land he was partial to anyway.

When the jews first began moving to palestine, all went well. They realized that to physically create a state of their own within Palestine would lead to numerous problems. So instead, they purchased some land from the Ottoman Empire and the Arabs who lived there, and focused on asserting their independence and identity by making Hebrew their language (it had gone into decline and had to be revived).

The creation of the State of Israel as a state with actual physical borders began with the Balfour Declaration. Balfour was a British politician who, apart form being sympathetic to the Jews, wanted to weaken the Ottoman Empire in order to fully assert British dominance over the region.

By the early 1900's, the Jews and Zionists were already desperate for a land of their own. Palestine was the only place that was deemed acceptable by relgious (Jewish) thought and in terms of practicality (it's a lot closer to Europe - which is where the majority of the Jewish population lived - than Argentina or Uganda).

This great influx of people needed somewhere to go within Palestine. All inhabitable land - land that could be farmed or land close to the sea for fishing especially - was already inhabited. You see, even in those days, the Europeans and Americans (which includes Jews since, until the creation of the State of Israel, they didn't have a homeland per se) thought that all Arabs were desert dwellers (I believe camel jockeys is the term most frequently used?) with no real homes or "industries" or permanence on the land. Well, you can imagine their shock when they realized how wrong they were.

As I said before, the first settlers were able to integrate into the already existing society. But as the numbers of Jewish immigrants grew larger and the space available for them grew smaller, their desperation grew larger as well. This made it easy for Zionism to gain a large following among the Jewish population. They were homeless, poor, ragged, and desperate. Zionism promised them a home, prosperity, security, and stability. Add to this the fact that the British wanted to weaken the Ottoman Empire, and there you have it. Wo, you see, it was so easy on so many levels for the Zionists to force themselves on the Arabs.

Of course, the Arabs tried to resist, but they were not as organized as the Zionists namely because they hadn't been planning this (remember Herzl's Zionist congress?). Their rioting and such came to nothing.

Then, by the time WWII drew to a close, those Jews who hadn't died in the war or concentration camps wanted to get out of Europe (wouldn't you if you were in their place?) and the international community had become very sympathetic to the need for the creation of a "Jewish State" (you will NEVER see it being referred to as a Zionist state because that would undermine Herzl's point of strengthening Jewish national feelings).

In 1947, Britain withdrew from Palestine and the UN took a vote regarding the splitting of Palestine into an Arab section and a Jewish section -- of course, the Arabs said no and the Jews said yes, and fighting erupted.

[Side Note: Did you know by the way, that the founding countries of the UN are Lebanon, Iran, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Syria, El Salvador, France, Haiti, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Russian Federation (at the time), Saudi Arabia -- notice something? With very few exceptions, all these countries have, at one time or another, been on the USA's or the UK's black list ... is this the international, political equivalence of what is referred to as"penis envy"? Anyway, back to the point at hand ......]

So Britain was out of it, the UN was in a mess, the Arabs were disorganized and weak, so it was easy for the Zionist movement to declare the creation of an independent Jewish State. You see, even the Zionists would not distinguish between themselves and Jews in order to avoid undermining the point of strengthening feelings of Jewish nationalism.

In the ensuing war for sovreignty, the majority of the Palestinians fled to Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan mostly. (for the record, my family lost everything in 1948 ... interestingly, the first group of Jewish settlers way back in the 1880's settled in Jaffa, where my dad was born).

From this point on, it becomes more complicated because you now have to consider that in creating the State of Israel, the Zionists not only stole Palestine from the Palestinians, but also the Gaza Strip from Egypt, the West Bank from Jordan, the Golan Heights from syria, and the South of Lebanon. So now you have these countries that have been dragged into it. Also, there's the animosity between the Syrians, Lebanese, Jordanians, and Palesitinians because these countries are relatively poor and have neither the land capacity nor the resources to foster the huge number of Palestinian refugees. So the Syrians, Lebanese, and Jordanians are suffering since the Palestinians are draining their already relatively meagre resources. Then of course there's the religious tension which is a whole other ball game.

Now Jews do believe (as do the Zionists - I don't think I mentioned that already) that the Land of Israel was given to the Ancient Israelites by God. HOWEVER Jews insist that the State of Israel CANNOT be created until the Messiah appears. As such, the Jews are completely, totally, utterly, and unequivocally opposed to the creation of the State of Israel. In fact, you will find that there are many Jewish scholars and politicians who have been quite vocal in their opposition: most notably Noam Chomsky.

Did you know that in the mid-1970's, just before the Lebanese civil war began the United Nations actually labeled Zionism as a form of racial discrimination? Isn't it funny? The Zionists escaped racial discrimination in Europe and the States in order to inflict it upon others.

Now the Jews, as a people, have throughout the ages lived all over the world. Although they originated in Palestine, they spread to all parts of the world in the years BC. And many today will argue that a Jewish homeland is NOT the same a Jewish State: one of the reasons being that there cannot be a state until the Messiah appears, another reason being that they take homeland in the figurative rather than literal sense (ie: think of when the aim was to create a Jewish state based on reviving the Hebrew language rather than drawing lines across a piece of paper).

There's not much more to be said for them in this context (ie: in light of the current situation in the Middle East -- a situation that, as you can now see, is a couple of thousand years old ... and Bush Junior says the current crisis is the result of the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hizballah!!)

Ignorance and the Deliberately Misguided Masses

2006-07-31T15:32:00.000+04:00

I got a comment from Robert who referred to himself as an ignorant American. I'm not saying he's not, but I think a few other words should be added to that: deliberately misled, misguided, and misinformed.

I'd like to share part of an email from my inbox:

What I'd like to do educate those who know nothing about the intricacies of the situation -- those who stick labels on people and groups not because they are stupid, but because of the selective information (did anyone in the States and Europe see the picture of the Israeli schoolgirls writing messages to the Lebanese children on the shells that killed them I wonder?) that they are given by their media and politicians leads only to those conclusions; conclusions that they are not reaching at all, but rather, are being carefully and calculatingly led to.

For example, they make the most basic mistake of equating a Jew with a Zionist and therefore misunderstanding the ENTIRE situation - this is not their fault at all; they've probably never heard the word "zionist" as that would not be in the interests of the powers that be. Can you imagine if people the world over made the distinction? The Zionists would have a tough time rallying any support!! They also have "leaders" like the Junior Bush-man telling them that reason for what is now happening is the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hizballah. History, fact, and truth, it seems, are irrelevant.

I am not angry with these people. I feel for them; their life experiences will be so limited, their perceptions so skewed, and their personal growth so stunted by the very people who are meant to do the exact opposite for them! Their opinion leaders, social leaders, and political leaders. Indeed, they are nothing but pawns in the larger game of world domination - a world that they will never truly see.

I'm not saying that the Arabs are not ignorant; but in the larger scheme of things, is our ignorance as detrimental on the same grand scale that Western ignorance is? If it is, please let me know. I have nothing against being educated myself.

Eye to Eye - A Poem by Gihad Ali

2006-07-31T12:35:00.000+04:00

This is a poem written by a Palestinian youth to the "glorious" US of A

********************
Eye to Eye
By: Gihad Ali

Look into my eyes
And tell me what you see
You don't see a damn thing,
'cause you can't possibly relate to me.

You're blinded by our differences.
My life makes no sense to you.
I'm the persecuted Palestinian.
You are the American red, white and blue.

Each day you wake in tranquility.
No fears to cross your eyes.
Each day I wake in gratitude.
Thanking God he let me rise.

You worry about your education
And the bills you have to pay.
I worry about my vulnerable life
And if I'll survive another day.

Your biggest fear is getting ticketed
As you cruise your Cadillac.
My fear is that the tank that just left
Will turn around and come back.

America, do you realize,
That the taxes that you pay
Feed the forces that traumatize
My every living day?

The bulldozers and the tanks,
The gases and the guns,
The bombs that fall outside my door,
All due to American funds.

Yet do you know the truth
Of where your money goes?
Do you let your media deceive your mind?
Is this a truth that no one knows?

You blame me for defending myself
Against the ways of Zionists
I'm terrorized in my own land
And I'm the terrorist?

You think that you know all about terrorism
But you don't know it the way I do.
So let me define the term for you.
And teach you what you thought you knew.

I've known terrorism for quite some time,
Fifty- four years and more.
It's the fruitless garden uprooted in my yard.
It's the bulldozer in front of my door.

Terrorism breathes the air I breathe.
It's the checkpoint on my way to school.
It's the curfew that jails me in my own home,
And the penalties of breaking that curfew rule.

Terrorism is the robbery of my land.
And the torture of my mother.
The imprisonment of my innocent father.
The bullet in my baby brother.

So America, don't tell me you know about
The things I feel and see.
I'm terrorized in my own land
And the blame is put on me.

But I will not rest,
I shall never settle
For the injustice my people endure.
Palestine is OUR land and there we'll remain
Until the day OUR homeland is secure.

And if that time shall never come,
Then they will never see a day of peace.
I will not be thrown from my own home,
Nor will my fight for justice cease.

And if I am killed, it will be for Falasteen.
It's written on my breath.
So in your own patriotic words,
Give me liberty or give me death.

Human Shields

2006-07-30T16:17:00.000+04:00

http://www.btselem.org/english/Human_Shields/20060720_Human_Shields_in_Beit_Hanun.asp

Read the whole thing for yourself ... the fact is:

B'Tselem's initial investigation indicates that, during an incursion by Israeli forces into Beit Hanun, in the northern Gaza Strip, on 17 July 2006, soldiers seized control of two buildings in the town and used residents [including minors, the article mentions] as human shield.

International humanitarian law forbids using civilians as human shields by placing them next to soldiers or next to military facilities, with the intention of gaining immunity from attack, or by forcing the civilians to carry out dangerous military assignments.

True Courage Under Fire

2006-07-30T15:06:00.000+04:00

Despite the shelling, the death, and the destruction, a group of brave souls are trying to help those who have been rendered homeless and helpless.

Sharif Abdunnur, a teacher in the Fine Arts and Art History Department at AUB, together with volunteers, his own acting troupe Masrah Al Arab, Al Jana Organization ( an NGO under the steady hand of Dr Moutaz Al Dajani) and Masrah Al Madina [tr: the city's theater] (under the experienced guidance of Ms Nidal Al Ashkar) is working with the refugees.

They are trying, God bless them, to help those who have lost so much come to terms with the situation through the medium of acting.

There will actually be two plays opening -- just as "normal" plays would: one featuring the displaced children and one featuring the displaced adults.

Most important for these people is PUBLICITY. If you can get this information to your local/regional/national media outlets, please do so!! Their courage under fire deserves to be recognized. Mr. Abdunnur will be able to provide high quality images if needed. He can also be reached on +961 3 858 305 or by email at sa18@aub.edu.lb or sabdunnur@yahoo.com

If you would like to help these brave people, you could either volunteer your time and acting ability or else find a way to get them some supplies (art supplies, food, clothing, etc.) as they are dependent on the efforts of the NGO's which are themselves dependent on Israel's whims. If you could send money, that's what they need the most -- they need to be able to provide ventilation for the theater and fuel for the generators ... so far, all expenses are being paid by them.

If you cannot get cash to them in person, their bank details are:
Bank: Arab Bank - Mazra Branch - Beirut - Lebanon
Account Name: Al Jana Organization
Account Number: 612 879 – 810

Also, if you are going to send money via a bank transfer, please email Mr. Abdunnur the amount you are sending, the transaction reference number (if you have one), and what you would like the money to be used for (if, indeed, you have specific requests).

The following information about the plays is given by Mr. Abdunnur himself:
"Laughter Under the Bombs"
The setting is a local café with a giant TV screen in the back. Actors are all wearing T-shirts with the words actor and their number on it. The director sits in the audience with the same type of T-shirt. The actors start to tell the tales of their lives and what happening to them – but the problem arises that many of the actors are missing so audience members are selected at random and brought on to the stage where they have to improvise the roles – and create a live dialogue during the play about the current situation. While the insane director keeps screaming instructions at his actors and audience volunteers to redo lines and change acting styles, etc. It's a very interactive and comic play.
Director, Concept, and Skeleton script is by Sharif Abdunnur
Actors: members of the professional troupe, volunteers from displaced families, several kids from the displaced families (about 10 actors)
This will open next Thursday for 3 or 4 nights
Free entrance – theater seats 500+
Expected duration 1 to 2 hours depending on the audience
Costs paid by myself and all of us working on it

"The Suitcase"
A comic play about the forced displacement of families. A bunch of suitcases are delivered to the border checkpoint to be sent back into Beirut rather than out. The border patrol is shocked, especially when the baggage starts to move and seems to be trying to sneak in by itself. A hilarious scene ensues in which the police attempt to catch the baggage. Finally, families and lots of children start to emerge from the suitcases and explain that they want to go back home, no matter what is happening they wont leave their country or home -- they speak about children’s rights, and what they have in their bags of what they cherish from their home sand lives, and how they will never give up.
A touching comedy for a family audience.
Director, Concept by Sharif Abdunnur
Script Material: The children and Sharif Abdunnur
Stage Script: Sharif Abdunnur
Actors: mainly kids from the displaced families, and other volunteers (about 20-30 actors)
This will open in about 12 days (as the kids take longer to prepare with)
Free entrance – theater seats 500+
Expected duration 1 hour depending on the audience
Costs paid by myself and all of us working on it

International Federation For Human Rights

2006-07-30T13:22:00.000+04:00

As usual, italics and bold are mine.

*******************
Brussels & Paris, July 26, 2006

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH - Federation Internationale des ligues des Droits de l'Homme)

Deep concern regarding the ongoing serious and degrading situation

OPEN LETTER To: H.E Mr Erkki Tuomioja Foreign Minister of Finland, The Foreign Ministers of Member States of the European Union, H.E Mr Javier Solana, High Representative of the European Union for the CFSP, Mrs Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissioner for External Relations.

Dear Ministers, Dear High Representative, Dear Commissioner,

FIDH is writing to you to express its deep concern regarding the most serious and degrading situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and to invite the EU to rethink, within the Quartet [the Quartet is the name for the group of four who are charged with negotiating for peace and mediating between the Palestinians and Israelis; they are the USA, EU, UN, and Russia], its position on this issue. The humanitarian situation in the OPT was already very preoccupying [sic] following the decision of the western countries to interrupt all aid channeled to or through the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The decision by the Israeli government to cease the restitution of VAT taxes and customs duties that it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, in violation of its legal obligations, worsened this situation. [basically, this means that Israel is not allowed to collect taxes of any kind from the Palestinian population] Finally, the international humanitarian law and human rights violations in the OPT resulting from the «Operation Summer Rains» [this was the deliberate destruction of Gaza strip’s power station, of water supplying systems, of bridges, roads, offices of the Palestinian Authority and of other civilian infrastructures; Israel's reaction to Palestinian gunmen exchanging fire with IDF soldiers] led by the Israeli Defence Forces in the Gaza Strip make it now simply dramatic and intolerable.

Responsibility of the EU in economic and social rights violations in the OPT.

A mission of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) was in Israel and in the OPT between 25 June and 2 July 2006. The mission was set up in order to examine the situation of economic and social rights in Gaza and the West Bank, almost one year after Israel 'disengaged' from the Gaza strip and three months after Israel and the international community decided to suspend all contacts with the government of the Palestinian Authority and to interrupt all aid channeled to and via that government, following the taking into office of a government led by Hamas on 29 March 2006 after fair and democratic elections were held on 25 January 2006. At the same time, the Israeli government decided to cease the restitution of VAT taxes and customs duties it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. [so because Hamas, which neither Israel nor the international community, like came into power by consent of its own people, all aid to Palestine was stopped and Israel began to tax the Palestinian people ... are these governments of children for goodness' sake?!]

The preliminary note of this mission shows that poverty and unemployment are raising in dramatic proportions in the Gaza strip and in the West Bank. According to the World Bank's previsions in March 2003, it was estimated that by the end of 2006, the average personal income would decrease by 30 percent in real terms, that unemployment would increase to 40 percent (from 23 percent in December 2005); and that poverty levels would climb from 44 percent to 67 percent. In May 2006, the World Bank commented: «Based on evolving Government of Israel and donor policies, these projections now appear too rosy».

The financing plan proposed by the European Union and adopted by the Quartet is a step forward in the humanitarian support to the Palestinian population. Unfortunately, it does not guarantee the payment of salaries to the Palestinian civil servants, notably in the education and health care departments. The interim funding mechanism proposed by the World Bank on May 7, 2006 would have enabled the payment of these salaries. Deplorably, the Quartet did not choose to provide so. Consequently, the salaries of the civil servants of the PA have not been paid since March 2006. The Palestinian Authority has 152,000 civil servants, an average of 6 persons depend on each one of those civil servants. Thus, over 900,000 persons, almost one quarter of the total population of the OPTs, are affected by the nonpayment of salaries to the civil servants in the OPTs, and are currently essentially without any financial resources. [where in the world would this be acceptable?!]

In this context of serious humanitarian crisis, FIDH welcomes the commitment of the EU, expressed among others through the EU Council conclusions on 18 July 2006, to «pressing ahead with the further expansion of the proposed Temporary International Mechanism [basically a funding mechanism that would ensure that the basic financial needs of the Palestinians in the occupied territories would be met - funds would go directly to the people rather than through the Hamas government (this is to assure Israel and international community that the funds will not be used by Hamas for the fulfillment of its own dastardly deeds); also, it would 'facilitate' - for lack of a better word - financial restitution to the Palestinian people from the Israeli government] to which the EU and its Member States have contributed significantly.» Nevertheless, this mechanism should somehow allow to pay the salaries of the Palestinian civil servants. Responsibility of the EU to condemn the «Operation Summer Rains» and its dramatic consequences on the Palestinian civilian population.

The FIDH condemns the rocket firing from Palestinian armed groups against Israeli civilian population. However, the reaction by the Government of Israel results in a flagrant and serious violation of international humanitarian law. The operations of the Israeli Defence Forces constitute at the least war crimes, if not crimes against humanity, according to international criminal law. As acknowledged by the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the OPT, these interventions are disproportionate.

According to information obtained by our member organization in Gaza, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, and following our mission in the OPT, the attacks perpetrated by the Israeli Army led to the deliberate destruction of Gaza strip's power station, of water supplying systems, of bridges, roads, offices of the Palestinian Authority and of other civilian infrastructures.

Furthermore, an important number [what's an important number I wonder? is it the same as a signifact majority? (ie: isn't a majority significant by virtue of the fact that it's a majority?)] of Palestinian civilians have been killed by bombings in the past weeks and months. Since the incursion began in the Gaza Strip, 115 people, mostly civilians and including 16 children have been killed and 550 injured. 24 are said to have been killed in 24 hours between 6 and 7 July 2006. Between 13 and 19 July, 26 Palestinians, including five children and two women, were killed by the IOF. On 24 July 2006 Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed 5 Palestinian civilians, including two children and an old woman, in two separate attacks on Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia towns in the northern Gaza Strip. Fourteen other civilians, including 5 children and a woman, have been wounded.

Arbitrary arrests conducted by Israel of members of the Palestinian government, of the Palestinian Legislative Council elected according to an electoral process which the international community has confirmed to be fair and transparent, and of political leaders, are a direct threat to the very existence of Palestinian institution. The power station destroyed by the Israeli armed forces on June 28th insured the supplying in electricity of an area reaching to 43% of the total population of the Gaza strip. 700,000 individuals are affected by the power breakdowns. The water supplying system is also seriously disturbed, some pumps being now out of service. Moreover, after the closing of Karni and Rafah cross-points, and the almost complete closing of the Erez cross-point, food supplies, gas and combustible are lacking, and people can no longer seek healthcare in Egypt. The situation is particularly worrisome in hospitals and healthcare centers, where water supplies have become insufficient and where lack of combustible [I assume the word fuel should go here] is preventing them from feeding their generators.

Because they directly targeted the civilian Palestinian population, the measures and attacks carried on and at the origin of this humanitarian crisis, constitute a collective punishment in violation of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. They also place Israel in violation of the United Nations Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the applicability of which to the Occupied Palestinian Territory the International Court of Justice has affirmed in its Advisory Opinion of July 9th, 2004. FIDH is very worried and shocked by the fact that the Conclusions of the EU Council on Middle East (17-18 July 2006) do not explicitly condemn the flagrant and serious violation of international humanitarian law committed by the Government of Israel.

FIDH therefore calls upon to the EU to:

Review the mechanism of humanitarian aid aimed at the Palestinian population, following the World Bank propositions, in order to enable the payment of salaries to the Palestinian public servants, notably in the education and health care departments
Continue urging Israel to resume transfers of withheld Palestinian tax and customs revenues.
Strongly condemn the massive violations of international humanitarian law and human rights perpetrated in the framework of the «Operation Summer Rains».

Sidiki Kaba - President

Press contact: Karine Appy + 33 1 43 55 14 12 / + 33 1 43 55 25 18

Get involved - Make a Donation http://www.fidh.org/dons/ang/index.html

FIGHT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS...BY GIVING FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO THE FIDH Independent of all political and economic power, the FIDH relies heavily of donations from the public and from private businesses, contributions from its member organizations and on the commitment of its voluntary workers. It also receives grants from international and national bodies, and from foundations, the amount of which depends on their level of commitment.

Tanya Reinhart

2006-07-30T12:18:00.000+04:00

There are no words to convey what I felt and thought as I read this. I won't post the whole article, just the relevant excerpts -- and to all who read, I am very careful to keep things in context. Again, italics are my two cents worth and bold font are for important points.

**************
Tanya Reinhart is Professor Emeritus of linguistics and media studies at Tel Aviv University and a frequent op-ed writer for the Israeli evening paper 'Yediot Aharonot'. The second edition of her 2002 book "Israel/Palestine - How To End The War Of 1948" was published last year (Seven Stories), and her new book "The Road Map to Nowhere" will be available in September (Verso).

Israel's "new Middle East" - by Tanya Reinhart

The Israeli government, however, did not give a single moment for diplomacy, negotiations, or even cool reflection over the situation [the killing of three idf soldiers and kidnapping of two others in order to initiate a prisoner exchange - Nasrallah said this was the point from the start]. In a cabinet meeting that same day, it authorized a massive offensive on Lebanon. As Ha'aretz reported, "In a sharp departure [remember this phrase: it means Israel didn't react as it usually does in such situations] from Israel's response to previous Hezbollah attacks, the cabinet session unanimously agreed that the Lebanese government should be held responsible for yesterday's events." Olmert declared: "This morning's events are not a terror attack, [so referring to Hizballah as a inflicting terror attacks on Israel goes even against Israel's view of the situation] but the act of a sovereign state that attacked Israel for no reason and without provocation." He added that "the Lebanese government, of which Hezbollah is a part, is trying to undermine regional stability. Lebanon is responsible, and Lebanon will bear the consequences of its actions." [not exactly true - Nasrallah did not ask permission to do what he did, so the Lebanese government did not sanction these actions] [2 Amos Harel, Aluf Benn and Gideon Alon, 'Gov't okays massive strikes on Lebanon,' Ha'aretz, July 13, 2006.]

The way it started, there was nothing in Hezbollah's military act, whatever one may think of it, to justify Israel's massive disproportionate response. Lebanon has had a long-standing border dispute with Israel: In 2000, when Israel, under Prime Minister Ehud Barak, withdrew from Southern Lebanon, Israel kept a small piece of land known as the Shaba farms (near Mount Dov), which it claims belonged historically to Syria and not to Lebanon, though both Syria and Lebanon deny that. [Israel makes it sound like it's doing Syria a favor by keeping the Shebaa Farms from the Lebanese. Really now!] The Lebanese government has frequently appealed to the U.S. and others for Israel’s withdrawal also from this land, which has remained the center of friction in Southern Lebanon, in order to ease the tension in the area and to help the Lebanese internal negotiations over implementing UN resolutions. The most recent such appeal was in mid-April 2006, in a Washington meeting between Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and George Bush. [6 'Lebanese PM to lobby Pres. Bush on Israeli withdrawal from Shaba', by Reuters, Ha'aretz, April 16, 2006 : "Lebanon's prime minister [is] asking U.S. President George Bush to put pressure on Israel to pull out of a border strip and thus enable his government to extend its authority over all Lebanese land... 'Israel has to withdraw from the Shaba Farms and has to stop violating our airspace and water,' Siniora said. This was essential if the Lebanese government was 'to become the sole monopoly of holding weapons in the country'.., he added. [so now the argument can be made that precisely because this was not done, Hizballah is still armed and still exerts influence and has control over certain parts of the country - that is, in fact, the truth - read on] 'Very important as well is to seek the support of President Bush so that Lebanon will not become in any way a ball in the courtyard of others or... a courtyard for the confrontations of others in the region,' Siniora said. Lebanon's rival leaders are engaged in a 'national dialogue' aimed at resolving the country's political crisis, the worst since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. One key issue is the disarming of Hezbollah... The Shi'ite Muslim group says its weapons are still required to liberate Shaba Farms and to defend Lebanon against any Israeli threats."] In the six years since Israel withdrew, there have been frequent border incidents between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, and cease-fire violations of the type committed now by Hezbollah, have occurred before, initiated by either side, and more frequently by Israel. None of the previous incidents resulted in Katyusha shelling of the north of Israel, which has enjoyed full calm since Israel's withdrawal. It was possible for Israel to handle this incident as all its predecessors, with at most a local retaliation, or a prisoner exchange, or even better, with an attempt to solve this border dispute once and for all. [remember that phrase: sharp departure? see where it comes from?] Instead, Israel opted for a global war. As Peretz put it: "The goal is for this incident to end with Hezbollah so badly beaten that not a man in it does not regret having launched this incident [sic]."[7 Amos Harel, Aluf Benn and Gideon Alon, 'Gov't okays massive strikes on Lebanon', Ha'aretz, July 13, 2006.]

The Israeli government knew right from the start that launching its offensive would expose the north of Israel to heavy Katyusha rockets attacks. This was openly discussed at this first government's meeting on Wednesday: "Hezbollah is likely to respond to the Israeli attacks with massive rocket launches at Israel, and in that case, the IDF might move ground forces into Lebanon".[8 Amos Harel, Aluf Benn and Gideon Alon, 'Gov't okays massive strikes on Lebanon', Ha'aretz, July 13, 2006.] One cannot avoid the conclusion that for the Israeli army and government, endangering the lives of residents of northern Israel was a price worth paying in order to justify the planned ground offensive. They started preparing Israelis on that same Wednesday for what may be ahead: "'We may be facing a completely different reality, in which hundreds of thousands of Israelis will, for a short time, find themselves in danger from Hezbollah's rockets', said a senior defense official. 'These include residents of the center of the country.'" [9 Amos Harel, Aluf Benn and Gideon Alon, 'Gov't okays massive strikes on Lebanon', Ha'aretz, July 13, 2006.] For the Israeli military leadership, not only the Lebanese and the Palestinians, but also the Israelis are just pawns in some big military vision.

The speed at which everything happened (along with many other pieces of information) [I wish I knew what pieces exactly] indicates that Israel has been waiting for a long time for 'the international conditions to ripen' for the massive war on Lebanon it has been planning. In fact, one does not need to speculate on this, since right from the start, Israeli and U.S. official sources have been pretty open in this regard. As a Senior Israeli official explained to the Washington Post on July 16, "Hezbollah's cross-border raid has provided a 'unique moment' with a 'convergence of interests'."[10 Robin Wright, 'Strikes Are Called Part of Broad Strategy', Washington Post, Sunday, July 16, 2006; A15.] The paper goes on to explain what this convergence of interests is: [I've taken the liberty of putting these as bullet points in the interest of clarity - I have not edited any of the text]

For the United States, the broader goal is to strangle the axis of Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria and Iran, which the Bush administration believes is pooling resources to change the strategic playing field in the Middle East, U.S. officials say.[11 Robin Wright, 'Strikes Are Called Part of Broad Strategy', Washington Post, Sunday, July 16, 2006; A15.]
For the U.S., the Middle East is a "strategic playing field", where the game is establishing full U.S. domination. The U.S. already controls Iraq and Afghanistan, and considers Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and a few other states as friendly cooperating regimes. But even with this massive foothold, full U.S. domination is still far from established. Iran has only been strengthened by the Iraq war and refuses to accept the decrees of the master.
Throughout the Arab world, including in the "friendly regimes", there is boiling anger at the U.S., at the heart of which is not only the occupation of Iraq, but the brutal oppression of the Palestinians, and the U.S. backing of Israel's policies. The new axis of the four enemies of the Bush administration (Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran) are bodies viewed by the Arab world as resisting U.S. or Israel's rule, and standing for Arab liberation.
From Bush's perspective, he only has two years to consolidate his vision of complete U.S. control of the Middle East, and to do that, all seeds of resistance should be crushed in a devastating blow that will make it clear to every single Arab that obeying the master is the only way to stay alive. If Israel is willing to do the job, and crush not only the Palestinians, but also Lebanon and Hezbollah, then the U.S., torn from the inside by growing resentment over Bush's wars, and perhaps unable to send new soldiers to be killed for this cause right now, will give Israel all the backing it can. As Rice announced in her visit in Jerusalem on July 25, what is at stakes is "a new Middle East". "We will prevail" - she promised Olmert.

But Israel is not sacrificing its soldiers and citizens only to please the Bush administration. The "new Middle East" has been a dream of the Israeli ruling military circles since at least 1982, when Sharon led the country to the first Lebanon war with precisely this declared goal. Hezbollah's leaders have argued for years that its real long-term role is to protect Lebanon, whose army is too weak to do this. They have said that Israel has never given up its aspirations for Lebanon and that the only reason it pulled out of Southern Lebanon in 2000 is because Hezbollah's resistance has made maintaining the occupation too costly. Lebanon's people know what every Israeli old enough to remember knows - that in the vision of Ben Gurion, Israel's founding leader, Israel's border should be "natural", that is - the Jordan river in the East, and the Litani river of Lebanon in the north. In 1967, Israel gained control over the Jordan river, in the occupied Palestinian land, but all its attempts to establish the Litani border have failed so far.

Global Aid to Lebanon

2006-07-29T18:01:00.000+04:00

This is a comprehensive list of aid (cash and goods) that is being gathered for Lebanon. If you can add to this list, please email your information to lara.khouri@gmail.com.

CASH DONATIONS: LEBANON

Bank: Arab Bank - Mazra Branch - Beirut - Lebanon
Account Name: Al Jana Organization
Account Number: 612 879 – 810

Note: Al Jana Organization is an NGO

Please contact Mr. Sharif Abdunnur (Founder/Director of Masrah Al Arab Troupe) on Cell Phone 00961-3-858305 or email sa18@aub.edu.lb or sabdunnur@yahoo.com and inform him of the amount you are sending as well as the transaction reference number (if you have one) and which goods you would like your funds to purchase (if you have a preference). For more information on Mr. Abdunnur please see my post: True Courage Under Fire.

(Information Provided by Sharif Abdunnur and Shared by Samira Khouri)

*******************
Bank: Banque du Liban
Account Number: 01 700 362 123 (Lebanese Pounds)
Account Number: 02 700 362 123 (US Dollars)
(Information Provided By the Lebanese Consulate General Dubai and Shared by Alan Azar)

*******************
Bank: Audi Bank – Bab Idriss
Account Name: Lebanese Red Cross
Account Number: 841 500
Swift Code: AUDBLBBX

Note that the current website: http://www.dm.net.lb/redcross/want_to_help.htm is NOT UPDATED and DOES NOT contain the right account number.

(Information Provided by Mr. Sami Dahdah – President; Lebanese Red Cross and Shared by Adeline Saliba)

*******************
Bank: SGBL – Sassine Branch – Sassine St – Achrafieh – Beirut – Lebanon
Account Name: The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections
Account Number: 013 004 360 016454 02 5
Swift Code: SGLILSBX

(Information from www.saveleb.org)

*******************
Bank: Fransabank – Beirut
Account Name: Amel Association
Account Number: 3176 9440
Account Number: 3176 9503
Swift Code: FSAB LBBX

For further details: +961 3 970 900 or info@amel.org.lb

(Information from www.saveleb.org)

*******************
Bank: Allied Bank – Hamra
Account Name: Al Huda Society
Account Number: 02 02 43020 047465
UID: CH035040
Swift Code: MEDLLBBX
(Information from http://www.saveleb.org/)

*******************
Bank: SGBL - Verdun Branch
Account Number: 022 004 362 036 181 016 (US Dollars)
Account Number: 022 001 362 036 181 014 (Lebanese Pounds)
Swift Code: SGLILBBX

You may also call +961 3 577 227 or +961 3 098 894
(Information Provided by Anna Ogden-Smith, member of mowatinun.blogspot.com, and shared by Samira Khouri)

___________________________________________________________________
CASH DONATIONS: INTERNATIONAL

via www.savebeirut.org
(Information Provided by Anna Ogden-Smith, member of mowatinun.blogspot.com, and shared by Samira Khouri)

*******************
ENGLAND

LONDON

Cash or cheques (in the name of Help Lebanon Fund) should be handed to Anna Ogden-Smith (mobile +44 78 99 08 87 68) who will send them to Beirut via the British Lebanese Association.

(Information Provided by Anna Ogden-Smith, member of mowatinun.blogspot.com, and shared by Samira Khouri)
*******************
GERMANY

FRANKFURT (for donations in Euros)

Bank: Deutsche Bank – Frankfurt
Favor: Banque du Liban
Account Number: 100 954 682 110
Bic Code: DEUTDEFF
(Information Provided By the Lebanese Consulate General Dubai and Shared by Alan Azar)

*******************
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

DUBAI (UAE Dirhams)

Bank: Banque Banorabe
Account Name: Lebanese Consulate General Dubai
Account Number: 051 647 260 008 444 032
(Information Provided By the Lebanese Consulate General Dubai and Shared by Alan Azar)

*******************
USA

Bank: KeyBank
Account Number: 350 152 046 826
Routing Number: 041 001 039
(Information Provided by Mr. Sami Dahdah – President; Lebanese Red Cross and Shared by Adeline Saliba)

*******************
NEW YORK

Bank: Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Favor: Banque du Liban
Account Number: 021 084 694
Bic Code: FRNYUS33
Routing Number: 021 084 694
(Information Provided by Lebanese Consulate General Dubai and Shared by Alan Azar)

Bank: JP Morgan Chase Bank
Account Name: Al Huda Society
Account Number: 544729035
(Information from http://www.saveleb.org/)

Bank: Bank of New York
Account Name: Al Huda Society
Account Number: 8900057343
(Information from http://www.saveleb.org/)

*******************
OHIO

Checks made out to: Sam Shaia, DO (or) Miss Ghunwa Nakouzi
Checks sent to: PO Box 470934 – Cleveland – Ohio 44147

A copy of the bank transfer made to the Lebanese Red Cross with the total amount of money collected and sent will be made available. So, please, if you donate through this method, kindly send an email to Ghunwa Nakouzi at ghunwan@hotmail.com with the transaction number you made so that she can confirm to you receipt of the donation.

(Information Provided by Mr. Sami Dahdah – President; Lebanese Red Cross and Shared by Adeline Saliba)

___________________________________________________________________
SUPPORT CENTERS WORLDWIDE

Rebuilding Lebanon

build a bridge project - contact Rayan at info@lebanonexpats.org
general volunteers for Lebanon - contact Lina at info@lebanonexpats.org

*******************
INTERNATIONAL

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Goods Accepted: Cash Donations via the official website
http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList2/Help_the_ICRC?OpenDocument

(Information Provided by Mr. Sami Dahdah – President; Lebanese Red Cross and Shared by Adeline Saliba)

*******************
UNICEF

Good Accepted: Cash Donations via the official website
https://www.unicefusa.org

*******************
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

DUBAI

Support Center: Dubai Aid and Humanitarian City

Contact Person: Mark Stiers +971 50 625 6206 mstiers@teresllc.com

Goods Accepted: Baby food (all kinds) - Dried dates - Dried foods - Canned foods - Sugar - Rice - Ladies sanitary products - Junal (small) - Clothes - Shoes - Sheets - Blankets - Milk - Medical Supplies (anything has a long shelf-life, is easy to use and does not require refrigeration, such as: cotton - mercurochrome - antiseptic agents - painkillers - gauze)

Drop-off Points:
American University of Dubai +971 4 399 9900 – Sheikh Zayed Road

(Information Courtesy of Mae Ghandour)

*******************
Support Center: Red Crescent for United Arab Emirates

Contact: +971 4 367 1970 (toll free)
Contact: +971 4 367 1770 (toll free)

Goods Accepted: Cash Donations - Medical Supplies (call for more information) - Building Materials (call for more information)

Bank: Dubai Islamic Bank
Account Number: 01-5204400143-02 (within UAE)
Account Number: DUIBAEAD-01-5204400143-02 (outside UAE)

Bank: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
Account Number: 20000488 (within UAE)
Account Number: ABDIAEAD-20000488 (outside UAE)

Bank: Sharjah Islamic Bank
Account Number: 0060-445518-010 (within UAE)
Account Number: NBSHAEAS-0060-445518-010 (outside UAE)

(Information Courtesy of Ghayath Sioufi and http://www.saveleb.org/)

*******************
Support Center: UNICEF
Goods Accepted: Cash donations
Location:
1) Al Attar Business Tower - Sheikh Zayed Road (near Dusit Hotel)
2) send an empty sms to 4070 (10dhs per sms)

Contact: +971 (0)50 538 1539 or +971 (0)50 5023201 Saturday to Thursday, 9am till 6pm

(Information from Gulf News)

*******************
SAUDI ARABIA

RIYADH

Support Center: Embassy of Lebanon

Contact People:
Ghassan Hamiah +966 (0) 50 549 8611
Azzam Adhami +966 (0)50 932 1094
Tarek Moussa +966 (0)50 444 0533
Mohammad Dabouk +966 (0)50 103 0281
Shady Harb +966 (0)55 751 2186
Riyad Mawwas +966 (0)50 018 5020
Oussama Mehanna +966 (0)50 687 7105
Imad Majed +966 (0)50 240 4040

Goods Accepted:
1) Food: Milk - Nappies - Baby Food - Canned Beef - Mortadella - Jam - Rice - Sugar - Grains - Kitchen Utensils (pots, forks, etc.)

2) First Aid & Medication: Anti-diarrhea - Thermometers - Antibiotics - Painkillers - Heart Medication - Insulin - Blood Pressure Medication etc. - Eczema Medication etc. - Calmants (Valium, Lexotanil, etc.) - Drip Medication (the type they hook you up to in a hospital) - Water Purifying Tablets - Surgical Gloves - Kidney Dialysis Machines - Refrigerators for Storing of Medication

3) Heavy Duty Equipment: All Weather Tents - Blankets - Generators (5 - 10- 20 - 30 KVA - Winches - Tractors - Fire Extinguishers of Various Types and Sizes - Water Hoses for Fire Fighters

(Information Courtesy of Azzam Adhami)

Links

2006-07-29T17:58:00.000+04:00

This section contains various websites, blog links, and such (I add news ones as I get them). Please be aware that I am not the writer/moderater of any of these links and as such, I am not responsible for the language in terms of grammar, spelling, vocab, coarse language etc. Also, not all the sites reflect my personal beliefs/views/opinions, but it's important to show all sides of the issue.

The ones with an asterisk (*) have links to donation sites and such

29 July 2006
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/28/1440244

26 July 2006
http://www.warbucket.com/site/news/
http://www.terroronlebanon.org

25 July 2006
http://www.fromisraeltolebanon.org
http://www.saveleb.org (*)
http://www.moghtarebeen.com (*)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJJm7B6AKuc
http://www.seruv.org.il/defaulteng.asp
http://www.petitiononline.com/Jul06Leb/petition.html
http://mowatinun.blogspot.com
http://www.lebanoncrisis.com
http://www.waronlebanon.net/
http://www.al-jabr.net/Photos
http://www.annaharonline.com/htd/SEYA060719-4.HTM
http://www.pmwatch.org/pmw/mediocrity/displayCall.asp?essayID=383
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/50600/
http://epetitions.net/julywar/index.php

Good News, Bad News

2006-07-29T17:23:00.000+04:00

The Good News ...
... is that the international community (with, of course the exception of the UK and USA) has finally seen fit to be outraged and begin growing a backbone (albeit because "their names were taken in vain"). Read below:

We received yesterday at the Rome conference permission from the world ... to continue the operation, this war, until Hezbollah won’t be located in Lebanon and until it is disarmed," he [Justice Minister Haim Ramon] told Israel Army Radio. "Everyone understands that a victory for Hezbollah is a victory for world terror. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14055188/

But who can blame him? Silence is usually taken to signal acquiescence. He then goes on:

Ramon said Israel has given civilians in southern Lebanon sufficient warning to leave the area, and that those left behind should be considered Hezbollah sympathizers. “All those now in south Lebanon are terrorists who are related in some way to Hezbollah,” he said.

I don't suppose it would have occurred to anyone that those who remained are those who:
1) refuse to be bullied off their land (so many of the older generation fall into this category; my friends plead with their parents to leave, but their parents refuse saying: We will not be pushed around.")

2) refuse to live as refugees with nothing to call their own

3) have nothing to lose except the homes and farms that will be reduced to nothing; if they lose those, they may as well lose their lives for they will never be able to raise the capital to rebuild anything

The Bad News ...
... is that Iran http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/26/iran.volunteers.ap/index.html and Al Qaeda are going to get involved, effectively giving the crisis a religious motive. I'd be interested to see how this plays out if only because Al Qaeda and Hizballah are not bosom buddies. On the other hand, I would much rather they just stayed out of it because if this does turn religious, it has the makings of a much larger, much longer, much more complicated, and much, much, bloodier issue. Worse, they'll take the focus away from the more important main issue: Israel's brutal bully tactics and its illegal, immoral, and inhumane treatment of Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians, and Jordanians (have I missed anyone?)

Shed Your Tears

2006-07-29T16:57:00.000+04:00

**My heart broke when I read this:

"Speaking aboard Blair’s plane as it flew to Washington, the prime minister’s spokesman said Blair would seek a U.N. resolution to resolve the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas. Britain hoped a U.N. resolution could be in place by next week. White House press secretary Tony Snow said Bush also wants a U.N. resolution next week. But he expressed doubt that world leaders could come together on wording by then." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14070624/

Why a week?! What wording?! Two words!! Just two! "Israel Stop". You can sort out the details later for goodness' sake! Just make it stop first! But they can't do that. Israel needs assurances that it can continue its reign of terror over the Middle East; assurances that it will get. Here's why:

1) Palestinians want their lands, businesses, homes, and money back
Israel will not give them back

2) Lebanon wants the Shebaa Farms and our POWs back
Israel will not give them back

3) Syria wants the Golan Heights back
Israel will not give them back

As long as Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria don't stop asking for what is theirs, Israel (and the US and UK) will keep asserting its right to defend itself.

**My mouth hung open in disbelief when I read this:

"Israel hit an army base and an adjacent relay station belonging to Lebanese state radio at Aamchit, 30 miles north of Beirut, knocking down a transmission tower early Thursday, local broadcasters and witnesses said." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14021722/

Does anyone in Europe or the US know what Aamchit is? Let me tell you -- it's a sleepy little port village where families rent chalets for the summer and a university students rent dorm rooms (the Lebanese American University is a stone's throw away). I spent a lot of my time in Aamchit when I was a student at LAU; my university friends had rooms there and my out of university friends rented chalets there. And a "transmisson tower" was bombed. Notice there is no mention of what kind of transmission tower it was. Government? Private? Radio? TV? What? Is it clear to everyone that by bombing such sites, Israel is fulfilling its sole aim of destroying Lebanon's main source of income: tourism. After all, if Lebanon's tourism industry takes a dive, the only other place can can even attempt to come close to imitating all that Lebanon offers would be Israel.

** Then of course, there's the constant lines in the news stories about

1) a "sustainable ceasefire" -- Ms. Rice, you can't sustain what you don't yet have. If a ceasefire doesn't exist in the first place, how do you plan to sustain it?

2) Hizballah dealing Israel its "heaviest losses" -- this is then followed by a line akin to '4 Israeli soldiers were killed and 3 wounded in combat' which is itself immediately followed by something like 'the death toll in Lebanon has reached 353 with some 4000 injured and more than half a million homeless'.

PEOPLE PLEASE!!!!!! SERIOUSLY NOW!! WTF??!!!!!

USA and Israel in bed together

2006-07-28T21:37:00.000+04:00

Isn't it pathetic how this information never quite made the headlines in the West? (yes, I say West a lot because honestly, with the behavior of Bush, Blair, Rice, and so many others, it has sadly become a situation of "us" versus "them"). Italics are my two cents worth.

A POP QUIZ ON THE MIDDLE EAST -- ANSWERS MAY SURPRISE YOU
by Charley Reese of the Sentinel Staff
The Orlando Sentinel, Sunday Feb. 8, 1998

Just so you can keep up with the perpetual crisis in the Middle East, I have a little quiz for you.

Q: Which country alone in the Middle East has nuclear weapons?
A: Israel. [Iran is not part of the Middle East]

Q: Which country in the Middle East refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and bars international inspections?
A: Israel. [and yet there was such a furor when Iraq refused to allow inspectors]

Q: Which country in the Middle East seized the sovereign territory of other nations by military force and continues to occupy it in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions?
A: Israel. [the territory in question would be Palestine (the whole country) Lebanon (the south until 2000 and the Shebaa Farms) Syria (Golan Heights) Jordan (West Bank) Egypt (Gaza Strip)]

Q: Which country in the Middle East routinely violates the international borders of another sovereign state with warplanes and artillery and naval gunfire?
A: Israel. [again, the country in question is Lebanon]

Q: What American ally in the Middle East has for years sent assassins into other countries to kill its political enemies (a practice sometimes called exporting terrorism)?
A: Israel.

Q: In which country in the Middle East have high-ranking military officers admitted publicly that unarmed prisoners of war were executed?
A: Israel.

Q: What country in the Middle East refuses to prosecute its soldiers who have acknowledged executing prisoners of war?
A: Israel.

Q: What country in the Middle East created 762,000 refugees and refuses to allow them to return to their homes, farms and businesses?
A: Israel.

Q: What country in the Middle East refuses to pay compensation to people whose land, bank accounts and businesses it confiscated?
A: Israel. [and yet, the German government is still forced to compensate people whose grandparents were killed in the holocaust - these people weren't even BORN!!]

Q: In what country in the Middle East was a high-ranking United Nations diplomat assassinated?
A: Israel. [ Count Folke Bernadotte was a mediator in Palestine at the time. Killed with him was UN observer Colonel Andre Serot; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folke_Bernadotte and http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Bernadotte.html for more information]

Q: In what country in the Middle East did the man who ordered the assassination of a high-ranking U.N. diplomat become prime minister?
A: Israel. [Explanatory Note: Yitzhak Shamir!!!]

Q: What country in the Middle East blew up an American diplomatic facility in Egypt and attacked a U.S. ship in international waters, killing 33 and wounding 177 American sailors?
A: Israel.

Q: What country in the Middle East employed a spy, Jonathan Pollard, to steal classified documents and then gave some of them to the Soviet Union?
A: Israel.

Q: What country at first denied any official connection to Pollard, then voted to make him a citizen and has continuously demanded that the American president grant Pollard a full pardon? A: Israel.

Q: What country on Planet Earth has the second most powerful lobby in the United States, according to a recent Fortune magazine survey of Washington insiders?
A: Israel.

Q: Which country in the Middle East is in defiance of 69 United Nations Security Council resolutions and has been protected from 29 more by U.S. vetoes?
A: Israel.

Q: What country is the United States threatening to bomb because "U.N. Security Council resolutions must be obeyed?"
A: Iraq. [what a punchline]