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July 13, 2006
Israel/Lebanon Update
Israel/Lebanon conflict widens. Israel is now fighting a war on two fronts, against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Will Syria, Iran, and the United States be drawn in? Finally, a Lebanese blogger offers some insights about the perceptions of Israel in the Middle East. *SCROLL DOWN FOR NEW UPDATES*
Israel bombs Beirut Airport; rockets hit northern Israel. AP: 'Israel intensified its attacks against Lebanon on Thursday, blasting Beirut's international airport and the southern part of the country in its heaviest air campaign against its neighbor in 24 years. Nearly three dozen civilians were killed, officials said. The strikes on the airport, which damaged three runways, came hours before Israel imposed an air and naval blockade on Lebanon to cut off supply routes to militants.' It was Israel's first attack on Beirut's airport since 1982. JPost: 'Katyusha rockets landed in the northern Israeli towns of Karmiel, Safed, Hatzor, and Majd el-Kurum, as well as several other communities throughout the north Thursday afternoon. Eleven people were wounded.' And: 'Report: Katyusha rockets fell near the northern Israeli town Majd el-Kurum, near Karmiel Thursday afternoon.' Via IRIS: 'Israel laid siege Thursday morning to Lebanon, shutting down the country and closing off access by air, land and sea. IDF navy missile ships were patrolling off the Lebanese coast and preventing ships from entering Lebanon or leaving. Any ships arriving at Lebanese shores were being turned back.' Israel warned civilians in South Beirut to leave their homes. Meanwhile, Israel's chief rabbis permitted residents of northern Israel to break the fast of the 17th of Tammuz, observed today, due to the danger of attacks. (various)
Two soldiers' names released. Debka: 'The IDF Spokesman on Thursday released the names of the two soldiers abducted by Hizballah. They are: Eldad Regev, 26, from Kiryat Motzkin, and Ehud Goldwasser, 31, from Nahariya.' (Debka)
Abu Kais: Lebanese cabinet should "deal with the consequences". From Beirut to the Beltway: 'If the current government is unable to openly and effectively chastise Hizbullah by at least suspending their ministers, then they should all pack their bags and move to the southern border and suffer the Israeli anger. The Lebanese cabinet should convene in a Hizbullah bunker. If it’s a war they are too afraid to stop, then it’s a war they should fight.' Abu Kais goes on to argue that Israel should direct its attacks at the appropriate targets:
Some independent people in Lebanon might start thinking that the only solution is to move the conflict to Syria and Iran. The country is on the brink of destruction, especially after the Israeli prime minister threatened to take the country back 20 years. Hizbullah and the cabinet do not care enough. It is unlikely that the international community will save Lebanon now. Why should they? Even Saad Hariri’s media has gone soft on Hizbullah all of a sudden. So the only logical thing for some might be to actively support forces opposed to the Assad regime and Tehran. Since the Lebanese army is not interested in defending the Lebanese state, then some free Lebanese might consider funding and arming militant units to work on Syrian and Iranian territories, targeting Syrian and Iranian infrastructure. There is no reason why Lebanon should lose bridges and Damascus and Tehran don’t. After all, we are all in this together, right?As for Israel’s leaders, perhaps they should listen to Nasrallah for once. Bombing Lebanon will not deter anyone. Olmert is a wimp with high-tech war toys. A mighty power such as Israel has to go after the real source and stop the cheap targeting of Lebanese infrastructure and civilians. But Israeli leaders are still choosing the easy way out. Instead of picking enemies their own size in Damascus and Tehran, they pick to destroy the livelihood of innocents and kill and maim civilians, feeding the backward resistance culture that pervades the region.
Read the whole post at the link, and don't forget to bookmark the homepage. (From Beirut to the Beltway)
Commentary. While I won't agree with Abu Kais' characterization of Israel's attack as "cowardly", I do agree with him about the need to go after Tehran and Damascus. What's especially interesting is his idea that Israel should confront "enemies its own size" in Syria and Iran. The element of respect is the key here, I think. Abu Kais believes (whether rightly or wrongly, I do not know) that Israel is a match for not only Syria but Iran also; and that by shirking confrontation with these powers, while attacking puny Lebanon, Israel only hurts itself.
I do not think Israel is in a position to declare war on Iran, but certainly Syria and Israel have been at war before. On the other hand, the United States has been on the verge of conflict with Iran for a long time. In the end, the present situation may provide Washington with a casus belli against Tehran, rendering the whole UN nuclear charade moot. And as I've been saying all along, the job in the Middle East remains unfinished until the regimes in Tehran and Damascus fall.
UPDATE: Israel envoy says world view shifting in favor of Israel. 'Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman noted on Thursday that the international response to the Israeli actions in Lebanon were much milder than expected. He noted that in recent years there have been signs of a shift in the international view of Israel, with more countries expressing support of Israel.'
UPDATE II: Lebanese Political Journal says, 'As a Palestinian member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party just said to me: "We take two soldiers, and they destroy our airport. They destroy the whole South and billions of dollars of investments. They destroy the stock market. What was Hezbollah thinking?" Getting a Palestinian member of an anti-semitic political party that calls for the destruction of Israel to say that is significant. The tide is turning against Hezbollah.'
Cross-posted at Dreams Into Lightning.
Asher Abrams | 07/13/06 at 10:04 AM | Categories: - The War of Dire Straits
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Comments
Israel's response to the actions of Hizballah, that is, to attack Lebabnon as a whole will serve only one purpose. Those Lebanese not already hostile to their neighbours, whether one is talking of the government or the civilian population, will undoubtedly be so now. Israel's defence policy is either ridiculously infantile or a thinly veiled attempt to instigate a full scale war in the region. One suspects the latter...
Marcus | July 14, 2006 11:00 PM
I am so sorry if my post has somehow brought on the insane rantings seen above. Whoever posted the above is very much part of an arab minority, albeit a very loud one. However, extremism healthily exists on all sides of these debates. Whatever happened to diplomacy, the only proven problem solver? Obviously our generation have forgotten the horrors of war. Welcome to hell...
Marcus | July 15, 2006 06:15 PM
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...”
Beautifully put my friend! I would just like to add that when i said "í'm sorry if my post brought on the rantings seen above...", it was in response to a post from someone else that has since, justifiably been deleted, not from my own post directly above. Whether civillian or soldier, whether on the supposed side of Allah or Jehovah, all are being used as pawns in an economic/political game that none of them stand to benefit from. How can a community that has been subjected to so much vilifiaction and violence throughout history resort to the same means as their enemies so easily? Hitler would be applauding in his grave...
Marcus | July 24, 2006 12:53 PM
