G-8 Condemns Hezbollah; Evacuation Orders Given
Despite a good majority of the world being unhappy with Israel and the overabundance of force they claim Israel is using, the G-8 leaders in St. Petersburg called on Hezbollah to end its attacks on Israel:
Group of Eight leaders told Hizbollah militants on Sunday they must free abducted Israeli soldiers and immediately halt attacks on Israel to end an upsurge in Middle East violence.
In a statement from their summit in Russia, G8 leaders urged Israel to exercise "utmost restraint" in its offensive in Lebanon, but blamed the crisis squarely on "extremist elements" and put the onus on Hizbollah to stop it.
A carefully-worded text said an end to Israeli military operations and withdrawal of forces from Gaza were other conditions needed to "lay the foundation for a more permanent solution."
But it echoed support for Israel's right to self-defense voiced by the United States, the Jewish state's main backer, and made no reference to criticism by G8 powers France and the European Union that Israel's bombing of Lebanon was excessive. ...
..."These extremist elements and those that support them cannot be allowed to plunge the Middle East into chaos," said the text hammered out by the leaders of the world's richest nations.
France's Jacques Chirac undercut the well-crafted G8 unity, telling reporters leaders had "expressed extreme reservations about the disproportionate character of the Israeli reactions." But there was no mention of this in the G8 text and U.S. officials dismissed Chirac's comment.
It's nice to see the G-8 recognizes that this goes beyond just Hezbollah and Hamas. By identifying the fact that these groups are backed by more serious players, it keeps it in the public's mind that these organizations can't act independently. They do depend on larger allies to supply them, train them, and finance them. The G-8 leaders speaking as one is something that we've needed for some time. Too long have we listened to the critics of our war, and now this one, that there is a sort of uneasy comfort coming in them being on the same page.
Granted, we're not holding our breath on how long this concensus will hold, but it's at least good for one day, right? (And yes, I'm getting back into my straight-jacket right now.)
And today, US helicopters landed in Lebanon to begin the evacuation of some 25,000 US civilians:
U.S. security teams landed at the American embassy just outside Beirut on Sunday to plan the evacuation of some of the estimated 25,000 U.S. citizens living in war-torn Lebanon.
Witnesses said two helicopters flew in from over the Mediterranean and landed on the embassy grounds, located on a fortified hilltop in the north Beirut suburb of Aukar.
"The arrival of the teams is an important first step in facilitating the safe departure of Americans who want to leave Lebanon," the embassy said in a statement.
Israeli warplanes began striking Lebanon after Hezbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on Wednesday. The guerrillas have struck back at Israeli cities, and on Sunday fired a relentless barrage of rockets into the Israeli city of Haifa, dramatically escalating the conflict.
Israeli airstrikes targeting runways have closed down Beirut's international airport. Israel has also imposed a naval blockade on the country and has made road travel dangerous by targeting the main highway between Lebanon and neighboring Syria.
And it's understood by Iran and Syria that if they target our helicopters or fire on them, that such an act will be perceived as an act of war. We are getting our people out of warzone. We're not there to fight, however the rules of engagement still apply. Our soldiers and pilots will return fire if fired upon.
And in other news, Haifa was hit again today:
Hezbollah's deadliest ever rocket strike on Israel has brought a threat of "far-reaching" consequences for Lebanon from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Eight people were killed when one of 20 rockets fired at the port city of Haifa crashed into a railway train depot. More than 400 rockets have hit Israel since the crisis began last Wednesday when Hezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others leading to heavy Israeli bombing of Beirut and southern Lebanon.
Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz visited the rail depot site and accused Syria and Iran of supplying the rockets. He said "Hezbollah is al-Qaeda and (its leader) Nasrallah is bin Laden." He added we have to fight them accordingly. Meanwhile, Israel has raised the alert level in Tel Aviv, 130 kilometres south of Lebanon. It said that is a precaution as Hezbollah probably does not have rockets with a range to reach the city. Israel says its assault on Lebanon could continue for weeks or months until Hezbollah's ability to fire rockets into Israel is destroyed.
I hope Hezbollah understands that this isn't going to break Israel. It's just going to tick them off even more, and intensify the already formidable bombing campaigns Israel is engaged in:
Israeli air raids have killed at least 23 people in southern Lebanon hours after Israel warned that the area would come under further heavy attack.
At least 16 died in the city of Tyre, while strikes on a border village killed at least seven, including five with Canadian and Lebanese citizenship.
More than 120 Lebanese have died since clashes with Israel began on Wednesday.
Twelve Israeli civilians have been killed from Hezbollah rockets, including eight in Haifa on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the Haifa attack - the worst on Israel since clashes started - would have "far-reaching consequences".
And that is exactly the sort of message that needs to be sent to Hezbollah. They need to know that this time, it's over. They're done like dinner because Israel isn't going to let up. There's going to be pressure on Lebanon to get rid of Hezbollah's sopposed legitimacy in the government, or force them to renounce the violence, and the Hezbollah terrorists on the ground are going to be wiped out. Israel's sick and tired of being the s**t-bird in the Middle East. We'll see how far this really goes, and whether this conflict will lead up to Syria and Iran. I still say to be prepared for Israel to begin going after one or the other soon.
There's enough proof coming out right now that Hezbollah is using Iranian weapons, and that it's a distinct possibility some Iranian soldiers may be helping them. If that's true, then there's nothing to handcuff Israel from going up against Iran and Ahmadinejad. And I believe on some level, the world is waiting for it. And if Israel does, it's assured that they're going to de-fang the nuclear snake in the Middle East that will be a serious problem if left to its own devices.
Publius II
Despite a good majority of the world being unhappy with Israel and the overabundance of force they claim Israel is using, the G-8 leaders in St. Petersburg called on Hezbollah to end its attacks on Israel:
Group of Eight leaders told Hizbollah militants on Sunday they must free abducted Israeli soldiers and immediately halt attacks on Israel to end an upsurge in Middle East violence.
In a statement from their summit in Russia, G8 leaders urged Israel to exercise "utmost restraint" in its offensive in Lebanon, but blamed the crisis squarely on "extremist elements" and put the onus on Hizbollah to stop it.
A carefully-worded text said an end to Israeli military operations and withdrawal of forces from Gaza were other conditions needed to "lay the foundation for a more permanent solution."
But it echoed support for Israel's right to self-defense voiced by the United States, the Jewish state's main backer, and made no reference to criticism by G8 powers France and the European Union that Israel's bombing of Lebanon was excessive. ...
..."These extremist elements and those that support them cannot be allowed to plunge the Middle East into chaos," said the text hammered out by the leaders of the world's richest nations.
France's Jacques Chirac undercut the well-crafted G8 unity, telling reporters leaders had "expressed extreme reservations about the disproportionate character of the Israeli reactions." But there was no mention of this in the G8 text and U.S. officials dismissed Chirac's comment.
It's nice to see the G-8 recognizes that this goes beyond just Hezbollah and Hamas. By identifying the fact that these groups are backed by more serious players, it keeps it in the public's mind that these organizations can't act independently. They do depend on larger allies to supply them, train them, and finance them. The G-8 leaders speaking as one is something that we've needed for some time. Too long have we listened to the critics of our war, and now this one, that there is a sort of uneasy comfort coming in them being on the same page.
Granted, we're not holding our breath on how long this concensus will hold, but it's at least good for one day, right? (And yes, I'm getting back into my straight-jacket right now.)
And today, US helicopters landed in Lebanon to begin the evacuation of some 25,000 US civilians:
U.S. security teams landed at the American embassy just outside Beirut on Sunday to plan the evacuation of some of the estimated 25,000 U.S. citizens living in war-torn Lebanon.
Witnesses said two helicopters flew in from over the Mediterranean and landed on the embassy grounds, located on a fortified hilltop in the north Beirut suburb of Aukar.
"The arrival of the teams is an important first step in facilitating the safe departure of Americans who want to leave Lebanon," the embassy said in a statement.
Israeli warplanes began striking Lebanon after Hezbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on Wednesday. The guerrillas have struck back at Israeli cities, and on Sunday fired a relentless barrage of rockets into the Israeli city of Haifa, dramatically escalating the conflict.
Israeli airstrikes targeting runways have closed down Beirut's international airport. Israel has also imposed a naval blockade on the country and has made road travel dangerous by targeting the main highway between Lebanon and neighboring Syria.
And it's understood by Iran and Syria that if they target our helicopters or fire on them, that such an act will be perceived as an act of war. We are getting our people out of warzone. We're not there to fight, however the rules of engagement still apply. Our soldiers and pilots will return fire if fired upon.
And in other news, Haifa was hit again today:
Hezbollah's deadliest ever rocket strike on Israel has brought a threat of "far-reaching" consequences for Lebanon from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Eight people were killed when one of 20 rockets fired at the port city of Haifa crashed into a railway train depot. More than 400 rockets have hit Israel since the crisis began last Wednesday when Hezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others leading to heavy Israeli bombing of Beirut and southern Lebanon.
Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz visited the rail depot site and accused Syria and Iran of supplying the rockets. He said "Hezbollah is al-Qaeda and (its leader) Nasrallah is bin Laden." He added we have to fight them accordingly. Meanwhile, Israel has raised the alert level in Tel Aviv, 130 kilometres south of Lebanon. It said that is a precaution as Hezbollah probably does not have rockets with a range to reach the city. Israel says its assault on Lebanon could continue for weeks or months until Hezbollah's ability to fire rockets into Israel is destroyed.
I hope Hezbollah understands that this isn't going to break Israel. It's just going to tick them off even more, and intensify the already formidable bombing campaigns Israel is engaged in:
Israeli air raids have killed at least 23 people in southern Lebanon hours after Israel warned that the area would come under further heavy attack.
At least 16 died in the city of Tyre, while strikes on a border village killed at least seven, including five with Canadian and Lebanese citizenship.
More than 120 Lebanese have died since clashes with Israel began on Wednesday.
Twelve Israeli civilians have been killed from Hezbollah rockets, including eight in Haifa on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the Haifa attack - the worst on Israel since clashes started - would have "far-reaching consequences".
And that is exactly the sort of message that needs to be sent to Hezbollah. They need to know that this time, it's over. They're done like dinner because Israel isn't going to let up. There's going to be pressure on Lebanon to get rid of Hezbollah's sopposed legitimacy in the government, or force them to renounce the violence, and the Hezbollah terrorists on the ground are going to be wiped out. Israel's sick and tired of being the s**t-bird in the Middle East. We'll see how far this really goes, and whether this conflict will lead up to Syria and Iran. I still say to be prepared for Israel to begin going after one or the other soon.
There's enough proof coming out right now that Hezbollah is using Iranian weapons, and that it's a distinct possibility some Iranian soldiers may be helping them. If that's true, then there's nothing to handcuff Israel from going up against Iran and Ahmadinejad. And I believe on some level, the world is waiting for it. And if Israel does, it's assured that they're going to de-fang the nuclear snake in the Middle East that will be a serious problem if left to its own devices.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 1:48 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home