But The UN Understood This "NO" Answer From Israel ...
...when Ehud Olmert answered Kofi Annan's pleas to lift their blockade of Lebanon. So I guess their Hebrew is better than their Farsi.
Israel rejected a call from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon, saying it would only end the 7-week-old siege once all elements of a ceasefire were in place.
During an hour of talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Annan said he pressed for a lifting of the embargo, imposed after the start of the war against Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrilla group on July 12, mainly on economic grounds.
At a news conference after their meeting, Olmert rebuffed Annan, saying any relaxation of pressure on Lebanon's ports and airspace depended on the full implementation of U.N. resolution 1701, which governs the ceasefire with Hizbollah.
"The (resolution) is a fixed buffet and everything will be implemented, including the lifting of the blockade, as part of the entire implementation of the different articles," he said.
Olmert was equally firm when it came to suggestions from Annan that Israel should withdraw all its troops from southern Lebanon within "days or weeks," once up to 5,000 U.N.-backed peacekeepers are on the ground.
"Israel will pull out of Lebanon once the resolution is implemented," Olmert said, indicating a longer timeline.
In the talks, Olmert also reiterated his call for the U.N. force to be deployed not just in southern Lebanon but along the border with Syria, a deployment that the U.N. resolution makes dependent on a request from the Lebanese government.
Annan, in Jerusalem after visiting Lebanon, is trying to strengthen a shaky, two-week-old truce that ended a 34-day war between Israel and Hizbollah. His top priority had been the lifting of the blockade, a request made by Lebanon's government.
"It is important not only because of the economic effect it is having on the country but it is also important to strengthen the democratic government of Lebanon with which Israel has repeatedly said it had no problems," Annan said.
As long as Israel is making sure that weapons don't end up in Hezbollah hands, they're safe; to a point. This should have been expected by Annan. He has dithered over this cease-fire, and sent conflicting messages that the world has questioned. He has said that Hezbollah must disarm, but that the new peacekeeping force won't be the ones doing it. From Beirut, the Lebanese army has been told that they won't do it either; that same army has been encouraged to actually join forces with Hezbollah.
So if this is the message being sent to Israel, why would they pull out of Lebanon, and why would they life the blockade. Are they suicidal, all of a sudden? Kofi Annan is most definitely receiving pressure from Syria, Iran, and most importantly, Lebanon. Now that Lebanon has basically been commandeered by Hezbollah, it is a government that is compromised; it can't be trusted to abide by anything decree it issues unless it goes hand-in-hand with Hezbollah's agenda. That plan revolves around harrassing Israel. Hezbollah is acting on orders, and their actions can be understood, from that viewpoint. However, this begging from Kofi Annan is embarrassing.
This guy is so pathetic that he couldn't get lucky in a whorehouse with a fistful of Franklins. He can't control the ones he prefers, and he can't get those he dislikes to cave-in. Again, he's stuck between a rock and a hard case, and his ineptitude is laid bare for the world to behold. And don't think that this ends with Kofi Annan. This makes the UN look equally as bad. No one takes them seriously anymore because they lack the courgae of their convictions. They talk the talk, but they keep tripping over their feet when they try to walk the walk.
So yes; the answer to Kofi Annan is "no." With the amount of times he's been told that in the past couple of months, one would think he'd be used to that answer by now.
Publius II
...when Ehud Olmert answered Kofi Annan's pleas to lift their blockade of Lebanon. So I guess their Hebrew is better than their Farsi.
Israel rejected a call from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon, saying it would only end the 7-week-old siege once all elements of a ceasefire were in place.
During an hour of talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Annan said he pressed for a lifting of the embargo, imposed after the start of the war against Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrilla group on July 12, mainly on economic grounds.
At a news conference after their meeting, Olmert rebuffed Annan, saying any relaxation of pressure on Lebanon's ports and airspace depended on the full implementation of U.N. resolution 1701, which governs the ceasefire with Hizbollah.
"The (resolution) is a fixed buffet and everything will be implemented, including the lifting of the blockade, as part of the entire implementation of the different articles," he said.
Olmert was equally firm when it came to suggestions from Annan that Israel should withdraw all its troops from southern Lebanon within "days or weeks," once up to 5,000 U.N.-backed peacekeepers are on the ground.
"Israel will pull out of Lebanon once the resolution is implemented," Olmert said, indicating a longer timeline.
In the talks, Olmert also reiterated his call for the U.N. force to be deployed not just in southern Lebanon but along the border with Syria, a deployment that the U.N. resolution makes dependent on a request from the Lebanese government.
Annan, in Jerusalem after visiting Lebanon, is trying to strengthen a shaky, two-week-old truce that ended a 34-day war between Israel and Hizbollah. His top priority had been the lifting of the blockade, a request made by Lebanon's government.
"It is important not only because of the economic effect it is having on the country but it is also important to strengthen the democratic government of Lebanon with which Israel has repeatedly said it had no problems," Annan said.
As long as Israel is making sure that weapons don't end up in Hezbollah hands, they're safe; to a point. This should have been expected by Annan. He has dithered over this cease-fire, and sent conflicting messages that the world has questioned. He has said that Hezbollah must disarm, but that the new peacekeeping force won't be the ones doing it. From Beirut, the Lebanese army has been told that they won't do it either; that same army has been encouraged to actually join forces with Hezbollah.
So if this is the message being sent to Israel, why would they pull out of Lebanon, and why would they life the blockade. Are they suicidal, all of a sudden? Kofi Annan is most definitely receiving pressure from Syria, Iran, and most importantly, Lebanon. Now that Lebanon has basically been commandeered by Hezbollah, it is a government that is compromised; it can't be trusted to abide by anything decree it issues unless it goes hand-in-hand with Hezbollah's agenda. That plan revolves around harrassing Israel. Hezbollah is acting on orders, and their actions can be understood, from that viewpoint. However, this begging from Kofi Annan is embarrassing.
This guy is so pathetic that he couldn't get lucky in a whorehouse with a fistful of Franklins. He can't control the ones he prefers, and he can't get those he dislikes to cave-in. Again, he's stuck between a rock and a hard case, and his ineptitude is laid bare for the world to behold. And don't think that this ends with Kofi Annan. This makes the UN look equally as bad. No one takes them seriously anymore because they lack the courgae of their convictions. They talk the talk, but they keep tripping over their feet when they try to walk the walk.
So yes; the answer to Kofi Annan is "no." With the amount of times he's been told that in the past couple of months, one would think he'd be used to that answer by now.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 6:29 PM
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