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Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Middle East Situation Update

Israelis say offensive could last weeks

Well, it went from being, "We'll leave when the captured soldiers are returned," to "We'll leave when they are returned and our citizens are safe." Funny how that happens.

More than 100,000 flee Lebanon for Syria

Lebanon was just starting to look nice again after years of rebuilding and modernizing...and then Israel comes along. If Iran was attacking Lebanon, we'd be shoving missiles down their throats, but Israel? When will someone stop them?

Chartered Cruise Ship Heads to Beirut

This is the story that disappeared yesterday. Apparently, we sent cruise ships to evacuate Americans.

'Lebanon crisis an international conspiracy'

The Israeli-Hezbollah conflict threatens to drag Syria, Iran and the US into a regional war.

As'ad AbuKhalil, author of Bin Laden, Islam, and America's New 'War on Terrorism' as well as The Battle for Saudi Arabia: Royalty, Fundamentalism, and Global Power, believes the recent violence is a symptom of an international conspiracy under way to enforce UN resolution 1559, which calls for the disarmament of militia groups in Lebanon -- a reference to Hezbollah.


As the professor points out:

This particular conflict, and Israel's act of aggression on Lebanon, did not take place in a vacuum, and Israel did not act in some spontaneous fashion.

Hezbollah did not surprise Israel with the capture of the two Israeli occupation soldiers. Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah has repeatedly warned that if Israel does not release its Lebanese prisoners, he will be compelled to take Israeli soldiers as bargaining chips.

And Israel has not been sitting idly by since its partial withdrawal from South Lebanon in 2000. It has not only continued to occupy parts of South Lebanon, but also has been violating Lebanese sovereignty, by air, sea, and land.

Israel has also been kidnapping innocent Lebanese citizens: fishermen and shepherds. And one fisherman from Tyre -- my hometown -- is still missing, and at least one shepherd was killed last year.

Furthermore, Israel has adamantly refused to give to Lebanon a map of the more than 400,000 land mines that it left behind in South Lebanon, and which continue to kill Lebanese children in the region.


It's sounds plausible. People in the US don't like to think of Israel in a bad light, but what if they aren't our allies acting in the world's best interests? Remember folks, we're talking about governments here--not the citizens. And as we know in this country, governments often twist the truth and even make up lies to get what they want.

It's about time someone holds Israel accountable. After all, the UN watches the rest of the Middle East closely, so why not Israel, too?

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