Escalation of Hostilities in Middle East

tell em why should the super powers interfere here? what is there for them when the whole of the arab world and ummah in general are silent and accepting this war on the hizb?
tell me what grounds did the hizb have in abducting the soldiers and inviting this trouble?

Once for once the ummah should point the finger inthe correct direction - atleast the soodi arabs did the right thing calling the hizb and hammas idiots for doing what they did.

Lets have the guts to do this as well. your editorial is slanted the wrong way and you should be condenmed for this slant which cannot see the faults in the ummah.

For all those who want justice in the Middle East, it`s important to also understand the fears among the Israelis. It may be an unpopular thing to say here on Chowk, but this also needs to be part of the equation.


The situation in the Middleast can be summarized by the saying, help-thy-neighbor-except-when-he-is-blocking-the-fire-exit. Or as they say in New York, I’ve got mine, up your’s Jack. Not until the parties involved in the conflict start respecting one another, there is nothing UN or the US or even God herself can do. Sure, US can make Iran and Syria to start showing respect to Israel, but the tactics to achieve that end might not be very popular.

US has its plate full as it is. May be EU can start showing some balls that they are so proud of. Afterall, it is in their backyard.

Iron-Mask... do you really believe that Arabs can show any leadership?

The suggestions to end hostilities are all well intentioned, but nothing will work.

I have come to the opinion that US/Israel has just shot itself in the foot.

After the Syrians were forced to leave, the new Lebanese government formed was democratic, moderate, progressive and perfect for western style development in the region. Hazballah on the other hand had defeated not only the Israelis but also the US by wasting of the 241 marines in 1983, and made the subsequent peace possible as well as the reconstruction, albeit with Syrian spport. So they`re strong too and carry a 40% vote bank.

After Syria left Lebanon, the Lebanese Government came under a lot of pressure to get rid of Hizballah as well, give up any claim on Sheba Farms, and act on Resolution 1559. That triggered a power conflict and the Lebanon Government being fully dependant on Hazballah for border security with Israel, could only walk a very tight rope. At the same time Hazballah saw the Government as kowtowing to US & Israel and forgetting it was Hazballah which had liberated Lebanon in the first place for all the recovery to take place. So they decided to provoke an incident and knowing Israel well, get Israel to bomb the hell out of the Lebanese Government and take the blame, and weaken it enough to make a smooth entry possible for Hazballah in full control of Lebanon. While at the same time, Hazballah sits in bunkers and watches the fireworks.

It certainly appears that Lebanon is going fully Islamic soon... Hazballah style. Peace is not in sight even on the farthest horizons.

#2 leadership - one would expect that the arabs can atleast buy these hizb and hamas off....the rest as they say is the will of the gods or in the laps of the godess!

Respect is the key here. Atleast that is something which India and pakistan have not lost for each - what ever be the rethoric everyday

#3 I guess you have just witnessed the famous Indian Rope Trick!

Can anyone care to suggest how many times Israel has kidnapped, bombed or violated the sovereignty of its neighboring countries unprovoked? Not to mention that it continues to illegally occupy large swaths of land from all of its neighbors. Not to mention that it continues to implement apartheid style policies on the occupied Palestinians. Even if one were to suggest that Hezbollah should not have provoked this time around, the fact of the matter is that Israel has been a serial violator of more UN resolutions and demands of civilized world than ANY other country.

If an attack on a few soldiers results in the destruction of the civilian infrastructure of a country and the deaths of hundreds of innocent people, then I am afraid all this talk of ``proportionate response`` is bunch of baloney. And if we defend Israel`s right to inflict this disproportionate response in Lebanon, then aren’t we inconsistent when we condemn disproportionate responses by certain groups on 7/11 and 9/11??

Re: # 6

It’s always Israel’s fault. Isn’t it?

With reports of evacuation of about 60,000 foreginers , and within an estimated time of about one week or so...

I am afraid..... after the week is over......We may witness another Mass Massaccre of humanity.

``And if we defend Israel`s right to inflict this disproportionate response in Lebanon, then aren’t we inconsistent when we condemn disproportionate responses by certain groups on 7/11 and 9/11??``

right to defend and things like that are media fodder and propaganda. Hizbollah and Al Qaeda according to their logic commit 9/11s over and over and that is fine. US/Israel would undertake a 1000 fallujahs and sabira and shatilas.

Peace is a fool`s fancy because this conflict is real between essentially two incompatible value systems. Zeemax is right on this.

Another example why this poison of Islamic fundamentalism needs to wiped out once and for all by the rest of the world...

We need to support Israel unequivocally and send a strong message to these enemies of humanity. If we cant do that, let`s atleast allow Israel to do their job. They seem to be eminently capable of doing this alone.


# 3,
``It certainly appears that Lebanon is going fully Islamic soon... Hazballah style. Peace is not in sight even on the farthest horizons. ``

Breeding like rats and hence making a land `Islamic` is not a great achievement. Try to match the contributions made by Israeli people towards advancement of human civilization. That would be a worthwhile achievement.

Rgds,

Don’t criticize Israel. It is the only democracy in the Mid-East….

http://www.startribune.com/722/story/562903.html

Israeli Censor Wielding Great Power

JERUSALEM (AP) - Here`s some news you may never hear about Israel`s war against Hezbollah: a missile falls into the sea, a strategic military installation is hit, a Cabinet minister plans to visit the front lines.
All these topics are subject to review by Israel`s chief military censor, who has - in her own words - ``extraordinary power.`` She can silence a broadcaster, block information and put journalists in jail.
``I can, for example, publish an order that no material can be published. I can close a newspaper or shut down a station. I can do almost anything,`` Col. Sima Vaknin said Wednesday.
Israel believes that as a small country in a near constant state of conflict, having a say over what information gets out to the world is vital to its security. Critics say the policy is a slippery slope not fit for a democracy.
The range of issues subject to censorship in the latest conflict with Lebanese guerrillas are all related to the goal of preventing Hezbollah from using the media to help it better aim rockets at Israel.
The Associated Press has agreed, like other organizations, to abide by the rules of the censor, which is a condition for receiving permission to operate as a media organization in Israel.
Reporters are expected to censor themselves and not report any of the forbidden material. This story was not submitted to a censor. When in doubt, they can submit a story to the censor who will hand it back, possibly with deletions. The AP will note in a story if any deletions have been made. If a reporter violates the rules, he or she suffers the consequences.
The rules include no real-time reports giving the exact locations of guerrilla missile hits; no reports of missile hits - or misses - on strategic targets; and no reports telling when citizens are allowed to leave their bunkers for supplies.
Journalists are also not allowed to give details about senior Israeli officials going to the north, where Hezbollah`s rockets are falling, until the officials have left the area. They also cannot report places where there aren`t enough shelters or where public defense is weak.
So far in this conflict, about one rocket in 100 fired by Hezbollah has killed an Israeli. The rest usually explode in empty fields, tear concrete from abandoned streets or plunk into the Mediterranean. Fired blind, Hezbollah`s thousands of mostly short-range, inaccurate munitions simply pose a random peril to Israeli citizens.
For obvious reasons, Israel would like to keep it that way. But live media feedback, the censor says, changes everything.
If a news outlet reports immediately that a missile splashed into the sea, for example, any guerrilla with an Internet connection knows to aim left. Report that an oil refinery in Haifa went up in flames, and Hezbollah will surely celebrate and reload. Report that a senior official is headed north, and rockets will be raining down in no time.
Or so goes the logic of censorship.
But in an era when mobile phones have cameras and the terrorists` weapons include laptops and video crews, even the chief censor acknowledges that a complete blockade of news is in many cases not possible.
``Not in 2006,`` she says.
Restrictions on the media are not unique to Israel. The United States military makes journalists embedded with troops in Iraq sign a document agreeing not to report specifics of troop movements and attacks in real time, for reasons similar to Israel`s.
Critics say the censorship system is worse than ineffective - it`s undemocratic, often counterproductive and a violation of freedom of speech.
``People are entitled to get as much information as they can about what`s happening in a conflict,`` says Rohan Jahasekera, associate editor of the London-based magazine, the Index of Censorship.
Israel`s censorship rules are not unusual, he adds, but ``it`s unusual in that they`re enforced.``
Jahasekera also disputed arguments that reporting missile landings helped Hezbollah, since the rockets the Islamic militants use are ``spectacularly inaccurate.``
Bob Steele, Nelson Scholar for Journalism Values at the Poynter Institute, a media studies organization, says editors should bear the responsibility for decisions to publish or not.
``These are decisions that the news organizations and journalists should make with the input of government and military officials,`` he said. ``They should not be decisions that are made by default.``

From a jewish poster on a blog....

``Until Israel rectifies it`s serious mistakes, it will have no peace. The settlement of the West Bank and Golan is a serious International crime and must be COMPLETELY abandoned. Until this happens the hate will continue to build until one day the weapons technology of the arabs catches up with Israel. The surplus from high oil prices will provide the funds to do so. When that day comes - Israel will go poof -bye bye.

Obviously I do not want my relatives to die or my beloved Israel to disappear. But frankly, that is the course Israel is on. The problem is Israel always does half measures - like the withdrawal from Gaza. Had they said, okay here is the land start acting like a sovereign state. We should have let them have the airport and seaports and unlimited access to Egypt. Instead, we treated it like a giant prison. STUPID- STUPID. Israel always had the right to go back in if the Palestinians caused problems inside of Israel proper.

Until Israel says I want to live in the Mideast and work diligently to be friendly neighbors, it will never have peace. Israel is the anomoly in the Mideast, therefore it has the most responsibility. If Israel does not make something happen soon, I believe the Saudi royal family will be overthrown along the Mubarak. When that happens things will get hotter and worse.

I sincerely want Israel to live in peace but I don`t think the present incremental approach backed by repressive military might is going to succeed. We shall see how the next decade plays out. My guess is that either Israel is back within approximately it`s 1967 borders along side an independent Palestinian state or the year 2020 will see a weaping and gnashing of teeth amoung our people``

re: Kulharee #7

You think bombing civilians instead of Hizbullah is not a mistake?

Israel is like an old boxer who is throwing punches in a frenzy. Most of its punches land on soft targets (like civilians) but very few land on hard ones (Hizbullah).

Before this war is over, Israel will find Lebanon a deadlier enemy than before. Cross-border attacks on Israeli checkposts and Haifa will increase ten-fold. Unlike 1980s, this time Lebanese will join Hizbullah and fight Israel instead of killing their fellow countrymen. Even if Israel chokes all supply lines, there is enough ammunition in Lebanon to fight a guerrilla war for the next 15 years.

Re: # 11

HP Sahib, their reason for that is to not to give precise information to terrorists, if a bomb is hit at a strategic location, that is like a major prize for the terrorists to find out. What in addition, you may not read in any of the newspaper is that the ‘Israeli Refuseniks” are still speaking out against the Israeli army tactics (and in such a difficult environment) And you know??? they are protected under Israeli Laws. Can you imagine what will happen to a Muslim speaking out against Hazbollah in Lebanon? Let me know… Actually, I don’t wish to know, knowing that even the Lebanese PM will wet his pants before he places even a tiny bit of blame to Hazboolaaas.

#14
``And you know??? they are protected under Israeli Laws.``

Read it again it says, ``Israel`s chief military censor, who has - in her own words - ``extraordinary power`` She can silence a broadcaster, block information and put journalists in jail.``

Makes no distinction here, they are protected as long as noone is paying attention...

#12 by HP

Yes. Israel will never have peace. That`s for sure.

But HP, I wonder what was the beef Israel/USA had with the Lebanese Government, or indeed, its people? The Muslims there are totally westernized, a large population is Christian and Jewish, there is absolutely no mullahism or fanaticism. The state is secular. They are no less in style than the French. Isn`t that what US wants Muslim countries to be like?

I`m a bit puzzled. Despite my possible scenario of #3, I still can`t see why or how US/Israel would fall into any trap set up by Hazballah at the cost of a country which was going exactly the way as the best of western democracies do, and which values are espoused for all other Muslim countries too by the US?

I fervently hope the answer is not that despite whatever, it`s still a Muslim country, and unfortunately in that region vital to US oil needs.