gotchA
07-12-2006, 03:30 PM
Israel Graduates from Killing Gazans to Lebanese
Now that Hezbollah has ??abducted? two Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, we can expect a ??wider Mideast military confrontation,? according to Bloomberg. Ehud Olmert holds ??Lebanon responsible for the fate of the missing soldiers,? who were captured near Aita al-Shaab on the Lebanese side of the border, that is to say the soldiers violated the sovereignty of Lebanon, a common occurrence.
??Israeli ground forces also crossed into Lebanon to hunt for the missing soldiers, Israeli Army Radio said,? reports Reuters, and then offers an excuse, per usual: ??Israeli troops have not struck deep into Lebanon since they withdrew from a southern border strip in 2000 after Hizbollah??s Shi??ite fighters waged an 18-year war of attrition against them,? in other words they resisted the illegal occupation of the southern part of their country, as they now resist the illegal occupation of the Shebaa Farms area and continual Israeli border provocations (and violations of Lebanese airspace by Israeli fighter jets). No mention of this by Reuters or Bloomberg.
Like the civilians of Gaza, the civilians of Lebanon will be required to pay for Hezbollah capturing prisoners of war.
??Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz warned the Lebanese government that the Israeli military will target infrastructure and ??turn back the clock in Lebanon by 20 years,?? if the soldiers were not returned, Israeli TV reported,? notes the Associated Press. Only a little bit of translation is required, as Israel does not usually mince words. Israel will destroy civilian infrastructure in Lebanon, as it did in Gaza, a violation of international humanitarian law. But then Israel in Palestine and Lebanon, as the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan, does not do international law.
Of course, the New York Times chimed in. ??The fighting erupted when Hezbollah attacked northern Israel with rocket fire this morning, injuring several Israeli civilians in the northwestern town of Shlomi, the Israeli military said. Israel responded with artillery fire and air strikes that targeted Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon. Later, Israeli troops moved into southern Lebanon in the first such incursion since Israel pulled its troops back into Israel in 2000.? Reading the New York Times, or any other corporate media newspaper for that matter, you get the impression Hezbollah simply fires Katyusha rockets into northern Israel out of vindictiveness. Israel??s border provocations and targeting of Lebanese civilians is rarely mentioned.
In predictable fashion, Israel is now attacking Lebanese civilians in response to the ??abduction? (capture) of its soldiers. ??In southern Lebanon, Israeli fighter jets bombed five bridges in quick succession, effectively cutting off that region from the rest of the country. At least two Lebanese civilians were killed in one of the bridge strikes, civil defense officials said, and a power plant was badly damaged. Airstrikes hit the cities of Marjuyun and Kfar Shouba, and warships shelled roads connecting cities to each other.?
As expected, the Times chalks all of this up to an attempt to stop the movement of the ??kidnappers,? or resistance forces in engaged in a long tradition??taking prisoners during wartime. ??Troops entered Lebanon soon after the 9 a.m. abduction, striking 30 military and infrastructure targets in an effort to slow the movements of the gunmen holding the kidnapped soldiers.? Of course, destroying ??infrastructure targets? will not stop Hezbollah, although it will create a refugee problem and make life a living hell for Lebanese civilians. ??Scores of suddenly stranded Lebanese wandered back roads looking for a way home??their faces grim and worried, their belongings stuffed into plastic bags. Sirens wailed in the background.?
Since the 2000 ??pullback? (i.e., the Hezbollah resistance defeated Israel), the Israeli military has consistently attacked civilian infrastructure in Lebanon. In 2000, for instance, Israel targeted three key electric plants ??that limited power supplies to a few hours a day for Beirut and other parts of Lebanon,? as the Los Angeles Times noted at the time. As Israeli diplomat Abba Eban explained in 1981, attacking and slaughtering civilians is a ??rational prospect.? Hizbollah understands this policy all to well, as do the civilians of al-Mansouri, Majdal Zoune, Zibqin, Kafra, Yater, Eita al-Jabal, al-Ezizeh, and other Lebanese cities indiscriminately shelled by Israeli artillery over the years. A prime example of this brutality can be seen in the Israeli shelling of Qana, a village located southeast of Tyre, resulting in the killing of 106 civilians.
It should be obvious what is going on here??Olmert and the Likudites are escalating hostilities in the region in an effort to draw the United States in even more, the situation in Iraq not withstanding.
Olmert, the Likudites, and their neocon collaborators understand well the military prowess and red ink checkbook of the United States will be required to take on the Lebanese, Syrians, Iranians, and the Palestinians, long designated mortal enemies of the Israeli state. For as Israeli foreign policy expert Yehoshafat Harkabi noted in 1988, ??Israeli intentions to impose a Pax Israelica on the Middle East, to dominate the Arab countries and treat them harshly,? cannot be accomplished, considering current realities. ??Writing from a realist perspective, Harkabi concluded that Israel did not have the power to achieve that goal, given the strength of the Arab states, the large Palestinian population involved, and the vehement opposition of world opinion. He hoped that ??the failed Israeli attempt to impose a new order in the weakest Arab state??Lebanon??will disabuse people of similar ambitions in other territories.?? Left unconsidered by Harkabi was the possibility that the United States would act as Israel??s proxy to achieve the overall goal,? writes Stephen J. Sniegoski.
In fact, it appears this is precisely what Israel is attempting to do now. Soon enough, Israel will paint itself into a corner, unable to stem the growing tide of resentment and violent reaction, and will call on the United States to attack its enemies. Or, more to the point, Israel??s vocal choir in the United States will demand a response, beginning with Syria and eventually Iran, two targets already highlighted on the neocon hit list, the ??evil empire? roster.
http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=452
Now that Hezbollah has ??abducted? two Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, we can expect a ??wider Mideast military confrontation,? according to Bloomberg. Ehud Olmert holds ??Lebanon responsible for the fate of the missing soldiers,? who were captured near Aita al-Shaab on the Lebanese side of the border, that is to say the soldiers violated the sovereignty of Lebanon, a common occurrence.
??Israeli ground forces also crossed into Lebanon to hunt for the missing soldiers, Israeli Army Radio said,? reports Reuters, and then offers an excuse, per usual: ??Israeli troops have not struck deep into Lebanon since they withdrew from a southern border strip in 2000 after Hizbollah??s Shi??ite fighters waged an 18-year war of attrition against them,? in other words they resisted the illegal occupation of the southern part of their country, as they now resist the illegal occupation of the Shebaa Farms area and continual Israeli border provocations (and violations of Lebanese airspace by Israeli fighter jets). No mention of this by Reuters or Bloomberg.
Like the civilians of Gaza, the civilians of Lebanon will be required to pay for Hezbollah capturing prisoners of war.
??Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz warned the Lebanese government that the Israeli military will target infrastructure and ??turn back the clock in Lebanon by 20 years,?? if the soldiers were not returned, Israeli TV reported,? notes the Associated Press. Only a little bit of translation is required, as Israel does not usually mince words. Israel will destroy civilian infrastructure in Lebanon, as it did in Gaza, a violation of international humanitarian law. But then Israel in Palestine and Lebanon, as the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan, does not do international law.
Of course, the New York Times chimed in. ??The fighting erupted when Hezbollah attacked northern Israel with rocket fire this morning, injuring several Israeli civilians in the northwestern town of Shlomi, the Israeli military said. Israel responded with artillery fire and air strikes that targeted Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon. Later, Israeli troops moved into southern Lebanon in the first such incursion since Israel pulled its troops back into Israel in 2000.? Reading the New York Times, or any other corporate media newspaper for that matter, you get the impression Hezbollah simply fires Katyusha rockets into northern Israel out of vindictiveness. Israel??s border provocations and targeting of Lebanese civilians is rarely mentioned.
In predictable fashion, Israel is now attacking Lebanese civilians in response to the ??abduction? (capture) of its soldiers. ??In southern Lebanon, Israeli fighter jets bombed five bridges in quick succession, effectively cutting off that region from the rest of the country. At least two Lebanese civilians were killed in one of the bridge strikes, civil defense officials said, and a power plant was badly damaged. Airstrikes hit the cities of Marjuyun and Kfar Shouba, and warships shelled roads connecting cities to each other.?
As expected, the Times chalks all of this up to an attempt to stop the movement of the ??kidnappers,? or resistance forces in engaged in a long tradition??taking prisoners during wartime. ??Troops entered Lebanon soon after the 9 a.m. abduction, striking 30 military and infrastructure targets in an effort to slow the movements of the gunmen holding the kidnapped soldiers.? Of course, destroying ??infrastructure targets? will not stop Hezbollah, although it will create a refugee problem and make life a living hell for Lebanese civilians. ??Scores of suddenly stranded Lebanese wandered back roads looking for a way home??their faces grim and worried, their belongings stuffed into plastic bags. Sirens wailed in the background.?
Since the 2000 ??pullback? (i.e., the Hezbollah resistance defeated Israel), the Israeli military has consistently attacked civilian infrastructure in Lebanon. In 2000, for instance, Israel targeted three key electric plants ??that limited power supplies to a few hours a day for Beirut and other parts of Lebanon,? as the Los Angeles Times noted at the time. As Israeli diplomat Abba Eban explained in 1981, attacking and slaughtering civilians is a ??rational prospect.? Hizbollah understands this policy all to well, as do the civilians of al-Mansouri, Majdal Zoune, Zibqin, Kafra, Yater, Eita al-Jabal, al-Ezizeh, and other Lebanese cities indiscriminately shelled by Israeli artillery over the years. A prime example of this brutality can be seen in the Israeli shelling of Qana, a village located southeast of Tyre, resulting in the killing of 106 civilians.
It should be obvious what is going on here??Olmert and the Likudites are escalating hostilities in the region in an effort to draw the United States in even more, the situation in Iraq not withstanding.
Olmert, the Likudites, and their neocon collaborators understand well the military prowess and red ink checkbook of the United States will be required to take on the Lebanese, Syrians, Iranians, and the Palestinians, long designated mortal enemies of the Israeli state. For as Israeli foreign policy expert Yehoshafat Harkabi noted in 1988, ??Israeli intentions to impose a Pax Israelica on the Middle East, to dominate the Arab countries and treat them harshly,? cannot be accomplished, considering current realities. ??Writing from a realist perspective, Harkabi concluded that Israel did not have the power to achieve that goal, given the strength of the Arab states, the large Palestinian population involved, and the vehement opposition of world opinion. He hoped that ??the failed Israeli attempt to impose a new order in the weakest Arab state??Lebanon??will disabuse people of similar ambitions in other territories.?? Left unconsidered by Harkabi was the possibility that the United States would act as Israel??s proxy to achieve the overall goal,? writes Stephen J. Sniegoski.
In fact, it appears this is precisely what Israel is attempting to do now. Soon enough, Israel will paint itself into a corner, unable to stem the growing tide of resentment and violent reaction, and will call on the United States to attack its enemies. Or, more to the point, Israel??s vocal choir in the United States will demand a response, beginning with Syria and eventually Iran, two targets already highlighted on the neocon hit list, the ??evil empire? roster.
http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=452