Friday, July 14, 2006
Insanity Fair - Lebanon, Israel ,Gaza, and A Wound Up Robot
High Civilian Toll
The number will be much higher by the time siege of Beirut by Israelis and the rocket attacks on Israel by Hezbollah come to a halt. Could take a long time. The various parties involved show no signs of backing off. President Bush, after giving Israel what amounted to full support for their show of force, is now busy trying to broker a peace agreement! While there is no question about America's military supremacy, President Bush has lost the moral authority to act effectively as a peacemaker. His appearance at the press conference at Straslund, Germany, on July 13, gave the overwhelming impression of a wound up robot. "DAMOUR, Lebanon, July 14 -- Israel imposed a blockade on Lebanon by land, sea and air on Thursday, striking the capital's airport twice, cutting off its ports and wrecking bridges and roads in attacks that killed at least 47 people in the last two days, nearly all of them Lebanese civilians. Israel said the radical Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah fired 150 rockets into northern Israel, including two that reached the port city of Haifa. Israeli jets repeatedly crossed over Beirut before dawn Friday. At least two explosions were heard, and antiaircraft fire and flares lit up the night sky."
Excerpts from a report by Anthony Shadid and Scott Wilson, Washington Post:
- In Israel, the steady boom of Hezbollah's Katyusha rockets triggered air raid sirens and calls to take cover in basements throughout Israel's northern border area. "This is taking us back 20 years to the Lebanon war," said Rachel Ronen, 54, whose accounting firm was left a shambles by the morning rockets that hit 15 minutes before her secretary was due for work. Asked what Israel should do in return, Ronen, her eyes red from weeping, said, "Hit them."
- Across Lebanon, residents expressed fear that the conflict might drag on days, even weeks. Lines snaked around gas stations in Beirut, as drivers stocked up on fuel. Supermarkets were crowded, and the roads that remained open, especially to the Syrian border, Lebanon's last outlet after the airport's closure, were clogged. Lebanese officials put the toll at 47 dead and 103 wounded, including a family of 12 in the village of Dweir. Residents said three people were still buried under rubble.
- "What do I think personally?" asked Munzir Baram, a 40-year-old Lebanese making his way across a partially repaired bridge spanning the green-tinted Damour River. "It's going to get a lot, lot worse."
U.S. Vetoes UN Resolution on Gaza
As expected the United States stood by Israel. "UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution put forward by Qatar on behalf of Arab states that called on Israel to immediately end its two-week military incursion in Gaza. Ten of the council's 15 member-nations voted in favor of the resolution, while the United States cast the sole "no" vote. Four countries abstained -- Britain, Denmark, Peru and Slovakia."
