Therefore, i think that Israel is not seeking to destory Lebanon, but rather prevent weapons from being transferred through these areas.

I agree that the Bush administration’s unqualified, unbalanced and sometimes unintelligent support for Israel isn’t in America’s best interests or the world’s. I also agree that most American administrations have tended to be too much that way, though less. And the general trend since WWII has been to get worse and worse.

But there is a great deal of criticism of the US which is simply grossly unfair and unbalanced. It stems mostly from two things: 1) we have too much power both militarily and economically which in combination lead to politically in the world since the Soviet demise and since the Euros won’t (because they won’t invest militarily primarily) and no one else can; and 2) we don’t pretend to be socialist in a world whose media is suffused with at least quasi-socialist values, worldview, and theories of how things work. The West in general and the US in particular as the “controller of the world system” is rich so it must be our greed and evil world system machinations that is keeping Africa and most of Latin America, and the non oil exporting parts of the Muslim world poor. And so on.

For the record, those bridges link the Sunni North to the Christian Center of Lebanon. There are no Hezbollah supporters whatsoever in those areas.

This proves the point that Israel is using Hezbollah as an excuse to destroy Lebanon.

Well Israel’s claimed reason for taking out bridges (as opposed to Hezbollah structures) is to prevent rockets, other weapons and war material moving from Syria to Hezbollah. Hez and Iran are both saying Iran has given Hez rockets that can hit Tel Aviv from deep in Lebanon. Maybe Israel has decided it can’t let that kind of rocket move south from hiding places up north, or from crossing the Syrian border to move further south, such as into the heart of Beirut which Israel has avoided bombing for the most part.

I’m not rah rah Israel. Truly. Just trying to be logical.

On the other hand there may be no really good and really plausible reason. Thinking often gets really one sided in war.

I very much doubt they are trying to hurt specifically Christian or even Sunni Lebanon though, per se. They’re just willing to.

Don’t worry, when he thinks the Israelis are done with his thugs, you’re next. The other muslims think that their the common religion will save them. Sunnis and Shiites breaking bread, I’m sure hat one will last for about a minute and a half.

You Christians and Druze know better.

Do you think the Nazis were ever elected into power? They just their foot in the door and then started killing all the opposition. Sound familiar?

Oh, don’t believe all that crap that Israel created the ‘resistance’. That one was invented in Iran in 1979 as the franchise for export and they were in Iran for training right from the beginning..

Oh so you think that the mullahs in Iran were just swept in by a popular revolution? Actually there were many elements of the real resistance, but when those nazis got their hands on the levers of power, they immediately began killing everyone in their way. Getting a little more fearful?

It’s understandable to be afraid of those gun-toting thugs who threaten even television producers of satirical comedy (that in turn seems to threaten such self-confident religious types) but to not admit it and call them: ‘your lebanese brothers’, ‘a wayward political party’, and ‘our protectors’ etc. etc. is beyond lunacy. It’s cowardice. It’s normal to be afraid, but if you’re going to sell your children as slaves and not even have the courage to admit it , then your all bunch of slaves already, you brave Cedar Revolutionaries.

You better hope that the Israelis continue grinding away in the south and that they kill that evil creature, and you better be ready to finish the job. This opportunity is not going to come again. Your place to begin is the central command and control center in the basement of the Iranian ‘embassy”.

I hope that you all still have access to your weapons as easily as the Shiites do. Wha were you thinking? Everybody gives up their weapons, except for the Shiites. What did you expect?

Excuse me there is one very courageous man in Lebanon. His name is Walid Jumblatt. He speaks the truth and none of you are listening.

Get out while you can.

Israel currently understands that it must strike back at the first sign of violation and not wait for years, because it might prove to be too late. Had the IDF redeployed from Lebanon while destroying the south, this war could have been prevented. The same rule applies to the disengagement from Gaza.

The same applies to abduction. Had the IDF responded forcefully in 2000 over the kidnapping of its soldiers, Hizbullah and Iran would not have dared turn the whole of Lebanon into its playground. Israel has reversed the situation: instead of the abduction working against Israel, to the extent of extorting an entire country, the abduction will now work against the abductor and his country.

Civilians have never played a role in the Middle East. In the Iran-Iraq war thousands were killed, without it bothering one side or another. Israel however faced the moral obstacle, which was cynically taken advantage of by the opposite side: it chose to hide behind its civilians as it did in the village of Qana in south Lebanon.

This is the first time Israel has began speaking the “Middle East” language. After 60 years the Israel Defense Force has finally began to understand the rules of the region.

Israel currently understands that it must strike back at the first sign of violation and not wait for years, because it might prove to be too late. Had the IDF redeployed from Lebanon while destroying the south, this war could have been prevented. The same rule applies to the disengagement from Gaza.

The same applies to abduction. Had the IDF responded forcefully in 2000 over the kidnapping of its soldiers, Hizbullah and Iran would not have dared turn the whole of Lebanon into its playground. Israel has reversed the situation: instead of the abduction working against Israel, to the extent of extorting an entire country, the abduction will now work against the abductor and his country.

Civilians have never played a role in the Middle East. In the Iran-Iraq war thousands were killed, without it bothering one side or another. Israel however faced the moral obstacle, which was cynically taken advantage of by the opposite side: it chose to hide behind its civilians as it did in the village of Qana in south Lebanon.

Israel succeeded in overcoming this obstacle in this war when all the civilians living in the south of Lebanon asked to flee their homes during the temporary ceasefire. Those who didn’t bore the consequences.
The IDF’s hands are now free to destroy the Hizbullah, which to the organization’s astonishment has remained exposed, devoid of its women and children behind whom they seek shelter.

Mojgan : “And what is Lebanon ? An obstical to Israel’s water and not a soverign nation ?

Oh, so now UN has credibility? How come Israel is in defiance of Zillions of resolutions by the same UN ? ? Where are the legal borders of this so called Soverign nation of Isreal that is occupying 3 of her neighbors land ? How come Israel is the only country in the world that does NOT recognize it’s own borders and after 60 yaers still has no constitution ?

For those that Don’t know Israel’s meddling in Lebanon , Google and read :

MOSHE SHARETT DIARY
ISRAEL WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LEBANESE CIVIL WAR ,

Actually I have honestly never met an Israeli who spoke lowly of the Lebanese. Like I know there are plenty of Lebanese who don’t have any problems with their neighbour provided they stay neighbours, which really, the Israelis want. They want to bask on the beach and hike in the hills. They don’t come to fight in your country for fun. They come because they are attacked from your territory and no-one stops that, not even the UN.

My dream is that both countries would be at peace. So that I wouldn’t have to lie anymore when I am asked at Beirut airport if I have ever been to Israel. Or I wouldn’t get peculiar looks when entering Israel with Lebanese stamps in my passport. But instead there would be an open border. Imagine the potential for your country if all the tourists who visit Jerusalem each year could also come to see the stunning temple at Ba’albek? Imagine how people would come to ski in your mountains, dance in Beirut and scuba dive in Eilat?

I would like to be among the first tourists to come back to Lebanon after these dark days are over. You will need the tourism income to restore the economy. I hope it won’t be the Iranians who will be “restoring” your country, only to make it a battle ground for a future war again. Don’t let them take control of your country. If necessary, your government should invite a strong international force to make sure Hezbollah lays down its toys like all the other groups in Lebanon have already done. Hezbollah has shown to be irresponsible, it does not act in the interest of Lebanon at all but merely obeys a foreign president who cares not a single thing about Lebanon. Hezbollah should not be allowed to carry arms any longer. You should say, well thank you so far for everything you have done for us, now please stick to building hospitals and schools and if the country needs to be defended we can do that ourselves.

My thoughts and prayers are with all people of good intentions on both sides of the border.