An email to Glenn Reynolds that I’m reprinting in its entirety;
So I arrived in Beirut on Sunday after a weekend in Cyprus thinking it would be a fun place to watch the world cup as I have many friends in Beirut. 5 days later I am stranded with what seems to be quite a lot more tourists than I was expecting. A few observations
1) the U.S. embassy has been anything but helpful these last few days. When i finally got through to a human being last night he told me the embassy was closed, to try back tomorrow, and made me feel that I was crazy for even asking about an evacuation plan. Needless to say I spent the night terrified listening to fighter jets and bombs and awoke to an endless busy signal whenever I call their number. This is a common experience among all other Americans I’ve run into here.
2) The Lebanese people seem to be more than turned off by Hizbollah. Their fears are greater, however, that the Lebanese government would turn entirely against Hizbollah. This lies in the fact that they trust the Israelis to hit fewer civilian targets more than they trust a desparate renegade Hizbollah on their soil. There is a lot of fear over another civil war.
3) War is both nerve-racking and boring. Its hard to explain being shaken awake at 4:00 am by a bomb. Or just sitting around all day watching the news as your electricity comes in and out. Nothing really happens but you’re chewing your nails the whole time. Excluding the new generation, the Lebanese people are eerily accustomed to this and know things I could never dream about, like cracking the windows at night to avoid shattering from sonic booms…
4) Pajamas Media is the most accurate coverage I’ve found so far.
Hoping there’s a way out soon…
Several well placed cruise missiles in both Damascus and Tehran would certainly send a message. With the present leadership done away with it would be interesting to see what the moderates in those countries would do with the opportunity. I remember watching on TV several months ago a clip from Tehran where two 20ish girls were interviewed, they were both dressed in western clothing, answered a question from a Western reporter. The question was, as close as I can remember, how would you feel if the United States invaded Iran, their reply to my astonishment was, it would be ok if they just came, got rid of the mullahs but could they then just leave, just go away. That was the bottom line but if anyone else saw that clip maybe you could elaborate, hence my opening statement and no lingering involvement.
Unconfirmed. …-
Oh baby, just saw a news flash on Fox. Sheik Nasrallah, the head of Hamas was believed to be in the Hezbollah headquarters that was just bombed by Israeli jets. Witnesses report three large explosions hit the building.
Building has now collapsed
free republic (comments)
Belmont Club and American Future both have excellent analyses, which state that Iran is behind the attacks, using Syria as its primary assistant and using Hamas and Hezbollah as the ‘ground troops’.
The agenda is Iran’s – to foment an unstable ME so that Iran can take over, with ‘goods in thanks’ given to Syria for its assistance.
Again, it has nothing to do with Israel-Palestine which is being used as the catalyst, and has apparently been long-planned by Iran and Syria – to use Hamas and Hazbollah.
So far, Saudi Arabia has declined the fight, saying that it’s Hazbollah’s problem.
Iran and Syria have put Lebanon in a bind, hoping to incite civil war, for Lebanon doesn’t have control over Hazbollah which is almost a ‘state within a state’. Iran and Syria would like a civil war in Lebanon, to return Syria to its dominant position over Lebanon.
What I would hope, is that the other Arab states would reject Iran’s Plan For Supreme Dominance, and allow Israel to do the fighting (rather than themselves enter the fray). I suspect that they might welcome the demise of Iran’s ambitions.
maz2 – BBC reports that the Hamas leader was unhurt. But I don’t think it would make any difference; the real leader is Iran.
A one hour ulitimatum to the true Hezbollah leader… Ahmadinejad. **Release the three soldiers and stand down Hezbollah. Otherwise accept our defensive to your act of war.**
Can he wiggle away from the crosshairs in only one hour?
=== TG
Working from home today, CNN on in the background.
They really should call it BBN – Blonde Bimbo Network.
They have this amazing inability to stick with one item and do a decent analysis. The anchor, like Petey Mansbridge, say “alright” when she cuts off the other person at the point when it’s time to move on to something else. You can hear the boredom dripping in her voice.
Nik Robertson has an exclusive interview with the Lebanese PM. I wonder if Nik realizes that he’s being used as a propaganda tool, and then I realize that not only does he know, he probably gets a woody at the thought.
Some Aussie CCN anchor is interviewing an Israeli diplomat. He asks him a question and then cuts him off as the answer is given. This happens throughout the interview.
TV news really is crap.
Oh man.
I would not want to be in Beirut today.
Free Republic seems to have some of the most up to date photos and info about the situation there.
My 2 cents…
I will guess that Israel will continue to hit key transportation crossroads.
Cutting off any possibility of resupply would be a very good thing to do right away, if there is to be an all out war launched against Israel.
If I were there in Beirut I would try to find a place away from any attack on transportation infrastructre and that could mean forget about leaving for the next little while and think about what is required to hole up until there is an all clear.
I would also try to always remember the increased danger of kidnapping and maybe avoid using taxis and try not to go out alone.
Irrational apoctyliptarianism Mahdi style? Irrational only to the Infidels.
This Mahdi stuff seems so easy to slough off.
Search for Churchill’s “The River War” for the Mahdi of another era. …-
The River War by Sir Winston S. Churchill – Project Gutenberg
Download the free eBook: The River War by Sir Winston S. Churchill.
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/4943 – 13k –
Why August 22? (Iran planning to make a bigger splash?)
Zionist.com ^ | July 8, 2006
Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has rejected Western demands that he respond to a new proposal regarding the cessation of Iran’s nuclear efforts by the middle of this month.
To the consternation of officials in Europe and Washington, Ahmadinejad promised only to respond by the end of the Iranian month of Mordad (August 22).
Why that date? Why so long to look over a simple package of incentives and give either a negative or a positive reply? Finding the answers to these troubling questions may require America and Europe to come to terms with a reality Western liberalism has done its best to ignore – that Islam remains engaged in a clash of civilizations with the Judeo-Christian world.
You see, Ahmadinejad is a strong believer in the Shi’ite tradition of a 12th imam, the so-called “hidden” Imam Mahdi who Allah has miraculously kept alive since his disappearance in 874 AD. As the story goes, Imam Mahdi will return at a time of great global chaos, oppression and bloodshed and usher in an era of (Islamic) justice.
Ahmadinejad sees himself as Allah’s instrument to pave the way for Imam Mahdi, and constantly uses public appearances to urge his countrymen to prepare to back him in this task.
Rumor is, Imam Mahdi could be returning this August (or shortly thereafter), just around the time some military experts believe Iran will be ready to construct its first nuclear weapon. Go figure.
Ahmadinejad has made clear his confidence that he and other true believers can affect this apocalyptic timetable, and will use all means at his disposal to do so. …-
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1665830/posts
AP, aka Associated Press is awestruck/amazed/clueless at the audacity of Israel defending itself against Islamic genocide.
AP then applies AP’s Razor (H/T Occam):
AP says: All this for 2 Jews? Why, what a waste. …-
Hezbollah HQ attacked
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Israel destroyed the home and office of Hezbollah’s leader Friday and tightened its seal on Lebanon, blasting its air and road links to the outside world to punish the guerrilla group — and with it, the country — for the capture of two Israeli soldiers. …-
canoe news
So, following maz2’s data, the agenda is that Hamas and Hezbollah, working for Iran, ‘tweak’ Israel by kidnapping three soldiers and by firing rockets into Israel from Gaza and from Lebanon.
They know that Lebanon can’t control Hezbollah; they know that Abbas can’t control Hamas.
Israel responds…Hamas and Hezbollah weaken…and then, then, Iran moves in to ‘assist its hapless, helpless faltering but brave kin’. Finally, Iran gets its war.
That’s why Israel is cutting off supply routes to Iran now.
But, Iran, I’m guessing, speculating, wants the West involved – not Israel, for it is using Israel just as it is using Hamas and Hezbollah. It wants the US to move in. I’m speculating.
I simply don’t understand how Iran assumes it can get what it wants – Leadership of the ME – in this manner.
I think Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq won’t get involved; they don’t want to be dominated by Iran.
I admit to being puzzled; there’s something I’m missing. Rationality, logic, facticity. I don’t think that answering that Iran doesn’t follow those attributes is enough. What does it hope to achieve???
Rationality, logic, facticity. I don’t think that answering that Iran doesn’t follow those attributes is enough.
I was going to answer in that very manner, so I won’t bother.
Where are the chickendoves?
Where are those “brave” human shield volunteers who got all kinds of exposure at the start of the Iraq war? Why aren’t they heading on over to protect Hizb’Allah?
E.T., maybe the strong death wish of a death worshipping culture is the part you do not get.
You and Bill O’Reilly :0) are far too logical to wrap your minds around the obvious here because it is so illogical.
But IMO the desire or longing or worship of death is a war tactic that is very effective for Islamofascists and very hard for us to understand or even believe it can exist and thrive and grow.
But like Mark Steyn says,
Who ya gonna believe, the Diversity Outreach Officer or your lyin’ eyes?
Iran-Syria Axis Fully Materializing
I don’t know what to say anymore. Sayyid Nasrallah is still alive and declaring an open war. Where is our President? Where are our Ministers? Prime Minister? Members of Parliament?
All these institutions and the guardians of these institutions are obsolete at this point. Nasrallah is leading the show. He’s defying everything and everyone. He is assuming the position of the guardian of the Prophet’s Family, against all odds. This is not about Lebanon anymore; this is about Nasrallah’s pride.
The Iran-Syria Axis has just fully materialized!
An Israeli warship was hit on the coast off of Beirut, the same warship that hit Hizbullah’s headquarters which housed Nasrallah.
Lebanon is a hostage and all the Lebanese people are a pawn in the hands of the few. …-
http://lebanesebloggers.blogspot.com/
after over 2000 years of being browbeaten set upon, reviled and subject to pogroms and efforts to eradicate them, Jews have learned some lessons in survival only they know.
amongst them is to carefully measure the response and spot any boobytraps.
a precise measure of swift retaliation at a precise target. the explosives in the ordinance also carry a message.
God bless the nation of Israel.
and thank you Igal Holtzer my Israeli skydiving instructor. very confident if a bit pushy.
they will not be cowed.
they will not be made to submit.
they will be resolute and justified.
they only ask to live in peace and build their lives and commerce and raise children who grow up to be lawyers and doctors and artisans.
after meeting their military service obligations.
Two liberals who have chosen to support Israel: Kinsella and he provides a link to Scott Brison’s statement. At least there are some on the left who are willing to do and say the right thing.
It appears to me (my interpretation only) that the perfect storm is now set up in the ME. I think we are witnessing what will be a very sad day for the entire world.
What would you do if another country came in and took citizens back across the border and held them without charge?
What if they statred paying settlers to come and take up residents in your country?
BOYCOTT ALL ZIONIST HOLDINGS
I like Palestinians so don’t call me an anti-semite
I wish a suicide bomber would just take out the madman in charge of Iran and be done with it.
Okay neutered sam, so your just a f**king nazi.
The Nazis are the people controling Israel.
get a brain
Personally I’m against the occupation by Canadian Indians of lands once owned by the ancestors of the Mayan, Incan, and Aztec peoples.
All indigenous peoples migrated to North America via the land bridge between Siberia and Alaska, and successive waves forced the original occupants to move further south as each new group crossed into North America.
Canadian Indians must stop the occupation: they must make reparations and they must go back to where they come from.
BOYCOTT ALL INDIAN HOLDINGS
/just giving the “logic” a try
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love thee.” Psalm 122
Peace comes at a price–often a very steep one. Many, including my father and grandfathers, knew that and put their lives on the line. Evil needs to be discerned and fought.
I agree with Robert J BA BSC.
And I totally disagree with neutral[sic]sam. Your views, sir, are repellant.
War is hell, but it’s not the worst thing. The worst thing is to do nothing–or not enough–and let evil triumph. Israel, let’s roll!
Tehran and Damascus need to feel the violence that they inflict on others, the Israelis and Lebanese are paying the price of Islamic fascism.
Unconditional surrender of the fascist forces seems to be the historically proven method for establishing long term peace, so Iran and Syria should be bombed relentlessly until that time. There would be no such thing as ‘collateral damage’ because Iranians and Syrians appear to be quite willing to support their fascist governments and martyr themselves and their children, it’s their choice, they can live and die by it.
I have a brain and it works much better and faster than yours you F**KING NAZI
It is clear that Iran has been fomenting violence for a long time. They and Syria fund terrorists and encourage the Iraqi violence by funding terrorists and whisking them across the border into Iraq. Hezbolla holds south Lebanon hostage to their terrorist tactics. Israel must defend herself and she is well within her rights to take out Iran’s nuclear facilities and I hope she does it soon. This is life or death for Israel and the entire western world. They do not and are not going listen to any overtures for peace talks. They do not and have never intended peace. They INTEND to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and all western culture with them. Time to stop pussyfooting around and get down to the business of ending this madness.
Hezbollah’s armorer is Iran.
Wretchard calls the attack on the Israeli ship a “grave development.”
Israel can now ignore Hezbollah. …-
Commentary
An attack at this distance, by night on a warship indicates a very high level of targeting skill. A capability beyond Hezbollah’s own limited resources. This suggests that Iranian technical assistance to its client has been extensive and thorough. In some ways, this incident is reminiscent of the use of Saggers and integrated air defense by the Egyptian Army during the Yom Kippur War. Iran had anticipated what Israel would do and prepared for it. It is now not out of the question that Hezbollah may have MANPADs or very long range, perhaps even guided rockets. With what warheads we can only guess, but chemical is not out of the question. The stricken Israeli warship is major combatant on the scale of navies in the area. Although not sunk, it has been mission killed. This is a spectacular naval victory for Hezbollah.
But it also brings Israel and Iran closer to direct combat. With proof that advanced weapons are now in the hands of Hezbollah, it becomes absolutely impossible for Israel to consider Hezbollah in isolation from its armorers. The diplomatic efforts to date are now imperiled by this grave development. belmont club
via LGF via FOX via some poster so I’m not vouching:
Syria to enter the war to “help” Lebanon.
So I guess – if true – what Iran REALLY wants might become clear all by itself maz2 & EET.
It is time for the Arab countries to band together to reign in the amock state of israel.The UN created a monster on the back of the Palestinian population that is aided by the zionist colonies of USA,Canada, England, France and Germany.The UN must try the zionist leadership for war crimes and repeal their 1948 decision to establish israel .
hs didn’t you forget a few?
“The 33 countries that voted in favor of the partition, as set by UN resolution 181: Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Belarus, Canada, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Haiti, Iceland, Liberia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru”
“In 1948, approximately 75,000 Jews lived in Egypt. About 100 remain today, mostly in Cairo. In 1948, Jewish neighborhoods in Cairo suffered bomb attacks that killed at least 70 Jews. Hundreds of Jews were arrested and had their property confiscated. The 1954 Lavon Affair, in which Israelis and Egyptian Jews were arrested for bombing Egyptian and American targets served as a pretext for further persecution of the remaining Jewish community in Egypt. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, Egypt expelled over 25,000 Jews, confiscated their property, and about 3,000 were imprisoned. About 1,000 more were imprisoned or detained. In 1967, Jews were detained and tortured, and Jewish homes were confiscated as emigration continued.Main article: History of the Jews in TunisiaPhilippines, Poland, Sweden, South Africa, Ukraine, United States, USSR, Uruguay, Venezuela.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_exodus_from_Arab_lands
And on and on it goes Nazi Troll
The UN must try the zionist leadership for war crimes and repeal their 1948 decision to establish israel
hs – how the hell did you get your hands on a keyboard while in restraints?
“Band together”? Right. Every time the Arab knuckleheads banded together they have had their heads handed to them by Israel.
>BOYCOTT ALL ZIONIST HOLDINGS
Hey, sam, at least you’ve got something to boycott.
Besides the perverse accident of nature in putting oil under the sands of 7th century primitives, not like they invented it, I’ve been thinking since 9/11 of boycotting all things Arab. But, then, I realized there isn’t a non-petroleum product, an invention, a copyright, a patented medication, a technology, a corporation, a movie, a book, anything developed as useful on a commercial scale by Arabs that can be boycotted. Only the oil they drain with western technology under their dirt.
Nasrallah may be the local **push** for Hezbollah, but any control or easing off will only come as a result of squeezing Ahmadinejad tightly around the neck.
Scholars agree, a slap down of militant Iranian clerics is mandatory. Pulling punches at this time is pure folly.
Hitting back at the hezbollah is only a diversion hurting the people of Lebanon and missing the target entirely. TG
=========
This is the end of a real insight piece by a well versed Michael Ledeen. It helps to have this in your back pocket.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NDE4MDA3NDUyYjA0ZGY1MzQ4NjM5NjM1MWY4NDVkZGM=
or
http://tinyurl.com/zo7jl
As do millions of Syrians and Iranians. And you know what? Millions of Arabs all over the Middle East do too. Give them a chance to fight for their freedom, as we did with the Georgians. The longer we dither, the more likely it becomes that we will sadly and unnecessarily find ourselves in a military confrontation of some sort, with all the terrible consequences that entails.
Faster, please. Your options are narrowing. You cannot escape the mullahs. You must either defeat them or submit to their terrible vision. There is no other way.
— Michael Ledeen, an NRO contributing editor, is most recently the author of The War Against the Terror Masters. He is resident scholar in the Freedom Chair at the American Enterprise Institute.
=================== TG
Re;33 Countries,
The countries moses mentions probably were bribed by jews with a few shekels to vote for the theft of palestinian lands. And who on earth gave those countries the right to vote for this in the first place.israel is a cancer that will infect the world if it is not stopped or eradicated.
yo, hs, if a paltry bribe is all it takes, why dont the palestinians up the ante instead of spending their scarce cash on plastique explosive with which to wander into the local version of starbucks intent on killing Jews?
and the crapolla about the powerful Jewish lobby in congress, same thing, why dont the palestinians cultivate contacts and 2-way support in congress SAME as the Jews?
because they are so blinded by hate and rage and bent on killing and maiming it has affected their reasoning power. they dont want to win, they just want to kill.
Ladies and gentlemen, when you argue with brain-stuck-in-neutralsam and hs, you are arguing with a brick wall. The only exception being that brick walls are useful and there is a chance that a brick wall just might be made to understand logic.
Maybe they don’t quite fit the definition of trolls, but they are definitely a waste of bandwidth.
Here is to Robert and Hassle who obviously have no arguments other than insults to present.The reason Palestinians have no money for bribes is because the jews are stealing it from them and are making sure they languish in poverty. Whenever Palestinians achieve a measure of economic success the zionist scumbags blow up their factories ,houses,women and children and abduct others to isreal’s torture camps.Tens of thousands of Palestinians have thus been slaughtered.
Maz2 said..
The Iran-Syria Axis has just fully materialized!
An Israeli warship was hit on the coast off of Beirut, the same warship that hit Hizbullah’s headquarters which housed Nasrallah.
Lebanon is a hostage and all the Lebanese people are a pawn in the hands of the few. …-
http://lebanesebloggers.blogspot.com/
Posted by: maz2 at July 14, 2006 04:01 PM
This business of Iran being tied in with Hezbollah and pulling the levers in fact agrees with the 2:29am post above with Michael Ledeen scholar in the freedom chair, American Enterprise Institute. =TG
michael ledeen is the same piece of work that helped to fabricate the big lies about sadam , wmds, enriched uranium from nigeria, etc. which the lying king ,g.w.bush, used to hoodwink the american public to support the invasion of iraq with the urgings of wolfowitz and the washinhgton zionist conspirators.that guy should be handed to sadam and his friends for a little chat.without the zionist scum running the western powers this would be a more peaceful world.hs