Lebanon

As the Israeli offensive in Gaza continues, and the offensive against Lebanon intensifies, the world now turns to the crisis in Lebanon, where the civilian death toll is growing at an alarming rate. This issue should be on the forefront of the minds of all who value human life and those who value peace and prosperity. Or so one would hope.

Americans are being wholeheartedly kept in the dark about the realities of the situation by the news media.

To give just a few examples, lets first turn to CNN. Their latest report begins with the following paragraph reminding readers that Israel is meant to be the victim in this situation, not the dead civilians of Lebanon or Palestine. Their constant (incorrect) assertions that Hizballah are responsible for the violence, and that Israel is merely defending itself, is more than evident in every report.

Fighting continued Monday, with Israeli bombings of Beirut's port, an army barracks and the capital's southern suburbs, following Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern cities in Israel Sunday that left at least eight people dead.

ABC News in America also starts their latest report in a similar way, reitherating that Israel's actions are "self defence" by stressing that they were conducted "in response to deadly attacks" by Hizballah. They also, while mentioning the 8 Israeli deaths, neglect to mention the 40 Lebanese deaths.

BEIRUT, Lebanon Jul 17, 2006 (AP)— Hezbollah and Israel traded fierce barrages for a sixth day Monday, as the latest eruption of warfare in the Middle East showed no sign of easing. Rockets struck deep inside Israel a day earlier, killing eight people in Haifa, and Israeli planes bombed Lebanon from north to south.

CBS news makes no mention of casualties, and NBC news states that "the [death] toll on both sides rose to more than 200," while making no mention of the fact that only about 5% of those casualties were Israeli, the other 95% were civilian victims of the Israeli offensive.

As the American Media is going out of its way to convince the public that Israel are the "good guys" in this situation, simultaneously nearly every government in the world is drawing up evacuation plans to get their citizens out of Lebanon (if only the Lebanese could do the same).

Do Americans not see the disconnect when they have convinced themselves that the Lebanese are the enemy, and that Hizballah is to blame, but yet the governments of Britain, Australia, New Zealand, America, Canada, Sweden, France, Italy, Belgium, Spain, and every other country that has citizens in Lebanon, are all either evacuating their citizens or getting ready to evacuate them.

I think that most people who have the ability to use a computer also have the mental capability to understand that in a war between Israel and Lebanon, Israel would attack Lebanon and Lebanon would attack Israel. Do they not wonder why its Lebanon being evacuated if the good guy is Israel?

Israel has killed 163 people in Lebanon since their invasion, all but 13 were civilians, and 9 of those non-civilians were Lebanese Soldiers. So, in Israels strategy of "precision bombings" to "punish Hezbollah" they have killed 4 Hezbollah militants... and in the process slaughtered 150 civilians.

Meanwhile, the Asia Times reports claims made by those responsible for the Israeli soldiers' abduction that they were in fact in Lebanese territory at the time, which would negate the "act of war" arguments basis in the fact that it occured in the legal territory of Israel.

They claim that the Arabs tried to talk peace with the Israelis after the Palestinians signed a peace agreement with Israel in 1993, and ended up with nothing. They say that war is correct, justified morally, politically and religiously.

To them, it is legitimate self-defense. They back this argument by saying that Israel still controls the Sheba Farms, which are part of Lebanon, and still has Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails. Also, they add that the Israeli tank destroyed by Hezbollah, and the soldiers captured and killed on July 12, had trespassed into Lebanon's side of the border with Israel.

The Associated Press has also asserted that the "U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called Monday for the deployment of international forces to stop the bombardment of Israel," based strictly on a quote attributed to Tony Blair claiming that as the UN's stance on the issue.

However, the UN News Center has a different view on the matter, one more in line with comments attributed directly to Annan calling on Israel to "abide by international law and spare civilian lives and infrastructure." From the UN News center:

UN team leader in Lebanon 'as an act of solidarity with the people'

Vijay K. Nambiar
16 July 2006 – The head of a three-member United Nations team dispatched to the Middle East in response to the unfolding crisis there arrived today in Beirut as an “act of solidarity” with the Lebanese people bearing a call from Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the protection of civilians, support for Lebanon's Government and the release of all those held captive.


“I have come to Lebanon as the head of this United Nations mission as an act of solidarity with the people of this country and the region, who have suffered untold misery as a result of this escalating conflict,” Vijay Nambiar told reporters following a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.


As efforts to defuse the crisis continue, he stressed three major points: “My first call is for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, which must be respected by all parties,” he said.


“Enough innocent people have been killed. No more innocent life must be lost.”


Secondly, he emphasized that the UN supports the Lebanese Government and Prime Minister. “We support the call for a ceasefire and their aim of exercising full authority over the entire country.”


Mr. Nambiar's third point centred on “the release of the captives as part of a solution to this conflict.”


The head of the three-member delegation, which includes also Alvaro de Soto and Terje Roed-Larsen, concluded his opening statement with a direct pledge to Mr. Siniora: “Mr. Prime Minister, we are with you and the people of this country and region at a time of grave crisis,” Mr. Nambiar declared. “We plan to meet further with you.”


After that meeting, the team met with the Speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berri. Mr. Nambiar told reporters after that the meeting had been “extremely productive” and that team members looked forward to working with Mr. Berri.


“We hope he will play an important role in resolving the escalating conflict and in defusing the crisis,” Mr. Nambiar said.

While the Palestinian President has recently called upon "concerned international powers for an immediate intervention," Israel's Ehud Olmert has made it clear that he is opposed to International Forces in Lebanon.

Why is that, one might ask themselves. Could it be that the situation is so damning for Israel that for international forces to arrive would be to shed too much light on the intolerable situation? A situation bad enough wherein the notoriously conservative Ha'aretz Daily from Israel has published an op-ed condemning Israel's actions, comparing its policies to that of a neighborhood bully? The same reasons why "Attention Deficit Americans are being misled to war"?

Maybe it is because certain powers that be don't want the world to know the effects that Israel is having on the Lebanese people, much the same as its effects on the people of Palestine.
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Israel in Lebanon
In Pictures.
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The Images for this report were provided to the world with the help of UrukNet and Angry Angry Arab, the words were provided by international news agencies and Misneach.
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Unclaimed Territory - by Glenn Greenwald: Is Israel's war also "our war"?.

A very significant development is occurring in how neoconservatives are discussing America's responsibilities in the Middle East: they are now expressly advocating, far more openly than ever before, that Israel's enemies are America's enemies, and that the war which Israel is now fighting is also America's war -- one in which America should immediately intervene. I will write my own reactions to this view later, but for now, I want to simply document the emergence of this argument in very influential circles.