I'm wondering how the hell you go under arms
and become a "peacekeeper" for the UN in
South Lebanon.
Do you shoot Hezbollah guys if they fire rockets
into Isreal? Do you try to disarm them?...and if
they resist...shoot 'em?
Or do you just turn your head and drink coffee
and write letters. I don't get it...anyone know
what their charge is?
What if Hez scoots a launcher next to their pos
and fires a volley trying to get IDF bombs to rain
down...who's right then? Man, I don't want no
light blue helmet...not me.
Full Version: Who wants to be a "Peacekeeper"?
Common Ground Common Sense > Issues that Affect Our Lives > U.S. Military Issues > U.S. Military Issues Archive
QUOTE(Indianhead @ Aug 16 2006, 05:15 PM)
I'm wondering how the hell you go under arms
and become a "peacekeeper" for the UN in
South Lebanon.
Do you shoot Hezbollah guys if they fire rockets
into Isreal? Do you try to disarm them?...and if
they resist...shoot 'em?
Or do you just turn your head and drink coffee
and write letters. I don't get it...anyone know
what their charge is?
What if Hez scoots a launcher next to their pos
and fires a volley trying to get IDF bombs to rain
down...who's right then? Man, I don't want no
light blue helmet...not me.
and become a "peacekeeper" for the UN in
South Lebanon.
Do you shoot Hezbollah guys if they fire rockets
into Isreal? Do you try to disarm them?...and if
they resist...shoot 'em?
Or do you just turn your head and drink coffee
and write letters. I don't get it...anyone know
what their charge is?
What if Hez scoots a launcher next to their pos
and fires a volley trying to get IDF bombs to rain
down...who's right then? Man, I don't want no
light blue helmet...not me.
What? You don't like wearing a uniform with a lovely Bulls-Eye design all over it? It looks "sheik", and you'll be sought after by everyone concerned. The resultant exercise will keep you trim.
What's not to like?
http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/pr031.pdf
UNITED NATIONS INTERIM FORCE IN LEBANON
(UNIFIL)
Naqoura,
16 August 2006
PRESS RELEASE
UNIFIL continued intensive patrolling during the night and this
morning throughout its area of operation to assess the situation on the
ground and to monitor the cessation of hostilities. UNIFIL has also resumed
air patrols over the area along the Blue Line.
The cessation of hostilities was generally maintained in the past 24 hours,
with three incidents reported.
An exchange of fire took place between the IDF and Hezbollah in the area of
Haddathah in the central sector yesterday afternoon. UNIFIL patrols,
which were on the spot shortly after, observed four dead bodies of Hezbollah
members which were later taken away in an ambulance.
In another incident last night, an IDF tank positioned on the Israeli side fired
one round across the Blue Line into Lebanese territory towards the village of
Markaba in the central sector. There was no response from the other side
and the situation in the area remains calm.
Yesterday afternoon, an Israeli aircraft violated Lebanese airspace in the
eastern sector.
The IDF has maintained their presence inside Lebanese territory in several
areas. There were no attempts to occupy any additional territory. The IDF
withdrew a number of tanks and armored bulldozers from Lebanese territory
in the past 24 hours.
UNIFIL continued contacts with both the Lebanese Army and the Israeli Army
with a view to facilitating an early withdrawal of the Israeli Army and the
deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces in the south.
UNIFIL Force Commander met with the senior representatives of the
Lebanese Army and the Israeli Army this morning inside the UNIFIL position
at the border crossing at Ras Naqoura, to discuss and coordinate the process
of the Israeli withdrawal and subsequent deployment of the Lebanese Army
in specific areas in the south.
UNIFIL made additional assessments of the damage to the civilian
infrastructure in its area of operation. In the village of Ghanduriyah 80% of
the civilian houses have been destroyed, 60% in the village of Zibqin, 50% in
Jabal al Butm and Bayyadah, 30% in Bayt Leif, and 25% in Kafra. Two
unexploded cluster bombs were observed in the village of Hinniyah and one
unexploded aerial bomb in Jabal al Butm.
UNIFIL de-mining team from the Chinese contingent continued operations to
clear unexploded ordnance from the area. UNIFIL has been providing medical
assistance and water to a number of local villages in its area of operations,
and distributed food, provided by the French government, to the villages of
Hinniyah, Zibqin, Bint Jubayl, Kafra and Bayt Leif.
UNITED NATIONS INTERIM FORCE IN LEBANON
(UNIFIL)
Naqoura,
16 August 2006
PRESS RELEASE
UNIFIL continued intensive patrolling during the night and this
morning throughout its area of operation to assess the situation on the
ground and to monitor the cessation of hostilities. UNIFIL has also resumed
air patrols over the area along the Blue Line.
The cessation of hostilities was generally maintained in the past 24 hours,
with three incidents reported.
An exchange of fire took place between the IDF and Hezbollah in the area of
Haddathah in the central sector yesterday afternoon. UNIFIL patrols,
which were on the spot shortly after, observed four dead bodies of Hezbollah
members which were later taken away in an ambulance.
In another incident last night, an IDF tank positioned on the Israeli side fired
one round across the Blue Line into Lebanese territory towards the village of
Markaba in the central sector. There was no response from the other side
and the situation in the area remains calm.
Yesterday afternoon, an Israeli aircraft violated Lebanese airspace in the
eastern sector.
The IDF has maintained their presence inside Lebanese territory in several
areas. There were no attempts to occupy any additional territory. The IDF
withdrew a number of tanks and armored bulldozers from Lebanese territory
in the past 24 hours.
UNIFIL continued contacts with both the Lebanese Army and the Israeli Army
with a view to facilitating an early withdrawal of the Israeli Army and the
deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces in the south.
UNIFIL Force Commander met with the senior representatives of the
Lebanese Army and the Israeli Army this morning inside the UNIFIL position
at the border crossing at Ras Naqoura, to discuss and coordinate the process
of the Israeli withdrawal and subsequent deployment of the Lebanese Army
in specific areas in the south.
UNIFIL made additional assessments of the damage to the civilian
infrastructure in its area of operation. In the village of Ghanduriyah 80% of
the civilian houses have been destroyed, 60% in the village of Zibqin, 50% in
Jabal al Butm and Bayyadah, 30% in Bayt Leif, and 25% in Kafra. Two
unexploded cluster bombs were observed in the village of Hinniyah and one
unexploded aerial bomb in Jabal al Butm.
UNIFIL de-mining team from the Chinese contingent continued operations to
clear unexploded ordnance from the area. UNIFIL has been providing medical
assistance and water to a number of local villages in its area of operations,
and distributed food, provided by the French government, to the villages of
Hinniyah, Zibqin, Bint Jubayl, Kafra and Bayt Leif.
BBC NEWS 8/16 EXCERPT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4800437.stm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4800185.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4800437.stm
QUOTE
After several days of delay under mounting international pressure, the Lebanese cabinet approved a plan to deploy 15,000 troops to the south.
It is a historic step for the Lebanese army and a key element of the UN ceasefire process, the BBC's Nick Childs reports from Beirut.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the army deployment was to defend the country and that no weapons would be allowed outside the authority of the Lebanese state.
But precisely what that means for the Hezbollah presence in south Lebanon and its weaponry - whether they merely have to stay out of sight - remains ambiguous, our correspondent says.
French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie has confirmed that France is ready to lead an expanded UN force in Lebanon but only with a clear mandate and sufficient resources.
It seems that these have yet to be finalised, our correspondent says.
Mandate questions
Unifil is already under French command and Ms Alliot-Marie confirmed that France would continue to lead it once it grew in strength.
But she refused to be drawn on the number of French troops that would be sent.
"Today, it's not 'How many troops and when?', it's 'To do what and how?'" she said on French TV.
She added that only once a clear mandate had been established would it be clear which other countries would join the larger force.
The UN has been counting on France to provide the backbone of the expanded force and hoping that at least 3,000 troops could be on the ground within two weeks, the BBC's Alasdair Sandford reports from Paris.
During a visit to Beirut, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, said that President Jacques Chirac would decide such matters in his own time.
It is a historic step for the Lebanese army and a key element of the UN ceasefire process, the BBC's Nick Childs reports from Beirut.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the army deployment was to defend the country and that no weapons would be allowed outside the authority of the Lebanese state.
But precisely what that means for the Hezbollah presence in south Lebanon and its weaponry - whether they merely have to stay out of sight - remains ambiguous, our correspondent says.
French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie has confirmed that France is ready to lead an expanded UN force in Lebanon but only with a clear mandate and sufficient resources.
It seems that these have yet to be finalised, our correspondent says.
Mandate questions
Unifil is already under French command and Ms Alliot-Marie confirmed that France would continue to lead it once it grew in strength.
But she refused to be drawn on the number of French troops that would be sent.
"Today, it's not 'How many troops and when?', it's 'To do what and how?'" she said on French TV.
She added that only once a clear mandate had been established would it be clear which other countries would join the larger force.
The UN has been counting on France to provide the backbone of the expanded force and hoping that at least 3,000 troops could be on the ground within two weeks, the BBC's Alasdair Sandford reports from Paris.
During a visit to Beirut, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, said that President Jacques Chirac would decide such matters in his own time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4800185.stm
QUOTE
Memories of 1983
French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie voiced concern about deploying troops without clearly defined goals.
"France wants the mission's rules of engagement to be clear and it to have real means," she told French TV.
"Sadly, all too often, the United Nations forces don't have the power that they asked for."
The main political parties share such reservations.
Jacques Myard, an MP in France's governing UMP party and a member of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told the BBC the last UN resolution did not make it clear how France can act.
"I know that a lot of military, high-ranking officials in France are reluctant if this mandate is not very precise," he said.
The opposition socialists have also warned that "extreme vigilance" is needed, saying the UN resolution does nothing to address the conditions necessary for a political agreement that would guarantee the security of peacekeeping forces.
Above all, France wants to avoid a situation where its own soldiers find themselves having to disarm Hezbollah fighters.
In 1983, 58 French parachutists were killed in Beirut when the building in which they were staying was blown up. They too had been part of a multinational peacekeeping force.
France has been trying to obtain guarantees from the Lebanese government, Hezbollah and Israel. It does not want its troops to be powerless observers.
But nor does it want to get dragged into taking part in a dangerous and potentially disastrous conflict.
French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie voiced concern about deploying troops without clearly defined goals.
"France wants the mission's rules of engagement to be clear and it to have real means," she told French TV.
"Sadly, all too often, the United Nations forces don't have the power that they asked for."
The main political parties share such reservations.
Jacques Myard, an MP in France's governing UMP party and a member of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told the BBC the last UN resolution did not make it clear how France can act.
"I know that a lot of military, high-ranking officials in France are reluctant if this mandate is not very precise," he said.
The opposition socialists have also warned that "extreme vigilance" is needed, saying the UN resolution does nothing to address the conditions necessary for a political agreement that would guarantee the security of peacekeeping forces.
Above all, France wants to avoid a situation where its own soldiers find themselves having to disarm Hezbollah fighters.
In 1983, 58 French parachutists were killed in Beirut when the building in which they were staying was blown up. They too had been part of a multinational peacekeeping force.
France has been trying to obtain guarantees from the Lebanese government, Hezbollah and Israel. It does not want its troops to be powerless observers.
But nor does it want to get dragged into taking part in a dangerous and potentially disastrous conflict.
http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/mandate.html
Lebanon - UNIFIL - Mandate
According to Security Council resolutions 425 (1978) and 426 (1978) of 19 March 1978, UNIFIL was established to:
Confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon;
Restore international peace and security;
Assist the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area.
According to Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) of 11 August 2006, UNIFIL, in addition to carrying out its mandate under resolutions 425 and 426, shall:
Monitor the cessation of hostilities;
Accompany and support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy throughout the South, including along the Blue Line, as Israel withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon;
Coordinate its activities referred to in the preceding paragraph (above) with the Government of Lebanon and the Government of Israel;
Extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons;
Assist the Lebanese armed forces in taking steps towards the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL deployed in this area;
Assist the Government of Lebanon, at its request, in securing its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry in Lebanon without its consent of arms or related materiel.
By this resolution, the Council also authorized UNIFIL to take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind; to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its duties under the mandate of the Security Council; and to protect United Nations personnel, facilities, installations and equipment, ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations personnel, humanitarian workers and, without prejudice to the responsibility of the Government of Lebanon, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.
According to Security Council resolutions 425 (1978) and 426 (1978) of 19 March 1978, UNIFIL was established to:
Confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon;
Restore international peace and security;
Assist the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area.
According to Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) of 11 August 2006, UNIFIL, in addition to carrying out its mandate under resolutions 425 and 426, shall:
Monitor the cessation of hostilities;
Accompany and support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy throughout the South, including along the Blue Line, as Israel withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon;
Coordinate its activities referred to in the preceding paragraph (above) with the Government of Lebanon and the Government of Israel;
Extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons;
Assist the Lebanese armed forces in taking steps towards the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL deployed in this area;
Assist the Government of Lebanon, at its request, in securing its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry in Lebanon without its consent of arms or related materiel.
By this resolution, the Council also authorized UNIFIL to take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind; to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its duties under the mandate of the Security Council; and to protect United Nations personnel, facilities, installations and equipment, ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations personnel, humanitarian workers and, without prejudice to the responsibility of the Government of Lebanon, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.
Lebanon - UNIFIL - Mandate
According to Security Council resolutions 425 (1978) and 426 (1978) of 19 March 1978, UNIFIL was established to:
Confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon;
Restore international peace and security;
Assist the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area.
According to Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) of 11 August 2006, UNIFIL, in addition to carrying out its mandate under resolutions 425 and 426, shall:
Monitor the cessation of hostilities;
Accompany and support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy throughout the South, including along the Blue Line, as Israel withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon;
Coordinate its activities referred to in the preceding paragraph (above) with the Government of Lebanon and the Government of Israel;
Extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons;
Assist the Lebanese armed forces in taking steps towards the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL deployed in this area;
Assist the Government of Lebanon, at its request, in securing its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry in Lebanon without its consent of arms or related materiel.
By this resolution, the Council also authorized UNIFIL to take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind; to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its duties under the mandate of the Security Council; and to protect United Nations personnel, facilities, installations and equipment, ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations personnel, humanitarian workers and, without prejudice to the responsibility of the Government of Lebanon, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.
According to Security Council resolutions 425 (1978) and 426 (1978) of 19 March 1978, UNIFIL was established to:
Confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon;
Restore international peace and security;
Assist the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area.
According to Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) of 11 August 2006, UNIFIL, in addition to carrying out its mandate under resolutions 425 and 426, shall:
Monitor the cessation of hostilities;
Accompany and support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy throughout the South, including along the Blue Line, as Israel withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon;
Coordinate its activities referred to in the preceding paragraph (above) with the Government of Lebanon and the Government of Israel;
Extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons;
Assist the Lebanese armed forces in taking steps towards the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL deployed in this area;
Assist the Government of Lebanon, at its request, in securing its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry in Lebanon without its consent of arms or related materiel.
By this resolution, the Council also authorized UNIFIL to take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind; to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its duties under the mandate of the Security Council; and to protect United Nations personnel, facilities, installations and equipment, ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations personnel, humanitarian workers and, without prejudice to the responsibility of the Government of Lebanon, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.
QUOTE(Pie @ Aug 16 2006, 07:24 PM)
http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/pr031.pdf
UNITED NATIONS INTERIM FORCE IN LEBANON
(UNIFIL)
Naqoura,
16 August 2006
PRESS RELEASE
UNIFIL continued intensive patrolling during the night and this
morning throughout its area of operation to assess the situation on the
ground and to monitor the cessation of hostilities. UNIFIL has also resumed
air patrols over the area along the Blue Line.
The cessation of hostilities was generally maintained in the past 24 hours,
with three incidents reported.
An exchange of fire took place between the IDF and Hezbollah in the area of
Haddathah in the central sector yesterday afternoon. UNIFIL patrols,
which were on the spot shortly after, observed four dead bodies of Hezbollah
members which were later taken away in an ambulance.
In another incident last night, an IDF tank positioned on the Israeli side fired
one round across the Blue Line into Lebanese territory towards the village of
Markaba in the central sector. There was no response from the other side
and the situation in the area remains calm.
Yesterday afternoon, an Israeli aircraft violated Lebanese airspace in the
eastern sector.
The IDF has maintained their presence inside Lebanese territory in several
areas. There were no attempts to occupy any additional territory. The IDF
withdrew a number of tanks and armored bulldozers from Lebanese territory
in the past 24 hours.
UNIFIL continued contacts with both the Lebanese Army and the Israeli Army
with a view to facilitating an early withdrawal of the Israeli Army and the
deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces in the south.
UNIFIL Force Commander met with the senior representatives of the
Lebanese Army and the Israeli Army this morning inside the UNIFIL position
at the border crossing at Ras Naqoura, to discuss and coordinate the process
of the Israeli withdrawal and subsequent deployment of the Lebanese Army
in specific areas in the south.
UNIFIL made additional assessments of the damage to the civilian
infrastructure in its area of operation. In the village of Ghanduriyah 80% of
the civilian houses have been destroyed, 60% in the village of Zibqin, 50% in
Jabal al Butm and Bayyadah, 30% in Bayt Leif, and 25% in Kafra. Two
unexploded cluster bombs were observed in the village of Hinniyah and one
unexploded aerial bomb in Jabal al Butm.
UNIFIL de-mining team from the Chinese contingent continued operations to
clear unexploded ordnance from the area. UNIFIL has been providing medical
assistance and water to a number of local villages in its area of operations,
and distributed food, provided by the French government, to the villages of
Hinniyah, Zibqin, Bint Jubayl, Kafra and Bayt Leif.
UNITED NATIONS INTERIM FORCE IN LEBANON
(UNIFIL)
Naqoura,
16 August 2006
PRESS RELEASE
UNIFIL continued intensive patrolling during the night and this
morning throughout its area of operation to assess the situation on the
ground and to monitor the cessation of hostilities. UNIFIL has also resumed
air patrols over the area along the Blue Line.
The cessation of hostilities was generally maintained in the past 24 hours,
with three incidents reported.
An exchange of fire took place between the IDF and Hezbollah in the area of
Haddathah in the central sector yesterday afternoon. UNIFIL patrols,
which were on the spot shortly after, observed four dead bodies of Hezbollah
members which were later taken away in an ambulance.
In another incident last night, an IDF tank positioned on the Israeli side fired
one round across the Blue Line into Lebanese territory towards the village of
Markaba in the central sector. There was no response from the other side
and the situation in the area remains calm.
Yesterday afternoon, an Israeli aircraft violated Lebanese airspace in the
eastern sector.
The IDF has maintained their presence inside Lebanese territory in several
areas. There were no attempts to occupy any additional territory. The IDF
withdrew a number of tanks and armored bulldozers from Lebanese territory
in the past 24 hours.
UNIFIL continued contacts with both the Lebanese Army and the Israeli Army
with a view to facilitating an early withdrawal of the Israeli Army and the
deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces in the south.
UNIFIL Force Commander met with the senior representatives of the
Lebanese Army and the Israeli Army this morning inside the UNIFIL position
at the border crossing at Ras Naqoura, to discuss and coordinate the process
of the Israeli withdrawal and subsequent deployment of the Lebanese Army
in specific areas in the south.
UNIFIL made additional assessments of the damage to the civilian
infrastructure in its area of operation. In the village of Ghanduriyah 80% of
the civilian houses have been destroyed, 60% in the village of Zibqin, 50% in
Jabal al Butm and Bayyadah, 30% in Bayt Leif, and 25% in Kafra. Two
unexploded cluster bombs were observed in the village of Hinniyah and one
unexploded aerial bomb in Jabal al Butm.
UNIFIL de-mining team from the Chinese contingent continued operations to
clear unexploded ordnance from the area. UNIFIL has been providing medical
assistance and water to a number of local villages in its area of operations,
and distributed food, provided by the French government, to the villages of
Hinniyah, Zibqin, Bint Jubayl, Kafra and Bayt Leif.
Man, they got more patience and diplomacy than most
the key players here! I just don't know that I could have
such under arms. I guess I don't have what it takes...I
remember that old cartoon...two vultures sitting on a limb
and one saying to the other: "Patience hell, I'm gonna kill something."
To put it lightly, it is a heck of position to be in, I agree.
QUOTE(Pie @ Aug 16 2006, 07:28 PM)
http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/mandate.html
Lebanon - UNIFIL - Mandate
According to Security Council resolutions 425 (1978) and 426 (1978) of 19 March 1978, UNIFIL was established to:
Confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon;
Restore international peace and security;
Assist the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area.
According to Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) of 11 August 2006, UNIFIL, in addition to carrying out its mandate under resolutions 425 and 426, shall:
Monitor the cessation of hostilities;
Accompany and support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy throughout the South, including along the Blue Line, as Israel withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon;
Coordinate its activities referred to in the preceding paragraph (above) with the Government of Lebanon and the Government of Israel;
Extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons;
Assist the Lebanese armed forces in taking steps towards the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL deployed in this area;
Assist the Government of Lebanon, at its request, in securing its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry in Lebanon without its consent of arms or related materiel.
By this resolution, the Council also authorized UNIFIL to take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind; to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its duties under the mandate of the Security Council; and to protect United Nations personnel, facilities, installations and equipment, ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations personnel, humanitarian workers and, without prejudice to the responsibility of the Government of Lebanon, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.
According to Security Council resolutions 425 (1978) and 426 (1978) of 19 March 1978, UNIFIL was established to:
Confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon;
Restore international peace and security;
Assist the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area.
According to Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) of 11 August 2006, UNIFIL, in addition to carrying out its mandate under resolutions 425 and 426, shall:
Monitor the cessation of hostilities;
Accompany and support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy throughout the South, including along the Blue Line, as Israel withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon;
Coordinate its activities referred to in the preceding paragraph (above) with the Government of Lebanon and the Government of Israel;
Extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons;
Assist the Lebanese armed forces in taking steps towards the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL deployed in this area;
Assist the Government of Lebanon, at its request, in securing its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry in Lebanon without its consent of arms or related materiel.
By this resolution, the Council also authorized UNIFIL to take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind; to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its duties under the mandate of the Security Council; and to protect United Nations personnel, facilities, installations and equipment, ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations personnel, humanitarian workers and, without prejudice to the responsibility of the Government of Lebanon, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.
Lebanon - UNIFIL - Mandate
According to Security Council resolutions 425 (1978) and 426 (1978) of 19 March 1978, UNIFIL was established to:
Confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon;
Restore international peace and security;
Assist the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area.
According to Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) of 11 August 2006, UNIFIL, in addition to carrying out its mandate under resolutions 425 and 426, shall:
Monitor the cessation of hostilities;
Accompany and support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy throughout the South, including along the Blue Line, as Israel withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon;
Coordinate its activities referred to in the preceding paragraph (above) with the Government of Lebanon and the Government of Israel;
Extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons;
Assist the Lebanese armed forces in taking steps towards the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL deployed in this area;
Assist the Government of Lebanon, at its request, in securing its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry in Lebanon without its consent of arms or related materiel.
By this resolution, the Council also authorized UNIFIL to take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind; to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its duties under the mandate of the Security Council; and to protect United Nations personnel, facilities, installations and equipment, ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations personnel, humanitarian workers and, without prejudice to the responsibility of the Government of Lebanon, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.
According to Security Council resolutions 425 (1978) and 426 (1978) of 19 March 1978, UNIFIL was established to:
Confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon;
Restore international peace and security;
Assist the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area.
According to Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) of 11 August 2006, UNIFIL, in addition to carrying out its mandate under resolutions 425 and 426, shall:
Monitor the cessation of hostilities;
Accompany and support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy throughout the South, including along the Blue Line, as Israel withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon;
Coordinate its activities referred to in the preceding paragraph (above) with the Government of Lebanon and the Government of Israel;
Extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons;
Assist the Lebanese armed forces in taking steps towards the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL deployed in this area;
Assist the Government of Lebanon, at its request, in securing its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry in Lebanon without its consent of arms or related materiel.
By this resolution, the Council also authorized UNIFIL to take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind; to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its duties under the mandate of the Security Council; and to protect United Nations personnel, facilities, installations and equipment, ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations personnel, humanitarian workers and, without prejudice to the responsibility of the Government of Lebanon, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.
But what are the Rules of Engagement?
When do you shoot? I'm too dumb for a blue bonnet.
I guess I've gotta admire their guts...who do they answer to? The
Security Council? The Membership as a whole? Who are the COs?
I agree the mission is honorable...but man o' man...
The game is this: Hezbollah has agreed to lay low, but not disarm.
They are now focused on exploiting their massive political gains, rather than sparking another conflict. You have to understand the political as well as military objectives of The Party of God.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...1501413_pf.html
The Lebanese Army contains many Shia and is not at all anti-Hezbollah, to say the least. They will not be doing any forced disarming any time soon:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/l...2876,full.story
They are now focused on exploiting their massive political gains, rather than sparking another conflict. You have to understand the political as well as military objectives of The Party of God.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...1501413_pf.html
QUOTE
A day after a cease-fire quieted the guns in Lebanon, Hezbollah opened another front in its struggle: rebuilding its state within a state in the poor southern suburbs of Beirut and the tattered villages of southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley. Hundreds of activists fanned out across the country; in Khiam, at times, they outnumbered the residents. Acting on the orders of Hasan Nasrallah, the group's secretary general, they began clearing rubble, pulling bodies from collapsed homes, cataloguing damage house by house, securing truckloads of food and water, and preparing to provide tens of millions of dollars in compensation.
"We're waiting for Hezbollah to undo all this destruction," said Hussein Kalash, a fighter in Khiam for another Shiite movement, Amal. "Sayyid Hasan said he would compensate the people, so we're waiting to see his promises come true," he said, referring to Nasrallah with a religious honorific.
"We shared in the war," he added, "but now they have to pay for the peace."
More than simple reconstruction, the task before Hezbollah could decide the shape of postwar Lebanon. Nasrallah's order Monday to begin rebuilding -- without government coordination or approval -- poses one of the biggest tests for Lebanon's already weak government, which in the aftermath of the war has pledged to exercise its uncontested control all the way to the Israeli border. In just a day, the question has become: Can both the Lebanese state and Hezbollah wield authority in Lebanon?
"We're waiting for Hezbollah to undo all this destruction," said Hussein Kalash, a fighter in Khiam for another Shiite movement, Amal. "Sayyid Hasan said he would compensate the people, so we're waiting to see his promises come true," he said, referring to Nasrallah with a religious honorific.
"We shared in the war," he added, "but now they have to pay for the peace."
More than simple reconstruction, the task before Hezbollah could decide the shape of postwar Lebanon. Nasrallah's order Monday to begin rebuilding -- without government coordination or approval -- poses one of the biggest tests for Lebanon's already weak government, which in the aftermath of the war has pledged to exercise its uncontested control all the way to the Israeli border. In just a day, the question has become: Can both the Lebanese state and Hezbollah wield authority in Lebanon?
QUOTE
Hezbollah has long had a reputation inside Lebanon as one of the country's most efficient organizations, sometimes outstripping the government's meager capacity in the poorer areas like southern Lebanon. Into the 1970s, some of the villagers here had no roads, hospitals or schools.
In that environment, Hezbollah distinguished itself as a social organization by its lack of corruption, ability to mobilize its people and success in fulfilling its promises. After the last Israeli campaign in 1996, Hezbollah said it repaired 5,000 Lebanese homes, rebuilt roads and provided compensation to 2,300 farmers. After the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, ending an 18-year occupation, its teams sprayed insecticides in 35 villages and dispatched veterinarians to check on cattle.
In that environment, Hezbollah distinguished itself as a social organization by its lack of corruption, ability to mobilize its people and success in fulfilling its promises. After the last Israeli campaign in 1996, Hezbollah said it repaired 5,000 Lebanese homes, rebuilt roads and provided compensation to 2,300 farmers. After the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, ending an 18-year occupation, its teams sprayed insecticides in 35 villages and dispatched veterinarians to check on cattle.
The Lebanese Army contains many Shia and is not at all anti-Hezbollah, to say the least. They will not be doing any forced disarming any time soon:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/l...2876,full.story
QUOTE
"Hezbollah, of course, has got a fantastic propaganda machine, and they're claiming victories," Bush said. "But how can you claim victory when, at one time, you were a state within a state, safe within southern Lebanon, and now you're going to be replaced by a Lebanese army and an international force?"
But even the anticipated deployment of 15,000 Lebanese and 15,000 international troops won't necessarily drive Hezbollah's militia from the southern borderlands.
Many analysts believe the Lebanese army is more likely to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with Hezbollah than to shut it down. Foreign troops are no novelty, either — the militia was founded and flourished under Israeli occupation and amid international observer forces and is deeply rooted in the civilian population of the southern towns and villages.
Before the war erupted in mid-July, Hezbollah representatives had agreed to participate in national negotiations about disarmament.
Even then few analysts put much stock in the notion that the guerrillas would voluntarily lay aside their guns. Nevertheless, the fact that the powerful organization agreed to talk about its weapons was taken as a sign that Hezbollah sensed it had to compromise with domestic critics of its militia.
Not so now.
But even the anticipated deployment of 15,000 Lebanese and 15,000 international troops won't necessarily drive Hezbollah's militia from the southern borderlands.
Many analysts believe the Lebanese army is more likely to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with Hezbollah than to shut it down. Foreign troops are no novelty, either — the militia was founded and flourished under Israeli occupation and amid international observer forces and is deeply rooted in the civilian population of the southern towns and villages.
Before the war erupted in mid-July, Hezbollah representatives had agreed to participate in national negotiations about disarmament.
Even then few analysts put much stock in the notion that the guerrillas would voluntarily lay aside their guns. Nevertheless, the fact that the powerful organization agreed to talk about its weapons was taken as a sign that Hezbollah sensed it had to compromise with domestic critics of its militia.
Not so now.
Turkey has agreed to lead and their stated goal is to be THE power in the region. ROE? Shoot anything and justify it later. Will it work? YEP! Look at the history of the region. Is it right? NOPE! It should be a truly neutral force, but WimpChimp is calling the shots.
Just food for thought:
Why can't the Lebanese army incorporate the Hezbollah army into its ranks by forming a "Southern Brigrade" or something similar? That should add 3000 to 5000 to its forces, and it'll disarm Hezbollah at the same time. The Lebanese Army will take over control of the armaments.
After the Civil War, Indianhead?, wasn't a pledge required by Southerners? Wasn't there an amnesty for Confederate soldiers? Didn't some Confederate soldiers then join the Union Army and go West to "defeat" the Indian tribes?
Nasrallah could be appointed national head of the reconstruction effort, which should take up about 24 hrs per day of his time. It appears that his organization is so far not corrupt so maybe it would make good use of his talents.
Simplification: make use of the most intelligent and talented in the country and point them in the direction of peace and rebuilding, rather than making war.
PS: Hi, Tomhye........missed ya!
Why can't the Lebanese army incorporate the Hezbollah army into its ranks by forming a "Southern Brigrade" or something similar? That should add 3000 to 5000 to its forces, and it'll disarm Hezbollah at the same time. The Lebanese Army will take over control of the armaments.
After the Civil War, Indianhead?, wasn't a pledge required by Southerners? Wasn't there an amnesty for Confederate soldiers? Didn't some Confederate soldiers then join the Union Army and go West to "defeat" the Indian tribes?
Nasrallah could be appointed national head of the reconstruction effort, which should take up about 24 hrs per day of his time. It appears that his organization is so far not corrupt so maybe it would make good use of his talents.
Simplification: make use of the most intelligent and talented in the country and point them in the direction of peace and rebuilding, rather than making war.
PS: Hi, Tomhye........missed ya!
UN Peace keepers = A big paper tiger. It looks to me like everyone, Isreal and the Lebanonese are getting played by Hezbollah.
Everytime you visit the pump you fund these guys..
As far as Nasralleh being appointed head of anything short of his own tombstone I'd be more then leary, that guy is up to no good.
Everytime you visit the pump you fund these guys..
As far as Nasralleh being appointed head of anything short of his own tombstone I'd be more then leary, that guy is up to no good.
Carlson, Randall A. ....... USA .... MAJ .... 09/25/1982 .. CT .. Trumbull, CT
Reagan, David L. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 09/30/1982 .. VA .. Virginia Beach, VA
Maxwell, Ben H. ........... USA .... SSGT ... 04/18/1983 .. VA .. Appomattox, VA
McMaugh, Robert V. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 04/18/1983 .. VA .. Manassas, VA
Salazar, Mark E. .......... USA .... SSGT ... 04/18/1983 .. CA .. Pasadena, CA
Twine, Richard ............ USA .... SFC .... 04/18/1983 .. UK .. Salop, UK
Losey, Donald George ...... USMC ... 2LT .... 08/29/1983 .. NC .. Winston Salem, NC
Ortega, Alexander M. ...... USMC ... SSGT ... 08/29/1983 .. NY .. Rochester, NY
Clark, Randy W. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 09/06/1983 .. WI .. Minong, WI
Valle, Pedro J. ........... USMC ... CPL .... 09/06/1983 .. RP .. San Juan, RP
Soifert, Alan H. .......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/14/1983 .. NH .. Nashua, NH
Ohler, Michael J. ......... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/16/1983 .. NY .. Huntington, NY
Abbott, Terry W. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. New Richmond, OH
Alexander, Clemon S. ...... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Monticello, FL
Allman, John R. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NM .. Carlsbad ... NM
Arnold, Moses J. Jr. ...... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
Bailey, Charles K. ........ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Berlin, MD
Baker, Nicholas ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Alexandria, VA
Banks, Johansen ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Detroit, MI
Barrett, Richard E. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Tappahanock, VA
Bates, Ronny K. ........... USN .... HM1 .... 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Aiken, SC
Battle, David L. .......... USMC ... 1stSGT . 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Hubert, NC
Baynard, James R. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Richmond, VA
Beamon, Jesse W. .......... USN .... HN ..... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Haines City, FL
Belmer, Alvin. ............ USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Bland, Stephen ............ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Midway Park, NC
Blankenship, Richard L. ... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Hubert, NC
Blocker, John W. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Yulee, FL
Boccia, Joseph J. Jr. ..... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Northport, NY
Bohannon, Leon Jr. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Bohnet, John R. Jr. ....... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. TN .. Memphis, TN
Bonk, John J. Jr. ......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
Boulos, Jeffrey L. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Islip, NY
Bousum, David R. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Fife Lake, MI
Boyett, John N. ........... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Brown, Anthony ............ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Detroit, MI
Brown, David W. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. TX .. Conroe, TX
Buchanan, Bobby S. Jr. .... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Midway Park, NC
Buckmaster, John B. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Vandalia, OH
Burley, William F. ........ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NJ .. Linden, NJ
Cain, Jimmy R. ............ USN .... HN ..... 10/23/1983 .. AL .. Birmington, AL
Callahan, Paul L. ......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Lorain, OH
Camara, Mecot E. .......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Campus, Bradley J. ........ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Lynn, MA
Ceasar, Johnnie D. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. TX .. El Campo, TX
Cole, Marc L. ............. USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Ludlow Falls, OH
Coleman, Marcus A. ........ USA .... SP4 .... 10/23/1983 .. TX .. Dallas, TX
Comas, Juan M. ............ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Hialeah, FL
Conley, Robert A .......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Orlando, FL
Cook, Charles D. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Advance, NC
Cooper, Curtis J. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. North Wales, PA
Copeland, Johnny L. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Burlington, NC
Corcoran, Bert D. ......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Katonah, NY
Cosner, David L. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. WV .. Elkins, WV
Coulman, Kevin P. ......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Seminary, NY
Croft, Brett A. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Lakeland, FL
Crudale, Rick R. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Warwick, RI
Custard, Kevin P. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MN .. Virginia, MN
Cyzick, Russell E. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. WV .. Star City, WV
Davis, Andrew L. .......... USMC ... MAJ .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Decker, Sidney James ...... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. KY .. Clarkson, KY
Devlin, Michael J. ........ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Westwood, MA
Dibenedetto, Thomas A. .... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. CT .. Mansfield Center, CT
Dorsey, Nathaniel G. ...... USMC ... PVT .... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Baltimore, MD
Douglass, Frederick B. .... USMC ... SGTMAJ . 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Cataumet, MA
Dunnigan, Timothy J. ...... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. WV .. Princeton, WV
Earle, Bryan L. ........... USN .... HN ..... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Painsville, OH
Edwards, Roy L. ........... USMC ... MSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Elliot, William D. Jr. .... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Lancaster, PA
Ellison, Jesse ............ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. WI .. Soldiers Grove, WI
Estes, Danny R. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. IN .. Gary, IN
Estler, Sean F. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NJ .. Kenall Park, NJ
Faulk, James E. ........... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Panama City, FL
Fluegel, Richard A. ....... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Erie, PA
Forrester, Steven M. ...... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Foster, William B. Jr. .... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Richmond, VA
Fulcher, Michael D ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Madison Heights, VA
Fuller, Benjamin E ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Duluth, GA
Fulton, Michael S. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. TX .. Ft. Worth, TX
Gaines, William Jr. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Port Charlotte, FL
Gallagher, Sean R. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. N. Andover, MA
Gander, David B. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. WI .. Milwaulkee, WI
Gangur, George M. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Cleveland, OH
Gann, Leland E. ........... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Garcia, Randall J. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. CA .. Modesto, CA
Garcia, Ronald J. ......... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Gay, David D. ............. USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Harrisburg, IL
Ghumm, Harold D. .......... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Gibbs, Warner Jr. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Portsmouth, VA
Giblin, Timothy R. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. N. Providence, RI
Gorchinski, Michael W. .... USN .... ETC .... 10/23/1983 .. IN .. Evansville, IN
Gordon, Richard J. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Somerville, MA
Gratton, Harold F. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Conoes, NY
Greaser, Robert B. ........ USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Lansdale, PA
Green, Davin M. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Baltimore, MD
Hairston, Thomas A. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
Haltiwanger, Freddie Jr. .. USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Little Mountain, SC
Hamilton, Virgil D. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. KY .. Dayton, OH
Hanton, Gilbert ........... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. DC .. Washington, DC
Hart, William ............. USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Haskell, Michael S. ....... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Hastings, Michael A. ...... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. DE .. Seaford, DE
Hein, Paul A. ............. USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Held, Douglas E. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Helms, Mark A. ............ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NE .. Dwight, NE
Henderson, Ferrandy D. .... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Tampa, FL
Hernandez, Matilde Jr. .... USMC ... MSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Midway Park, NC
Hester, Stanley G. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Raleigh, NC
Hildreth, Donald W. ....... USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Sneads Ferry, NC
Holberton, Richard H. ..... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Beaufort, SC
Holland, Robert S. ........ USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. KY .. Gilbertsville, KY
Hollingshead, Bruce A. .... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Fairborn, OH
Holmes, Melvin D. ......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Chicago, IL
Howard, Bruce L. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. ME .. Strong, ME
Hudson, John R. ........... USN .... LT ..... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Riverdale, GA
Hudson, Terry L. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. AL .. Prichard, AL
Hue, Lyndon J. ............ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. LA .. Des Allemands, LA
Hukill, Maurice E. ........ USMC ... 2ndLT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Iacovino, Edward F. Jr. ... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Warwick, RI
Ingalls, John J. .......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Interlaken, NY
Innocenzi, Paul G. III .... USMC ... WO1 .... 10/23/1983 .. NJ .. Trenton, NJ
Jackowski, James J. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. S. Salem, NY
James, Jeffrey W. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Baltimore, MD
Jenkins, Nathaniel W. ..... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Daytona Beach, FL
Johnson, Michael H. ....... USN .... HM2 .... 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Detroit, MI
Johnston, Edward A. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Struthers, OH
Jones, Steven ............. USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Brooklyn, NY
Julian, Thomas A. ......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Middleton, RI
Kees, Marion E. ........... USN .... HM2 .... 10/23/1983 .. WV .. Martinsburg, WV
Keown, Thomas C. .......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. KY .. Louisville, KY
Kimm, Edward E. ........... USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. IA .. Atlantic, IA
Kingsley, Walter V. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. WI .. Wisconsin Dells, WI
Kluck, Daniel S. .......... USA .... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. KY .. Owensboro, KY
Knipple, James C. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Alexandria, VA
Kreischer, Freas H. III ... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Indiatlantic, FL
Laise, Keith J. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. East Stroudsburg, PA
Lamb, Thomas G. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MN .. Coon Rapids, MN
Langon, James J. IV ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NJ .. Lakehurst, NJ
Lariviere, Michael S. ..... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Perry, FL
Lariviere, Steven B. ...... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Chicopee, MA
Lemnah, Richard L. ........ USMC ... MSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Lewis, David A. ........... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Garfield Heights, OH
Lewis, Val S. ............. USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Atlanta, GA
Livingston, Joseph R. ..... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Champaign, IL
Lyon, Paul D. Jr. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Milton, FL
Macroglou, John W. ........ USMC ... MAJ .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Maitland, Samuel .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Martin, Charlie R. ........ USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Martin, Jack L. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Oveido, FL
Massa, David S. ........... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Warren, RI
Massman, Michael R. ....... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Port Huron, MI
Mattacchione, Joseph J. ... USMC ... PVT .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Sanford, NC
McCall, John .............. USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Rochester, NY
McDonough, James E. ....... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Newcastle, PA
McMahon, Timothy R. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. TX .. Austin, TX
McNeely, Timothy D. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Mooresville, NC
McVicker, George N. II .... USN .... HM2 .... 10/23/1983 .. IN .. Wabash, IN
Melendez, Louis ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. PR .. Puerto Rico
Menkins, Richard H. II .... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Tully, NY
Mercer, Michael D. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Vale, NC
Meurer, Ronald W. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Milano, Joseph P. ......... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Farmingville, NY
Moore, Joseph P. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. MO .. St. Louis, MO
Morrow, Richard A. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Clairton, PA
Muffler, John F. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
Munoz, Alex ............... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NM .. Bloomfield, NM
Myers, Harry D. ........... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Whittler, NC
Nairn, David J. ........... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Nava, Luis A. ............. USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. CA .. Gardena, CA
Olson, John A. ............ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. MN .. Sabin, MN
Olson, Robert P. .......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Lawtons, NY
Ortiz, Richard C. ......... USMC ... CWO3 ... 10/23/1983 .. OK .. Ft. Sill, OK
Owen, Jeffrey B. .......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Virginia Beach, VA
Owens, Joseph A. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Chesterfield, VA
Page, Connie Ray .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Erwin, NC
Parker, Ulysses ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Baltimore, MD
Payne, Mark W. ............ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Binghamton, NY
Pearson, John L. .......... USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Perron, Thomas S. ......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Whitinsville, MA
Phillips, John A. Jr. ..... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Wilmette, IL
Piercy, George W. ......... USN .... HMC .... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Mt. Savage, MD
Plymel, Clyde W. .......... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Merritt, FL
Pollard, William H. ....... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Pomalestorres, Rafael I. .. USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
Prevatt, Victor M. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Columbus, GA
Price, James C. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. AL .. Attala, AL
Prindeville, Patrick K. ... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Gainesville, FL
Pulliam, Eric A. .......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. E. St. Louis, IL
Quirante, Diomedes J. ..... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. RP .. Calcoocan City, RP
Randolph, David M. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. AZ .. Siloam Springs, AZ
Ray, Charles R. ........... USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Relvas, Rui A. ............ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
Rich, Terrence L. ......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Brooklyn, NY
Richardson, Warren ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Brooklyn, NY
Rodriguez, Juan C. ........ USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Miami, FL
Rotondo, Louis J. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
Sanpedro, Guillermo Jr. ... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Hialeah, FL
Sauls, Michael C. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Waterboro, SC
Schnorf, Charles J. ....... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC
Schultz, Scott L. ......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Keeseville, NY
Scialabba, Peter J. ....... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Moorehead City, NC
Scott, Gary R. ............ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Rankin, IL
Shallo, Ronald L. ......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Hudson, NY
Shipp, Thomas A. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Shropshire, Jerryl D. ..... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Macon, GA
Silvia, James F. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Portsmouth, RI
Sliwinski, Stanley J. ..... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Niles, OH
Smith, Kirk H. ............ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Miami, FL
Smith, Thomas G. .......... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. CT .. Middletown, CT
Smith, Vincent L. ......... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Soares, Edward ............ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Tiverton, RI
Sommerhof, William S. ..... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Springfield, IL
Spaulding, Michael C. ..... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Akron, OH
Spearing, John W. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Lancaster, PA
Spencer, Stephen E. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Portsmouth, RI
Stelpflug, Bill J. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. AL .. Auburn, AL
Stephens, Horace R. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Capitol Heights, MD
Stockton, Craig S. ........ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Rochester, NY
Stokes, Jeffrey G. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Waynesboro, GA
Stowe, Thomas D. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Sturghill, Eric D. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Chicago, IL
Sundar, Devon L. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. CT .. Standford, CT
Surch, James F. Jr. ....... USN .... LT ..... 10/23/1983 .. CA .. Lompoc, CA
Thompson, Dennis A. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Bronx, NY
Thorstad, Thomas P. ....... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. IN .. Chesterton, IN
Tingley, Stephen D. ....... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. CT .. Ellington, CT
Tishmack, John J. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MN .. Minneapolis, MN
Trahan, Lex D. ............ USMC ... PVT .... 10/23/1983 .. LA .. Lafayette, LA
Vallone, Donald H. Jr. .... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. CA .. Palmdale, CA
Walker, Eric R. ........... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Chicago, IL
Walker, Leonard W. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. AL .. Dothan, AL
Washington, Eric G. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Alexandria, VA
Weekes, Obrian ............ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Brooklyn, NY
Wells, Tandy W. ........... USMC ... 1stSGT . 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Wentworth, Steven B. ...... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Reading, PA
Wesley, Allen D. .......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA
West, Lloyd D. ............ USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Weyl, John R. ............. USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Wherland, Burton D. Jr. ... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC
Wigglesworth, Dwayne W. ... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. CT .. Naugatuck, CT
Williams, Rodney J. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Opa Locka, FL
Williams, Scipio Jr. ...... USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Charleston, SC
Williamson, Johnny A. ..... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Asheboro, NC
Wint, Walter E. Jr. ....... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Wilkes-Barre, PA
Winter, William E. ........ USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Fripp Island, SC
Wolfe, John E. ............ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. AZ .. Phoenix, AZ
Woollett, Donald E. ....... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. OK .. Barthesville, OK
Worley, David E. .......... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Baltimore, MD
Wyche, Craig L. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Jamaica, NY
Yarber, James G. .......... USA .... SFC .... 10/23/1983 .. CA .. Vacaville, CA
Young, Jeffrey D. ......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NJ .. Moorestown, NJ
Zimmerman, William A. ..... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Grand Haven, MI
Townsend, Henry Jr. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 12/02/1983 .. AL .. Montgomery, AL
Biddle, Shannon D. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. AL .. Valley Head, AL
Cherman, Sam .............. USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. NY .. Queens, NY
Cox, Manuel A. ............ USMC ... SGT .... 12/04/1983 .. NJ .. Union City, NJ
Daugherty, David L. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. OH .. Eastlake,OH
Evans, Thomas A. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. MT .. Conrad, MT
Hattaway, Jeffrey T. ...... USMC ... PFC .... 12/04/1983 .. FL .. Pensacola, FL
Kraft, Todd A. ............ USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. ND .. Devilslake, ND
Lange, Mark A. ............ USN .... LT .... 12/04/1983 .. MI .. Fraser, MI
Perkins, Marvin H. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. TN .. Franklin, TN
Gargano, Edward J. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 01/08/1984 .. MA .. Quincy, MA
Dramis, George L. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 01/30/1984 .. NJ .. Cape May Court House, NJ
*Hernandez, Rodolfo ....... USMC ... - ...... 01/30/1984 .. TX ..El Paso, TX (see below footnote)
Butler, Alfred III ........ USMC ... CAPT ... 02/09/1984 .. FL .. Cocoa Beach, FL
Wagner, Michael ........... USN .... IS1 .... 09/20/1984 .. NC .. Zebulon,, NC
Welch, Kenneth ............ USA .... WO2 .... 09/20/1984 .. MI .. Grand Rapids, MI
*Hendrickson, John ........ USMC ... - ...... 04/13/1990 .. - .. (see below footnote)
*Simpson, Larry H. Jr. .... USMC ... - ...... 08/31/1992 .. - .. (see below footnote)
Hasenfus, Michael ......... USA .... CPL .... 10/20/1984 .. MA .. Dedham, MA
Stethem, Robert D. ........ USN .... SW2 .... 06/15/1985 .. MD .. Waldorf, MD
Higgins, William R. ....... USMC ... COL .... 07/06/1990 .. KY .. Louisville, KY
Still checking on the following to confirm information:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLEASE NOTE: The symbol ' - ' denotes unknown to this web author, and does not
mean that the information is unknown to the Department of Defense.
*Rivers, Paul . ........... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Brooklyn, NY
(Listed in article, but his name is not on DOD list, but was in a
2/84 "Leatherneck" magazine article list. Later, it was confirmed by several eye witnesses that he did in fact survive the blast and is living.)
*Hernandez, Rodolfo ........ USMC ... - ...... 01/31/1984 .. DOD - NOT IN LEBANON EVENT (Although the DoD Graves database lhas him listed as not died in Lebanon, but he was wounded on 30 Jan 84 and died weeks later in Germany as a result of wounds.
Some references list him as being wounded 30 Jan and others 31 Jan, but it is
believed he died on 08 Feb 1984 in a German hospital.)
Hendrickson, John ......... USMC ... - ...... 04/13/1990 .. DOD - NOT IN LEBANON EVENT
Simpson, Larry H. Jr. ..... USMC ... - ...... 08/31/1992 .. DOD - NOT IN LEBANON EVENT
(Last 3 on one database, but not on DOD list as being in Lebanon)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grateful acknowledgment to Bob Whitney for the accuracy of this file
Salute; TAPS; silence
Nasrallah can not be trusted... I personally believe that Isreal didn't go far enough. The Peace keeping mission here is a joke. If they act against Hezbollah they'll be crushed, if they don't well they get to go home in one peice.
If some radical crew were launching missles from Mexico; we certainly would not allow UN peace keepers in a buffer zone while we wait on Mexico to strenghten its resolve and will to stop the radicals on there own. hmmm..
Nasrallah can not be trusted... I personally believe that Isreal didn't go far enough. The Peace keeping mission here is a joke. If they act against Hezbollah they'll be crushed, if they don't well they get to go home in one peice.
If some radical crew were launching missles from Mexico; we certainly would not allow UN peace keepers in a buffer zone while we wait on Mexico to strenghten its resolve and will to stop the radicals on there own. hmmm..
QUOTE(SFC_White @ Aug 17 2006, 12:10 PM)
Salute; TAPS; silence
Nasrallah can not be trusted... I personally believe that Isreal didn't go far enough. The Peace keeping mission here is a joke. If they act against Hezbollah they'll be crushed, if they don't well they get to go home in one peice.
If some radical crew were launching missles from Mexico; we certainly would not allow UN peace keepers in a buffer zone while we wait on Mexico to strenghten its resolve and will to stop the radicals on there own. hmmm..
Nasrallah can not be trusted... I personally believe that Isreal didn't go far enough. The Peace keeping mission here is a joke. If they act against Hezbollah they'll be crushed, if they don't well they get to go home in one peice.
If some radical crew were launching missles from Mexico; we certainly would not allow UN peace keepers in a buffer zone while we wait on Mexico to strenghten its resolve and will to stop the radicals on there own. hmmm..
That list of names touches a nerve with me 1st Sgt. I knew some of those fellows, I also knew some of the fellows who did not mke the list who were maimed for life.
I feel about hezbollah about the same way I feel about a water moccasin. Anyone who kills a hezbollah is my friend.
France - 200 (much consternation at the UN about this)
Front line troops offered
Bangladesh - 2000
Indonesia - 1 batallion (1000?)
Malaysia - 1000
(they have no diplomatic relations with Israel)
Nepal - 1 batallion
Finland - 250 but not until November.
Italy - 3000
Germany - maritime and border patrol
Denmark - 2 ships
France - will continue to provide leadership in addition to the 200 troops
Front line troops offered
Bangladesh - 2000
Indonesia - 1 batallion (1000?)
Malaysia - 1000
(they have no diplomatic relations with Israel)
Nepal - 1 batallion
Finland - 250 but not until November.
Italy - 3000
Germany - maritime and border patrol
Denmark - 2 ships
France - will continue to provide leadership in addition to the 200 troops
How about we move all our troops in Iraq
to the Iran and Syrian borders? Isn't that
where the international action is?
Oh I forget, that's considered "cutting and running".
Any redeployment is not allowed...our non-vet
admin and theater commander have pledged.
Hold in place. Hold in place. F*ck that, if we are
gonna play...let's f*ckin' play! They say it's those 2?
Okay then go for it! But then, what do I know...
I don't work for the Rand Corp or the Carlise Group.
Besides, I've only been askin' for that for three years...
and there ain't nobody listening to this former PFC.
to the Iran and Syrian borders? Isn't that
where the international action is?
Oh I forget, that's considered "cutting and running".
Any redeployment is not allowed...our non-vet
admin and theater commander have pledged.
Hold in place. Hold in place. F*ck that, if we are
gonna play...let's f*ckin' play! They say it's those 2?
Okay then go for it! But then, what do I know...
I don't work for the Rand Corp or the Carlise Group.
Besides, I've only been askin' for that for three years...
and there ain't nobody listening to this former PFC.
Turkish border too, it would prevent PKK cross border activities and give the Turkish military strong reason to stop shelling villages.
QUOTE(tomhye @ Aug 18 2006, 08:28 PM)
Turkish border too, it would prevent PKK cross border activities and give the Turkish military strong reason to stop shelling villages.
I'll buy that...in fact I'd HQ in the Kurdish area - in fact I got no problem
with making it Kurdistan.
It seems Israel took out a Hezbollah resupply truck(s)
in the Bakkah and now Lebanon is hestitating to go
South...France is crapping out...it may just be Italians
and Moslums from Asia as the ''peacekeeping" force.
(yeah I know Finland and maybe Lower Slobovia may send a couple)
What I hate is this vaccuum of leadership on the US part has
Iran posing. I hope GW will get out before we have to deal with 'em.
How about a summit in Egypt with Syria, Iran, the US and Israel?
And whomever doesn't show gets slapped...oh well, might as well wait 'til
August 31 to see what Russia and China are gonna do about the Iranian
sanctions. None will show for a summit with Bush anyway, and as long as
we are a mile wide and an inch thin in Iraq ain't much tactical maneuverability
any how.
If we had a reputable administration I'd say our role should be honest broker while providing logistical support and a tripwire force, same solution would apply to Darfur. With Bush we don't seem to have any good options anywhere.
Probably behind the scenes diplomacy to get an effective force in there would work, but that would involve an under the table agreement to help Russia so they could be the backbone of the force and dropping the moronic idea (for historical reasons as well as stated policy) of having Turkey as a major player in the peacekeeping force. Neocons would adamantly oppose both aspects.
Probably behind the scenes diplomacy to get an effective force in there would work, but that would involve an under the table agreement to help Russia so they could be the backbone of the force and dropping the moronic idea (for historical reasons as well as stated policy) of having Turkey as a major player in the peacekeeping force. Neocons would adamantly oppose both aspects.
QUOTE(grammydidi @ Aug 17 2006, 06:35 AM)
Just food for thought:
Why can't the Lebanese army incorporate the Hezbollah army into its ranks by forming a "Southern Brigrade" or something similar? That should add 3000 to 5000 to its forces, and it'll disarm Hezbollah at the same time. The Lebanese Army will take over control of the armaments.
After the Civil War, Indianhead?, wasn't a pledge required by Southerners? Wasn't there an amnesty for Confederate soldiers? Didn't some Confederate soldiers then join the Union Army and go West to "defeat" the Indian tribes?
Nasrallah could be appointed national head of the reconstruction effort, which should take up about 24 hrs per day of his time. It appears that his organization is so far not corrupt so maybe it would make good use of his talents.
Simplification: make use of the most intelligent and talented in the country and point them in the direction of peace and rebuilding, rather than making war.
Why can't the Lebanese army incorporate the Hezbollah army into its ranks by forming a "Southern Brigrade" or something similar? That should add 3000 to 5000 to its forces, and it'll disarm Hezbollah at the same time. The Lebanese Army will take over control of the armaments.
After the Civil War, Indianhead?, wasn't a pledge required by Southerners? Wasn't there an amnesty for Confederate soldiers? Didn't some Confederate soldiers then join the Union Army and go West to "defeat" the Indian tribes?
Nasrallah could be appointed national head of the reconstruction effort, which should take up about 24 hrs per day of his time. It appears that his organization is so far not corrupt so maybe it would make good use of his talents.
Simplification: make use of the most intelligent and talented in the country and point them in the direction of peace and rebuilding, rather than making war.
Ma'am they tried that Iraq a few years ago, Approximately April-May 2004 in a little city called Fallujah. They called it the Fallujah Brigade, and we Had to deal with them again and finally take care of business in November of 2004. Didnt work then, wont work now. Those people dont really care about the UN, any mandates. They want israel Gone, vaporized, all israelis DEAD! how can you negotiate with people like that.
thats one thing that I believe most people dont understand about palistine and lebanon and israel. They want Israel to cease to exist, they want the country removed from the map and all israelis dead. All israel is trying to do is protect their own people, they have the balls to stand up and defend what is theirs, they are willing to die to protect their people. You dont hear about israelis stapping on suicide vests and blowing up buses of civilians. You do hear about airstrikes on villages that were hiding Hezbollah insurgents, that were being used to lauch rockets indescriminately into cities and towns in Israel. What if israel decided to stop doing airstrikes and instead used Hezbollahs tactics, would people think they were justified then???
QUOTE(noonanda @ Aug 24 2006, 08:28 AM)
thats one thing that I believe most people dont understand about palistine and lebanon and israel. They want Israel to cease to exist, they want the country removed from the map and all israelis dead. All israel is trying to do is protect their own people, they have the balls to stand up and defend what is theirs, they are willing to die to protect their people. You dont hear about israelis stapping on suicide vests and blowing up buses of civilians. You do hear about airstrikes on villages that were hiding Hezbollah insurgents, that were being used to lauch rockets indescriminately into cities and towns in Israel. What if israel decided to stop doing airstrikes and instead used Hezbollahs tactics, would people think they were justified then???
You have to negotiate with them. We always negotiate with the "enemy". The enemy may say they want Israel to begone but if wishes were dollars we'd all be rich. There are issues of land involved. About who owns what. If those issues are negotiated instead of a kill them all philosophy. Then the number of those who want to strap bombs on themselves will diminish. Those that want to shoot rockets into civilian areas will have much less support. And those who want to take other's land will be balked.
Mass bombing from the air only creates more hatred, never less. If you say that those who hide behind women and children are low. Then how low is the man who will shoot through them?
by negotiating with Terrorist organizations though, you give them Legitimacy. and they ARE NOT the legitimate government in that Area. WHY do we always negotiate with the enemy. When does the BS go far enough?? When rockets are raining down on cities??
Thats the problem though, The palistinians want all israelis gone, not some, not a few, ALL. and they will keep fighting till they get their way. I just read a pretty good book about this, "tactics of the Cresent Moon". now I dont believe everything I read (especially with the crap in todays papers) but this one has alot of good info. It talks alot about Hezbollah and the tactics they have been using for the last 20 yrs. and think of it this way, Hezbollah and Nasrallah is to Israel what AlQueda and Osama Bin laden are to us. So using the same logic, should we open negotiations with AlQeuda?? Ask them to apologize and all will be ok??
Thats the problem though, The palistinians want all israelis gone, not some, not a few, ALL. and they will keep fighting till they get their way. I just read a pretty good book about this, "tactics of the Cresent Moon". now I dont believe everything I read (especially with the crap in todays papers) but this one has alot of good info. It talks alot about Hezbollah and the tactics they have been using for the last 20 yrs. and think of it this way, Hezbollah and Nasrallah is to Israel what AlQueda and Osama Bin laden are to us. So using the same logic, should we open negotiations with AlQeuda?? Ask them to apologize and all will be ok??
QUOTE(noonanda @ Aug 24 2006, 12:45 PM)
by negotiating with Terrorist organizations though, you give them Legitimacy. and they ARE NOT the legitimate government in that Area. WHY do we always negotiate with the enemy. When does the BS go far enough?? When rockets are raining down on cities??
Thats the problem though, The palistinians want all israelis gone, not some, not a few, ALL. and they will keep fighting till they get their way. I just read a pretty good book about this, "tactics of the Cresent Moon". now I dont believe everything I read (especially with the crap in todays papers) but this one has alot of good info. It talks alot about Hezbollah and the tactics they have been using for the last 20 yrs. and think of it this way, Hezbollah and Nasrallah is to Israel what AlQueda and Osama Bin laden are to us. So using the same logic, should we open negotiations with AlQeuda?? Ask them to apologize and all will be ok??
Thats the problem though, The palistinians want all israelis gone, not some, not a few, ALL. and they will keep fighting till they get their way. I just read a pretty good book about this, "tactics of the Cresent Moon". now I dont believe everything I read (especially with the crap in todays papers) but this one has alot of good info. It talks alot about Hezbollah and the tactics they have been using for the last 20 yrs. and think of it this way, Hezbollah and Nasrallah is to Israel what AlQueda and Osama Bin laden are to us. So using the same logic, should we open negotiations with AlQeuda?? Ask them to apologize and all will be ok??
the US/Al Qeada situation is different from Israeli/Hezbollah situation. We never took anything from Osama Bin Laden, nor did anything to him, so he had no "right" to attack our civilians. If he didn't like that we helped Saudi Arabia beat back Saddam from Kuwait, he should have taken his beef to the Saudi Royal Family who invited us. He is an insane mass murderer, and in my opinion he should die along with all who join him. There is nothing to negotiate with him.
Hezbollah is part of Lebanon's elected government. The militant armed wing of the organization started as a resistance movement to oust the Israeli occupation. They are rogue and have engaged in terrorist acts against many people (including us), and they are criminals as far as I'm concerned. I have no sympathy for terrorists who kill innocent people, no matter what their cause. But Israel's blowing Lebanon back to the stone age was a mistake of grand proportions IMO. And I consider it State Terrorism. Israel will have to decide whether they want to follow the failed Bush/Cheney plan of catastrophy.
But that's Israel's problem, not ours IMO. If we want revenge for the Marine Barracks Bombing, we should have gone after those behind it then. If we feel that Hezbollah is still our enemy then we should have trained hit squads long ago to destroy them.
Israel engages in negotiations and prisoner exchanges all the time. We have negotiated with every enemy we have had. If we believe that everyone whom we feel is our enemy must be totally destroyed, rather than seek to resolve the conflict peacefully, we would all have died during the Cuban Missile Crisis. If this Neo-Con philosophy and Bush had been in charge in 62, we would not be here to discuss this!
I have little patience for Bush's Warmonger Philosophy especially when this conflict (the War on Terror) is different from any we have had. We can't blow away all countries that harbor terrorists. We have to use shared intelligence and special ops to get them. And we need friends to do that. That's the only way that works. Unless you believe we should blow up Saudi Arabia, Somolia, The United Arab Emirites, and Pakistan. Because Osama and 15 of the 9/11 highjackers came from Saudi Arabia and they (The Saudis) hold fundraisers for Terrorists all the time on government controlled TV. Two highjackers were from the UAE. Osama stayed in Somolia. And he's probably living in Pakistan who supported the Taliban and is made up of a population under a Dictator, 90% of whom loves Osama and hates us!
We haven't talked to Iran in 27 years, and now they are moving towards Nuclear Energy. And everything Bush has failed to do in Afghanistan is coming back to haunt us. We have MORE enemies than ever before, and we are less safe than ever before!
I say the "blow everybody up philosophy" has failed BIG TIME!
I know I've had enough!
QUOTE(TheRestofUs @ Aug 24 2006, 07:51 PM)
the US/Al Qeada situation is different from Israeli/Hezbollah situation. We never took anything from Osama Bin Laden, nor did anything to him, so he had no "right" to attack our civilians. If he didn't like that we helped Saudi Arabia beat back Saddam from Kuwait, he should have taken his beef to the Saudi Royal Family who invited us. He is an insane mass murderer, and in my opinion he should die along with all who join him. There is nothing to negotiate with him.
Hezbollah is part of Lebanon's elected government. The militant armed wing of the organization started as a resistance movement to oust the Israeli occupation. They are rogue and have engaged in terrorist acts against many people (including us), and they are criminals as far as I'm concerned. I have no sympathy for terrorists who kill innocent people, no matter what their cause. But Israel's blowing Lebanon back to the stone age was a mistake of grand proportions IMO. And I consider it State Terrorism. Israel will have to decide whether they want to follow the failed Bush/Cheney plan of catastrophy.
Hezbollah is part of Lebanon's elected government. The militant armed wing of the organization started as a resistance movement to oust the Israeli occupation. They are rogue and have engaged in terrorist acts against many people (including us), and they are criminals as far as I'm concerned. I have no sympathy for terrorists who kill innocent people, no matter what their cause. But Israel's blowing Lebanon back to the stone age was a mistake of grand proportions IMO. And I consider it State Terrorism. Israel will have to decide whether they want to follow the failed Bush/Cheney plan of catastrophy.
Actually Hezbollah started out as a part of the Iranian Army, and a portion of them Volunteered to go to lebanon in 1982. They were working out of the Bekaa valley, the syrians also were helping them.
24 yrs later I really doubt that both Iran and syria have stopped supporting them. Those katuysha rocket they have been shooting at Israel do just miracle themselves out of this air no matter how many thimes they pray Allah Akbar and cry Inshalla (god willing)
QUOTE
I have little patience for Bush's Warmonger Philosophy especially when this conflict (the War on Terror) is different from any we have had. We can't blow away all countries that harbor terrorists. We have to use shared intelligence and special ops to get them. And we need friends to do that. That's the only way that works. Unless you believe we should blow up Saudi Arabia, Somolia, The United Arab Emirites, and Pakistan. Because Osama and 15 of the 9/11 highjackers came from Saudi Arabia and they (The Saudis) hold fundraisers for Terrorists all the time on government controlled TV. Two highjackers were from the UAE. Osama stayed in Somolia. And he's probably living in Pakistan who supported the Taliban and is made up of a population under a Dictator, 90% of whom loves Osama and hates us!
We haven't talked to Iran in 27 years, and now they are moving towards Nuclear Energy. And everything Bush has failed to do in Afghanistan is coming back to haunt us. We have MORE enemies than ever before, and we are less safe than ever before!
I say the "blow everybody up philosophy" has failed BIG TIME!
I know I've had enough!
We haven't talked to Iran in 27 years, and now they are moving towards Nuclear Energy. And everything Bush has failed to do in Afghanistan is coming back to haunt us. We have MORE enemies than ever before, and we are less safe than ever before!
I say the "blow everybody up philosophy" has failed BIG TIME!
I know I've had enough!
Well you can also blame alot of the current problems on the previous administration as well, clintons philosphy of Appeasement.
And Since I have been, and will be again one of the ones doing the fighting I have a hell of a lot more to lose than many. Some people might worry about the price of gas going up again, Im more worried about getting shot or blown up.
As far as the Iranian nuke problem, It shouldnt be our problem if france and Germany hadnt made the mess. But just like everything else, looks like one day we may have to clean it up.
I have never advocated this "blow everyone up" policy that you mention, in fact this is news to me. Who have we Blown up lately besides Iraqi insurgents and Taliban Scum?? Now If I had my way we might have to lob a few over at North Korea to remind them that we could turn their country into a smoking crater if they ever got stupid enough to try anything. But thats just me, I guess I just misunderstand Kim Hong Ill, he must really be a nice guy and Im just mean
QUOTE(noonanda @ Aug 24 2006, 06:21 PM)
Actually Hezbollah started out as a part of the Iranian Army, and a portion of them Volunteered to go to lebanon in 1982. They were working out of the Bekaa valley, the syrians also were helping them.
24 yrs later I really doubt that both Iran and syria have stopped supporting them. Those katuysha rocket they have been shooting at Israel do just miracle themselves out of this air no matter how many thimes they pray Allah Akbar and cry Inshalla (god willing)
Well you can also blame alot of the current problems on the previous administration as well, clintons philosphy of Appeasement.
And Since I have been, and will be again one of the ones doing the fighting I have a hell of a lot more to lose than many. Some people might worry about the price of gas going up again, Im more worried about getting shot or blown up.
As far as the Iranian nuke problem, It shouldnt be our problem if france and Germany hadnt made the mess. But just like everything else, looks like one day we may have to clean it up.
I have never advocated this "blow everyone up" policy that you mention, in fact this is news to me. Who have we Blown up lately besides Iraqi insurgents and Taliban Scum?? Now If I had my way we might have to lob a few over at North Korea to remind them that we could turn their country into a smoking crater if they ever got stupid enough to try anything. But thats just me, I guess I just misunderstand Kim Hong Ill, he must really be a nice guy and Im just mean
24 yrs later I really doubt that both Iran and syria have stopped supporting them. Those katuysha rocket they have been shooting at Israel do just miracle themselves out of this air no matter how many thimes they pray Allah Akbar and cry Inshalla (god willing)
Well you can also blame alot of the current problems on the previous administration as well, clintons philosphy of Appeasement.
And Since I have been, and will be again one of the ones doing the fighting I have a hell of a lot more to lose than many. Some people might worry about the price of gas going up again, Im more worried about getting shot or blown up.
As far as the Iranian nuke problem, It shouldnt be our problem if france and Germany hadnt made the mess. But just like everything else, looks like one day we may have to clean it up.
I have never advocated this "blow everyone up" policy that you mention, in fact this is news to me. Who have we Blown up lately besides Iraqi insurgents and Taliban Scum?? Now If I had my way we might have to lob a few over at North Korea to remind them that we could turn their country into a smoking crater if they ever got stupid enough to try anything. But thats just me, I guess I just misunderstand Kim Hong Ill, he must really be a nice guy and Im just mean
Clinton got the people who bombed the WTC in 93. He stopped several large scale terrorist attacks. He tried to get Osama but didn't want to kill hundreds of innocent children he was among when actionable intel came in. But I'm not defending Clinton. He made mistakes. None however as monumental as Bush IMO. Bush did nothing about the Cole Bombing. And sat on his ass while the warnings came in for nine months before 9/11! Then he ran and hid for days after the attack. He then let Osama skate in Afghanistan, and instead killed (blew up) possibly 100,000 Iraqis.
According to our top commanders, Iraq is now at least sliding towards civil war due to Bush's genius. So blowing up N. Korea is just more of the same failed policy. I thank you for your service noonanda and I'm glad you are healed. You've been on the ground in Iraq. Can you explain why things are getting worse there? Maybe I'm wrong about everything. But I can only go by what I see and hear.
QUOTE(TheRestofUs @ Aug 24 2006, 08:37 PM)
You've been on the ground in Iraq. Can you explain why things are getting worse there? Maybe I'm wrong about everything. But I can only go by what I see and hear.
You cant believe everything that is reported, From what I was told by people stationed in bagdad, most of the reports are from people that NEVER leave the green zone. I havent heard about many reports still going out imbedded.
I posted a link to an article written about my advisor team while we were there. The was also one by the famous G. Gordon liddy, but I dont have the link to it.
The day to day fact is that the iraqi forces are gaining ground every day. someday when the truth is told and the facts all come out and are unclasifed, I think alot of people will realize we needed to do what we did and that things were better because of it
QUOTE(noonanda @ Aug 24 2006, 07:15 PM)
You cant believe everything that is reported, From what I was told by people stationed in bagdad, most of the reports are from people that NEVER leave the green zone. I havent heard about many reports still going out imbedded.
I posted a link to an article written about my advisor team while we were there. The was also one by the famous G. Gordon liddy, but I dont have the link to it.
The day to day fact is that the iraqi forces are gaining ground every day. someday when the truth is told and the facts all come out and are unclasifed, I think alot of people will realize we needed to do what we did and that things were better because of it
I posted a link to an article written about my advisor team while we were there. The was also one by the famous G. Gordon liddy, but I dont have the link to it.
The day to day fact is that the iraqi forces are gaining ground every day. someday when the truth is told and the facts all come out and are unclasifed, I think alot of people will realize we needed to do what we did and that things were better because of it
I hope you are right. But it doesn't look that way now. Thanks for your response, and if you are going back, stay safe!
And the other problem with some of the stories coming out of Iraq is the use of stringers to go out and gather the info. I think it's probably safe to say, we're not getting an accurate picture of what's going on - that's neither a positive or a negative statement, it's just a fact.
QUOTE(noonanda @ Aug 24 2006, 07:28 AM)
thats one thing that I believe most people dont understand about palistine and lebanon and israel. They want Israel to cease to exist, they want the country removed from the map and all israelis dead. All israel is trying to do is protect their own people, they have the balls to stand up and defend what is theirs, they are willing to die to protect their people. You dont hear about israelis stapping on suicide vests and blowing up buses of civilians. You do hear about airstrikes on villages that were hiding Hezbollah insurgents, that were being used to lauch rockets indescriminately into cities and towns in Israel. What if israel decided to stop doing airstrikes and instead used Hezbollahs tactics, would people think they were justified then???
I think the Lebanese just want to be left alone. Lebanon has a democratically elected government. Isn't that what we want for countries in the Middle East? Maybe Hezbollah has a beef against Israel because Israel won't stay in their own country. They have this habit of occupying terroritories that don't belong to them.
That could be the reason that the Palestinians don't like them very much - because the Israelis treat them like dirt and are occupying territories in the West Bank that are supposed to belong to the Palestinians.
I guess Israel did a little more than "defend itself" because they are now being accused of war crimes.
QUOTE
Amnesty International Accuses Israel of War Crimes
http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/ite...accuses_israel/
Posted on Aug 24, 2006
Amnesty International has referred to some of Israel’s actions in Lebanon as “war crimes that give rise to individual criminal responsibility.” A report by the human rights organization condemned the deliberate bombing of civilian infrastructure and the loss of civilian life, noting: “Entire families were killed in air strikes on their homes or in their vehicles while fleeing the aerial assaults on their villages. Scores lay buried beneath the rubble of their houses for weeks, as the Red Cross and other rescue workers were prevented from accessing the areas by continuing Israeli strikes.”
New York Times:
Citing a variety of sources, the Amnesty International report said Israel’s air force had carried out more than 7,000 air attacks, while the navy had fired 2,500 shells. The human toll, according to Lebanese government statistics, was estimated at 1,183 deaths, mostly civilians, about a third of them children; 4,054 wounded; and 970,000 people displaced, out of a population of a little under four million.
“Statements from the Israeli military officials seem to confirm that the destruction of the infrastructure was indeed a goal of the military campaign,” the report said. It said that “in village after village the pattern was similar: the streets, especially main streets, were scarred with artillery craters along their length. In some cases, cluster bomb impacts were identified.”
“Houses were singled out for precision-guided missile attacks and were destroyed, totally or partially, as a result,” the report said. “Business premises such as supermarkets or food stores and auto service stations and petrol stations were targeted.
http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/ite...accuses_israel/
Posted on Aug 24, 2006
Amnesty International has referred to some of Israel’s actions in Lebanon as “war crimes that give rise to individual criminal responsibility.” A report by the human rights organization condemned the deliberate bombing of civilian infrastructure and the loss of civilian life, noting: “Entire families were killed in air strikes on their homes or in their vehicles while fleeing the aerial assaults on their villages. Scores lay buried beneath the rubble of their houses for weeks, as the Red Cross and other rescue workers were prevented from accessing the areas by continuing Israeli strikes.”
New York Times:
Citing a variety of sources, the Amnesty International report said Israel’s air force had carried out more than 7,000 air attacks, while the navy had fired 2,500 shells. The human toll, according to Lebanese government statistics, was estimated at 1,183 deaths, mostly civilians, about a third of them children; 4,054 wounded; and 970,000 people displaced, out of a population of a little under four million.
“Statements from the Israeli military officials seem to confirm that the destruction of the infrastructure was indeed a goal of the military campaign,” the report said. It said that “in village after village the pattern was similar: the streets, especially main streets, were scarred with artillery craters along their length. In some cases, cluster bomb impacts were identified.”
“Houses were singled out for precision-guided missile attacks and were destroyed, totally or partially, as a result,” the report said. “Business premises such as supermarkets or food stores and auto service stations and petrol stations were targeted.
QUOTE
FEATURE-Cluster bombs lie in wait for Lebanese children
25 Aug 2006 01:08:16 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent
BINT JBEIL, Lebanon, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Like a small black football, it lies in the dirt not far from Haitham Daaboul's front door in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil.
It looks innocuous, but a careless kick from a passing child would detonate this cluster bomb, one of thousands of unexploded devices Israel scattered over the towns, villages and hillsides of south Lebanon during its 34-day war with Hizbollah fighters.
The bomblets can maim or kill. In war time, they might hit guerrillas firing rockets. Now with a shaky truce in force, they lie where they fell, creating random minefields over wide areas.
"We can't let the children go outside. There are many cluster bombs in the streets," said Daaboul's wife Nadia.
"We've told them to be frightened of things shaped like a ball, a plate, anything, even stones in the street," she said.
"It's a real pain. The children are asking 'how can we live like this? When can we go out? When can we have a normal life?'"
The Daabouls and their four children are living with a score of relatives in a house they rented after returning to the shattered town after an Aug. 14 truce halted fighting.
Bint Jbeil saw some of the fiercest battles of the war, forcing almost all the townsfolk to flee. The Daaboul family odyssey took them from one makeshift shelter to another around the southern city of Tyre and eventually to Beirut.
"Their life has changed," Nadia, a slim 28-year-old woman in a headscarf, said of her children. "They used to wander all over Bint Jbeil -- to the market, the playground, their grandfather's house. Now they are caged in.
SHELL ON BALCONY
Down the street, an unexploded shell lies on the balcony of a building overlooking a bombed stadium -- it's hard to imagine how Bint Jbeil's 4,000 people can pick up their lives while so many deadly leftovers from the war carpet the landscape.
Children are at particular risk from cluster bombs, such as the one that was lying in wait for 10-year-old Hassan Tahini and his cousin in the border village of Aita al-Shaab.
"We were walking without paying attention, we saw something, but we didn't know it was a bomb," said Tahini from his hospital bed in Tyre. "We saw a little bit of it sticking out of the earth. We said to ourselves, 'it's a toy, so what?'
"We trod on it. It exploded and we flew two or three metres through the air," he said. "God saved me."
Tahini spent two days in intensive care at Tyre's Jebel Amel hospital, along with his 12-year-old cousin Sikni, with multiple wounds to his small intestine, liver and stomach.
Both will survive, said Nasser Farran, the surgeon who has treated them and a dozen other recent cluster bomb victims.
The United Nations has confirmed 249 Israeli cluster bomb strikes across south Lebanon and says the bomblets have killed eight people and wounded at least 38 since the truce.
"It's a huge problem," said Tekimiti Gilbert, operations chief of the U.N. Mine Action Coordination Centre in Lebanon.
He said he had "no doubt" that Israel's use of cluster bombs violated international law which bans the use of such munitions in civilian areas.
Israel denies using the weapons illegally and accuses Hizbollah of firing rockets into Israel from towns and villages.
NERVES IN PIECES
The five-week war claimed 1,200 lives, mostly civilians, in Lebanon. At least 157 Israelis, mainly soldiers, were killed.
In Bint Jbeil, Nadia chain-smokes and says her nerves are shot trying to deal with cooped-up children 24 hours a day.
"Every time a plane goes over, the children are afraid. At any sound, they jump. They aren't sleeping at night," she said.
On the cement floor of a dark room, some of the younger boys play listlessly with toy guns, planes and rockets.
The stresses of war on families like the Daabouls are replicated among thousands of civilians in south Lebanon.
Among aid groups trying to respond is Save The Children, which plans to launch programmes soon to teach children about the dangers of cluster bombs and other unexploded ordnance.
"We also want to set up safe spaces where children can play, paint, do drama or sing," said Ribka Amsalu, the group's emergency health adviser in Tyre. "It's a way for them to express themselves and their emotions, and to be children."
Save The Children can also provide school materials to enable formal education to continue even where school buildings have been physically destroyed, Amsalu said.
The three-storey school that the Daaboul's 12-year-old daughter Zainab used to attend on the outskirts of Bint Jbeil is a ruined shell, with all its walls torn away, revealing desks and chairs still laid out in rows in a third-floor classroom.
Daaboul's music store was pulverised by Israeli bombing, like the rest of Bint Jbeil's market area, now a wasteland of flattened buildings, broken masonry and twisted steel.
The 37-year-old shopkeeper's home fared a bit better.
Clothes spill from a collapsed washing machine hit by shrapnel, but plates and glasses lie intact on kitchen shelves.
Dust and debris below a hole gouged in the roof cover teddy bears and furniture. The television set has survived. So has the framed photo of a youthful Daaboul as a Lebanese army conscript.
"The house can be repaired, but if we can't finish it before winter we'll have to rent something in Beirut," his wife said.
25 Aug 2006 01:08:16 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent
BINT JBEIL, Lebanon, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Like a small black football, it lies in the dirt not far from Haitham Daaboul's front door in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil.
It looks innocuous, but a careless kick from a passing child would detonate this cluster bomb, one of thousands of unexploded devices Israel scattered over the towns, villages and hillsides of south Lebanon during its 34-day war with Hizbollah fighters.
The bomblets can maim or kill. In war time, they might hit guerrillas firing rockets. Now with a shaky truce in force, they lie where they fell, creating random minefields over wide areas.
"We can't let the children go outside. There are many cluster bombs in the streets," said Daaboul's wife Nadia.
"We've told them to be frightened of things shaped like a ball, a plate, anything, even stones in the street," she said.
"It's a real pain. The children are asking 'how can we live like this? When can we go out? When can we have a normal life?'"
The Daabouls and their four children are living with a score of relatives in a house they rented after returning to the shattered town after an Aug. 14 truce halted fighting.
Bint Jbeil saw some of the fiercest battles of the war, forcing almost all the townsfolk to flee. The Daaboul family odyssey took them from one makeshift shelter to another around the southern city of Tyre and eventually to Beirut.
"Their life has changed," Nadia, a slim 28-year-old woman in a headscarf, said of her children. "They used to wander all over Bint Jbeil -- to the market, the playground, their grandfather's house. Now they are caged in.
SHELL ON BALCONY
Down the street, an unexploded shell lies on the balcony of a building overlooking a bombed stadium -- it's hard to imagine how Bint Jbeil's 4,000 people can pick up their lives while so many deadly leftovers from the war carpet the landscape.
Children are at particular risk from cluster bombs, such as the one that was lying in wait for 10-year-old Hassan Tahini and his cousin in the border village of Aita al-Shaab.
"We were walking without paying attention, we saw something, but we didn't know it was a bomb," said Tahini from his hospital bed in Tyre. "We saw a little bit of it sticking out of the earth. We said to ourselves, 'it's a toy, so what?'
"We trod on it. It exploded and we flew two or three metres through the air," he said. "God saved me."
Tahini spent two days in intensive care at Tyre's Jebel Amel hospital, along with his 12-year-old cousin Sikni, with multiple wounds to his small intestine, liver and stomach.
Both will survive, said Nasser Farran, the surgeon who has treated them and a dozen other recent cluster bomb victims.
The United Nations has confirmed 249 Israeli cluster bomb strikes across south Lebanon and says the bomblets have killed eight people and wounded at least 38 since the truce.
"It's a huge problem," said Tekimiti Gilbert, operations chief of the U.N. Mine Action Coordination Centre in Lebanon.
He said he had "no doubt" that Israel's use of cluster bombs violated international law which bans the use of such munitions in civilian areas.
Israel denies using the weapons illegally and accuses Hizbollah of firing rockets into Israel from towns and villages.
NERVES IN PIECES
The five-week war claimed 1,200 lives, mostly civilians, in Lebanon. At least 157 Israelis, mainly soldiers, were killed.
In Bint Jbeil, Nadia chain-smokes and says her nerves are shot trying to deal with cooped-up children 24 hours a day.
"Every time a plane goes over, the children are afraid. At any sound, they jump. They aren't sleeping at night," she said.
On the cement floor of a dark room, some of the younger boys play listlessly with toy guns, planes and rockets.
The stresses of war on families like the Daabouls are replicated among thousands of civilians in south Lebanon.
Among aid groups trying to respond is Save The Children, which plans to launch programmes soon to teach children about the dangers of cluster bombs and other unexploded ordnance.
"We also want to set up safe spaces where children can play, paint, do drama or sing," said Ribka Amsalu, the group's emergency health adviser in Tyre. "It's a way for them to express themselves and their emotions, and to be children."
Save The Children can also provide school materials to enable formal education to continue even where school buildings have been physically destroyed, Amsalu said.
The three-storey school that the Daaboul's 12-year-old daughter Zainab used to attend on the outskirts of Bint Jbeil is a ruined shell, with all its walls torn away, revealing desks and chairs still laid out in rows in a third-floor classroom.
Daaboul's music store was pulverised by Israeli bombing, like the rest of Bint Jbeil's market area, now a wasteland of flattened buildings, broken masonry and twisted steel.
The 37-year-old shopkeeper's home fared a bit better.
Clothes spill from a collapsed washing machine hit by shrapnel, but plates and glasses lie intact on kitchen shelves.
Dust and debris below a hole gouged in the roof cover teddy bears and furniture. The television set has survived. So has the framed photo of a youthful Daaboul as a Lebanese army conscript.
"The house can be repaired, but if we can't finish it before winter we'll have to rent something in Beirut," his wife said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24468429.htm
QUOTE(beamer619 @ Aug 25 2006, 12:09 AM)
I think the Lebanese just want to be left alone. Lebanon has a democratically elected government. Isn't that what we want for countries in the Middle East? Maybe Hezbollah has a beef against Israel because Israel won't stay in their own country. They have this habit of occupying terroritories that don't belong to them.
That could be the reason that the Palestinians don't like them very much - because the Israelis treat them like dirt and are occupying territories in the West Bank that are supposed to belong to the Palestinians.
I guess Israel did a little more than "defend itself" because they are now being accused of war crimes.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24468429.htm
That could be the reason that the Palestinians don't like them very much - because the Israelis treat them like dirt and are occupying territories in the West Bank that are supposed to belong to the Palestinians.
I guess Israel did a little more than "defend itself" because they are now being accused of war crimes.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24468429.htm
This is Standard Operating Procedure for the Terror gang; making Israel's (or in Iraq; US Forces) out to be the big evil.
I have no doubt there maybe unexploded ordinance around the Lebanese countryside...... It's there as a direct result of Hezbollah attacking Israel... period.
As far as the Lebanese governemnt being a democracy..... they are a paper tiger, Hezbollah has the power. Any government official that is not in Hezbollah's pocket has one foot in the grave and muzzle in their back.
QUOTE(SFC_White @ Aug 25 2006, 05:47 AM)
This is Standard Operating Procedure for the Terror gang; making Israel's (or in Iraq; US Forces) out to be the big evil.
I am not a terrorist.
QUOTE(SFC_White @ Aug 25 2006, 05:47 AM)
I have no doubt there maybe unexploded ordinance around the Lebanese countryside...... It's there as a direct result of Hezbollah attacking Israel... period.
I thought the provocation was that Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers. That's hardly attacking Israel.
QUOTE(SFC_White @ Aug 25 2006, 05:47 AM)
As far as the Lebanese governemnt being a democracy..... they are a paper tiger, Hezbollah has the power. Any government official that is not in Hezbollah's pocket has one foot in the grave and muzzle in their back.
Can you provide proof for this statement by an unbiased source?
____________________________________________________________________
Let me first say that I am a non-interventionist. I oppose the United States becoming involved in the affairs of other nations unless they are invited to do so or unless absolutely necessary in order to defend our country. And, even in these cases, I still would be suspicious of the motives of our government. It is my opinion that our government seeks to dominate the world, not live in it. Therefore, our leaders’ (Democrat and Republican) motives are always suspect to me.
Also, I have nothing against people in the military, although I do notice a tendency on the part of people who are in the military (as evidenced by people on this website) to see things in black and white terms. People are either good or bad. Our enemies are bad and we are good. Of course, considering the indoctrination that one receives upon joining the military, I’m not surprised. Frequently though, people who join the military already think this way. Don’t you find it interesting that the good guys and the bad guys often flip back and forth depending on the foreign policy goals of our leaders?
I do not like “the military,” as an institution because I think they’re too likely to want to intervene in the affairs of others without sufficient cause. That’s my opinion. I realize that we need a military to act as a deterrent to aggression on the part of others. But, I see that too often, WE are the aggressors.
I view Israel the same way. Israel has become an aggressive nation. In my opinion, they have lost the moral high ground because of their heavy-handed behavior toward their neighbors. I don’t view all Israelis this way. I do view their leadership this way, as I view the current leadership in the U.S. this way.
I believe that if Israel gave up the occupied territories and agreed to a two-state solution with the Palestinians based on the 1967 borders, that they would have very few problems with terrorists and terrorism.
I don’t consider myself a conservative, but I do admire some of the foreign policy views of Pat Buchanan. I agree with him here:
QUOTE
Why Are They Killing Us?
by Patrick J. Buchanan
July 13, 2005
Who carried out the London massacre, we do not know. But, as to why they did it, we are already quarreling.
President Bush says that the terrorists are attacking our civilization. At Fort Bragg, N.C., he explained again why we are fighting in Iraq, two years after we overthrew Saddam Hussein. "Iraq is the latest battlefield in this war," he said, in "a global war on terror."
"Many terrorists who kill ... on the streets of Baghdad are followers of the same murderous ideology that took the lives of citizens in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. There is only one course of action against them: to defeat them abroad before they attack us at home."
Bush was echoed by Sen. John McCain. Those terrorists in Iraq, McCain told Larry King, "are the same guys who would be in New York if we don't win." We fight the terrorists over there so we do not have to fight them over here.
But is this true?
Few Americans have given more thought to the motivation of suicide-bombers than Robert Pape, author of "Dying to Win: The Logic of Suicide Terrorism." His book is drawn from an immense database on every suicide-bomb attack from 1980 to early 2004. Conclusion: The claim that 9-11 and the suicide-bombings in Iraq are done to advance some jihad by "Islamofascists" against the West is not only unsubstantiated, it is hollow.
"Islamic fundamentalism is not as closely associated with suicide terrorism as many people think," Pape tells the American Conservative in its July 18 issue. Indeed, the world's leader in suicide terror was the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka. This secular Marxist group "invented the famous suicide vest for their suicide assassination of Rajiv Ghandi in May 1991. The Palestinians got the idea of the vest from the Tamil Tigers."
But if the aim of suicide bombers is not to advance Islamism in a war of civilizations, what is its purpose? Pape's conclusion:
[S]uicide-terrorist attacks are not so much driven by religion as by a clear strategic objective: to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from the territory that the terrorists view as their homeland. From Lebanon to Sri Lanka to Chechnya to Kashmir to the West Bank, every major suicide terrorist campaign – over 95 percent of all incidents – has had as its central objective to compel a democratic state to withdraw.
The 9-11 terrorists were over here because we were over there. They are not trying to convert us. They are killing us to drive us out of their countries.
Before the U.S. invasion, says Pape, "Iraq never had a suicide attack in its history. Since our invasion, suicide terrorism has been escalating rapidly, with 20 attacks in 2003, 48 in 2004 and over 50 in just the first five months of 2005. Every year since the U.S. invasion, suicide terrorism has doubled ... Far from making us safer against terrorism, the operation in Iraq has stimulated suicide terrorists and has given suicide terrorism a new lease on life."
Pape is saying that President Bush has got it backward: The Iraq war is not eradicating terrorism, it is creating terrorists.
The good news? "The history of the last 20 years" shows that once the troops of the occupying democracies "withdraw from the homeland of the terrorists, they often stop – and stop on a dime."
Between 1982 and 1986, there were 41 suicide-bomb attacks on U.S., French, and Israeli targets in Lebanon. When U.S. and French troops withdrew and Israel pulled back to a six-mile buffer zone, suicide-bombings virtually ceased. When the Israelis left Lebanon, the Lebanese suicide-bombers did not follow them to Tel Aviv.
"Since suicide terrorism is mainly a response to foreign occupation and not Islamic fundamentalism," says Pape, "the use of heavy military force to transform Muslim societies ... is only likely to increase the number of suicide terrorists coming at us."
What Pape is saying is that the neocons' "World War IV" – our invading Islamic countries to overthrow regimes and convert them into democracies – is suicidal, like stomping on an anthill so as not to be bitten by ants. It is the presence of U.S. troops in Islamic lands that is the progenitor of suicide terrorism.
Bush's cure for terrorism is a cause of the epidemic. The doctor is spreading the disease. The longer we stay in Iraq, the greater the number of suicide attacks we can expect. The sooner we get our troops out, the sooner terrorism over there and over here will end. So Pape says the data proves. This is the precise opposite of what George Bush argues and believes.
How would we defend our vital interests in the Gulf?
Answers Pape: As we did in the 1970s and 1980s. By getting our troops out, removing the cause of suicide-terror, leaving behind stocked bases and putting U.S. carrier and air forces over the horizon to ensure the Gulf oil flows. But unless and until American troops are withdrawn from the Middle East, the suicide attacks continue.
http://www.theamericancause.org/a-pjb-050713-kill.htm
by Patrick J. Buchanan
July 13, 2005
Who carried out the London massacre, we do not know. But, as to why they did it, we are already quarreling.
President Bush says that the terrorists are attacking our civilization. At Fort Bragg, N.C., he explained again why we are fighting in Iraq, two years after we overthrew Saddam Hussein. "Iraq is the latest battlefield in this war," he said, in "a global war on terror."
"Many terrorists who kill ... on the streets of Baghdad are followers of the same murderous ideology that took the lives of citizens in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. There is only one course of action against them: to defeat them abroad before they attack us at home."
Bush was echoed by Sen. John McCain. Those terrorists in Iraq, McCain told Larry King, "are the same guys who would be in New York if we don't win." We fight the terrorists over there so we do not have to fight them over here.
But is this true?
Few Americans have given more thought to the motivation of suicide-bombers than Robert Pape, author of "Dying to Win: The Logic of Suicide Terrorism." His book is drawn from an immense database on every suicide-bomb attack from 1980 to early 2004. Conclusion: The claim that 9-11 and the suicide-bombings in Iraq are done to advance some jihad by "Islamofascists" against the West is not only unsubstantiated, it is hollow.
"Islamic fundamentalism is not as closely associated with suicide terrorism as many people think," Pape tells the American Conservative in its July 18 issue. Indeed, the world's leader in suicide terror was the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka. This secular Marxist group "invented the famous suicide vest for their suicide assassination of Rajiv Ghandi in May 1991. The Palestinians got the idea of the vest from the Tamil Tigers."
But if the aim of suicide bombers is not to advance Islamism in a war of civilizations, what is its purpose? Pape's conclusion:
[S]uicide-terrorist attacks are not so much driven by religion as by a clear strategic objective: to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from the territory that the terrorists view as their homeland. From Lebanon to Sri Lanka to Chechnya to Kashmir to the West Bank, every major suicide terrorist campaign – over 95 percent of all incidents – has had as its central objective to compel a democratic state to withdraw.
The 9-11 terrorists were over here because we were over there. They are not trying to convert us. They are killing us to drive us out of their countries.
Before the U.S. invasion, says Pape, "Iraq never had a suicide attack in its history. Since our invasion, suicide terrorism has been escalating rapidly, with 20 attacks in 2003, 48 in 2004 and over 50 in just the first five months of 2005. Every year since the U.S. invasion, suicide terrorism has doubled ... Far from making us safer against terrorism, the operation in Iraq has stimulated suicide terrorists and has given suicide terrorism a new lease on life."
Pape is saying that President Bush has got it backward: The Iraq war is not eradicating terrorism, it is creating terrorists.
The good news? "The history of the last 20 years" shows that once the troops of the occupying democracies "withdraw from the homeland of the terrorists, they often stop – and stop on a dime."
Between 1982 and 1986, there were 41 suicide-bomb attacks on U.S., French, and Israeli targets in Lebanon. When U.S. and French troops withdrew and Israel pulled back to a six-mile buffer zone, suicide-bombings virtually ceased. When the Israelis left Lebanon, the Lebanese suicide-bombers did not follow them to Tel Aviv.
"Since suicide terrorism is mainly a response to foreign occupation and not Islamic fundamentalism," says Pape, "the use of heavy military force to transform Muslim societies ... is only likely to increase the number of suicide terrorists coming at us."
What Pape is saying is that the neocons' "World War IV" – our invading Islamic countries to overthrow regimes and convert them into democracies – is suicidal, like stomping on an anthill so as not to be bitten by ants. It is the presence of U.S. troops in Islamic lands that is the progenitor of suicide terrorism.
Bush's cure for terrorism is a cause of the epidemic. The doctor is spreading the disease. The longer we stay in Iraq, the greater the number of suicide attacks we can expect. The sooner we get our troops out, the sooner terrorism over there and over here will end. So Pape says the data proves. This is the precise opposite of what George Bush argues and believes.
How would we defend our vital interests in the Gulf?
Answers Pape: As we did in the 1970s and 1980s. By getting our troops out, removing the cause of suicide-terror, leaving behind stocked bases and putting U.S. carrier and air forces over the horizon to ensure the Gulf oil flows. But unless and until American troops are withdrawn from the Middle East, the suicide attacks continue.
http://www.theamericancause.org/a-pjb-050713-kill.htm
QUOTE(beamer619 @ Aug 25 2006, 11:34 AM)
I am not a terrorist.
I thought the provocation was that Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers. That's hardly attacking Israel.
Can you provide proof for this statement by an unbiased source?
____________________________________________________________________
Let me first say that I am a non-interventionist. I oppose the United States becoming involved in the affairs of other nations unless they are invited to do so or unless absolutely necessary in order to defend our country. And, even in these cases, I still would be suspicious of the motives of our government. It is my opinion that our government seeks to dominate the world, not live in it. Therefore, our leaders’ (Democrat and Republican) motives are always suspect to me.
Also, I have nothing against people in the military, although I do notice a tendency on the part of people who are in the military (as evidenced by people on this website) to see things in black and white terms. People are either good or bad. Our enemies are bad and we are good. Of course, considering the indoctrination that one receives upon joining the military, I’m not surprised. Frequently though, people who join the military already think this way. Don’t you find it interesting that the good guys and the bad guys often flip back and forth depending on the foreign policy goals of our leaders?
I do not like “the military,” as an institution because I think they’re too likely to want to intervene in the affairs of others without sufficient cause. That’s my opinion. I realize that we need a military to act as a deterrent to aggression on the part of others. But, I see that too often, WE are the aggressors.
I view Israel the same way. Israel has become an aggressive nation. In my opinion, they have lost the moral high ground because of their heavy-handed behavior toward their neighbors. I don’t view all Israelis this way. I do view their leadership this way, as I view the current leadership in the U.S. this way.
I believe that if Israel gave up the occupied territories and agreed to a two-state solution with the Palestinians based on the 1967 borders, that they would have very few problems with terrorists and terrorism.
I don’t consider myself a conservative, but I do admire some of the foreign policy views of Pat Buchanan. I agree with him here:
I thought the provocation was that Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers. That's hardly attacking Israel.
Can you provide proof for this statement by an unbiased source?
____________________________________________________________________
Let me first say that I am a non-interventionist. I oppose the United States becoming involved in the affairs of other nations unless they are invited to do so or unless absolutely necessary in order to defend our country. And, even in these cases, I still would be suspicious of the motives of our government. It is my opinion that our government seeks to dominate the world, not live in it. Therefore, our leaders’ (Democrat and Republican) motives are always suspect to me.
Also, I have nothing against people in the military, although I do notice a tendency on the part of people who are in the military (as evidenced by people on this website) to see things in black and white terms. People are either good or bad. Our enemies are bad and we are good. Of course, considering the indoctrination that one receives upon joining the military, I’m not surprised. Frequently though, people who join the military already think this way. Don’t you find it interesting that the good guys and the bad guys often flip back and forth depending on the foreign policy goals of our leaders?
I do not like “the military,” as an institution because I think they’re too likely to want to intervene in the affairs of others without sufficient cause. That’s my opinion. I realize that we need a military to act as a deterrent to aggression on the part of others. But, I see that too often, WE are the aggressors.
I view Israel the same way. Israel has become an aggressive nation. In my opinion, they have lost the moral high ground because of their heavy-handed behavior toward their neighbors. I don’t view all Israelis this way. I do view their leadership this way, as I view the current leadership in the U.S. this way.
I believe that if Israel gave up the occupied territories and agreed to a two-state solution with the Palestinians based on the 1967 borders, that they would have very few problems with terrorists and terrorism.
I don’t consider myself a conservative, but I do admire some of the foreign policy views of Pat Buchanan. I agree with him here:
I agree with you beamer. America has become way too militaristic. And I think Generals Eisenhower, and Smedley Butler would agree also.
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,111332,00.html
Europe Pledges 7,000 Peacekeepers
Associated Press | August 25, 2006
BRUSSELS, Belgium - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday that Europe had agreed to provide the "backbone" of a peacekeeping force for Lebanon, providing nearly half of a 15,000-member contingent.
European officials said it would take up to three months to get all the troops on the ground.
Speaking after an emergency meeting of European foreign ministers, Annan also said has "firm commitments" from Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh, and was consulting with Turkey about joining the peacekeeping force.
Israel has said it would oppose the deployment of troops from Muslim nations with which it does not have diplomatic ties, saying their inclusion would make it impossible for Israel to share vital intelligence information with the U.N. force.
"Europe is providing the backbone of the force," Annan said. "We can now begin to put together a credible force."
By pledging 6,900 troops, European countries overcame initial concern about being caught in the middle between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah, which agreed Aug. 14 to lay down arms under a U.N. brokered cease-fire after 34 days of fighting that claimed hundreds of lives and caused significant damage, especially in Lebanon.
France, in particular, had held back from promising a large contribution and demanded a clearer definition of the mission and the rules of engagement.
Annan said he asked France - which dramatically increased its pledged contribution to 2,000 troops late Thursday - to lead the 15,000-member mission until February 2007.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Annan gave guarantees for the safety of European troops and on rules of engagement, and that France wanted an arms-free "exclusion zone" in south Lebanon.
"We think the best solution for disarming Hezbollah is to make an exclusion zone with the retreat of the Israeli army on one side and the deployment of the Lebanese army on the other, reinforced by the U.N. troops," he said.
"Our objective is clear, to disarm Hezbollah," Douste-Blazy said, but added that military force was not the answer. "The only solution is to have a political solution."
Annan said Hezbollah could not be disarmed by force.
"The troops are not going there to disarm Hezbollah, let's be clear on that," he said.
Douste-Blazy said he hoped all five permanent U.N. Security Council members - the United States, China, Britain and Russia, in addition to France - will send troops to participate in the force.
"The Europeans should not be the only ones. We hope particularly that the permanent members of the Security Council will participate, as well as Muslim countries," he said.
The United States has explicitly ruled out participation in the peacekeeping force. The U.S. often provides logistics for U.N. peacekeeping forces - which it is expected to do in Lebanon - but as a rule it does not provide troops unless it is commanding the force.
Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said the entire U.N. force should be in place within two to three months. Annan said he hoped the force would be able to start deploying in "days, not weeks."
The EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, called on Israel to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon. Ending the blockade has been linked to forming a U.N. force.
Israel said it would lift the blockade after the Lebanese army and the bolstered international force take control of the country's ports and borders to prevent Hezbollah guerrillas from importing new arms.
"The minute they are there, we will be able to lift it," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said. The statement left unclear at what point Israel would consider there would be enough troops on the ground to lift the blockade.
Israel is maintaining the blockade, despite the cease-fire, to prevent Hezbollah from rearming with the help of its Syrian and Iranian patrons. Regev said preventing the guerrillas from importing new weapons was a key element of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which called for the cease-fire.
Regev declined to comment on Annan's statement about the participation of Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh in the peacekeeping force.
In New York, a U.N. official said the world body is expected to hold another formal meeting Monday for countries that have expressed interest in contributing troops to the peacekeeping force. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because there has been no official announcement.
About 150 French soldiers - an engineering team - landed Friday at Naqoura in southern Lebanon. They joined 250 of their countrymen already in Lebanon, and raised to 2,200 the number of peacekeepers already in the south.
Those UNIFIL troops, in place since the 1970s, have been widely considered ineffectual and have been dogged by a vague mandate.
Ambiguities remain in the recent U.N. resolution, but it does considerably clarify the rules of engagement, authorizing the expanded U.N. force to "to take all necessary action" to prevent hostile activities wherever peacekeepers are stationed.
The peacekeepers will help 15,000 Lebanese troops extend their authority into southern Lebanon, which has been controlled by Hezbollah guerrillas, as Israel withdraws its soldiers after a monthlong attack.
Annan said that the U.N. force would be able to deploy along the Lebanese-Syrian border to help prevent weapons shipments to Hezbollah, but only if the Lebanese government asked for such help. Lebanon, to date, has neither asked for this nor ruled it out - but Syrian President Bashar Assad has strongly objected.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Europe Pledges 7,000 Peacekeepers
Associated Press | August 25, 2006
BRUSSELS, Belgium - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday that Europe had agreed to provide the "backbone" of a peacekeeping force for Lebanon, providing nearly half of a 15,000-member contingent.
European officials said it would take up to three months to get all the troops on the ground.
Speaking after an emergency meeting of European foreign ministers, Annan also said has "firm commitments" from Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh, and was consulting with Turkey about joining the peacekeeping force.
Israel has said it would oppose the deployment of troops from Muslim nations with which it does not have diplomatic ties, saying their inclusion would make it impossible for Israel to share vital intelligence information with the U.N. force.
"Europe is providing the backbone of the force," Annan said. "We can now begin to put together a credible force."
By pledging 6,900 troops, European countries overcame initial concern about being caught in the middle between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah, which agreed Aug. 14 to lay down arms under a U.N. brokered cease-fire after 34 days of fighting that claimed hundreds of lives and caused significant damage, especially in Lebanon.
France, in particular, had held back from promising a large contribution and demanded a clearer definition of the mission and the rules of engagement.
Annan said he asked France - which dramatically increased its pledged contribution to 2,000 troops late Thursday - to lead the 15,000-member mission until February 2007.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Annan gave guarantees for the safety of European troops and on rules of engagement, and that France wanted an arms-free "exclusion zone" in south Lebanon.
"We think the best solution for disarming Hezbollah is to make an exclusion zone with the retreat of the Israeli army on one side and the deployment of the Lebanese army on the other, reinforced by the U.N. troops," he said.
"Our objective is clear, to disarm Hezbollah," Douste-Blazy said, but added that military force was not the answer. "The only solution is to have a political solution."
Annan said Hezbollah could not be disarmed by force.
"The troops are not going there to disarm Hezbollah, let's be clear on that," he said.
Douste-Blazy said he hoped all five permanent U.N. Security Council members - the United States, China, Britain and Russia, in addition to France - will send troops to participate in the force.
"The Europeans should not be the only ones. We hope particularly that the permanent members of the Security Council will participate, as well as Muslim countries," he said.
The United States has explicitly ruled out participation in the peacekeeping force. The U.S. often provides logistics for U.N. peacekeeping forces - which it is expected to do in Lebanon - but as a rule it does not provide troops unless it is commanding the force.
Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said the entire U.N. force should be in place within two to three months. Annan said he hoped the force would be able to start deploying in "days, not weeks."
The EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, called on Israel to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon. Ending the blockade has been linked to forming a U.N. force.
Israel said it would lift the blockade after the Lebanese army and the bolstered international force take control of the country's ports and borders to prevent Hezbollah guerrillas from importing new arms.
"The minute they are there, we will be able to lift it," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said. The statement left unclear at what point Israel would consider there would be enough troops on the ground to lift the blockade.
Israel is maintaining the blockade, despite the cease-fire, to prevent Hezbollah from rearming with the help of its Syrian and Iranian patrons. Regev said preventing the guerrillas from importing new weapons was a key element of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which called for the cease-fire.
Regev declined to comment on Annan's statement about the participation of Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh in the peacekeeping force.
In New York, a U.N. official said the world body is expected to hold another formal meeting Monday for countries that have expressed interest in contributing troops to the peacekeeping force. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because there has been no official announcement.
About 150 French soldiers - an engineering team - landed Friday at Naqoura in southern Lebanon. They joined 250 of their countrymen already in Lebanon, and raised to 2,200 the number of peacekeepers already in the south.
Those UNIFIL troops, in place since the 1970s, have been widely considered ineffectual and have been dogged by a vague mandate.
Ambiguities remain in the recent U.N. resolution, but it does considerably clarify the rules of engagement, authorizing the expanded U.N. force to "to take all necessary action" to prevent hostile activities wherever peacekeepers are stationed.
The peacekeepers will help 15,000 Lebanese troops extend their authority into southern Lebanon, which has been controlled by Hezbollah guerrillas, as Israel withdraws its soldiers after a monthlong attack.
Annan said that the U.N. force would be able to deploy along the Lebanese-Syrian border to help prevent weapons shipments to Hezbollah, but only if the Lebanese government asked for such help. Lebanon, to date, has neither asked for this nor ruled it out - but Syrian President Bashar Assad has strongly objected.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
QUOTE(SFC_White @ Aug 25 2006, 08:47 AM)
This is Standard Operating Procedure for the Terror gang; making Israel's (or in Iraq; US Forces) out to be the big evil.
Because they are? (the Israeli and US governments that is)
Why are we wasting our time fighting wars against people who do not threaten us? Its not the antiwar movements fault our troops were misused and thier lives were wasted to make us more enemies.
If you served in Iraq everything you did was a waste, in fact our presence thier made things worse.
History will bear that out.
QUOTE(real_democrat @ Aug 31 2006, 09:46 AM)
Because they are? (the Israeli and US governments that is)
Why are we wasting our time fighting wars against people who do not threaten us? Its not the antiwar movements fault our troops were misused and thier lives were wasted to make us more enemies.
If you served in Iraq everything you did was a waste, in fact our presence thier made things worse.
History will bear that out.
Why are we wasting our time fighting wars against people who do not threaten us? Its not the antiwar movements fault our troops were misused and thier lives were wasted to make us more enemies.
If you served in Iraq everything you did was a waste, in fact our presence thier made things worse.
History will bear that out.
I'm sorry that you feel that way about the US and Israeli governments. As an American I know our government is not always the best it can be; but there is no place on earth I'd rather live.
QUOTE
If you served in Iraq everything you did was a waste, in fact our presence thier made things worse.
Oh how I beg to differ' The friends I made in Iraq both American, Australian, Kurd, Arab, Assyrian and Turkman... were far from a waste of time on a personal level.
I was glad to see our assistance helping form the new Iraqi Government on a regional level.
Worse? Worse then what? Living in a decaying corrupt totalitarian state under an insane dictator that razes entire villages based on their ethnicity.... Things are tough for the Iraqi's now, there is no doubt, but they are a tough lot. How many Votes did Saddam get in their last election? As tough as things are in Iraq, I don't here anyone asking for him back.
What's really a waste of time is attempting to live in the past; how is History going to bear out anything when the time to decide has come and gone??? The little argument over whether to invade Iraq has come and gone my friend. That Boat has left the dock. I was right there with you when it did shoulder to shoulder.
You are still on the Dock waiting,
You can argue hypothetical situations till your face turns blue; you can not turn back time.
What you would suggest? Leave Iraqi: create a power void for fanaticism fill, more innocent people to die on a scale that makes the current situation look like a picnic, Turn our backs on the friends we do have to appease our enemies...
Where is the sense in any of that?
I talk to Marines coming back from Iraq about on a weekly basis 1st Sgt.
The only down side I hear from them is they will get something fixed and vandals will tear it up. They say it pisses off the Iraqis it was fixed for as bad as our guys who built it.
Sort of reminds me of the inner-city gang problems we have here where they vandalize things marking their turf and drive by shooting rivals.
Thank you 1st Sgt. for being part of the solution.
The only down side I hear from them is they will get something fixed and vandals will tear it up. They say it pisses off the Iraqis it was fixed for as bad as our guys who built it.
Sort of reminds me of the inner-city gang problems we have here where they vandalize things marking their turf and drive by shooting rivals.
Thank you 1st Sgt. for being part of the solution.
QUOTE
If you served in Iraq everything you did was a waste
I think this is an outrageous statement and that an apology is owed.
Making friends with people from all sides, THAT'S beneficial! People keep forgetting the small Christian communities, how they're being attacked by fundamentalists in Sunni and Shi'ite areas but finding refuge among the Kurds.
QUOTE(SFC_White @ Aug 31 2006, 04:18 PM)
I'm sorry that you feel that way about the US and Israeli governments. As an American I know our government is not always the best it can be; but there is no place on earth I'd rather live.
Oh how I beg to differ' The friends I made in Iraq both American, Australian, Kurd, Arab, Assyrian and Turkman... were far from a waste of time on a personal level.
I was glad to see our assistance helping form the new Iraqi Government on a regional level.
Worse? Worse then what? Living in a decaying corrupt totalitarian state under an insane dictator that razes entire villages based on their ethnicity.... Things are tough for the Iraqi's now, there is no doubt, but they are a tough lot. How many Votes did Saddam get in their last election? As tough as things are in Iraq, I don't here anyone asking for him back.
What's really a waste of time is attempting to live in the past; how is History going to bear out anything when the time to decide has come and gone??? The little argument over whether to invade Iraq has come and gone my friend. That Boat has left the dock. I was right there with you when it did shoulder to shoulder.
You are still on the Dock waiting,
You can argue hypothetical situations till your face turns blue; you can not turn back time.
What you would suggest? Leave Iraqi: create a power void for fanaticism fill, more innocent people to die on a scale that makes the current situation look like a picnic, Turn our backs on the friends we do have to appease our enemies...
Where is the sense in any of that?
Oh how I beg to differ' The friends I made in Iraq both American, Australian, Kurd, Arab, Assyrian and Turkman... were far from a waste of time on a personal level.
I was glad to see our assistance helping form the new Iraqi Government on a regional level.
Worse? Worse then what? Living in a decaying corrupt totalitarian state under an insane dictator that razes entire villages based on their ethnicity.... Things are tough for the Iraqi's now, there is no doubt, but they are a tough lot. How many Votes did Saddam get in their last election? As tough as things are in Iraq, I don't here anyone asking for him back.
What's really a waste of time is attempting to live in the past; how is History going to bear out anything when the time to decide has come and gone??? The little argument over whether to invade Iraq has come and gone my friend. That Boat has left the dock. I was right there with you when it did shoulder to shoulder.
You are still on the Dock waiting,
You can argue hypothetical situations till your face turns blue; you can not turn back time.
What you would suggest? Leave Iraqi: create a power void for fanaticism fill, more innocent people to die on a scale that makes the current situation look like a picnic, Turn our backs on the friends we do have to appease our enemies...
Where is the sense in any of that?
Whether or not people in the Military feel good about being deployed in a war that they never should have been in is entirely irrelevent. What was a not waste of time on a personal level has been a travesty