ISRAEL - IRAN - SYRIA - HAMAS - HEZBOLLAH - WWWIII?

osso said

They have no other PR line to push.

"Freedom is on the march"..."We are winning the war on terrorism"...whenever events show such slogans to be just about precisely the opposite of reality, and because they absolutely cannot and will not admit bad decisions or incompetent analysis/planning, they have no choice but to insist that down is really up. War is peace.

It is said that Iarael got "allowance" to go on until next weekend, that new bombs from the USA are on way to Israel ...

On the other hand, some more "friendly" signs are to be seen after the talks, the German Foreign Minister had had today ....

Israel set war plan more than a year ago
Israel set war plan more than a year ago
Strategy was put in motion as Hezbollah began gaining military strength in Lebanon
Matthew Kalman, Chronicle Foreign Service
Friday, July 21, 2006

Israel's military response by air, land and sea to what it considered a provocation last week by Hezbollah militants is unfolding according to a plan finalized more than a year ago.

In the six years since Israel ended its military occupation of southern Lebanon, it watched warily as Hezbollah built up its military presence in the region. When Hezbollah militants kidnapped two Israeli soldiers last week, the Israeli military was ready to react almost instantly.

"Of all of Israel's wars since 1948, this was the one for which Israel was most prepared," said Gerald Steinberg, professor of political science at Bar-Ilan University. "In a sense, the preparation began in May 2000, immediately after the Israeli withdrawal, when it became clear the international community was not going to prevent Hezbollah from stockpiling missiles and attacking Israel. By 2004, the military campaign scheduled to last about three weeks that we're seeing now had already been blocked out and, in the last year or two, it's been simulated and rehearsed across the board."

More than a year ago, a senior Israeli army officer began giving PowerPoint presentations, on an off-the-record basis, to U.S. and other diplomats, journalists and think tanks, setting out the plan for the current operation in revealing detail. Under the ground rules of the briefings, the officer could not be identified.

In his talks, the officer described a three-week campaign: The first week concentrated on destroying Hezbollah's heavier long-range missiles, bombing its command-and-control centers, and disrupting transportation and communication arteries. In the second week, the focus shifted to attacks on individual sites of rocket launchers or weapons stores. In the third week, ground forces in large numbers would be introduced, but only in order to knock out targets discovered during reconnaissance missions as the campaign unfolded. There was no plan, according to this scenario, to reoccupy southern Lebanon on a long-term basis.

Israeli officials say their pinpoint commando raids should not be confused with a ground invasion. Nor, they say, do they herald another occupation of southern Lebanon, which Israel maintained from 1982 to 2000 -- in order, it said, to thwart Hezbollah attacks on Israel. Planners anticipated the likelihood of civilian deaths on both sides. Israel says Hezbollah intentionally bases some of its operations in residential areas. And Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has bragged publicly that the group's arsenal included rockets capable of bombing Haifa, as occurred last week.

Like all plans, the one now unfolding also has been shaped by changing circumstances, said Eran Lerman, a former colonel in Israeli military intelligence who is now director of the Jerusalem office of the American Jewish Committee.

"There are two radical views of how to deal with this challenge, a serious professional debate within the military community over which way to go," said Lerman. "One is the air power school of thought, the other is the land-borne option. They create different dynamics and different timetables. The crucial factor is that the air force concept is very methodical and almost by definition is slower to get results. A ground invasion that sweeps Hezbollah in front of you is quicker, but at a much higher cost in human life and requiring the creation of a presence on the ground."

The advance scenario is now in its second week, and its success or failure is still unfolding. Whether Israel's aerial strikes will be enough to achieve the threefold aim of the campaign -- to remove the Hezbollah military threat; to evict Hezbollah from the border area, allowing the deployment of Lebanese government troops; and to ensure the safe return of the two Israeli soldiers abducted last week -- remains an open question. Israelis are opposed to the thought of reoccupying Lebanon.

"I have the feeling that the end is not clear here. I have no idea how this movie is going to end," said Daniel Ben-Simon, a military analyst for the daily Haaretz newspaper.

Thursday's clashes in southern Lebanon occurred near an outpost abandoned more than six years ago by the retreating Israeli army. The place was identified using satellite photographs of a Hezbollah bunker, but only from the ground was Israel able to discover that it served as the entrance to a previously unknown underground network of caves and bunkers stuffed with missiles aimed at northern Israel, said Israeli army spokesman Miri Regev.

"We knew about the network, but it was fully revealed (Wednesday) by the ground operation of our forces," said Regev. "This is one of the purposes of the pinpoint ground operations -- to locate and try to destroy the terrorist infrastructure from where they can fire at Israeli citizens."

Israeli military officials say as much as 50 percent of Hezbollah's missile capability has been destroyed, mainly by aerial attacks on targets identified from intelligence reports. But missiles continue to be fired at towns and cities across northern Israel.

"We were not surprised that the firing has continued," said Tzachi Hanegbi, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. "Hezbollah separated its leadership command-and-control system from its field organization. It created a network of tiny cells in each village that had no operational mission except to wait for the moment when they should activate the Katyusha rocket launchers hidden in local houses, using coordinates programmed long ago to hit Nahariya or Kiryat Shemona, or the kibbutzim and villages."

"From the start of this operation, we have also been active on the ground across the width of Lebanon," said Brig. Gen. Ron Friedman, head of Northern Command headquarters. "These missions are designed to support our current actions. Unfortunately, one of the many missions which we have carried out in recent days met with slightly fiercer resistance."

Israel didn't need sophisticated intelligence to discover the huge buildup of Iranian weapons supplies to Hezbollah by way of Syria, because Hezbollah's patrons boasted about it openly in the pages of the Arabic press. As recently as June 16, less than four weeks before the Hezbollah border raid that sparked the current crisis, the Syrian defense minister publicly announced the extension of existing agreements allowing the passage of trucks shipping Iranian weapons into Lebanon.

But to destroy them, Israel needed to map the location of each missile.

"We need a lot of patience," said Hanegbi. "The (Israeli Defense Forces) action at the moment is incapable of finding the very last Katyusha, or the last rocket launcher primed for use hidden inside a house in some village."

Moshe Marzuk, a former head of the Lebanon desk for Israeli Military Intelligence who now is a researcher at the Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, said Israel had learned from past conflicts in Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza -- as well as the recent U.S. experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq -- that a traditional military campaign would be counter-effective.

"A big invasion is not suitable here," said Marzuk. "We are not fighting an army, but guerrillas. It would be a mistake to enter and expose ourselves to fighters who will hide, fire off a missile and run away. If we are to be on the ground at all, we need to use commandos and special forces."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since fighting started
-- Israeli air strikes on Lebanon have hit more than 1,255 targets, including 200 rocket-launching sites.

-- Hezbollah launched more than 900 rockets and missiles into northern Israel.

-- At least 330 Lebanese have been killed, including 20 soldiers and three Hezbollah guerrillas. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora says 1,100 have been wounded; the police put the number at 657.

-- 32 Israelis have been killed, among them 17 soldiers, according to Israeli authorities. At least 12 soldiers and 344 civilians have been wounded.

-- Foreign deaths include eight Canadians, two Kuwaiti nationals, one Iraqi, one Sri Lankan and one Jordanian.

Iarael's behavior is fairly predictable. It reacted the way it had been known to react, from how it has reacted in the past. Therefore, it reacted exactly the way Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria and Iran expected, and wanted, it to react.

Poor Lebanon was a pawn and expedient in the eyes of those pushing Israeli buttons.

Another Letter from the south
Evacuation is not the solution. Just stop the bombing and then no one has to go.I would say that the biggest issues on my mind today is what is going to happen to Beirut after all the foreigners are shipped out? On tv and online, I'm seeing thousands of people fleeing the country. Where are you all going?Ladies and Gentlemen, I can finally say that I had a total breakdown today.It really hit me hard. I was crying all day... And I'm not ashamed to share this with you.I have been helping foreigners leave. Two already gone. One tomorrow. Andone that keeps postponing her departure... She doesn't want to leave. Her parents have pleaded for her to leave, but she loves Beirut as much as I do... What happens when they are gone?When the US and Europe evacuate all their citizens will they then give Israel another "green light week" or even month of bombing. Will they then finally go for the all out Beirut attack?

Beirut is nothing without her foreigners. Please don't leave. So, I cried and cried... Because I felt an incredible wave of fear and sadness take over my mind. I have not been sleeping. Combine fear and lack of sleep and you get one big breakdown.

Church bells are ringing now telling me it's 3am.

In about an hour I will hear the mosques singing to me. Only in Beirut. I love Beirut.I got a lot of emails today from people in England. They said it was really really hot. My husband said that if this war doesn't kill us, global warming will. Hehe.. I did manage to laugh today.Spent the whole day working to bring international media to our peacefuldemonstration tomorrow. I hope they show up and I hope it remains peaceful.It is so important that the world sees what is really going on. I can not thank you all enough for the media contacts you have been sending my way. It is proving to be a small miracle. Thank you. Thank you so much.

I feel like I'm in a WWII movie right now. there is a loud propeller sounding plane flying around. It is so loud. What is it doing? I wonder if this noise is similar to what the Jews were hearing back then.. Howfrightened they must have felt. Hearing these loud sounds, and not knowingif this was going to be their last breath. ... So, what I don't understand is why they are doing it to us now? My Israeli neighbors... Violence can only bring violence... Please ask your government to stop. How can a people who have already had this, do it to someone else?Though this Israeli aggression right now is of the most brutal kind, I think that it is so important that we retain our dignity tomorrow at the demonstration. The last thing the world should see is Arabs burning flags.My eyes are stinging and the computer screen is blurry.... If only I couldsleep.. I would sleep...I also cried so much today when I found the catalog of the art exhibit I curated that took place last month. Last month lies in a different universe now. The show targeted young Lebanese women artists. it was all about providing a platform for a new generation of artists... What is to become of them now? Some of their work is still in the gallery..I called so many different friends today, crying to them over the phone..Apologizing for crying so much... But I guess I had to let it out. Just wanted to speak with people incase this was the last day I could actually do so. Phone lines in the south have been cut, people are stranded.. No way to hear from them. No way to know if they are alive. No way to get to them.One friend was trying to instruct me on how to find a shelter near my housesince we don't have one in our house. I almost threw up. I don't want tohave to go around my neighborhood asking people if they have a shelter.Apparently you then get your own blankets, candles, mosquito coils, etc andstore them there... For when it happens. I almost threw up from fear. Then I called my other friend and he told me he was sitting in his room listeningto Enya. He is stuck in the suburbs/mountains.

Yesterday the Israelis blew up a huge gas reserve near his house. Glad to see they are hitting Hizbollah so well. In areas they don't exist. And my friend, so close to the burning site, has only the option to sit back and drown out the sounds of taunting flames with elevator music...wow, just realized I have no idea what day it is today. Did the gas blowup yesterday or was it the day before?What does it matter... Everything is blowing up.My friend told me about a bartender today who has not been able to speakwith his family since this whole thing started. They were in the south. Hehas no idea if they are alive. His parents have a house in Dahiye (Beirutsuburb where they bombed)... He made a run over today to see if he couldgrab his passport. It is such a huge risk to go anywhere near Dahiye! When he got to his home he realized that he would never be able to see his passport again, his building no longer existed. This bartender is stuck inBeirut for eternity.What is this madness... Tell me why I shouldn't cry.And I watch the people leave. Lebanese and foreigners..All going...What is going to happen when they all leave?

Zeina. http://mslevantine.blogspot.com/2006/07/another-letter-from-south.html

And which corporation is supplying those bombs? Boeing? Northrup? How many dollars involved? And how many lobbyists for that corporation visited the Pentagon in the last week working to meet a self-imposed or marketing department-imposed sales quota?

Iran leader's warning to Israel

Mr Ahmadinejad has provoked ire with anti-Israel comments before
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned Israel that it has "pushed the button of its own destruction" because of its actions in Lebanon.

He also said Israel should "pack up" and move elsewhere, repeating comments made last year.

Israel has accused Iran of involvement in the capture of the two Israeli soldiers, which sparked the current crisis, claims Iran denies.

Iran has also been accused of supplying Hezbollah with money and arms.

"Israel pushed the button of its own destruction by attacking Lebanon," Mr Ahmadinejad said while addressing an education conference.

He did not give further information but suggested Islamic nations and others could isolate Israel and its supporters, AP news agency reported.

He also repeated last year's calls for Israel to move out of the Middle East, comments which sparked widespread condemnation.

"I advise them to pack up and move out of the region before being caught in the fire they have started in Lebanon," he said.

Iran helped found the Lebanese-based Hezbollah in 1982, but says it only gives spiritual and political support to the group, not financial aid, training or weapons.

It has also rejected Israeli claims it was involved in the capture by Hezbollah of two Israeli soldiers two weeks ago, which led to the Israeli strikes on Lebanon.

BBC

In the first gulf war, Iraq gratuitously rocketed Israel. (Israel did not participate in the war.) The coalition successfully urged Israel to refrain from any retaliation.

Israel feels that its Arab enemies learned from this that Israel cannot defend against missiles, and probably will not effectively retaliate. Thus, Israel has resolved to hit back hard when so attacked, as it is doing in Gaza and Lebanon. This sends the clear message that there will be real consequences for missile attacks on Israel.

"Terrorism is the best political weapon for nothing drives people harder than a fear of sudden death." - Adolph Hitler

According to a recent report from the Associated Press, the Saudis want Bush to intervene with Israel.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060723/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_mideast_71;_ylt=Ahc0XBL8D3gBrxYrQMt6j0YUvioA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

"Saudis ask Bush to intervene in Mideast
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
10 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - Saudi Arabia asked President Bush on Sunday to intervene in Israel's military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon to stop the mounting deaths.

"We are requesting a cease-fire to allow for a cessation of hostilities," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said after an Oval Office meeting with Bush.

Saud said he gave the president a letter from Saudi King Abdullah asking that Bush help seek an immediate cease-fire in the Middle East conflict.

Saud, the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki al-Faisal, and Prince Bandar bin Sultan, chief of the Saudi National Security Council, met with Bush for more than an hour Sunday.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also participated in the meeting before departing for Israel in the first U.S. diplomatic effort on the ground since Israel began bombing Lebanon on July 12.

Rice and Bush have rejected calls for an immediate cease-fire, saying it does not make sense if the terrorist threat from Hezbollah is not addressed. They have said Israel has a right to defend itself from terrorism and that Hezbollah must return two captured Israeli soldiers and stop firing missiles and rockets into Israel if they want the fighting to stop......"

More at link

You know there are even some Israelies and Jews who are for peace and are against the occupation and the recent events with Lebanon.


Here is an example of one.

Revel, I would suspect that the piece was written by Hamas. It doesn't recognize that raison de tret of Hamas and Hezbollah is the demise of Israel.

And what about those tv-videos about the anti-war demonstrations in Israel? Hamas actors?

We will really get something done when Cindy Sheehan shows up in Jerusalem. Anti war demonstrations aren't complete without her.

Haaretz:
Anti-war Tel Aviv rally draws Jewish, Israeli Arab crowd

Anti-war protesters are in a tiny minority in Israel

Quoting your "misunderstood genius" hero again, huh?

I still haven't seen a reply (from YOU) to the following observations:


If your man Adolf had had the brains God gives chickens, there were a baker's dozen fairly simple things he could have done differently, any one or two of which would have won the war for him.

He could have simply not invaded Russia; it would have fallen apart within five years and he cold have picked up the pieces.

He could have entered the war with the 300 ocean going U boarts which Doenitz wanted instead of wasting money on "pocket battleships".

He could have insisted on taking Gibralter prior to the war. He might have had to offer Franco the 10 fairest 16-year-old freuleins in Germany at the time, but that couldn't be worst than what actually happened.

He could have mass produced the jet messerschmidt starting in 39 and totally denied the skies over Germany to the allied air forces.

For that matter, he could have started the war with any sort of a plan for waging war against England; in real life, he did not have one.

He could have resisted the dark urge to bomb British cities and continued bombing out the English ball-bearing factories and RAF basis; that was close to winning at the time.

He could have provided major funding for Lucas and Leyland and destroyed the English automobile industry 25 years earlier than actually happened....

He could have built small (like Independance class) carriers to send out 30 miles behind the U boats so that any escort ship trying to go after U boats wouldhave had rockets being fired at it from the air. The U boats could easily have shielded the carriers from English cruisers and/or battleships.

Unlike the situation in the Pacific in which both American and Japanese carriers had to carry three basic kinds of aircraft (fighters, divebombers, torpedo planes), such a small German carrier would have only had to carry fighters, albeit rocket armed, while the U boats would have provided the ship-sinking capacity of such a fleet.

He could have used German-speaking Swiss the way we used Navajos and other Indians instead of the "enigma" machines. Swiss teach their kids to mumble for ten years and then teach them German, which nobody can understand.

Isn't it a shame your man never figured any of that **** out, and the evil Jews took over the world??

Gunga, that's a game of could have should have. Easy talking back in hindsight and criticizing Hitler for decisions he made. Plenty of the points you summed up as errors in judgment can be defended.
Furthermore, you seem to suggest that Hitler himself was responsible for every decision and action made in the war. That is highly questionable at best.
For the record, I'm very glad nazi-germany lost the war. There is no room for nazi ideology in world politics, IMHO.