I heard about this website on the radio but forgot the link. My sister sent it to me today. It is a site that sends a real postcard to a soldier overseas and lets you add a personalized message - FREE. The post cards are hand-drawn, patriotic, children's art. It only takes a minute to send along support that will last for forever.
Let's Say Thanks
Monday, July 31, 2006
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Like a talk show, only quiter
I don't frequently read the comments on blogs, but I found this post from Roger Simon very interesting. It's a conversation initiated about the terror shooting in Seattle (which will not be know as a terror shooting, but is). The conversation turns to the current state of the Hezbollah war. I particularly like the comment by John Moore.
“They have failed to have any dramatic victories in a war where appearances may be more important than substance. The apparently idiotic prime minister wants a 2 km buffer zone, as if that will do anything
…
Unless the Israeli government wakes up, RIGHT NOW, they (and hence we) have lost a major battle in the war on terror.”
I'm not quite as pessimistic as John, but I do believe Israel flinched and missed it's opportunity. The flinch was cause by the momentary influence of caution. When Israel decided to act, they needed to go in strong, which I believe they did. But when the going got tough, the PM flinched instead of pressing harder. And now the moment is lost. They won't be able to finish Hezbollah off. It's going to be determined by the international community. And this has never worked before, so I don't expect it to work this time. Hopefully, in 3, 5, or 10 years when Israel has to do it again, the man in charge doesn't flinch. And hopefully Hezbollah doesn't have any much bigger surprises than they did this time.
“They have failed to have any dramatic victories in a war where appearances may be more important than substance. The apparently idiotic prime minister wants a 2 km buffer zone, as if that will do anything
…
Unless the Israeli government wakes up, RIGHT NOW, they (and hence we) have lost a major battle in the war on terror.”
I'm not quite as pessimistic as John, but I do believe Israel flinched and missed it's opportunity. The flinch was cause by the momentary influence of caution. When Israel decided to act, they needed to go in strong, which I believe they did. But when the going got tough, the PM flinched instead of pressing harder. And now the moment is lost. They won't be able to finish Hezbollah off. It's going to be determined by the international community. And this has never worked before, so I don't expect it to work this time. Hopefully, in 3, 5, or 10 years when Israel has to do it again, the man in charge doesn't flinch. And hopefully Hezbollah doesn't have any much bigger surprises than they did this time.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Why is the UN still in Hezbollahistan?
This was my first thought when I heard that 4 UN “observers” were killed by Israeli fire, yesterday. And, as so often happens, Wretchard, at The Belmont Club, answered my question. This article uses the UN’s own press releases make the obvious case that the IDF did not intentionally target the UN as UN President Kofi Annan claims.
“Considering the fact that UNIFIL peacekeeping mission was a dead-letter it should naturally be asked why Kofi Annan, as their ultimate commander has seen fit to keep them in a position of danger where their only chance of safety actually depends on accurate targeting by the IDF. Their positions are manifestly so close to the Hezbollah; their convoys so at risk at being confused with mobile Hezbollah forces that only by the grace of God and the accuracy of the IDF have fatalities been avoided until now. They were willing to take the risk. Annan was willing to make the hay. You be the judge of Kofi Annan's competence both in the care of his men and with respect to the accusation he has made against the IDF.”
“Considering the fact that UNIFIL peacekeeping mission was a dead-letter it should naturally be asked why Kofi Annan, as their ultimate commander has seen fit to keep them in a position of danger where their only chance of safety actually depends on accurate targeting by the IDF. Their positions are manifestly so close to the Hezbollah; their convoys so at risk at being confused with mobile Hezbollah forces that only by the grace of God and the accuracy of the IDF have fatalities been avoided until now. They were willing to take the risk. Annan was willing to make the hay. You be the judge of Kofi Annan's competence both in the care of his men and with respect to the accusation he has made against the IDF.”
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Any of this sounds familiar?
These clips are from Wikipedia’s Entry on Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990)
------------
PLO attacks from Lebanon into Israel in 1977 and 1978 escalated tensions between the countries. On 11 March 1978, eleven Fatah militants landed on a beach in northern Israel and proceeded to hijack two buses full of passengers on Haifa - Tel-Aviv road, shooting at passing vehicles. They killed 37 and wounded 76 Israelis before being killed in the firefight with the Israeli forces. [1] Israel invaded Lebanon four days later in Operation Litani. The Israeli Army occupied most of the area south of the Litani River, resulting in the evacuation of at least 100,000 Lebanese (Smith, op. cit., 356), as well as approximately 2,000 deaths (Newsweek, 27 March 1978; Time, 3 April 1978; cited in Chomsky, Towards a New Cold War, p. 485 n115). The UN Security Council passed Resolution 425 calling for immediate Israeli withdrawal and creating the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), charged with maintaining peace.
Israeli forces withdrew later in 1978, but retained control of the southern region by managing a 12-mile wide "security zone" along the border. To hold these positions, Israel installed the South Lebanon Army (SLA), a Christian-Shi'a proxy militia under the leadership of Major Saad Haddad. Israel liberally supplied the SLA with arms and resources, and posted "advisors" to strengthen and direct the militia.
Violent exchanges resumed between the PLO, Israel, and the SLA, with the PLO attacking SLA positions and firing rockets into northern Israel, Israel conducting air raids against PLO positions, and the SLA continuing its efforts to consolidate power in the border region.
In August (1981), Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin was re-elected, and in September, Begin and his defense minister Ariel Sharon began to lay plans for a second invasion of Lebanon for the purpose of driving out the PLO. Sharon's intention was to "destroy the PLO military infrastructure and, if possible, the PLO leadership itself; this would mean attacking West Beirut, where the PLO headquarters and command bunkers were located"
srael launched Operation Peace for Galilee on June 6, 1982, attacking PLO bases in Lebanon… Sharon described it as a plan to advance 40 kilometers into Lebanon, demolish PLO strongholds, and establish an expanded security zone that would put northern Israel out of range of PLO rockets.
------------
UN resolutions:
After the invasion had begun, the UN Security Council passed a further resolution on 6 June 1982, UNSCR 509, which reaffirms UNSCR 508 and "demands that Israel withdraw all its military forces forthwith and unconditionally to the internationally recognized boundaries of Lebanon" [3]. Thus far the US had not used its veto. However, on 8 June 1982, the US vetoed a proposed resolution that "reiterates [the] demand that Israel withdraw all its military forces forthwith and unconditionally to the internationally recognized boundaries of Lebanon" [4], thereby giving implicit assent to the Israeli invasion.
On 26 June, a UN Security Council resolution was proposed that "demands the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli forces engaged round Beirut, to a distance of 10 kilometres from the periphery of that city, as a first step towards the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, and the simultaneous withdrawal of the Palestinian armed forces from Beirut, which shall retire to the existing camps" [7]; the United States vetoed the resolution because it was "a transparent attempt to preserve the P.L.O. as a viable political force"
By September,… Israeli forces had pulled out from all but the southern security zone. The IDF would remain in this zone, in violation of UN Security Council resolution 425, until the 2000.
-------------
And this sounds like Harriri Lebanese Prime Minister recently assasinated by Syria)
The Taif Agreement of 1989 marked the beginning of the end of the fighting… The agreement provided a large role for Syria in Lebanese affairs. Returning to Lebanon, they ratified the agreement on November 4 and elected Rene Mouawad as President the following day. Military leader Michel Aoun in East Beirut refused to accept Mouawad, and denounced the Taif Agreement.
Mouawad was assassinated 16 days later in a car bombing…
------------
Are we heading here, again? Not if the Israeli's get their way, and if they go all the way this time, regardless of UN resolutions. Why not ignore the UN? Everyone else does. And what has happens to them???
------------
PLO attacks from Lebanon into Israel in 1977 and 1978 escalated tensions between the countries. On 11 March 1978, eleven Fatah militants landed on a beach in northern Israel and proceeded to hijack two buses full of passengers on Haifa - Tel-Aviv road, shooting at passing vehicles. They killed 37 and wounded 76 Israelis before being killed in the firefight with the Israeli forces. [1] Israel invaded Lebanon four days later in Operation Litani. The Israeli Army occupied most of the area south of the Litani River, resulting in the evacuation of at least 100,000 Lebanese (Smith, op. cit., 356), as well as approximately 2,000 deaths (Newsweek, 27 March 1978; Time, 3 April 1978; cited in Chomsky, Towards a New Cold War, p. 485 n115). The UN Security Council passed Resolution 425 calling for immediate Israeli withdrawal and creating the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), charged with maintaining peace.
Israeli forces withdrew later in 1978, but retained control of the southern region by managing a 12-mile wide "security zone" along the border. To hold these positions, Israel installed the South Lebanon Army (SLA), a Christian-Shi'a proxy militia under the leadership of Major Saad Haddad. Israel liberally supplied the SLA with arms and resources, and posted "advisors" to strengthen and direct the militia.
Violent exchanges resumed between the PLO, Israel, and the SLA, with the PLO attacking SLA positions and firing rockets into northern Israel, Israel conducting air raids against PLO positions, and the SLA continuing its efforts to consolidate power in the border region.
In August (1981), Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin was re-elected, and in September, Begin and his defense minister Ariel Sharon began to lay plans for a second invasion of Lebanon for the purpose of driving out the PLO. Sharon's intention was to "destroy the PLO military infrastructure and, if possible, the PLO leadership itself; this would mean attacking West Beirut, where the PLO headquarters and command bunkers were located"
srael launched Operation Peace for Galilee on June 6, 1982, attacking PLO bases in Lebanon… Sharon described it as a plan to advance 40 kilometers into Lebanon, demolish PLO strongholds, and establish an expanded security zone that would put northern Israel out of range of PLO rockets.
------------
UN resolutions:
After the invasion had begun, the UN Security Council passed a further resolution on 6 June 1982, UNSCR 509, which reaffirms UNSCR 508 and "demands that Israel withdraw all its military forces forthwith and unconditionally to the internationally recognized boundaries of Lebanon" [3]. Thus far the US had not used its veto. However, on 8 June 1982, the US vetoed a proposed resolution that "reiterates [the] demand that Israel withdraw all its military forces forthwith and unconditionally to the internationally recognized boundaries of Lebanon" [4], thereby giving implicit assent to the Israeli invasion.
On 26 June, a UN Security Council resolution was proposed that "demands the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli forces engaged round Beirut, to a distance of 10 kilometres from the periphery of that city, as a first step towards the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, and the simultaneous withdrawal of the Palestinian armed forces from Beirut, which shall retire to the existing camps" [7]; the United States vetoed the resolution because it was "a transparent attempt to preserve the P.L.O. as a viable political force"
By September,… Israeli forces had pulled out from all but the southern security zone. The IDF would remain in this zone, in violation of UN Security Council resolution 425, until the 2000.
-------------
And this sounds like Harriri Lebanese Prime Minister recently assasinated by Syria)
The Taif Agreement of 1989 marked the beginning of the end of the fighting… The agreement provided a large role for Syria in Lebanese affairs. Returning to Lebanon, they ratified the agreement on November 4 and elected Rene Mouawad as President the following day. Military leader Michel Aoun in East Beirut refused to accept Mouawad, and denounced the Taif Agreement.
Mouawad was assassinated 16 days later in a car bombing…
------------
Are we heading here, again? Not if the Israeli's get their way, and if they go all the way this time, regardless of UN resolutions. Why not ignore the UN? Everyone else does. And what has happens to them???
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Haven’t we been here before?
This seems like a really bad idea:
“BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on Tuesday for establishing a strong international force in Lebanon…”
This will not work. It didn’t work back in 1978, culminating in the attack on the US Marine Barracks in Beirut. And it wasn’t working up until the hostilities started 6 days ago:
“Annan underscored Tuesday that the new force would have to be larger and stronger than a long-established U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, which currently numbers some 2,000 troops and which has long been viewed by all sides in the Middle East as ineffectual and lacking a strong mandate.”
Did you know there was already a UN force in Hezbollah country? A "international force" will not work because they will not have the permission to be in control. Hezbollah will not negotiate. They will kill the UN force if the UN force gets in their way. Their motto is “you are with us or you are against us.” Sound familiar? The only way to solve this is the ugly way – the way Israel is handling it now – the way we are handling Iraq. Elimination of those who have sworn to the eradication of the Jews and installation of a democratic government is the only solution. It’s Iraq all over again. It will be hard. It will be bloody. It will be long. But it is the only way to put an end to regions like southern Lebanon. There should be no cease-fire for years. Help Lebanon get control of their southern state. But no cease-fire. Hezbollah has never abided by a cease-fire, and never will. Placing troops in harms way will only get them killed. Send them in with a mission like Iraq, and they have a fighting chance.
“BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on Tuesday for establishing a strong international force in Lebanon…”
This will not work. It didn’t work back in 1978, culminating in the attack on the US Marine Barracks in Beirut. And it wasn’t working up until the hostilities started 6 days ago:
“Annan underscored Tuesday that the new force would have to be larger and stronger than a long-established U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, which currently numbers some 2,000 troops and which has long been viewed by all sides in the Middle East as ineffectual and lacking a strong mandate.”
Did you know there was already a UN force in Hezbollah country? A "international force" will not work because they will not have the permission to be in control. Hezbollah will not negotiate. They will kill the UN force if the UN force gets in their way. Their motto is “you are with us or you are against us.” Sound familiar? The only way to solve this is the ugly way – the way Israel is handling it now – the way we are handling Iraq. Elimination of those who have sworn to the eradication of the Jews and installation of a democratic government is the only solution. It’s Iraq all over again. It will be hard. It will be bloody. It will be long. But it is the only way to put an end to regions like southern Lebanon. There should be no cease-fire for years. Help Lebanon get control of their southern state. But no cease-fire. Hezbollah has never abided by a cease-fire, and never will. Placing troops in harms way will only get them killed. Send them in with a mission like Iraq, and they have a fighting chance.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
It's getting ugly....
There is definitely a surge of scary stuff happening right now. The latest is that Israel, who had to make a stand against Hamas, in now headed for war with Hezbollah. (Hezbollah captures two Israeli soldiers).
This along with:
North Korean missiles and Japan discussing preemptive attacks
Iranian nuclear weapons program
Difficulties in Afghanistan
Terror in India
Hard times in Baghdad
Another terror plot on Manhattan following the Miami cell bust
Things are looking bleak. Time to get tough and remember that we are at war with evil.
Evil:
North Korean - Starving a million of its citizens
Iran - Wants to wipe Israel from the face of the earth
Afghanistan - mired in the Stone Age
Baghdad - Civil war
Manhattan/Miami - They still want to kill us
I don't think President Bush has gone soft, though. There's a lot of talk about how he is pushing negotiations when The Bush Doctrine says that we don't wait if there is a threat. I believe he will still act if there is a threat. He will not hesitate even though he has been lambasted over Iraq. He is true to the belief that his #1 job is to protect America. If/When he believes we are in danger from North Korea or Iran, he will take action. Until then, he will pursue a peaceful solution as we did with Iraq. The short-term memory society (STMS) forgets that we negotiated with Saddam for 11 years before we had to act. We are doing the same with North Korea and Iran. If we do have to act, I don't expect this STMS to remember his efforts to negotiate. The bottom line is that he doesn't care what the STMS thinks. He is doing what is right. He's trying to solve is peacefully. And he's trying to make regional parties take responsibility for their neighbors so that the US doesn't have to play the role of World Police. Give him credit. Give him time. He will protect.
This along with:
North Korean missiles and Japan discussing preemptive attacks
Iranian nuclear weapons program
Difficulties in Afghanistan
Terror in India
Hard times in Baghdad
Another terror plot on Manhattan following the Miami cell bust
Things are looking bleak. Time to get tough and remember that we are at war with evil.
Evil:
North Korean - Starving a million of its citizens
Iran - Wants to wipe Israel from the face of the earth
Afghanistan - mired in the Stone Age
Baghdad - Civil war
Manhattan/Miami - They still want to kill us
I don't think President Bush has gone soft, though. There's a lot of talk about how he is pushing negotiations when The Bush Doctrine says that we don't wait if there is a threat. I believe he will still act if there is a threat. He will not hesitate even though he has been lambasted over Iraq. He is true to the belief that his #1 job is to protect America. If/When he believes we are in danger from North Korea or Iran, he will take action. Until then, he will pursue a peaceful solution as we did with Iraq. The short-term memory society (STMS) forgets that we negotiated with Saddam for 11 years before we had to act. We are doing the same with North Korea and Iran. If we do have to act, I don't expect this STMS to remember his efforts to negotiate. The bottom line is that he doesn't care what the STMS thinks. He is doing what is right. He's trying to solve is peacefully. And he's trying to make regional parties take responsibility for their neighbors so that the US doesn't have to play the role of World Police. Give him credit. Give him time. He will protect.
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