Israel's Attack on Lebanon and Hezbollah

[ACPlayer]

Sec Council Resolution 1502: Text

Calls for extradition and punishment of any one responsible for attacking UN personnel.

This resolution apparently alos applies to all humanitarian workers.
Aid truck stuck

Considering that this war was started out of outrage over Lebanon not being sppedy enough to comply with a UN resolution, wonder if Israel will cough up the personnel responsible for the attack on the UN bunkers.

[ACPlayer]

If you are saying that Israel has sunk to the level of the Arab Terrorists ... well some would agree with that premise.

Of course, claiming that Israel atrocities are not as bad as other has become SOP for the Zionist apologist.

[jman220]

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1. The IDF is incompetent.

[/ QUOTE ] The IDF is a large military organization, there are no doubt plenty of incompetents within its ranks, much as there are in every military organization including the U.S. There is also such a thing as human error, machine error, and a combination of both coupled with incompetence which makes things like this possible (Look at the U.S., we hit a chinese embassy with a precision guided bomb some years back, are you seriously going to argue that was intentional).
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2. The IDF forces are insubordinate.

[/ QUOTE ] Once again, as a large military operation,there may probably are those in it that are insubordinate, as in any military organization, however I think this is the more unlikely explanation.

[jman220]

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Any takers on a wager that the IDF does not court martial their incompetent or insubordinate commanders.

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I'd withdraw this offer of a bet if I were you.

[jman220]

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Actually the obvious choice is that the military is operating without inputs from the political readership.

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Amir Peretz is Israel's Defense Minister.

From that article:

'He is a member of Peace Now, the Israeli pacifist organisation that campaigns for a Palestinian state, and supported Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.

"I see the occupation as an immoral act, first of all," he is quoted as saying. "I want to end the occupation not because of Palestinian pressure, but because I see it as an Israeli interest."

Here is an article from the current U.S. News & World Report

From the article:

'HAIFA, ISRAEL--He may be Israel's unlikeliest warrior, a socialist trade union leader who participated in Peace Now demonstrations. Today as defense minister, Amir Peretz is giving orders to conduct Israel's biggest military offensive in years. The pacifist Labor Party leader, who barely a month ago urged restraint against Palestinian militants (and saw his poll rating drop) and then stammered at the start of the current crisis, is now talking tough. "There is no stopwatch on the military operation" in Lebanon, he declares--and the latest polls show he has gained Israelis' confidence................ Rocky start. Sure enough. On the morning of June 25, when an Israeli soldier was captured by Palestinian militants from Gaza, Peretz faced the first of a sequence of fateful trials. It didn't go well. At a press conference with the Army chief of staff two days later, he stammered and stuttered, unable to get out a word. The local media broadcast it, repeatedly. Until then, Peretz had restrained the generals, who for months had been pushing for a ground invasion of Gaza to stop the Kassam rockets launched against his southern Israeli hometown of Sderot.

Finally, when Egypt's diplomatic efforts failed to gain the soldier's release and a Kassam fell for the first time on the city of Ashkelon, the famously stubborn leader caved in to pressure for action from the public, the military, and Olmert. Israeli tanks and troops entered northern Gaza, though Peretz restricted them to short incursions and urged restraint toward the civilian population.........Unlike the fight against Palestinians, this is a battle that Peretz believes in--a response to an unprovoked attack across an internationally recognized border by people not under Israeli occupation. Speaking to pilots during a visit to a military base, he convincingly declared, "This is a military operation that will determine the future of the state, and we will win." Nothing dovish sounding in that.'

THAT is who is in charge of Israel's military. A member of Peace Now. And he is determined to defeat Hizballah. For good reason.

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This really is an excellent point. There is no equivalence between the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, and what is going on between Israel and Lebanon.

[jman220]

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that seems to have gone out the window now, as it always does once Israeli "doves" get into power

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Peretz has been "in power" in various different cabinet positions, for quite a number of years. His peace positions have never "gone out the window."

[nicky g]

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that seems to have gone out the window now, as it always does once Israeli "doves" get into power

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Peretz has been "in power" in various different cabinet positions, for quite a number of years. His peace positions have never "gone out the window."

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He's been a mayor and in parliament and led a trades union, but he's not been a government minister or leading his party in government until now. In the past months his peace positions clearly have gone out the window as he attempts to secure his political role by playing tough.

EDIT Perhaps you're thinking of Shimon Peres? Amir Peretz, whom we're talking about, has never held a cabinet position before now.

[Sniper]

CNN learned Wednesday that Hezbollah isn't the only militia in Lebanon fighting Israeli troops.

Officials with the Amal Party, headed by speaker of the Lebanese parliament Nabih Berri, said militias loyal to Berri have been involved in every major battle since fighting began.

Amal is a Shiite political and paramilitary organization, like Hezbollah, and fought against Israel in the 1990s during the occupation of southern Lebanon.

[Sniper]

"The al Qaeda organization will not stay silent regarding what the Muslims in Palestine and Lebanon are facing," Zawahiri said.

"How can we remain silent while watching bombs raining on our people," al Qaeda's deputy leader asked. "Oh Muslims everywhere, I call on you to fight and become martyrs in the war against the Zionists and the Crusaders," Zawahri said in a statement aired by Al Jazeera that was entitled "The Zionist-crusader war on Lebanon and the Palestinians."

The Jihad "will last until [Islam] prevails... from Spain to Iraq," he said. "We will attack everywhere."

[Sniper]

IDF bombs Lebanese army base, radio relay station north of Beirut (AP)