Waiting for house-to-house fighting

80 thoughts on “Waiting for house-to-house fighting”

1. Phil,
   I wouldn’t go that far. I’m just thinking along the favorite line of an old Saturday Night Live character, “How convenient.”

   As to putting a sense of scale or proportion to the Israeli response to Hizbollah –

   The reprisal of Israel to the Hizbollah rocket attacks is reminiscent of Gen. Smith and his response to the surprise attack by Filipino freedom fighters against a US military detachment stationed at a fort in Samar. The SOB tried to turn Samar into a howling wilderness.

2. A list of UN Resolutions against “Israel”

   1955-1992:
   * Resolution 106: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for Gaza raid”.
   * Resolution 111: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for raid on Syria that killed fifty-six people”.
   * Resolution 127: ” . . . ‘recommends’ Israel suspends it’s ‘no-man’s zone’ in Jerusalem”.
   * Resolution 162: ” . . . ‘urges’ Israel to comply with UN decisions”.
   * Resolution 171: ” . . . determines flagrant violations’ by Israel in its attack on Syria”.
   * Resolution 228: ” . . . ‘censures’ Israel for its attack on Samu in the West Bank, then under Jordanian control”.
   * Resolution 237: ” . . . ‘urges’ Israel to allow return of new 1967 Palestinian refugees”.
   * Resolution 248: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for its massive attack on Karameh in Jordan”.
   * Resolution 250: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel to refrain from holding military parade in Jerusalem”.
   * Resolution 251: ” . . . ‘deeply deplores’ Israeli military parade in Jerusalem in defiance of Resolution 250″.
   * Resolution 252: ” . . . ‘declares invalid’ Israel’s acts to unify Jerusalem as Jewish capital”.
   * Resolution 256: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israeli raids on Jordan as ‘flagrant violation”.
   * Resolution 259: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s refusal to accept UN mission to probe occupation”.
   * Resolution 262: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for attack on Beirut airport”.
   * Resolution 265: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for air attacks for Salt in Jordan”.
   * Resolution 267: ” . . . ‘censures’ Israel for administrative acts to change the status of Jerusalem”.
   *Resolution 270: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for air attacks on villages in southern Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 271: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel’s failure to obey UN resolutions on Jerusalem”.
   * Resolution 279: ” . . . ‘demands’ withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 280: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israeli’s attacks against Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 285: ” . . . ‘demands’ immediate Israeli withdrawal form Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 298: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s changing of the status of Jerusalem”.
   * Resolution 313: ” . . . ‘demands’ that Israel stop attacks against Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 316: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for repeated attacks on Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 317: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s refusal to release Arabs abducted in Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 332: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel’s repeated attacks against Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 337: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for violating Lebanon’s sovereignty”.
   * Resolution 347: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israeli attacks on Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 425: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 427: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel to complete its withdrawal from Lebanon.
   * Resolution 444: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s lack of cooperation with UN peacekeeping forces”.
   * Resolution 446: ” . . . ‘determines’ that Israeli settlements are a ‘serious
   obstruction’ to peace and calls on Israel to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention”.
   * Resolution 450: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel to stop attacking Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 452: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel to cease building settlements in occupied territories”.
   * Resolution 465: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s settlements and asks all member
   states not to assist Israel’s settlements program”.
   * Resolution 467: ” . . . ‘strongly deplores’ Israel’s military intervention in Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 468: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel to rescind illegal expulsions of
   two Palestinian mayors and a judge and to facilitate their return”.
   * Resolution 469: ” . . . ‘strongly deplores’ Israel’s failure to observe the
   council’s order not to deport Palestinians”.
   * Resolution 471: ” . . . ‘expresses deep concern’ at Israel’s failure to abide
   by the Fourth Geneva Convention”.
   * Resolution 476: ” . . . ‘reiterates’ that Israel’s claim to Jerusalem are ‘null and void'”.
   * Resolution 478: ” . . . ‘censures (Israel) in the strongest terms’ for its
   claim to Jerusalem in its ‘Basic Law'”.
   * Resolution 484: ” . . . ‘declares it imperative’ that Israel re-admit two deported
   Palestinian mayors”.
   * Resolution 487: ” . . . ‘strongly condemns’ Israel for its attack on Iraq’s
   nuclear facility”.
   * Resolution 497: ” . . . ‘decides’ that Israel’s annexation of Syria’s Golan
   Heights is ‘null and void’ and demands that Israel rescinds its decision forthwith”.
   * Resolution 498: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel to withdraw from Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 501: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel to stop attacks against Lebanon and withdraw its troops”.
   * Resolution 509: ” . . . ‘demands’ that Israel withdraw its forces forthwith and unconditionally from Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 515: ” . . . ‘demands’ that Israel lift its siege of Beirut and
   allow food supplies to be brought in”.
   * Resolution 517: ” . . . ‘censures’ Israel for failing to obey UN resolutions
   and demands that Israel withdraw its forces from Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 518: ” . . . ‘demands’ that Israel cooperate fully with UN forces in Lebanon”.
   * Resolution 520: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel’s attack into West Beirut”.
   * Resolution 573: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel ‘vigorously’ for bombing Tunisia
   in attack on PLO headquarters.
   * Resolution 587: ” . . . ‘takes note’ of previous calls on Israel to withdraw
   its forces from Lebanon and urges all parties to withdraw”.
   * Resolution 592: ” . . . ‘strongly deplores’ the killing of Palestinian students
   at Bir Zeit University by Israeli troops”.
   * Resolution 605: ” . . . ‘strongly deplores’ Israel’s policies and practices
   denying the human rights of Palestinians.
   * Resolution 607: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel not to deport Palestinians and strongly
   requests it to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention.
   * Resolution 608: ” . . . ‘deeply regrets’ that Israel has defied the United Nations and deported Palestinian civilians”.
   * Resolution 636: ” . . . ‘deeply regrets’ Israeli deportation of Palestinian civilians.
   * Resolution 641: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s continuing deportation of Palestinians.
   * Resolution 672: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for violence against Palestinians
   at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount.
   * Resolution 673: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s refusal to cooperate with the United
   Nations.
   * Resolution 681: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s resumption of the deportation of
   Palestinians.
   * Resolution 694: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s deportation of Palestinians and
   calls on it to ensure their safe and immediate return.
   * Resolution 726: ” . . . ‘strongly condemns’ Israel’s deportation of Palestinians.
   * Resolution 799: “. . . ‘strongly condemns’ Israel’s deportation of 413 Palestinians
   and calls for their immediate return.

3. “Offense is the best defense”. At least that’s what Israel is trying to do. However, they cannot just simply violate another country’s sovereignty in the guise of fighting the war on terror even if we are to assume that the Hezbollah militants are holed up inside Lebanon.

   It looks like Israel is ready to sacrifice innocent civilians caught in the cross-fire.

4. i don’t know, fellas. i guess what someone said (i can’t remember who) really hits home: israel’s history as a nation of genocide victims can really color a person’s perception of their current troubles. there’s a sense of outrage that innocent lebanese are being victimized, but at the same time, there’s also a great temptation to root for the plucky jews who are fighting fire with fire – making sure that those who want to take their homeland away from them, pay dearly for that presumption. but then again, there’s that deplorable collateral damage … everytime i think i’ve found a position i can be comfortable with, the circumstances surrounding the situation force me to take a second look.

5. antonio, we have to move away from the ‘David and Goliath’ imagery and realize that David has now become Goliath. The ‘plucky jews’ who were the victims until 1948 are now the oppressors and occupiers. As can be seen from mb’s long (but truncated) list of UN resolutions above, the whole world (except for the United States and many Filipinos) has long accepted that fact.

   I think Phil’s barber got the scale just about right. Let’s look at the chronology straight (from Reuters article dated 16 July,2006) :

   July 12 – Hizbollah guerrillas capture two Israeli soldiers and kill up to eight around the Lebanese border. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert calls it an “act of war” by Lebanon.

   July 13 – Israeli aircraft bomb runways at Beirut’s Rafik al-Hariri International Airport. Israel’s navy blockades Lebanese ports.

   July 14 – Israeli warplanes blast the main Beirut-Damascus highway, tightening an air, sea and land blockade of Lebanon.

   July 15 – Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora demands an immediate U.N.-backed ceasefire, denouncing Israel for turning his country into a “disaster zone”. He appeals for foreign aid.

   — An Israeli missile in southern Lebanon, kills 20, including 15 children, the deadliest attack of the campaign.

   July 16 – Rockets fired by Hizbollah kill eight in the Israeli city of Haifa bringing to 12 the number of Israelis killed.

   — Israel attacks Beirut’s Shi’ite southern suburbs. 111 people in Lebanon have been killed in the five-day assault.

   The key turning point would be the 12-July capture of Israeli soliders with the 13-July bombing of the airport. It is clear that the preceding event was just used as a pretext by the Israelis to set in motion a well-planned assault with bigger objectives than the release of their soldiers.

6. cvj and mb,

   Don’t forget too that the U.S. in June 1986 was condemned by the International Court of Justice to be an international terrorist – I suppose the only sovereign country ever so condemned by the World Court.

   Now, New York Times is reporting that the U.S. is rushing to Israel the delivery of bombs and missiles “described as unusual by some military officers” (even as U.S. and Israel are openly complaining about alleged Iran’s arms support to Hezbollah.)

   U.N. High Commission on Human Rights has suggested that the Israel’s aerial bombardments of Lebanon amount to “breaches of international law.”

   Here is Noam Chomsky’s take on how to deal with such atrocities of terrorist states.

   “Suppose you want to bring a president of the U.S. to justice. They’re guilty of horrendous terrorist acts. There’s a way to do it. In fact, there are precedents. Nicaragua in the 1980s was subjected to violent assault by the U.S. Tens of thousands of people died. The country was substantially destroyed, it may never recover. The effects on the country are much more severe even than the tragedies in New York the other day [referring to 9/11 attacks]. They didn’t respond by setting off bombs in Washington. They went to the World Court, which issued a judgment in their favor condemning the U.S. for what it called ‘unlawful use of force,’ which means international terrorism, ordering the U.S. to desist and pay substantial reparations. The U.S. dismissed the court judgment with contempt, responding with an immediate escalation of the attack. So Nicaragua then went to the Security Council, which passed a resolution calling on states to observe international law. The U.S. vetoed it. They went to the General Assembly, where they got a similar resolution that passed near–unanimously, which the U.S. and Israel opposed two years in a row (joined once by El Salvador). That’s the way a state should proceed. If Nicaragua had been powerful enough, it could have set up another criminal court.”

   A favorable World Court decision against terrorist states will always be a moral victory.

7. Ooooops…. OFW-evacuees out of Lebanon are now on a charter flight back to Manila. Did the cute-bansot really do this?

8. Diyumi… I think I see your point.Current administration has started to bring back OFW-evacuees, but I don’ think Schumey nor anna will be impressed.

9. Wow!!! Can it be that you guys (and gals) are about to apologize, or at least say something nice, to President Arroyo? Maybe hell is freezing over (while global warming melts the north pole)!!!!

   I want to see what anna says.

10. MLQ-number-3…. the Hezbollah plans to withstand the first Israeli attack waves from deeply-buried, well-reinfored bunkers (built with “technical guidance” by Iranians) then reappear (like cockroaches, if you term Hezbollahs terrorists… or or valiant fighters, if you term them nationalists) and do battle. The Israeli Defense Forces hope to reduce the amount of house-to-house fighting by taking out the Hezbollah leadership thru use of laser-guided bunker-busters (maybe the GDU28 with 4,500 pounds blow-things-up power). A 6-cylinder Toyota Camry weighs about 3,250 pounds.

11. AWL:

    “..but at the same time, there’s also a great temptation to root for the plucky jews who are fighting fire with fire – making sure that those who want to take their homeland away from them, pay dearly for that presumption. ”

    Guess you can count me along those ranks.

    Olmert like his mentor Sharon was formerly Likud(if I’m not mistaken) and are right-wing hawks. Interestingly, he now comes from a new party in coalition with Shimon Peres’s left.

    So, who’s David and who’s Goliath? Guess it all depends on who you “root” for eh?

    I always tend to go for the “underdog”.

    My underdog may not be your “underdog” just as another man’s “terrorist” is another’s “freedomfighter”..

    I think we can at least understand that this is what’s going on here if there appears to be a failure to “communicate”.

    So, maybe I should venture out on a limb and maybe a lucky guess that many see Hezbollah(alongside Hamas) as a well-equipped and trained organization armed with a noble cause out to liberate Palestine from the occupying zionists)..?

    I really am not as headstrong as I may be perceived to be and I’m not some bleeding-heart Israel-lover just mouthing Israeli rights including their rights to self-defense.

    Israel HAS committed atrocities resulting from it’s offensives against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

    The US should step aside from encouraging Israel and let the UN conduct mediation where its needed. The 3 to 4 week timetable given by Israel and backed by the US to “cleanup” should be done away with.

    The Korean peninsula model of 6-party talks can possibly be applied here with Israel, the US, France, Syria, Lebanon, and maybe toss in Russia and Iran as well.

12. sorry Antonio..the post wasn’t necessarily directed towards you..just used your post as a springboard.

    I should add..let sanctions fall upon any where it may.

    The hurdle, being of course perennial US-blocking of possible sanctions at the UN Security Council.

13. It’s tempting to sympathize with the Israelis. Throughout their history they felt they have been bullied around. It’s like a kid in school who has been bullied and knocked around for years by his classmates.

    Then he loses his cool, takes his Dad’s rifle and shoots the bullies and everybody in sight at school. One’s heart goes out for the suffering of that boy, but his shooting spree should be condemned.

14. Agree with Phil.

    But these very same bullies must be dealt with as well.

    Meantime..why exactly is this kid being bullied about by his classmates?

    Isn’t that the root of the problem?

    If we take the analogy further..some of these classmates want this boy expelled and find another school out of state.

    Why?

    Because another boy(maybe living in the first boy’s neighborhood has had his family displaced and his house taken over by the first boy’s family). And these bullies just happen to be relatives of the second boy’s family …

    I’m sure you get the picture.

    But does boy no. 1’s family have the right to live in that neighborhood?

    What are the justifications behind the intolerance towards boy#1 or his family?

    Did boy#1’s family steal the property?

    Meanwhile, boy#1 has gotten into another fight with another neighbor’s kid opposite his house on the other side of the main road.

    I know the debate goes a lot deeper than this analogy which is severely lacking in lots of places.

15. Yep. There’s a lot of bullying around, isn’t there? And the referee can’t seem to put a stop to it all.

16. Maybe boy#1 should see a therapist .. to peer into his psyche and try to understand why he behaves and reacts so violently.

    What has made him this way?

    The neighborhood?

17. mrabello, your recommendation for the boy#1 to see a therapist has a more than superficial relevance. i browsed the other articles of the Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery (which i linked to in a comment to the previous Lebanon thread). In his essay ‘Peace is Not Impossible’ he wrote:

    “I once read the reports of a class of Israeli schoolchildren, who had been asked to write down their conclusions after visiting Auschwitz . About a quarter of them said: My conclusion is that after what the Germans have done to us, we must treat minorities and foreigners better than anyone else. But three quarters said: After what the Germans have done to us, our highest duty is to safeguard the existence of the Jewish people, by every possible means, without any limitations.”

    He then goes on to say:

    “This feeling of being the eternal victim still persists, even after we have become a powerful nation in the State of Israel. It is deeply embedded in our consciousness.”

    We Filipinos sometimes like to lay special claim to having a ‘damaged culture’ (not that i believe in any of this nonsense). If anything, I think the Israelis, having been the victims of unparalleled genocide, beats us hands down in the ‘being screwed up’ department.

18. i can’t imagine what’s happening to our country now, endless poverty, endless political rivalry, rallies and protest everywhere.

    it seems that those bloody effort made by our late heroes e NAWALAN NG HALAGA” that independence we got (through their “pakikipaglaban”) is vanishing. today we are not totally free, we are still under the bondage of poverty, political crisis, selfish ideas and other negatives elements which surrounds us.

    sometimes i am thinking, where there be another leader that will think about what is good to his/her countrymen, somebody who leads us into a good governance, somebody who will teach and lead us how to become a responsible individual.

    i do recal during the declaration of the “1017” and other rallies happened, i wrote a poem about what’s happening, but it’s not yet published, don’t know where to….

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