World Lebanon War 2006 Newswire Archive

"Another [9/11] attack could create both a justification and an opportunity to retaliate against some known targets"

One essential feature of "defense" in the case of a second major attack on America, is "offense", according to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff: "Homeland security is one piece of a broader strategy [which] brings the battle to the enemy." (DHS, Transcript of complete March 2005 speech of Secr. Michael Chertoff)

These images are stories in themselves

These images are stories in themselves

Civil Defense members removing corpses from Marwahin, Lebanon

Call for UN General Assembly: Immediate Ceasefire in Lebanon

Dear Supporter of Peace and Diplomacy,

The most recent news at this writing is that the Israeli Security Cabinet has approved a "widening of the ground offensive" and that Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon would resume "in full force" after the expiration of the partial suspension that followed the massacre in Qana.

As you know, under international law the UN Security Council is supposed to act to stop crimes against peace, but cannot do so in this case because it is paralyzed by the veto of the Bush Administration, which opposes an immediate cease-fire and is backed in this position by the United Kingdom. However, under Resolution 377, "Uniting for Peace," the UN General Assembly can act when the Security Council fails to do so (see "A Road to Peace in Lebanon?" Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith, July 27, 2006,  http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0727-27.htm .) This procedure has been used 10 times in the history of the UN, often at the initiative of the United States.

Please join us, therefore, in circulating the following petition, calling for the UN General Assembly to act to bring about an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon, Israel, and Gaza. Even a significant movement towards the convening of the General Assembly to consider an immediate, unconditional cease-fire will put significant pressure on the major powers to support an immediate cease-fire.

Last Saturday, 100,000 people marched to protest against the Middle East Crisis involving Lebanon and Israel. Despite the huge numbers and the valid demonstration of dissent there were no direct actions that would have drawn greater attention to the issues. This is my view on that day.

JUST KILL US. KILL US ALL

One suggestion I need any of you to transmit to the Israelis: I offer you all of us. Our flesh, our scalps, our inner parts to exhibit live on TV screens, our bare feet eaten by wolves during the night in ex- villages, our blood flooding in the streets, our kids, our mothers, our fathers , our brothers, sisters, grandparents , every single one of us. KILL US ALL. You can be selective if you wish. Leave those who like you, believe in you, to prosper by you side in the new whatever hell you would like to have.

Photos from a banner action on Tel Aviv high-way.

Oh my, if this was a film it would be a thriller and the mood music would be getting pretty frantic right now.

On Tuesday, Israeli warplanes struck the southern Lebanese town of Ghaziyeh, killing at least 14 people. Missiles demolished civilian homes just as some 1,500 mourners were participating in a procession to bury 15 of their relatives and neighbors slain just the day before. The explosions sent the crowd running in panic, dropping shrouded corpses in the street.

"The world has become accustomed to the idea of mass migrations and has become fond of them…Hitler—as odious as he is to us—has given this idea a good name in the world." Ze’ev Jabotinsky; Ideological founder of the Likud Party "One Palestine Complete" p 407

"The raw logic of Israel’s distorted self-image and racist doctrines is exposed beyond confusion by the now-stark reality: the moonscape rubble of once-lovely Lebanese villages; a million desperate people trying to survive Israeli aerial attacks as they carry children and wheel disabled grandparents down cratered roads; limp bodies of children pulled from the dusty basements of crushed buildings. This is the reality of Israel’s national doctrine, the direct outcome of its racist worldview." Virginia Tilley "The Case for Boycotting Israel" Counterpunch

Around 30 local people held a protest in Lancaster on Sat 5th August. We were protesting against the Israeli agression in Lebanon and Gaza, and the role played by the British and American governments in promoting this state terrorism.

On Saturday night July 30th 2006, in the Lebanese village of Qana, 64 Lebanese civilians, comprising the members of two extended families were sleeping in an unfinished building. The families were seeking shelter from Israeli air raids in the ground floor of the building. In the early hours of Sunday morning, as the men women and many children slept, an Israeli jet hit the building with two US-made 'bunker buster' bombs. The choice of munitions seems appropriate because, after all, these people were taking refuge in a bunker of sorts. Unfortunately, these were not enemy soldiers but rather innocent civilians, 56 of whom were killed as the building collapsed on them, including 30 children, all under 12 years old. Among the dead was a one day old baby, whose mother was also killed.

I've lost count of the Days. And the Bombs. And the Dead

Beirut, first weekend of August

Dear Friends,

I am so sorry for not being able to respond earlier to your letters. I was hoping that you won't be worried, and that you would think about the electricity and internet problems as potential reasons for the delay.

Because of the Israeli siege the authorities are increasing the outages and rationing our electricity so it can last for the coming 15 days. As you might know, we were supposed to receive gasoline and fuel but of course Israel changed its mind and the ships carrying the fuel are now waiting in Cyprus.

And I am very grateful for your amazing efforts and courage and the work you are carrying out, all this you are doing, and your words and love are encouraging me really to survive - thus I wrote today to you despite my tiredness of writing about the war... the injured children, the sick and scared displaced children…the massacres of yesterday. And the new ones today…

In the last few weeks, an increasing number of horrible, very upsetting photos of the massacres committed by Israel have been coming out of Lebanon.

The alternative media are doing everything possible to break the censorship of images that was enforced by the Corporate and authoritarian State media which only show a sanitized war, disinfected images of material destruction.

The smuggling and widespread dissemination of images from The Realm of The Real that are coming out out of Lebanon and Gaza now make all of us uncomfortable. For those of us who do editing and publishing work, they bring up the awful worry of "is this appropriate?"

Lebanon is not business as usual. This is not just about Israel repressing its neighbors by expanding its boarders—this is not 1982. For that matter, nor is this Vietnam, or the countless other ‘skirmishes’ the U.S. has been involved in over the last century. The ante has been raised.

Starting with Afghanistan, the current war in Lebanon can be counted as the third aggressively-waged war led by the United States— since Israel can not act unilaterally over such a large issue, and American diplomacy has shown the world who is actually pulling the strings.

US President George W. Bush on Monday declared his full support for a US-French United Nations resolution that dictates Israel’s terms to the Lebanese people while allowing the Israeli military to indefinitely continue its occupation and devastation of Lebanon.

Every time the Zionist Extremists tell another LIE about the situation to their citizens, they expose the Utter Contempt for the average citizen in Israel, and within the wider Jewish community.

Mr. Bush: You are indeed a terrorist practicing the worst variant of terrorism as you condone the annihilation of my country, supporting the aggression against my people politically and diplomatically and bolstering 'Israel's' destructive arsenal with the most lethal weaponry.

The biggest demonstration against the war held in Israel until now took place on 5 August, 2006, in the heart of downtown Tel-Aviv, an area that is considered especially right-wing. Close to 10,000 demonstrators from all over the country, among them many Arab citizens, marched from Ben-Zion Boulevard, along King George Street, to Magen David Square. There, at the entrance to the Carmel market, a stage was set up. The thousands that did not find place in the square flowed over into Nahlat Binyamin and the other neighboring streets.

Source:  http://zope.gush-shalom.org/