So just WHO targets and kills civilians??

[SentToStud]

Originally Posted by pgardn

But at the United Nations in New York, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni urged Secretary General Kofi Annan to ensure the complete disarmament of Hezbollah and to prevent it from being rearmed by Iran and Syria.

This is a "moment of truth" for the international community, she said. The world cannot "allow Hezbollah to rise again and threaten the future of the region."



This statement from Israel is BS. This will be Israel's reason for going back in a most severe manner. imo the UN will not be able to disarm Hezbollah and Israel will come right back to statements like this. The Israelis know right now that Hezbollah is being rearmed, they know this.

I am very sad to say round 2 will be devastation. This is a setup statement for a knockout punch. Israel knows that absolutely nothing was accomplished long term in round 1. No soldiers back, Hezbollah not wiped out, not even disarmed. It was a failure and there are vows within the military to not fail again in a confrontation like this. And the failure is now thought to be one of not going in to win and underestimating the enemy. The same mistake will not be made twice.

DTS, STS do you want Hezbollah disarmed? or do you want the above. I pray that somehow, someone understands what a second conflict will mean. A massacre.

1. of course, I want Hezbollah disarmed
2. I agree the statement from Israel is BS
3. I do not promote or condone the Hezbollah violence, just try to understand it in the wider and necessary context.
4. Round 2 will be worse than round 1, I agree.

There's no good guy winners here. The Lebanese, already a fledgling democracy before this, are now frail and fragile. And if the gov't there fails, the next man up is, indeed Hezbollah. Bad for Lebanon, worse for the overal region, including Israel.

The Israelis certainly do not appear winners and it certainly appears Olmert and the Kadima party are done. The problem with running a centrrist party is that you get sniped at on both sides as Olmert is learning.

The Palestinians/Hamas-led leaders are losers as well. The freest elections ever held in Palestine are going to have been an exercise in futility. The most likely new Israeli power will absolutely no longer withdraw from occupied Palestinian land or close settlements, further pushing away from any chance for real peace in the region. The Arab world will see more "starvation blockades," courtesy of the Israeli hardliners.

And, of course, the rest of the civilized Western World, courtesy of Pres. Bush and blindly loyal American support of Israel is a big loser. The U.S. influence at the UN, blocking early cerase-fire efforts, supplying Israel wth its arms and especially our pre-attack support of the Israeli offensive obviously backfired as the goal of disarming Hezbollah was not remotely close to being achieved.

Moving forward, we'll see the fringe Islamist groups continue to gain traction while Bush gets urged by his dwindling base tp push forward and hard on Iran as his last chance to save his presidency in the eyes of his final few supporters.

pgardn, sorry if you find my comments offensive, but this is how many people see the world. And in turn, you can be assured I am not offended when you call me disingenuous or whatever other term you choose to use.