Over and over, around the world, no single ethnic group pushes anti-racism (publicly at least) more than the Jews. If it were an honest endeavor, we anti-racists ought to tip our hat to our Chosen brethren for being a Light Unto Nations once again. And for many progressive Jews who actually do take the Light Unto Nations bit seriously, our commendations are due.
But for those Jews, progressive, reactionary and all places in between, who continue with the Ghetto-tribal mindset, their constant exhortation to anti-racism is as phony as a three dollar bill.
Number One, their profound Ghetto ethnocentrism virtually insures that they will be extremely racist themselves.
Number Two, their promotion of Zionism, as vicious a form of racism as Jim Crow or Apartheid, insures that their self-righteous super-victim anti-racist game will flounder and splash in the muddy quicksand of hypocrisy.
*****
I recall a recent visit with a Jewish professional I meet with on a regular basis. I informed him, quite honestly, that when I go to certain towns and neighborhoods in the Central Valley, I feel lost, alienated, disturbed and angry.
Why?
Because when you go to towns like Madera, California or many neighborhoods in Fresno, California, you feel like you are in a city in Central Mexico. Not a nice, pretty, charming, middle class neighborhood, or even a tony, flashy, ornate, upper-class neighborhood. I mean a dirty, trashy, low-down, smelly, crime-ridden Third World Mexican neighborhood.
Now, many of you have probably not been to Mexico, but most of us Californians have. I feel very sorry for the poor Mexicans, and really anyone who has to live in that Third World rathole. Those who have never been out of the US will experience real, shocking Third World, cardboard shack poverty for the first time. It's breathtaking, infuriating, surreal and repulsive. If you have a heart, it will spark a revolutionary fervor.
Nevertheless, America, for all its faults, is not a Third World country. It is First World country, even in its worst ghettos. When I go to a city that looks like Oaxaca, where almost every sign is in Spanish, where impoverished, often-pregnant, dirt-poor peasant women and their cowboy-hatted illiterate peasant husbands drag their ragged children in tow, I do not feel that I am in the America I grew up with.
Dammit, that is not America! That is Mexico, or El Salvador, or Guatemala, or Peru, or [name your Latin American rathole state]. I feel a profound alienation, and I feel anger. Then I see the cultural cross-breeds - the predatory Hispanic gang members - the children of the illegal alien hordes - sociopaths with tattoos, hard looks and long criminal records.
I see the gang graffiti spattered over almost every walled surface, as if a child had thrown his food against the wall. Those scribbled walls are dirty - dirty with crime, nihilism and malevolence.
I see all of this, and I want to leave that town. I do not feel that I am in America. I feel this town is ugly, degraded, dangerous and overrun by non-American criminals who have no right to be in my country. I do not wish to live in that town, or even visit regularly. I may as well be on the Moon.
Now, I told all this to my Jewish friend and his face curled into a frown. This Jew, a passionate Zionist who is deeply worried that Jewish assimilation (whereby Jews stop being Jews and join the rest of us in being Americans) is a deathly threat to the Jews, informed me darkly that I was a racist. A racist! Because I think America should look like America and not a backwards, feudal, stinking Mexican slum.
*****
The world over, Jews are one of the main ethnic groups pushing something called Hate Speech laws. They are joined in this rather sordid endeavor by Gentiles, PC liberals and leftwingers, usually Whites, in Europe and Canada. Only White Gentiles and Jews are pushing these laws anywhere on Earth - no other groups are. A few cynical Muslims are along for the ride, so that no one can "diss" their precious religion.
One of the core principles behind these extremely problematic Hate Speech laws is the principle of "incitement to racism". The theory is that Hate Speech incites others to racism, and that can be a dangerous thing. Let us suppose for a moment that this theory of Hate Speech is valid and noble. Now let us logically expand it into some outrageous territory.
Let us make a case, a strong, logical, well-attested case, that Zionism - the philosophy on which the state of Israel was founded - is itself incitement to racism!
Now, to pursue this a bit further, let us suggest that persons living in Canada and European countries afflicted by Hate Speech laws file Hate Speech charges against any persons, Jewish or not, who espouse Zionism.
Now, is that revolutionary or what?
For two excellent, progressive, principled, calm, reasoned articles that show conclusively that Zionism is racism, without splashing in the mud of anti-Semitism, see Israeli Apartheid, by Bruce Dixon, from the great progressive Black site Black Commentator . See also Who Are The Real Terrorists in the Middle East? on the always excellent Common Dreams site, by US Jewish philosophy professor Oren Ben-Dor.
Ben-Dor asks what Israeli troops are fighting for. Are they fighting against terrorism and for democracy? Are they fighting Islamofascists intent on starting another Holocaust? No, no and no. What they are really fighting for is the same thing the Apartheid South African military was fighting for - an apartheid, racist system characterized by Ben-Dor as "primordial immorality".
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Back to LeBOMBnon
The latest death toll figures from Hurricane Katrina can be seen on this website here.
Updated January 19, 2008:
This report covers events of Wednesday, July 26 in the Israel-Lebanon War.
There were at least 95 Israeli casualties Wednesday in the Middle East War, 9 killed and 86 wounded. 9 IDF were killed and 26 were wounded, all in and around Bint Jbail and Maroun al Ras in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border.
At least 60 Israeli civilians were wounded, all but 2 by rocket attacks. The others were a settler who was wounded in a shooting attack on his vehicle in the West Bank and an Israeli who was wounded by a Qassam attack on the Negev.
2 Merkava tanks were either damaged or destroyed, one in between Maroun al Ras and Bint Jbail and another in Bint Jbeil. An IDF unit was hit in Maroun al Ras, a village they said they captured "for reals" on Saturday nite.
Looks like Umm al Qasr syndrome, where US insisted, day by day, during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, that Umm al Qasr had been taken, only to have to retract it the next day when fighting broke out again. Fighting went on there for 1-2 weeks at least.
The Lower City of Haifa was seriously damaged by a 16-rocket barrage on Wednesday. The commercial and port facilities there sustained major damage. Near the Lebanese border, fires are raging across much of the Israeli countryside.
Smoke from fires is pouring out of the Israeli town of Metulla on the border. A fire raged inside the town of Kirstyn Shemona and 17 people were treated for smoke inhalation. Fires are raging out of control over much of the north. An incredible 500,000 trees and much of the brush in northern Israel has been destroyed by fires.
Hezbollah has suffered maybe ~125 killed so far, but Hezbollah casualties are almost impossible to determine. Israel seems to be claiming ~250 Hezbollah killed so far, but Hezbollah has only admitted to ~27 killed. US intelligence says that Israel is seriously exaggerating Hezbollah casualties.
Casualties in Lebanon as of Monday were at least 491 killed - 415 civilians (including 44 foreign nationals and 371 Lebanese) and 76 military - 40 Lebanese military, 31 Hezbollah and 5 Amal militia fighters.
Since then, at least 41 more civilians have been killed, bringing the Lebanese civilian total to 460 killed, and the figures for Hezbollah's fighters are undoubtedly low. Total dead in Lebanon are now at least 526 killed, and surely many more.
In addition, there are at least 150-200 more bodies trapped under the rubble, according to the Lebanese government. It is too dangerous to pull them out.
There were 34 Lebanese civilian casualties on Wednesday. Israel also dropped around ten bombs and missiles on Shia Southern Beirut.
It is useful to note that according to Israeli logic that is being used to target Southern Beirut, Hezbollah has a right to attack Israeli cities in the manner in which it is doing. Shia Southern Beirut is the home of Hezbollah, it is controlled by Hezbollah, and many Hezbollah live there, from high-ranking officers to foot soldiers.
Many of the civilians there are described as working for Hezbollah in some sort of support capacity. Since everyone supporting Hezbollah is said to be a target by Israel, we can apply the same logic back on the Israelis.
By that logic, all Israeli cities and towns are legitimate targets for Hezbollah, since they are all controlled by the IDF, most large centers have IDF bases or recruitment centers of some sort, and almost all have many IDF soldiers amongst the residents. The larger centers also have many IDF officers residing there.
How many Israeli civilians serve as the supporters of the IDF in one way or another? How many Israeli factories and commercial centers serve the IDF in some capacity or other?
The Lebanese town of Yaroun near the Israeli border and close to Bint Jbeil has been devastated by extremely heavy Israeli bombing. 100 foreigners, mostly Americans, were visiting relatives in the town when it was hit. Israel is targeting anything that moves in the area, making evacuation difficult. Many homes are flattened and many civilian bodies are buried under the rubble.
In Marjayoun, a Greek Orthodox town 4 1/2 miles from the border, and in Qlaya, a Maronite Catholic town 3 miles north of border, Lebanese army patrols move through the streets to try to prevent Hezbollah rocket teams from using the towns to launch missiles on Israel.
Apparently, the Lebanese army has a major presence in South Lebanon, which is surprising, since US Zionist media had told me that the entire area had been ceded by Lebanon to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, far from being down and out, rained down 151 missiles on northern Israel Wednesday, the most ever in a single day. Missiles hit Safad, Carmiel, Hula Valley, Haifa, Maalot, Kiryat Shemona, Tiberias, Rosh Pinna, Nahariyah and Krayot.
8 IDF were killed and 22 more were wounded in Bint Jbeil in a heavy battle when they were ambushed by a large Hezbollah force using mortars, AT-3 Sagger anti-tank missiles, Lau rockets (What is this, anyone?), roadside bombs, RPG's and automatic weapons. Principal targets in the attacks were Israeli tanks and APC's.
IDF troops had only surrounded the village, not taken it, as claimed earlier. A Golani Brigade dismounted force (no vehicles) came down off a hill outside the town and tried to penetrate the town at 5 AM on Wednesday when they were hit by a devastating ambush.
Hezbollah forces had re-entered the town that night from the north with a large force, including reinforcements from surrounding villages. They took up positions in town and waited for the IDF to enter.
When the IDF got to the "deserted" marketplace, they were hit from three sides by the ambush from guerrilla fighters who darted out of homes, fired, and then disappeared. The fighting was very close-quarters and house to house. The IDF force was completely trapped and had to take refuge in the homes in the area. After many troops were hit and downed, a casualty evacuation was ordered.
A Merkava tank and various vehicles were called in to evacuate the troops but were hit by withering fire and set on fire. Casualty evacuation took 6 hours under very heavy fire.
IDF troops, in some cases, had to evacuate the wounded on foot for up to a mile before they could be airlifted out. The soldiers would drop the wounded man, pause to fire their weapons, and then go back to carrying out the wounded.
Arab TV reported 12 or 13 killed long before the Western media reported any KIA's. Later, the Israeli government reported 8 killed. A soldier inside the Golani Brigade that was involved in the fighting said, in a phone call to his mother in Gilo, opposite Bethlehem, that 10 IDF were killed in the battle.
One source says there are some IDF still missing in the town. Until this is cleared up, we are going with 8 IDF killed as per official IDF sources. Later in the day, an IDF tank was hit by an anti-tank missile between Bint Jbeil and Maroun al Ras. The tank was destroyed and 1 IDF soldier was killed and 3 more were wounded, 2 critically.
The IDF is issuing various contradictory claims of Hezbollah casualties, the most recent being 50 Hezbollah killed in Bint Jbeil in recent days. IDF ghouls have confiscated the dead bodies of Hezbollah KIA's and are keeping the stiffs on ice in order to have rigor mortis bargaining chips to use against Hezbollah to try to get the two captured IDF soldiers back.
There was a huge furor over the IDF deliberately targeting a UNIFL (UN Interim Force for Lebanon) observation post in Khiam 3 miles north of the border with the Israeli-occupied Lebanese land known as Shebaa Farms.
The village had been devastated by Israeli bombs all day. The bombs steadily came closer and closer to the observation post as the UN officers desperately called the IDF 8-10 times over a period of hours and told them to call off their fire.
The IDF received the calls and told the UN that the bombs would stop. The post was then hit with a direct hit from an Israeli precision-guided missile, in an obvious deliberate attack. The US Zionist media, even Fox News, if you can believe it (Greta van Sustern could barely contain her outrage) is up in arms over this outrage.
Koffi Annan, the UN Secretary General who replaced independent Boutros Boutros-Ghali in the post when the US government singlehandedly had the disobedient Boutros-Ghali removed, has usually been an obedient US agent. To his eternal shame, Annan has transformed the UN into an appendage and armed accomplice of US imperialism.
From its outrageous collaboration with the US colonial occupation of Iraq (this blog supported the Iraqi guerrillas' devastating attack on the UN building in Baghdad) to the criminal manner in which UN forces serve as goons for the US-French-Canadian imperial armed occupation of Haiti, to the point of repeatedly attacking the Haitian poor rebelling against the wicked imperial occupation regime, Annan has played the satrap role well.
The deliberate attack on the UN post was a bit too much though. Annan was beside himself with rage, sputtering. The "USraeli" (What the Hell, it's all one country now) media and government went nuts because Annan told the truth, and like a good submissive, Koffi backed down and lowered his gaze. He was last seen obediently muttering that he must have been mistaken.
Israel (via Debka - a de facto Mossad-owned website) admitted that the UNIFL force was attacked on purpose, apparently because they thought that the Chinese UN observer was spying on IDF positions, targets, etc.
Debka also admitted, in a shocking admission, that the "accidental" US bombing of the Chinese Embassy during Wesley Clark's NATO bombing of Serbia in the 1990's had also been deliberate, supposedly because the Chinese were gathering intelligence about US bombing targets in Serbia. At the time, the US government had fallen all over itself, tangled up in its apologies.
The line, parroted faithfully by the puppy-dog US media, was that the US maps of Belgrade had been outdated, and the present Chinese embassy was thought to be a strategic target on an outdated map.
The shocking admission that the attack was deliberate all along, and that the "progressive" Clinton Administration lied to the US public about it at the time and never came clean afterwards, serves as a reminder to Americans. A reminder that not only is truth the first casualty of war, but that Americans need to be extremely cynical about the US government's claims about its military operations.
The attack may also have been a payback to the UN, which is despised by Israel and its passionate supporters for allowing the Hezbollah buildup in the South and supposedly sympathizing with and working to help Hezbollah.
The attack may also may have been a warning of what lies in store for any international force that is going to head into the area not to go there. As if on cue, the Australian government said that it was pulling its forces out of UNIFL, since UNIFL is now a "suicide mission".
This attack seems to have shades of the USS Liberty incident, when Israel deliberately attacked a US spy ship in order to be able to commit its war crimes without the US looking on. This is probably the main reason for the attack. UNIFL is the eyes and ears on the ground of Israel's criminal destruction of the nation of Lebanon.
If UNIFL is removed from the scene as a respected witness, the IDF will be much more free to commit the massive war crimes that they are apparently dying to commit.
Hezbollah is now warning that it will hit between Netanya and Tel Aviv with missiles. Israelis cowering in sweltering bomb shelters for two weeks now are starting to run of food and medicine in a parallel with their Lebanese neighbors, who, ducking in their own makeshift shelters in South Lebanon, are also running out of food.
If you turned on CNN Wednesday, you could see excited journalists milling around a destroyed seven story building in the coastal city of Tyre in Lebanon. CNN reported that the building was a residential apartment building.
The IDF said a top Hezbollah officer had his headquarters in the building. Israel said that building was empty when it was attacked but I guess not, as I saw the wounded civilians on my TV screen. In fact, 13 civilians were wounded in this attack.
Very heavy Israeli shelling and aerial bombing continued to pound South Lebanon all throughout the day.
On the second front of the war, Israel attacked Gaza with a huge force, killing 23 Palestinians, 16 guerrillas and 7 civilians. It was the highest single-day casualty figure in Gaza since Israel withdrew its settlements from Gaza last year.
Note: Readers should carefully read the Commenting Rules before commenting to avoid having their comments edited or deleted and to avoid being banned from the site.
Updated January 19, 2008:
This report covers events of Wednesday, July 26 in the Israel-Lebanon War.
There were at least 95 Israeli casualties Wednesday in the Middle East War, 9 killed and 86 wounded. 9 IDF were killed and 26 were wounded, all in and around Bint Jbail and Maroun al Ras in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border.
At least 60 Israeli civilians were wounded, all but 2 by rocket attacks. The others were a settler who was wounded in a shooting attack on his vehicle in the West Bank and an Israeli who was wounded by a Qassam attack on the Negev.
2 Merkava tanks were either damaged or destroyed, one in between Maroun al Ras and Bint Jbail and another in Bint Jbeil. An IDF unit was hit in Maroun al Ras, a village they said they captured "for reals" on Saturday nite.
Looks like Umm al Qasr syndrome, where US insisted, day by day, during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, that Umm al Qasr had been taken, only to have to retract it the next day when fighting broke out again. Fighting went on there for 1-2 weeks at least.
The Lower City of Haifa was seriously damaged by a 16-rocket barrage on Wednesday. The commercial and port facilities there sustained major damage. Near the Lebanese border, fires are raging across much of the Israeli countryside.
Smoke from fires is pouring out of the Israeli town of Metulla on the border. A fire raged inside the town of Kirstyn Shemona and 17 people were treated for smoke inhalation. Fires are raging out of control over much of the north. An incredible 500,000 trees and much of the brush in northern Israel has been destroyed by fires.
Hezbollah has suffered maybe ~125 killed so far, but Hezbollah casualties are almost impossible to determine. Israel seems to be claiming ~250 Hezbollah killed so far, but Hezbollah has only admitted to ~27 killed. US intelligence says that Israel is seriously exaggerating Hezbollah casualties.
Casualties in Lebanon as of Monday were at least 491 killed - 415 civilians (including 44 foreign nationals and 371 Lebanese) and 76 military - 40 Lebanese military, 31 Hezbollah and 5 Amal militia fighters.
Since then, at least 41 more civilians have been killed, bringing the Lebanese civilian total to 460 killed, and the figures for Hezbollah's fighters are undoubtedly low. Total dead in Lebanon are now at least 526 killed, and surely many more.
In addition, there are at least 150-200 more bodies trapped under the rubble, according to the Lebanese government. It is too dangerous to pull them out.
There were 34 Lebanese civilian casualties on Wednesday. Israel also dropped around ten bombs and missiles on Shia Southern Beirut.
It is useful to note that according to Israeli logic that is being used to target Southern Beirut, Hezbollah has a right to attack Israeli cities in the manner in which it is doing. Shia Southern Beirut is the home of Hezbollah, it is controlled by Hezbollah, and many Hezbollah live there, from high-ranking officers to foot soldiers.
Many of the civilians there are described as working for Hezbollah in some sort of support capacity. Since everyone supporting Hezbollah is said to be a target by Israel, we can apply the same logic back on the Israelis.
By that logic, all Israeli cities and towns are legitimate targets for Hezbollah, since they are all controlled by the IDF, most large centers have IDF bases or recruitment centers of some sort, and almost all have many IDF soldiers amongst the residents. The larger centers also have many IDF officers residing there.
How many Israeli civilians serve as the supporters of the IDF in one way or another? How many Israeli factories and commercial centers serve the IDF in some capacity or other?
The Lebanese town of Yaroun near the Israeli border and close to Bint Jbeil has been devastated by extremely heavy Israeli bombing. 100 foreigners, mostly Americans, were visiting relatives in the town when it was hit. Israel is targeting anything that moves in the area, making evacuation difficult. Many homes are flattened and many civilian bodies are buried under the rubble.
In Marjayoun, a Greek Orthodox town 4 1/2 miles from the border, and in Qlaya, a Maronite Catholic town 3 miles north of border, Lebanese army patrols move through the streets to try to prevent Hezbollah rocket teams from using the towns to launch missiles on Israel.
Apparently, the Lebanese army has a major presence in South Lebanon, which is surprising, since US Zionist media had told me that the entire area had been ceded by Lebanon to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, far from being down and out, rained down 151 missiles on northern Israel Wednesday, the most ever in a single day. Missiles hit Safad, Carmiel, Hula Valley, Haifa, Maalot, Kiryat Shemona, Tiberias, Rosh Pinna, Nahariyah and Krayot.
8 IDF were killed and 22 more were wounded in Bint Jbeil in a heavy battle when they were ambushed by a large Hezbollah force using mortars, AT-3 Sagger anti-tank missiles, Lau rockets (What is this, anyone?), roadside bombs, RPG's and automatic weapons. Principal targets in the attacks were Israeli tanks and APC's.
IDF troops had only surrounded the village, not taken it, as claimed earlier. A Golani Brigade dismounted force (no vehicles) came down off a hill outside the town and tried to penetrate the town at 5 AM on Wednesday when they were hit by a devastating ambush.
Hezbollah forces had re-entered the town that night from the north with a large force, including reinforcements from surrounding villages. They took up positions in town and waited for the IDF to enter.
When the IDF got to the "deserted" marketplace, they were hit from three sides by the ambush from guerrilla fighters who darted out of homes, fired, and then disappeared. The fighting was very close-quarters and house to house. The IDF force was completely trapped and had to take refuge in the homes in the area. After many troops were hit and downed, a casualty evacuation was ordered.
A Merkava tank and various vehicles were called in to evacuate the troops but were hit by withering fire and set on fire. Casualty evacuation took 6 hours under very heavy fire.
IDF troops, in some cases, had to evacuate the wounded on foot for up to a mile before they could be airlifted out. The soldiers would drop the wounded man, pause to fire their weapons, and then go back to carrying out the wounded.
Arab TV reported 12 or 13 killed long before the Western media reported any KIA's. Later, the Israeli government reported 8 killed. A soldier inside the Golani Brigade that was involved in the fighting said, in a phone call to his mother in Gilo, opposite Bethlehem, that 10 IDF were killed in the battle.
One source says there are some IDF still missing in the town. Until this is cleared up, we are going with 8 IDF killed as per official IDF sources. Later in the day, an IDF tank was hit by an anti-tank missile between Bint Jbeil and Maroun al Ras. The tank was destroyed and 1 IDF soldier was killed and 3 more were wounded, 2 critically.
The IDF is issuing various contradictory claims of Hezbollah casualties, the most recent being 50 Hezbollah killed in Bint Jbeil in recent days. IDF ghouls have confiscated the dead bodies of Hezbollah KIA's and are keeping the stiffs on ice in order to have rigor mortis bargaining chips to use against Hezbollah to try to get the two captured IDF soldiers back.
There was a huge furor over the IDF deliberately targeting a UNIFL (UN Interim Force for Lebanon) observation post in Khiam 3 miles north of the border with the Israeli-occupied Lebanese land known as Shebaa Farms.
The village had been devastated by Israeli bombs all day. The bombs steadily came closer and closer to the observation post as the UN officers desperately called the IDF 8-10 times over a period of hours and told them to call off their fire.
The IDF received the calls and told the UN that the bombs would stop. The post was then hit with a direct hit from an Israeli precision-guided missile, in an obvious deliberate attack. The US Zionist media, even Fox News, if you can believe it (Greta van Sustern could barely contain her outrage) is up in arms over this outrage.
Koffi Annan, the UN Secretary General who replaced independent Boutros Boutros-Ghali in the post when the US government singlehandedly had the disobedient Boutros-Ghali removed, has usually been an obedient US agent. To his eternal shame, Annan has transformed the UN into an appendage and armed accomplice of US imperialism.
From its outrageous collaboration with the US colonial occupation of Iraq (this blog supported the Iraqi guerrillas' devastating attack on the UN building in Baghdad) to the criminal manner in which UN forces serve as goons for the US-French-Canadian imperial armed occupation of Haiti, to the point of repeatedly attacking the Haitian poor rebelling against the wicked imperial occupation regime, Annan has played the satrap role well.
The deliberate attack on the UN post was a bit too much though. Annan was beside himself with rage, sputtering. The "USraeli" (What the Hell, it's all one country now) media and government went nuts because Annan told the truth, and like a good submissive, Koffi backed down and lowered his gaze. He was last seen obediently muttering that he must have been mistaken.
Israel (via Debka - a de facto Mossad-owned website) admitted that the UNIFL force was attacked on purpose, apparently because they thought that the Chinese UN observer was spying on IDF positions, targets, etc.
Debka also admitted, in a shocking admission, that the "accidental" US bombing of the Chinese Embassy during Wesley Clark's NATO bombing of Serbia in the 1990's had also been deliberate, supposedly because the Chinese were gathering intelligence about US bombing targets in Serbia. At the time, the US government had fallen all over itself, tangled up in its apologies.
The line, parroted faithfully by the puppy-dog US media, was that the US maps of Belgrade had been outdated, and the present Chinese embassy was thought to be a strategic target on an outdated map.
The shocking admission that the attack was deliberate all along, and that the "progressive" Clinton Administration lied to the US public about it at the time and never came clean afterwards, serves as a reminder to Americans. A reminder that not only is truth the first casualty of war, but that Americans need to be extremely cynical about the US government's claims about its military operations.
The attack may also have been a payback to the UN, which is despised by Israel and its passionate supporters for allowing the Hezbollah buildup in the South and supposedly sympathizing with and working to help Hezbollah.
The attack may also may have been a warning of what lies in store for any international force that is going to head into the area not to go there. As if on cue, the Australian government said that it was pulling its forces out of UNIFL, since UNIFL is now a "suicide mission".
This attack seems to have shades of the USS Liberty incident, when Israel deliberately attacked a US spy ship in order to be able to commit its war crimes without the US looking on. This is probably the main reason for the attack. UNIFL is the eyes and ears on the ground of Israel's criminal destruction of the nation of Lebanon.
If UNIFL is removed from the scene as a respected witness, the IDF will be much more free to commit the massive war crimes that they are apparently dying to commit.
Hezbollah is now warning that it will hit between Netanya and Tel Aviv with missiles. Israelis cowering in sweltering bomb shelters for two weeks now are starting to run of food and medicine in a parallel with their Lebanese neighbors, who, ducking in their own makeshift shelters in South Lebanon, are also running out of food.
If you turned on CNN Wednesday, you could see excited journalists milling around a destroyed seven story building in the coastal city of Tyre in Lebanon. CNN reported that the building was a residential apartment building.
The IDF said a top Hezbollah officer had his headquarters in the building. Israel said that building was empty when it was attacked but I guess not, as I saw the wounded civilians on my TV screen. In fact, 13 civilians were wounded in this attack.
Very heavy Israeli shelling and aerial bombing continued to pound South Lebanon all throughout the day.
On the second front of the war, Israel attacked Gaza with a huge force, killing 23 Palestinians, 16 guerrillas and 7 civilians. It was the highest single-day casualty figure in Gaza since Israel withdrew its settlements from Gaza last year.
Note: Readers should carefully read the Commenting Rules before commenting to avoid having their comments edited or deleted and to avoid being banned from the site.
Aim For the Cross
The latest death toll figures from Hurricane Katrina can be seen on this website here.
In Qana, Lebanon, site of a previous notorious IDF massacre a decade ago, 2 Red Crescent ambulances were recently hit with IDF missiles. Both missiles were direct hits, slamming right into the center of the cross on the top of each ambulance.
Not only did the IDF deliberately target those ambulances, but this is yet another sign of the Jewish anti-Christian race hatred that often comes out in Israeli wars. In the siege of Bethlehem during the IDF's Easter Offensive in 2001, the IDF not only deliberately attacked Jesus' birthplace, and IDF soldiers deliberately shot at crosses and Christian statues in a display of barbaric Jewish bigotry.
You must recall that amongst Orthodox Jews, the cross is an object of contempt. The organization that conducts conversions for the Israeli government has, as part of its conversion ceremony, a ritual whereby the convert is required to spit on the cross. In the 1970's, there was an uproar across Israel because Jewish children were using the + sign in their Math classes.
No nice Jewish boy or girl should be forced to draw this horrid Christian symbol, the drawing of which is a sin under Medieval Jewish Law. The controversy was settled when Jewish kids were allowed to write "t" instead "+". No kidding.
Around the same period, there was another furor in Israel surrounding a postage stamp that had a Christian church on it. Turns that if that was not bad enough, there was that hated cross, visible, but oh so tiny, on the steeple. It was eventually removed and the state of Israel was redeemed.
When Israeli soldiers and police raided Christian homes down through the decades, on many occasions, if a cross was seen on the wall by the raiding security officers, it was instantly ripped down or smashed on sight.
From the date of Israel's birth in sin in 1948 until now, Israel has delighted in destroying Christian cemeteries and archaeological sites, in addition to the hated Muslim sites. Of course, Jewish cemeteries and archaeological sites are usually treated with utmost care.
I bring up the base religious hatred of so many backwards, regressed Jewish primitives in Israel as a case in point to Israel's many strong Christian supporters.
Do these Christians really want to support those who regularly pray that Jesus is suffering in Hell, who preach that Jesus is being boiled in semen and feces in Hell, who say that his mother, Mary, was a whore, and who clearly state that not only did the Jewish Sanhedrin elite kill the Jewish rebel Jesus, but that, as a Jewish heretic, he clearly got what he deserved?
Not only did he get what he deserved, but one gets the impression that if Jesus were to ever return, I am certain that this element in Judaism would just love to kill him one more time.
Over 50% of all Israelis fall into this Medievalist mindset, a group who, in general, harbor major hatred towards Gentiles in general. Israel's Gentile supporters should carefully consider the fact that over half of all Israelis are super-racist bigots who hate us as a group.
For an in-depth analysis of this phenomenon by the late, lamented, Jewish humanist, Israel Shahak, see Jewish History, Jewish Religion, The Weight of 3,000 Years (I have read this book and highly recommend it). The book can be found online here.
Sorry, but sadly, it is only found on anti-Semitic sites, though it is not anti-Semitic. Chalk that up to general fear of being labeled an anti-Semite, a fear that often only anti-Semites will face down. The book may be purchased here.
Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel , by Shahak and Norton Mezvinsky also deals with this subject. The introduction on Ziopedia is here, and the entire book can be found online here.
Both books have had a hard time finding prominent publishers in the US and have received little publicity. Apparently most bookstores do not want to touch them. Of course, anti-Semites drool over these books, but don't let that stop you from dipping into them, because these books are not anti-Semitic at all.
Both of the authors are simply rationalist Jewish critics of religion in general, especially the Jewish religion. They focus on the Jewish religion simply because they are concerned Jews, not out of irrational animus.
For the particular subject of this post, traditional Jewish hostility towards Christianity, see Shahak's little-known work, The Jewish Hatred Towards Christianity (Unfortunately, also on the anti-Semitic Radio Islam site). This short piece is not anti-Semitic either, but is simply a factual analysis of a primitive and barbaric trend within the Jewish religion. This article was used as a reference piece in writing this post.
In writing this, please understand that this post in no way is an attempt to diminish the horrible, Nazi-like, homicidal bigotry and religious hatred that has been present in many Muslims for centuries, especially towards Christians and Hindus, and to a lesser extent towards Jews, despite Muslim BS propaganda about "tolerance". There is nothing tolerant about the supremacist Sharia, jizya and dhimma.
Nor am I overlooking the ancient Christians' tendencies to murder heretics, nor their religious-based pogroms against Jews, nor Catholics' mad mass-murdering bigotry against Protestantism in the Middle Ages.
Nor do I overlook the paranoid racism of ultranationalist Hindus, who deliberately provoke Muslims, wage pogroms against them, idolize Hitler and Nazism and exhibit bizarre paranoia about Christianity and its proselytization.
Nor do I, of course, let the maddest of the mad Christian fundamentalist Reconstructionists off the hook, who exhibit similar mad hatred of non-Christians.
I am just pointing out the very obvious here, despite the fact that these various fundamentalists all despise each other, often to the point of being homicidal towards the Religious Other, that in so many important ways, they are oh so similar.
Describing the similarities of various fundamentalisms goes beyond the scope of this post, but research into the various fundamentalisms should demonstrate to the observant and open-minded reader how they all plow the same field. The real radical differences are not between the various fundamentalist cretins, but between any fundamentalist, or all of them, and radical seculars or atheists. Try to get your mind around that one.
Note: Readers should carefully read the Commenting Rules before commenting to avoid having their comments edited or deleted and to avoid being banned from the site.
In Qana, Lebanon, site of a previous notorious IDF massacre a decade ago, 2 Red Crescent ambulances were recently hit with IDF missiles. Both missiles were direct hits, slamming right into the center of the cross on the top of each ambulance.
Not only did the IDF deliberately target those ambulances, but this is yet another sign of the Jewish anti-Christian race hatred that often comes out in Israeli wars. In the siege of Bethlehem during the IDF's Easter Offensive in 2001, the IDF not only deliberately attacked Jesus' birthplace, and IDF soldiers deliberately shot at crosses and Christian statues in a display of barbaric Jewish bigotry.
You must recall that amongst Orthodox Jews, the cross is an object of contempt. The organization that conducts conversions for the Israeli government has, as part of its conversion ceremony, a ritual whereby the convert is required to spit on the cross. In the 1970's, there was an uproar across Israel because Jewish children were using the + sign in their Math classes.
No nice Jewish boy or girl should be forced to draw this horrid Christian symbol, the drawing of which is a sin under Medieval Jewish Law. The controversy was settled when Jewish kids were allowed to write "t" instead "+". No kidding.
Around the same period, there was another furor in Israel surrounding a postage stamp that had a Christian church on it. Turns that if that was not bad enough, there was that hated cross, visible, but oh so tiny, on the steeple. It was eventually removed and the state of Israel was redeemed.
When Israeli soldiers and police raided Christian homes down through the decades, on many occasions, if a cross was seen on the wall by the raiding security officers, it was instantly ripped down or smashed on sight.
From the date of Israel's birth in sin in 1948 until now, Israel has delighted in destroying Christian cemeteries and archaeological sites, in addition to the hated Muslim sites. Of course, Jewish cemeteries and archaeological sites are usually treated with utmost care.
I bring up the base religious hatred of so many backwards, regressed Jewish primitives in Israel as a case in point to Israel's many strong Christian supporters.
Do these Christians really want to support those who regularly pray that Jesus is suffering in Hell, who preach that Jesus is being boiled in semen and feces in Hell, who say that his mother, Mary, was a whore, and who clearly state that not only did the Jewish Sanhedrin elite kill the Jewish rebel Jesus, but that, as a Jewish heretic, he clearly got what he deserved?
Not only did he get what he deserved, but one gets the impression that if Jesus were to ever return, I am certain that this element in Judaism would just love to kill him one more time.
Over 50% of all Israelis fall into this Medievalist mindset, a group who, in general, harbor major hatred towards Gentiles in general. Israel's Gentile supporters should carefully consider the fact that over half of all Israelis are super-racist bigots who hate us as a group.
For an in-depth analysis of this phenomenon by the late, lamented, Jewish humanist, Israel Shahak, see Jewish History, Jewish Religion, The Weight of 3,000 Years (I have read this book and highly recommend it). The book can be found online here.
Sorry, but sadly, it is only found on anti-Semitic sites, though it is not anti-Semitic. Chalk that up to general fear of being labeled an anti-Semite, a fear that often only anti-Semites will face down. The book may be purchased here.
Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel , by Shahak and Norton Mezvinsky also deals with this subject. The introduction on Ziopedia is here, and the entire book can be found online here.
Both books have had a hard time finding prominent publishers in the US and have received little publicity. Apparently most bookstores do not want to touch them. Of course, anti-Semites drool over these books, but don't let that stop you from dipping into them, because these books are not anti-Semitic at all.
Both of the authors are simply rationalist Jewish critics of religion in general, especially the Jewish religion. They focus on the Jewish religion simply because they are concerned Jews, not out of irrational animus.
For the particular subject of this post, traditional Jewish hostility towards Christianity, see Shahak's little-known work, The Jewish Hatred Towards Christianity (Unfortunately, also on the anti-Semitic Radio Islam site). This short piece is not anti-Semitic either, but is simply a factual analysis of a primitive and barbaric trend within the Jewish religion. This article was used as a reference piece in writing this post.
In writing this, please understand that this post in no way is an attempt to diminish the horrible, Nazi-like, homicidal bigotry and religious hatred that has been present in many Muslims for centuries, especially towards Christians and Hindus, and to a lesser extent towards Jews, despite Muslim BS propaganda about "tolerance". There is nothing tolerant about the supremacist Sharia, jizya and dhimma.
Nor am I overlooking the ancient Christians' tendencies to murder heretics, nor their religious-based pogroms against Jews, nor Catholics' mad mass-murdering bigotry against Protestantism in the Middle Ages.
Nor do I overlook the paranoid racism of ultranationalist Hindus, who deliberately provoke Muslims, wage pogroms against them, idolize Hitler and Nazism and exhibit bizarre paranoia about Christianity and its proselytization.
Nor do I, of course, let the maddest of the mad Christian fundamentalist Reconstructionists off the hook, who exhibit similar mad hatred of non-Christians.
I am just pointing out the very obvious here, despite the fact that these various fundamentalists all despise each other, often to the point of being homicidal towards the Religious Other, that in so many important ways, they are oh so similar.
Describing the similarities of various fundamentalisms goes beyond the scope of this post, but research into the various fundamentalisms should demonstrate to the observant and open-minded reader how they all plow the same field. The real radical differences are not between the various fundamentalist cretins, but between any fundamentalist, or all of them, and radical seculars or atheists. Try to get your mind around that one.
Note: Readers should carefully read the Commenting Rules before commenting to avoid having their comments edited or deleted and to avoid being banned from the site.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Israel Is Not the 51st State of America
It is sad that so many ferocious anti-Zionists (and many anti-Semites, let us be honest, though the two sets, anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, have considerable overlap, neither is a subset of the other) have taken to calling Israel the 51st state of America. Many pro-Israeli types have condemned these harsh words that single out the Jewish state for opprobrium and make a grotesque analogy.
The fact is, no matter how many radicals scream that Israel is the 51st state of the US, this is simply not true and we really need to stop saying this as it is making us look bad.
For, in truth, Israel is not the 51st state of America.
It's the capital! Hell with Washington DC, let's just shift the whole government apparatus over to Tel Aviv!
The fact is, no matter how many radicals scream that Israel is the 51st state of the US, this is simply not true and we really need to stop saying this as it is making us look bad.
For, in truth, Israel is not the 51st state of America.
It's the capital! Hell with Washington DC, let's just shift the whole government apparatus over to Tel Aviv!
Saturday, July 22, 2006
"Jews Gone Wild" in Lebanon
The latest death toll figures from Hurricane Katrina can be seen on this website here.
There is so much to write about the mess in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank these days that I hardly know where to start.
The latest news: 3 more Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours. 1 missing Israeli soldier was found dead in southern Lebanon.
Bombs are continuing to rain down on Lebanon, in what is in part an obvious effort to destroy Lebanese civilian infrastructure that has no obvious strategic purpose. See here where a dairy plant, a paper mill, a packaging plant and a pharmaceutical plant were all deliberately deliberately destroyed by Israeli bombs.
Israel seems to be attacking cars and trucks on the roadways at will, especially in Southern Lebanon.
Hospital officials in Tyre, in southern Lebanon, are too afraid to go about and look for the bodies of the scores who are missing in the latest round of air raids. Turns out that Israel is targeting just about any vehicle on the road down there. In particular, ambulances are being hit, in what is a long-time Israeli deliberate strategy.
The Lebanese are getting angrier and angrier about Israel's devastation of their land, and many, despite their anger at Hezbollah for "getting us into this mess", are rallying around the Lebanese resistance and venting most of their rage against the out of control Israeli super-bully monster.
Check out The Daily Star, Lebanon's top paper, a heterodox publication that is often critical of the Palestinian and Iraqi guerrilla movements and sometimes even supports US and even Israeli policy in the region. The pro-US slant in some columns is usually due to the influence of prominent Maronite Christian columnists such as Michael Young.
But a look at the news stories in the paper today shows that it could be renamed The Hezbollah Star. The paper is cover to cover rage and fury at Israel and support for the Lebanese resistance. In particular, Walid Jumblatt's Druze community seems to be throwing in with the Lebanese resistance against Israel.
The change of tenor from just a few days ago is dramatic. Then, prominent Maronite leaders Samir Geagea and Amine Gemayal , associated with the fascist Phalangist Lebanese Forces, issued statements of strong support for Israel's destruction of Lebanon. A close look at their webpage, linked above, shows they have not changed their minds yet, but they seem to be toning down their pro-Israel line.
Interviews with Maronites in the US also showed strong support for Israel's blitzkrieg of their land. Journeys through Maronite communities showed strong Maronite condemnation of Hezbollah for "starting the conflict".
All of that seems to be fading out.
In interviews today and yesterday, Siniora, the Lebanese Prime Minister, and Emile Lahoud, the Lebanese President, both said that the Lebanese military, such as it is, would join the fight if Israel invaded Lebanon. Israel is already invading Lebanon. At the moment, thousands of Israeli soldiers are up to 1/2 to 3 miles inside Lebanon, with thousands more massed on the border waiting to go in.
If Israel goes into Lebanon with a major invasion force, it is not likely to be a pretty picture. Hezbollah has already killed 39 Israelis, 19 soldiers and 20 civilians. Over 600 Israeli civilians and at least 32 Israeli soldiers have been wounded.
Hezbollah casualties are unknown. Israel is claiming 100 Hezbollah fighters have been killed. Around 300-330 civilians inside Lebanon have been killed, including numerous foreign nationals. At least a dozen Lebanese troops have been killed in a number of deliberate Israeli attacks on their forces.
Hezbollah rocket fire has caused serious property damage in various Israeli cities and towns.
Some towns and cities hit:
Haifa, Safad, Carmiel, Tiberias, Kiryat Shemona, Beit Jan, Sasa, Birinit, Ben Ami, Sa'ar, Gesher HaZiv, Birya, Pki'in, Maalot, Rosh Pinna, Avivim, Metulla, Kfar Rosh Haniqra, Accra, Nahariya, mad Al Kurum, Meron, Hazor Ha Gelitit, the Hula Valley, Hulata, Ha Yarden, Kfar Ha Nasi, Nazareth, Nazaret Illit, Afula, Mishmar Ha'Emeq, Gevat, Yizre'el, Qiryat Yam, Bet Lehem Ha Gelitit and Bet Shean.
The furthest locales the missiles have hit so far are the Caesarea Dunes on the coast, 20 miles south of Haifa and 42 miles from Lebanon, and Ma'oz Hayyim, 20 miles south of Tiberias on the border with Jordan and only 8 miles north of the West Bank. Caesarea and Ma'oz Hayyim are both about 42 miles from the Lebanese border.
At the moment, that should be considered the longest range of Hezbollah's rockets. The rockets that hit those two locales are now thought to be what is called in military parlance "range-finders". Hezbollah's Katyusha rockets, based on modified Soviet technology from World War 2, only have a range of about 12 miles.
To hit 42 miles inside Israel, Hezbollah must be using Iranian Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 rockets, which are about 17 feet long. Each has a 200 pound warhead that has been modified by the Syrians and packed with ball bearings and other nasty bits. I believe that there are up to 100 Iranian Revolutionary Guards inside Lebanon helping Hezbollah to launch these missiles.
Hezbollah is deeply dug into tunnels in the South of Lebanon, which took Israelis by surprise when they ventured into the area. As in Iwo Jima and South Vietnam, fighters move from tunnel to tunnel and front tunnels are reinforced from the rear. Some of the tunnels are reinforced down to 120 feet deep. Bunker-buster munitions may have limited utility against such fortifications.
Israel has not been able to penetrate very far into Lebanon so far. They have met ferocious Hezbollah resistance. Hezbollah is not Hamas or Islamic Jihad- it is one of the most powerful guerrilla movements in the world.
At the start of this latest conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, Hezbollah managed to hack into the Israeli military's computer system, no mean feat. So far, Hezbollah has also managed to repeatedly hit the top-secret Israeli AWACS base, the air traffic intelligence base that monitors air traffic all over the Middle East.
Much of this base is underground, but the above-ground buildings have been hit repeatedly. The Israeli government has not admitted to either the hacking of the computer system or the attacks on the top-secret base, and the attacks have not been reported in the US media either.
In a shocking move, Hezbollah fired a Chinese C-802 Silkworm missile (or possibly a C-801, as a C-802 would probably have totally destroyed the ship) at an Israeli Sa'ar-5 class missile boat, the Hanit. The missile badly damaged the ship and killed 4 Israeli sailors. The Silkworm is a top of the line anti-ship missile, on a par with the US Harpoon as the best of its kind in the world.
Iran bought a number of these missiles and gave them to Hezbollah. The world was stunned by this attack, because no one knew that Hezbollah had such an arsenal.
Hezbollah has already destroyed or damaged at least three Israeli Merkava tanks. One tank was destroyed with a 450 pound anti-tank mine. Two others were apparently damaged by anti-tank missiles. The Merkava is said to be virtually indestructible, so taking out three of these tanks was quite a feat. It is not known what anti-tank rockets Hezbollah is using to destroy Merkava tanks, but it would be very interesting to find out.
Possibilities include such anti-tank missiles as the AT-14 Kornet and the AT-3 Sagger. The Iranians have modified a version of the AT-3 called the Raad. Syria has Kornets. Both of these missiles are similar to the British Javelin and the French ERYX and MILAN missiles. All of these are wire-guided missiles.
Israel is dropping leaflets telling all Lebanese civilians south of the Litani River to flee. However, many are refusing to leave, because they assume that after Israel invades and occupies the area, Israel will not let them return, and will annex this part of Southern Lebanon again as a "security corridor" as it did from 1982-2000.
Drawing the line at the Litani River is notable. It is interesting that many Zionists have always claimed that all of Southern Lebanon up to the Litani River is part of the nation of Israel that Israel has a right to conquer and annex.
At the moment, this situation is looking very, very ominous. Some are describing it as World War 3. That is probably overdrawn, but this conflict has the potential to get pretty nasty and metastasize beyond its present limited borders. The Bush Administration, to their profound discredit, has refused to try to stop the conflict and has even egged Israel on. Prior US administrations may have tried to rein in the Israeli gorilla.
Juan Cole notes that, in refusing to try to stop Israel and even encouraging, promoting and supporting its out of control attack, Bush's performance is "contemptible". That is indeed the proper term.
There is still a lot to write about this conflict in terms of antidotes to the lies of the US Zionist media and the statements of the US Zionist Republican Party and the US Zionist Democratic Party, background information on the conflict and some links to proper progressive analyses of this war and recommendations on moves towards ameliorating this extremely dangerous situation in the Middle East.
I hope to make more posts on these matters in coming days.
Note: Readers should carefully read the Commenting Rules before commenting to avoid having their comments edited or deleted and to avoid being banned from the site.
There is so much to write about the mess in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank these days that I hardly know where to start.
The latest news: 3 more Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours. 1 missing Israeli soldier was found dead in southern Lebanon.
Bombs are continuing to rain down on Lebanon, in what is in part an obvious effort to destroy Lebanese civilian infrastructure that has no obvious strategic purpose. See here where a dairy plant, a paper mill, a packaging plant and a pharmaceutical plant were all deliberately deliberately destroyed by Israeli bombs.
Israel seems to be attacking cars and trucks on the roadways at will, especially in Southern Lebanon.
Hospital officials in Tyre, in southern Lebanon, are too afraid to go about and look for the bodies of the scores who are missing in the latest round of air raids. Turns out that Israel is targeting just about any vehicle on the road down there. In particular, ambulances are being hit, in what is a long-time Israeli deliberate strategy.
The Lebanese are getting angrier and angrier about Israel's devastation of their land, and many, despite their anger at Hezbollah for "getting us into this mess", are rallying around the Lebanese resistance and venting most of their rage against the out of control Israeli super-bully monster.
Check out The Daily Star, Lebanon's top paper, a heterodox publication that is often critical of the Palestinian and Iraqi guerrilla movements and sometimes even supports US and even Israeli policy in the region. The pro-US slant in some columns is usually due to the influence of prominent Maronite Christian columnists such as Michael Young.
But a look at the news stories in the paper today shows that it could be renamed The Hezbollah Star. The paper is cover to cover rage and fury at Israel and support for the Lebanese resistance. In particular, Walid Jumblatt's Druze community seems to be throwing in with the Lebanese resistance against Israel.
The change of tenor from just a few days ago is dramatic. Then, prominent Maronite leaders Samir Geagea and Amine Gemayal , associated with the fascist Phalangist Lebanese Forces, issued statements of strong support for Israel's destruction of Lebanon. A close look at their webpage, linked above, shows they have not changed their minds yet, but they seem to be toning down their pro-Israel line.
Interviews with Maronites in the US also showed strong support for Israel's blitzkrieg of their land. Journeys through Maronite communities showed strong Maronite condemnation of Hezbollah for "starting the conflict".
All of that seems to be fading out.
In interviews today and yesterday, Siniora, the Lebanese Prime Minister, and Emile Lahoud, the Lebanese President, both said that the Lebanese military, such as it is, would join the fight if Israel invaded Lebanon. Israel is already invading Lebanon. At the moment, thousands of Israeli soldiers are up to 1/2 to 3 miles inside Lebanon, with thousands more massed on the border waiting to go in.
If Israel goes into Lebanon with a major invasion force, it is not likely to be a pretty picture. Hezbollah has already killed 39 Israelis, 19 soldiers and 20 civilians. Over 600 Israeli civilians and at least 32 Israeli soldiers have been wounded.
Hezbollah casualties are unknown. Israel is claiming 100 Hezbollah fighters have been killed. Around 300-330 civilians inside Lebanon have been killed, including numerous foreign nationals. At least a dozen Lebanese troops have been killed in a number of deliberate Israeli attacks on their forces.
Hezbollah rocket fire has caused serious property damage in various Israeli cities and towns.
Some towns and cities hit:
Haifa, Safad, Carmiel, Tiberias, Kiryat Shemona, Beit Jan, Sasa, Birinit, Ben Ami, Sa'ar, Gesher HaZiv, Birya, Pki'in, Maalot, Rosh Pinna, Avivim, Metulla, Kfar Rosh Haniqra, Accra, Nahariya, mad Al Kurum, Meron, Hazor Ha Gelitit, the Hula Valley, Hulata, Ha Yarden, Kfar Ha Nasi, Nazareth, Nazaret Illit, Afula, Mishmar Ha'Emeq, Gevat, Yizre'el, Qiryat Yam, Bet Lehem Ha Gelitit and Bet Shean.
The furthest locales the missiles have hit so far are the Caesarea Dunes on the coast, 20 miles south of Haifa and 42 miles from Lebanon, and Ma'oz Hayyim, 20 miles south of Tiberias on the border with Jordan and only 8 miles north of the West Bank. Caesarea and Ma'oz Hayyim are both about 42 miles from the Lebanese border.
At the moment, that should be considered the longest range of Hezbollah's rockets. The rockets that hit those two locales are now thought to be what is called in military parlance "range-finders". Hezbollah's Katyusha rockets, based on modified Soviet technology from World War 2, only have a range of about 12 miles.
To hit 42 miles inside Israel, Hezbollah must be using Iranian Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 rockets, which are about 17 feet long. Each has a 200 pound warhead that has been modified by the Syrians and packed with ball bearings and other nasty bits. I believe that there are up to 100 Iranian Revolutionary Guards inside Lebanon helping Hezbollah to launch these missiles.
Hezbollah is deeply dug into tunnels in the South of Lebanon, which took Israelis by surprise when they ventured into the area. As in Iwo Jima and South Vietnam, fighters move from tunnel to tunnel and front tunnels are reinforced from the rear. Some of the tunnels are reinforced down to 120 feet deep. Bunker-buster munitions may have limited utility against such fortifications.
Israel has not been able to penetrate very far into Lebanon so far. They have met ferocious Hezbollah resistance. Hezbollah is not Hamas or Islamic Jihad- it is one of the most powerful guerrilla movements in the world.
At the start of this latest conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, Hezbollah managed to hack into the Israeli military's computer system, no mean feat. So far, Hezbollah has also managed to repeatedly hit the top-secret Israeli AWACS base, the air traffic intelligence base that monitors air traffic all over the Middle East.
Much of this base is underground, but the above-ground buildings have been hit repeatedly. The Israeli government has not admitted to either the hacking of the computer system or the attacks on the top-secret base, and the attacks have not been reported in the US media either.
In a shocking move, Hezbollah fired a Chinese C-802 Silkworm missile (or possibly a C-801, as a C-802 would probably have totally destroyed the ship) at an Israeli Sa'ar-5 class missile boat, the Hanit. The missile badly damaged the ship and killed 4 Israeli sailors. The Silkworm is a top of the line anti-ship missile, on a par with the US Harpoon as the best of its kind in the world.
Iran bought a number of these missiles and gave them to Hezbollah. The world was stunned by this attack, because no one knew that Hezbollah had such an arsenal.
Hezbollah has already destroyed or damaged at least three Israeli Merkava tanks. One tank was destroyed with a 450 pound anti-tank mine. Two others were apparently damaged by anti-tank missiles. The Merkava is said to be virtually indestructible, so taking out three of these tanks was quite a feat. It is not known what anti-tank rockets Hezbollah is using to destroy Merkava tanks, but it would be very interesting to find out.
Possibilities include such anti-tank missiles as the AT-14 Kornet and the AT-3 Sagger. The Iranians have modified a version of the AT-3 called the Raad. Syria has Kornets. Both of these missiles are similar to the British Javelin and the French ERYX and MILAN missiles. All of these are wire-guided missiles.
Israel is dropping leaflets telling all Lebanese civilians south of the Litani River to flee. However, many are refusing to leave, because they assume that after Israel invades and occupies the area, Israel will not let them return, and will annex this part of Southern Lebanon again as a "security corridor" as it did from 1982-2000.
Drawing the line at the Litani River is notable. It is interesting that many Zionists have always claimed that all of Southern Lebanon up to the Litani River is part of the nation of Israel that Israel has a right to conquer and annex.
At the moment, this situation is looking very, very ominous. Some are describing it as World War 3. That is probably overdrawn, but this conflict has the potential to get pretty nasty and metastasize beyond its present limited borders. The Bush Administration, to their profound discredit, has refused to try to stop the conflict and has even egged Israel on. Prior US administrations may have tried to rein in the Israeli gorilla.
Juan Cole notes that, in refusing to try to stop Israel and even encouraging, promoting and supporting its out of control attack, Bush's performance is "contemptible". That is indeed the proper term.
There is still a lot to write about this conflict in terms of antidotes to the lies of the US Zionist media and the statements of the US Zionist Republican Party and the US Zionist Democratic Party, background information on the conflict and some links to proper progressive analyses of this war and recommendations on moves towards ameliorating this extremely dangerous situation in the Middle East.
I hope to make more posts on these matters in coming days.
Note: Readers should carefully read the Commenting Rules before commenting to avoid having their comments edited or deleted and to avoid being banned from the site.
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