LEBANESE NATIONALISM

Columnist Richard Reeves recounts another Lebanese-Israeli War in the Menachem Begin Government and the Ronald Reagan Presidency -- in additionto Ike's Suez dispute, another republican President said "No" to Israel.

Lebanese Nationalism

Lebanese nationalism requires a ceasefire now. Unconditional ceasefire -- as when a date and time are negotiated for a halt to combat and weapons discharge and combat hostilities. � Then the Israelis depart absolutely in safety; Hezbollah gets addressed by Lebanon's own government (hezbollah's government) and the United Nations. People then stay alive.

Post that, the committee in Rome and elsewhere, can side-table a prisoner exchange; and accomodate the forces issue in Southern Lebanon.

None essentially quibble with the international peace-keeping force -- but -- most condemn Israel's impatient unilaterism on deciding to 'safe-buffer' attack and occupy the region of contest -- and to worsen the insulting crime by offering to hand it off to the Lebanese armed forces -- which were being Sunni-Sh'ite Hezbollah & other Lebanese groups being integrated before the war began.

Perhaps there is a feel-good barometer at the White House when $30 millions is handed to the Lebanese Red Cross as a salve for humanitarian relief. � A true fast ceasefire would have saved 400 lives and 3500 casalties; and be worth ten times that aid distribution. Many nationalities live and work in Lebanon's pre-war harmony and new diversity, in a democracy. � All those became victims in loss - sometimes of life, property, and the cost of removing them. � Has the USA really evacuated her 25000 citizens?

Whatever President Bush was thinking in his delay -- Lebanon has cost him all the past value of his Presidency. � His Administration will likely pay in Congressional losses of one or both houses. His popularity and effectiveness will whither. � If he has a miracle tonic other than cash infusions -- to save lives -- let him act now. to effectuate a ceasefire immediately with the greatest influence of his office.

Lebanon now faces economic recession; and a humanitarian crisis. � That was the forecasted effect if the great powers, particularly the United States, did not lean on Israel to forbear.
As to winners -- there are none -- it is as if the world had to see a broader application of the scourge of war to again disdain it. Absolutely disdained where there truly was no need for the choice of it. A clear violation of UN precepts.

Rating Hezbollah as a Terrorist Organization or a Participant in the Lebanese Polity for National Unification.

Rating Hezbollah as a Terrorist Organization or a Participant in the Lebanese Polity for National Unification.

Terrorist Analysis

-- Conspiracy or grouping organization
-- Open advocacy of terrorism as a method of war -- Cell structure and secrecy for resiliency maintenance and command structure
-- Targets of magnitude intended to psychogically damage & shock national wills & particularly civilian non-combatants -- As name suggests - method of 'war' is terror not military confrontive advance notice combat
-- Type of event: terror bombing; assassination; retaliatory murder of suspected informants; mass transportion targeting; food & water adulteration
-- Extortion: including blackmail & kidnapping
-- Motivation of group: national determination resistance; resistance against suppresive government
--Limitation of target theater (ie indigenous government; occupying government; contiguous nation (extended homeland liberation)
-- Method of financing: crime & criminal enterprsise (including narcotics & marijuana - cocaine or contraband); slavery trade; financing by public fundraising in other areas or homelands including public rallies (publc empathy factors)
-- Freedom aspects: group seeks independence or self-dominion within modern international interpretation of self-government / consent of governed .. with consistent civil rights
-- Existing representative government inclusion and participating political arm in an or any open polity.
-- Level of expertise politically-martially-economically -- Commttment of group to non-violent polity joinder; peace negotiations; political transformation; disarming or armaments and combat units inclusion/includability in national armed force of union.
--Training facilties; camps; physical mappable locations
-- Mobility

Status of Terror Label

-- Frequency and recency of activity
-- Political spectrum
-- Religious connection
-- Listing institution (ie government or think tank) -- Calendar & time - history factors of listing agency

Evaluation of Terror Label
-- Evidenced empirically: whole communications interceptions (ie plots); weapons caches & trafficking - especially weapons seeking/marketing including trades;
--Firm evidence of Un-conventional weapons (fertilizer bombs; biological weapons;chemical weapons; radioactive weapons)
--Informants; membership lists
Documentary evidence: captured; itelligence obtained (field or electronic surveillance - including photograpahic evidence)
-- Evidenced by other evidence interpretation: partial communications interceptions; hearsay; shared foreign intelligence; press (free & managed); informants (weighted first-hand or hearsay) A method of analysis intended to determine; label, grade or rate groups as terrorist organizations; including risk options.

Hezbollah, Hamas would each have a terrorist rating based on past acts .. but in Hezbollah's case, it would be regarded as a peace-positive ameliorating group and its targets more localized than other international groups such as al Quaeda; including a greater impression of a localized guerilla force (ie resistance).

NB Israel still occupies the Golan Heights sector adjoining including parcels of the Shaba Farms - Hezbollah's starting point after the 1967 war.

Consider Hezbollah as one would the regard IRS-SinnFein combo -- which still bears a terrorist rating with fundraising limitations in the USA; but, and assess this factor in any group listed or changing, by joinng and seeking political representaton and open-ness by domestic political participation -elections etc., enters an agreement or is nationally and self-policed to restrict or end violence
-- but note splinter factor as where the IRA begot the IRPLA -a violence riented Marxist group unning from Ireland to Colombia with FLN connections and cocaine/narcttics fundraising enterprises & exchanging terrorist and guerilla expertise.

CBS Evening News 7-24-06 ran a filler to a Richard Roth story describing hezbollah as a state within a state - running schools, hospitals, clinics, food stores and distrubtions, charities with its mosques -- sounds similar to the Roman Catholic Church (it runs a church or church organization within a state - so does Hezbollah).

It is against US Law and a violation of international to simply target and murder terrists or suspected members, accessories, of suspected terrorist organizations.

Several of Israel's war practices meet the styling of state terror and constitute war crimes; including her abuses as an occupying force.

US State Department Links referencing the US Code and aspects of the Immigration Acts - defining terror by specific definition in the law are below. The links are for counter-terrorism, the US State Department Terrorist Group List; and a fact sheet about the list.

Because a list cannot be useful if it is excessively litmus-ed or biased; and because US policy must flex with changing realities - the inclusion of a group may limit government policy recommendations and then automaticity may flow rather than better & new case judgements.

Alternatives to fixed listings: accrediting- discrediting or bettering an organization (ie removing it from a list or creating a probation category etc) are encouraged.

href=http://www.state.gov/s/ct/list/>Terrorist Designation
href=http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm>US State department Current Terrorist Organizations List
href=http://www.state.gov/s/ct/>Counter-Terrorism

Another terrorist organization analysis formula is presented by this blogger -- above -- when and where possible an objective scoring system should be used (variables would be given a numerical weight to sustain a quantum) and groups listed, analyzed with fresher intelligence/evidence of bona fide retreats from terror or peace transformations; as well as the factor of specific US targeting or US interests targeting.

A ceasefire now please? Internataional forces need not precede it.

CHEAP ARSENAL

Cheap Arsenal characterizes Hezbollah's choice of weaponry, as much as the homemade mortar misiles made from home style gas torch propane tanks because of the cost factor in underground militant resistance.

Rather than pearl their armed force with visibile formations and formal arms allotments of Israel's nature, Hezbollah's guerillas like all counterparts, live off the land, the accidental recovery, and the occasional arms donation.

Accuracy for Hezbollah is a prayer like that of the maker and hurler of a Molotov cocktail. It was meant for an enemy combatant or combatant capacity - but is of lesser aiming and control. Hence Hezbollah would in a Court of Law win a partial mitigating defense vis a vis Israel's hasty overkill trigger with her accurate expensive prodigious arsenal.

A two hundred pound Israeli bomb will kill more than a half accurate Hezbollah rocket any day of the week -- yet the hysteria and foul falls Lebanon's way.

Not an apology for Hezbollah's aggravation and lesser attack -- but absolutely yes, an advocacy for an absolute control and restraint in reaction by the more modern, better equiped Israeli arsenal. They adopted it -- it under international law, as in a civil police/constabulary using modern weaponry, requires professional responsibilities.

Last, we cannot as people simply dismss this as war - any way any cost -- that is not modern nor lawful.

Engage and empower Lebanon to do her national job internally, and remove the bellicosity and root causes of war or martial acts as policy choices and peace follows.

Ceasefire now -- table the captives issue for collateral negotiation .. and do what responsible modernism in government promises and can do -- save lives.

Yesterdays blog post partly mis-stated Mr. Blairs remarks about Hezbollah's rockets -- he said 1600 not 1400 rockets in a Question Time response discussing the issue. However, the true quibblefrom this chair, is the initiation and calculated repnse of adversaries in events which can bring war .. its excessive escalation -- and Britain did join France Italy and Russia of the G-8 in characterizing Israel's response as disproportionate. The latter posture was underreported in the American press -- learned yesterday, and not the policy of France alone.

Lastly as to Syrian-Irani involvement .. only evidence of Syrian or Iranian field direction satisfies .. and no evidence but empathy for Lebanon and Hezbollah is there other than discared and past dispatched weapons. Make the ceasefire .. start a peace and enjoin and invite Syria. Saving lives by stopping war must commence first.

And yes - virtually all Americans and the world community believe President Bush can stop Israeli mlitary actions by a push-button or a phone call. Why not send him a mock one while you're re-teaching constituent assertion for 'mandate' revocation to the Israeli citizen-voters.

More later on the fear of Shi'ite Islam and the Shi'ite fear -- or as also referenced: " Are they really still blaming the Sunni and others for Ali?"

WHO STARTED THE WAR IN LEBANON?

Who started the Israeli-Lebanon-Hezbollah War? Most future historians will state that Israel did; particularly rather than act with the restraint expected of a major power.

Oddly, President Bush mumbles Texas style 'waddaya expect' when they start launching rockets at northern Israel; and Primme Minister Blair on Wednesday last's Question Time and debate in Commons states that Hezbollah started it by launching 1400 or more rockets at northern Israel.

Timelines of events confirm that Hamas and after Hamas by a few days, Hezbollah committed military actions - cross-border raids to acquire Israeli soldiers to bargain for a prisoner exchange - which acts can lead to war --(maybe in the 19th century unless a nation is belligerent or trigger happy). Hezbollah's raid a few days after Hamas seems in support of the Palestinians.

Israel reacted with a major raid into GAZA, their occupied territory -but really a separate unrecognized nation -- with a rampaging search and destroy campaign under cover of airstrikes and armor. Hezbollah -- in Lebanon was warned to return the prisoners --alleged well to the press and treated by Geneva Concention standards but then not yet visited -- or face severe consequences.

In fewer than 24 hours (? check?) Israel launched a military offensive as if prepared for an invasion -- attacking and bombing to disable Lebanon's Beirut International Airport; and bombed to disable others of Lebanon's seven; and in succeeding hours bombed major highways, bridges -to close them; and bombed port terminals (fuels mainly); then power plants, in a punitive raid against Lebanon. Hezbollah responded - then - with a launch of a few paultry rockets Katyusha brand at anything in Israel (they are just aimed barely guided)... This old Soviet? make is a highly prejudicial hysteria producing weapon but not very damaging and is a flea in contrast to Israel bombers. (Mexicans call them cohetes - another word for darts?)

Lebanon and Gaza's Hamas group committed skirmishes -- Israel responded with full war. A nation allegedly 'noble' with humane objectives; often mythical Biblical infallibility, killed 300 mainly Lebanese civilians and foreign workers & residents in a week contrasted with the 'terror' death of 15 or so Israelis.
The Israeli killings included 8 Canadians on that first day -in the unwarned surprise attack at mainly civilian targets. Which nation started the war? Which nation chooses barbarism, which terror (ie a warlike campaign of surprise and fear maximizing civilian casualties and civilian property damage)?

Mr. Blair's House of Commons Question Time show will be on C-Span as it is every Sunday in the USA 9pm and 00:00am Sunday-Monday (again tonite time is USA-EDT). Hear it for yourself. Oh yes other Chief Executive fibs? -- Mr. Olmert's lie to the Knesset about Israeli forces entering Lebanese territory hours after an embedded CNN or MSNBC or FOX reporter entered Lebanon on the ground with them. Lying Prime Ministers resign -- or explain themselves .. lying Presidents ... well, they goof up and squirm on the vine. President Bush did promise Lebanon's President and Prime Minister July 13 that he stood behind the Lebanese Republic. Does he know who they are?

This blogger believes that President Bush, PM Blair and of course the Israelis, truly believe that the Hezbollah are unretrievably 'bad' people which Lebanon secretly wants the USA backed Israeli proxy to eliminate. They are repeatedly addressing the matter as if Israel is doing the region a favor.

A young woman with children, Shi'ite whose husband just died - he was bombed-burned-killed in an Israeli airstrike (ABC NEWS 7-22-06) -- may have been a victim because she and her family lived next-door to an Israeli airstrike target in a suburb - - a Hezbollah office offering legal and social counseling and services. (if a conjecture it can be checked out). This would suggest Israel's political vengance and assassination pattern toward Hezbollah (the party is fairly popular in Lebanon and growing in political seats and services delivery) -- and that Israel may be targeting civilians unacceptably by telephone or postal address and weak hearsay. That would be war crime.

END THE WAR now -- by ordering Israel's halt and retreat --- Hezbollah in a news alert this morning offered at least a rocket attack ceasefire.

Perhaps too, Beirut International can be re-opened for humanitarian relief -- if Israel is not really invading.

Two timelines at iternet links below from objective journalism internet sites outline the events preceding and commencing the Israeli-Lebanon-Hezbollah war from late June to today's events.
Found using a YAHOO search engine - keywords: timeline Israeli Hezbollah Lebanon War.

INQ7.net ... via Agence France-Presse Timeline Israeli-Hezbollah-Lebanon War

al Jazeera Timeline Israeli-Hezbollah-Lebanon War