Hezbollah seems to be a pervert offspring of hidden handshakes between Israel lebanon Siria and Iran.

Perhaps it is time to withdraw UN observers in light of IDF attacks. Everyone knew the IDF was gearing up, the
ideal thing to do is to get out of there.

Regarding Hezbollah, They call themselves freedom fighters, We call them a terrorist organization.

If the people of Lebanon deem it acceptable to have this militia on their soil, then they need to accept collateral damage for accepting them there. Plain and simple. If you don't want this damage, kick them out!!!Let them fire on Israel from another country.

To Israel, It is time to stop treating
The majority of the Palestinian populace like gutter rats. Stop the illegal settlements (blatant provocation), give them back their land unconditionally.

This will eliminate the pretexts they have been using. This will give you (Israelis) the perfect reason to defend yourselves should they (Militants) continue to attack.

Perhaps it is time for the militants to engage Israel in every way except militarily....I would like to see
an enduring peace in the middle east.

It is a TOTAL double standard for a certain people to think that they can populate another country, using freedoms and protections of those lands to gain their means.....and then turn around and call us "crusaders" when we go in and clean house...

If you (militants) think you can impose your will "from Iraq to Spain", think of the consequences of a United States invoking a draft, along with a pissed off Europe that has finally awaken.

I don't see a pretty picture for the Arab world if your people allow this to continue.

Arkin, you seem to be suggesting (by quoting kofi and not questioning him) that the Israeli strike on the UN position was deliberate. If anybody has one scrap of evidence that they hit the UN on purpose by all means share it. Just doing the math on your numbers, they've flown 3,000 strike missions already. I've seen nothing to suggest that it wasn't a mistake from generating target lists for so many missions or at worst was neglegence (both much more probable scenarios). I'm not blindly defending Israel, in fact I'm not sure they've thought their plan all the way through. But if you're going to suggest a country deliberately attacked the UN, you need to have some substance to back that up.

Go to the Bible and read Daniel, plus all the other prophets after. The ENTIRE history, present and future of Israel is there.

See the true monster rising (in the EU).

Isreal had no choice but to go into Lebanon and destroy Hezbollah. The timing was right. I'm glad this happened now instead of 5 years from now. I can imagine Hezbollah would have rockets that could travel 120 miles instead of only 12 miles. They would have a bigger payload and they would have better training and more more bunkers to fire from. Isreal needs to finish this.

Isreal had no choice but to go into Lebanon and destroy Hezbollah. The timing was right. I'm glad this happened now instead of 5 years from now. I can imagine Hezbollah would have rockets that could travel 120 miles instead of only 12 miles. They would have a bigger payload and they would have better training and more more bunkers to fire from. Isreal needs to finish this.

The state of Israel was formed by forcefully taking land from the Arabs. Over time, the state of Israel, by force, takes more and more land belonging to Arabs. Then, Israel occupies those lands with their military might, which is funded by the USA. Israel administers their "new territories" with a heavy and unfair hand. The state of Israel disregards rules of international law and disregards UN resolutions, while the USA supports the state of Israel in the UN. Is there any wonder that the Arabs hold Israel and the USA with contempt? Is there any wonder that the Arabs see the USA as a biased party in any negotiations between the state of Israel and the Arab states? Might we not consider the state of Israel to be a rogue nation?

How about the Syrian and Iranian support of Hezbollah in the first place, and the Lebanese and United Nations passivity in the presence of the Hezbollah thugs/terrorists. When the kidnapping and bombing start occurring on U.S. soil it will wake up a lot of Americans as to what the enemy is really all about. It seems 9/11 is all but forgotten.

When a country was attacked by terrorists using another country as a base, it attacked that country and held its government responsible. The country that was attacked was the US, and the nation it invaded was Afghanistan, with the support of most of the rest of the world.

Similarly, Lebanon failed to carry out its responsibilities under a UN resolution calling for the disarmament of Hezbollah, which instead spent six years arming and digging in. The, it provoked Israel to draw it into a war and the Israelis, who worry that in a few years the Iranian supplied missiles will carry more deadly payloads than ball bearings, decided it was time to act.

All civilian deaths in war are tragic. But I would like some of the people who are criticizing Israel's tactics to spend an equal amount of time criticizing the hundreds of rockets fired deliberately at Israeli population centers -- not negligently, not recklessly, but deliberately.

"... but to argue -- and not see -- that in this boilerplate targeting approach, it is civilian infrastructure, and by extension, the people of Lebanon, who are the targets, is either dishonest or blind."

Yes, this is a good description. Dishonesty an blindness.
So let me try and open your eyes.
What is happening in our time has happened a thousand times before.
Man rejects God and the Holy Spirit, because it is so much more simple to believe in worldly idols.
These idols can be money, the Bible, celebrities, parties, nations, races, religions - all what we can see and touch and eat.
God is invisible, and so is the Holy Spirit. God expects us to be like Him, to become better. And narrow is the road to heaven, especially in our worldly time.
I am not a preacher. I do not want you to be perfect. But I have to warn you, and it doesn´t matter which religion you follow, or if God has a meaning for you.
If you want to love Israel or your nation, God doesn´t mind. But if you place a nation, a book or any of your idols above him, you should better remember these words:

20:1 God spoke all these words:
20:2 "I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me.
20:4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below.
20:5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations of those who reject me, ...

Yes God is angry. What has happened in America?! What has happened with Israel?

Have you forgotten the meaning of the words Holy Spirit? This is the most important, the Holy Spirit is your moral compass, it is the one "thing" that is absolute and eternal and above the law and everything, that you can see and touch and eat! And there is only one sin, that will certainly not be forgiven, as Mathews reports:

12:31 For this reason I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
12:32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

To find the Holy Spirit you can use the written words of the Bible as a fixed star, but the journey of mankind has moved since thes days. Things like tolerance, everything, that unites us are part of this journey to heaven. They were discovered through tragedies and colossal mistakes. Read the Universial Declaration of Human Rights, written in 1948 after the darkest experience in recorded history. God expects us - ultimately - to love each other. And we are free!
Read thes lines - again reported bay Mathews:

7:12 In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, for this fulfills the law and the prophets.

5:17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them.
5:18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the law until everything takes place.
5:19 So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Following the path, we are always free to be better.

All the written words have been noble, honest attempts, by REAL people at their REAL time. The Holy Spirit is the message.
But we, the prophets, can only translate, based on our wisdom, our knowledge in our time.
The Spirit has always been there and no bombs, no determined leaders, no illusions, no smart PR-campaigns, no presidents, no false prophets will be able to destroy this eternal and absolute Spirit. It is indestructible. Love, compassion, the truth, faith, hope cannot be destroyed.
What has happened with America, once the light in the world?! How cold, how wrong, how blinded ...?
How can it be that you send money and bombs to the wolf, so that the wolf can more easily slaughter the lamb?! Would Jesus give a "green light" to this?!
Don´t you understand that the revelation of John was a WARNING!!!
Yes we are free, we can choose to be dumb, proud and make a "mistake", but it might be the last one, because God is so angry ...

But I know, and you don´t have to be a prophet to see this, if our God-like destructive capabilities are not restrained by wisdom and love, then we will fail.

But you, like the stupid animals, want everything to be true or come true in a WORLDLY sense!? This is WRONG!, Absolutely wrong. God doesn´t know borders, He wants us to be UNITED! He wants us to be better!
Look careful at the hate-preachers, they are always wrong, and if you don´t see this immediately, then look at their bitter fruits!
Look careful and in a reasonable way at this world, try to understand all sides but do never forget the most simple and most complex part of the whole thing, which is LOVE!

How long before this war - rather invasion-is over will we see the Israeli politicians and businessmen flocking first into New York and then to Washington to see how much more money they can wring out of Bush to help pay for their war? They usually get all they ask for and more because we all know that they are our best ally and friend not only in the mid-east but in the world. Believe that and I have a bridge I'd like to sell you. How much longer after that will we see Mayor Bloomberg and his New York City pals fly into Israel wearing their yarmulkes to let everyone know that it is now safe and clear to visit Israel. The main reason that world Jews do not want war is that it's bad for business, tourist business and otherwise. And to all those Jews who say that they don't control undue amounts of money and political clout look at what's going on now - what American politican has dared to open his mouth in opposition?

We have seen the israeli planes target a small window in a building and hit the exact same window. We have seen them target a moving car. I do not believe that they could have missed their aim.
Any hit was intentional.
But of course, Israel is always looked at with the keen eye.
We are the children of a lesser God.

"Accidental" Israeli Attacks on UN, include....

16 July - TWO UN positions suffer direct hits- serious injury to UN Soldier

16 July - UN medical teams come under fire.

16 July - UN refugee convoy comes under fire.

17 July - Direct hit on UN position near Marwahin.

18 July - UN staff and family killed in air strike on their house.

19 July - THREE UN positions suffer direct hits, many repeatedly. UN position at Ras Naquora was hit directly TEN times. Marun al Ras base was hit directly FOUR times (with 36 refugees, mainly women and children, were sheltering inside). UN Headquarters at Naqoura received ONE direct hit. UN position south of Alma Ash Shab is extensively damaged by shelling.

20 July - THREE UN positions suffer direct hits. Marun al Ras base shelled by Israel AGAIN, with three direct hits inside the base. Marwahin UN position hit directly AGAIN. UN base and Battalion positions struck at Khiyam and At Tiri.

21 July - Direct hit on UN position near Marwahin (now 8 direct hits on this battalion position on three different days)

23 July - TWO UN positions suffer direct hits. UN Headquarters near Tibnin are bombed TWICE from the air. UN position in Adaisseh area is hit directly by THREE Israeli mortar shells. Also ELEVEN tank shells land around the UN position in the Rmaich area, causing significant damage.

24 July - Direct hit on UN position near Rmaich. Four soldiers injured.

25 July - Direct hit on UN position near Khiyam. FOUR unarmed UN observers dead. Position received FOUR direct artillery hits, and despite day long protests to Israel, a precision guided bomb was dropped on the base.

27 July TWO direct hits on UN positions, despite Israeli assurances. UN Battalion position near Hula was hit directly by Israel EIGHT times. UN Headquarters at Naquoura, where hundreds of civilian refugees have been sheltering, was hit directly by Israeli artillery.

TO THEE "REV",
I ALSO MISSED YOU AT CHURCH ALL THESE MANY MONTHS. SEEMS THAT YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE MONEY-CHANGERS THAT CHRIST CHASED OUT AND YET YOU PERSIST ON INSTIGATING FORMENT ON THE CHURCH STEPS.

Marcela : 26july 10:58pm.

Thanks for your post. I've never read a more lucid summary of how I feel!! look forward to more from you.

We are all members of Humanity before a member of a Nation State.

When there is death and suffering and we do not feel it
like a member of our family is suffering
we deny our birthright
to be fully human!

I'm sorry I cannot look at the response to the taking of Israeli
soldiers as measured! It smacks of ethnic cleansing. When a cease fire is brokered I hope war crimes against both sides be pursued. people need to open both eyes to truly see the truth.

More information comes out about the UN bombing...

Six days before his death in IAF bombing, Canadian observer Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener sends email to his former commander, says Hizbullah operating near UN post in southern Lebanon. His commander reveals he said IDF strike aimed at hitting terrorists, not foreign observers. His wife Cynthia, however, accuses Israel of intentionally bombing post

Six days before he was killed in an Israel Air Force bombing of a United Nations post in southern Lebanon, Canadian observer Major Paeta Hess-von Kruendener sent an email to his former commander in the Canadian army, in which he said that Hizbullah fighters were "running around" near the UN post struck by the Israel Defense Forces and that they were using the post as a sort of "shield" against Israel' s strikes.

The former commander, Major-General Lewis MacKenzie, who served as a UN commander in Bosnia, spoke about the email in a Canadian radio show. He said that Hess-von Kruendener wrote that the IDF strikes near the post had "not been deliberate targeting, but rather due to tactical necessity." "That would mean Hizbullah was purposely setting up near the UN post," he added. "It's a tactic."

War has allways been an ugly thing.
But we live in a World which is not perfect and sadly enough war is still a means of solving Problems.
I think it is a great tragedy for the peacekeeping UN-Forces to have lost four of its soldiers in Lebanon.
And of course Israel is to be blamed for this "delibrate" or not attack on the UN-Troops.
But isn't the UN itself responsible for the security of own troops? I think these men shouldn't habe been there!
In Iraq have died many American and British soldiers and even civillians from the so called friendly fire.
The UN shuold have brouhgt its soldiers safely home before this tragedy happened.

i love you

You clearly have no regard for Israel's right to exist. What people on this board fail to recognize is not only Israel's withdrawl from the land Hezbollah was apparently fighting for, but the continued firing of missles from the same land given to them for the past 6 years and the unprovoked attack on Israel with the abduction of their soldiers. Now, unlike Hezbollah, its the Israelis who are taking measures to inform the civilians in their attacks. Hezbollah sends nothing but rockets with ball bearings indiscriminately into Israel. If you're antisemiic to begin with, you don't have to use Israel's fighting for its right to exist as an excuse to preach your hatred.

Hail Hezbollah! Hail terrorists! Praise to all who believe in using civilians as shileds in the 21st century.

All the condemnation of Hezbollah for fighting from "civilian cover" makes me wonder... isn't that what the founding fathers of the U.S.A. did? Isn't that what the Hagana did? The Viet Cong? I think you're criticizing a dog for having fur...

What with destroying and killing the wounded people in an ambulance, destroying a well marked UN observation post and destroying Lebanese infrastructure can anybody still be so naive as to believe the Israelis?
I thought smart bombs and pinpoint accurate missiles stopped all this, however we now have nearly 500 civilians killed by the Israelis.
Its enough to make anybody anti semitic.

I hesitate to post this because, on balance, Israel has far mor positive traits than negative, but...not only has Israel apparently attacked other UN positions (see above), but does anyone remember the USS LIBERTY? Israel killed 34 Americans and injured 173 after repeated attacks. Then CIA Chief Richard Helm and Sec. of State Dean Rusk, among many other high-ranking American officials, concluded it was a deliberate attack. Wonder why the MSN hasn't mentioned this?

please, ısrael stop

Kerry,

He must have been the official and representative President, who ultimately understood the feelings of the American people.

Why? It would appear that most Americans including Republicans, initially voted for or supported the American terrorist war in Iraq, and now, if you believe the polls, the same Americans would vote against it for Americans no longer support the trumped up war.

Here is an old saying, 'information is a basis for making decisions'. One could argue, that just as Kerry did, after he he received more indepth information and changed his vote, the American people drew the same conclusion when they received more information, now many of them no longer want to pay for the war.

Kudos to the Republican Party, the President and his staff, for some of the greatest subertfuse and one of the greatest cover-ups of all time; it makes Watergate and Contragate look like child's play. Mr. President, may we, the taxpayers, have a refund for all of the money that you wasted in Iraq? We can never get the lives back.

Ah, the American people can mostly be depended upon, they simply need all of the informaiton so that they can make a thoughtful and prudent decision. This Administration did not want that!

Now, how many people have actually died in Iraq, because of those dastardly WMDs?

Perhaps we should sing, 'God Help America", instead of 'God Bless America'. For we have been blessed already, and look at how badly we have behaved.

I am an Independent voter, but I would encourage both Mr. Kerry and Mr. Gore to run again... for your country needs you.

Besides, the Bush Presidency, the Bush Doctrine and all of the Bushim's (which provided some comic relief), are dead!

The Rev

Sully,

You apparently, lack any understanding of how conquered states operated, at the time, under Roman martial Rule. On the other hand I don't get the feeling that you are interested in any other truth, than Sully Truth!

Israel like many other nations at that time had been conquered by the Roman Republic. Instead of citizens being removed from their indigenous territories by the Romans, the Roman Republic, as it was frequently known to do, permitted citizens to remain in their indigenous territories. A Roman official would be put in place to rule over the civil and religious affairs of each conquered territory. That Roman official would be sanctioned by Rome as well as a regional king.

Pontius Pilate was the sanctioned Proconsul who was vested with consular authority by Rome and the local king to manage the civil affairs of Israel and the surrounding region in their stead. He made laws and enforced laws, with the official backing of Rome and the military force that he commanded.

The Jews were permitted to retain, and with some restrictions, manage their own civil affairs. The Sanhedrin was Israel's High Court. The Sanhedrin was in place mostly to enforce rabbinical law, and some other minor civil matters. However, in the case of Capitol Punishment, neither the Sandhedrin nor the Jews were authorized to put people to death under Roman law. Those matters had to be referred to the Roman officials for final disposition. .On many occasions the Jews wanted to and sought to stone Jesus, so trust me they wanted him dead.

In some ways what took place with Jesus' capture, trial and crucifixion, is similar to the way that our system of law enforcement and jurisprudence operates in this country. A person is arrested, detained, tried and either released or sentenced. In those instances where Capital Punishment is recommended, the government, not the citizens, imposes the death penalty. And that is mostly what took place with Jesus; he was arrested, detained, tried, and found guilty by the Jewish jury. He was then turned over to the Roman Proconsul by the Jews for final disposition, the death penalty. The Jews, if you will recall, were the arresting officers, jailers, prosecutors, jury and judges. The only thing that they were prevented from doing was to implement the death penalty.

Just as the State would do in America, the State in this case acted in accordance with the will of the people. You can argue whether the Jews had Jesus put to death or not, however, the evidence would indicate just the opposite. And to follow up on your argument that The Roman Governor and King's could have pardoned him despite the will of the people, is a separate argument; none of the People appealed the death sentence for him. So, just as you have indicated that Hamas and Hezbollah initiated the fight between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah, the Jewish people acted independently to initiate, then pursue the death of the PEACEMAKER, Jesus Christ.

.

Israel worked the system in order to have Jesus put to death, just as they are working America, the new Roman-style Republic, in order to inflict the death penalty on their step brothers.

And just as they do not accept the religions of Hamas and Hezbollah, they still do not accept the religion of Jesus Christ. And just as they wanted Jesus and his religion to die, they also want Hamas and Hezbollah and their religions, to follow in his footsteps

Sadly, because of romantic feelings and what Christians have been taught about Israel and the Jews in biblical eschatology, many Christians have lost all of their objectivity. Most Christians have a special place in their hearts for Israel and the holy lands, and therefore will overlook their misbehaviors while judging misbehavior on the other side.

I do not have a dog in this fight. Israel must be held to the same just standard that all people should be held, 'lest we allow Israel to repeat its previous patterns of bad behavior which ends up with people innocent people being unjustly put to death. But on the other hand, who is America to talk? Oops, forget, Israel is America's ally. A whole different standard applies to America and its allies!

.[sorry for the length folks]

Whew! I have to run fast to find the very latest blog post. According to the Bible, the final heads-up is when PEACE finally comes to the Holy Land. T'aint today, folks. And Lebanon and Israel signed a peace treaty not too long ago, as peacy treaties go. Will this be another dozen years war?

BTW if this keeps up, the U.S. WILL have to have a draft. This old-timer recalls the draft and the time he served Uncle Sammy.

Hi Jeremy,

I just read the last paragaph and your comments about Jesus, and your questions about where I stand.

1. You are right, Jesus tried to reform the religious group of his day. Religion and politcis, customarily are inextricably tied together, and usually to the detriment of the people.

2. Jesus was not accepted...He came to his own and they did not receive him, no argument there.

3. Jesus sent his disciples to a remote, upper-room location, in order to begin a new movement.

4. Neither the Roman Governor, his wife or Herod, saw any fault in Jesus. It was religious people who wanted him killed, in this case the Jews.

Okay, am I doing as have some have done throughout history, that is to say that the Jews should be slaughtered given their complicity in the murder of Jesus? No I am not.

I am on the side of justice. At times Israel and the United States for that matter, behave just like the citizens of the world that both nations accuse of being terrorists or of engaging in terrorist behavior.

Someone once told me that, you will tell the truth if it hurts you won't you. Well, I learned that from Jesus. We must tell the truth, rather than have a dog in the fact.

Remember Apostle Paul, a Jew, he boldly proclaimed at one time that Israel 'had gone about to establish their own righteousness...ignoring the righteousness of God'.

I don't want to turn this into a religious lesson, so lets just say every man's way seems right in his own eyes. Perhaps we should all open our eyes a little wider and try to see the other side, and then work towards peace!

I pray that you will be safe in your homeland, however, I pray that you will also be just as concerned about the Lebanese people, who by your own government's admission have done nothing wrong. They are suffering too!

When I pray in church, I pray for all sides, not just the Americans or the Jews!

Governor Pilate or Govenor Bush and Israel!

It is a historical fact that the Jews, like many nations in the past and present have aligned themselves with other nations...nothing new there!

Manipulating Pilate of the Roman Republic, in order to accomplish their purpose, is not much different from what they are doing with the current Roman-style Republic, and its Governor/President, the United States of America.

In the former scenario the Jews relied on the Roman Governor, Pilate. In our current scenario, the Jews are depending on former Governor and our current President, George Bush!

Whose side am I on? I am on the side of justice, regardless of the player/combatants.

Dumbounded? What did you mean, i.e., Jesus and Mary...Jews, and the Western Civics lesson...

I do not get your meaning?.

The Rev

Lebanon 'O Lebanon,

Using Israel's logic, it would appear that it is time for the Lebanese people to defend themselves and their country.

Our President has said over and over again, when a nation is being attacked, that nation is justified in defending itself.

Now Israel has attacked a sovereign nation. Israel is destroying that nation's infrastructure (and probably its precious trees). Israel is also killing the innocent Lebanese people.

And by Israel's own admission, the Lebanese had not done anything wrong.

So following the President's logic, Lebanon has the right to defend itself and should defend itself against terrorism and tyranny by terrorist aggressors, who are doing to the Lebanese, what Israel has said that Hamas and Hezbollah are doing to them.

Lebanese, DEFEND YOURSElves, your citizens and your country!

Sully,

You obviously have an agenda, and your mind appears to be made up, regardless of the facts.

All I will tell you is to go back and review the stories in the Bible, for you are way off base!

Its a good thing that you are not a Rev!

I agree with Henry A. Crumpton, " ...State Department coordinator for counter-terrorism, [who] told journalists yesterday he believed the Israeli response was 'in some ways just beginning.'" Hezbollah has been built up by Iran as part of a deterrent to an attack on Iran's nuclear sites. With the weapons Iran has supplied, it could have been a potent part of Iran's response. They have not been using everything they have, deliberately holding something back for what they know is coming. Israel and the US are trying to take Hezbollah out first, soften it up, in preparation for an attack on Iran and Syria. That will begin when Hezbollah has been degraded to some acceptable level, or sooner if Iran decides on a pre-emptive defense. Whenever we are ready, we will find the excuse to "retaliate" against them to take out the real long term threat to stability in the region, Iran's nuclear program. We have supplied the weapons and Israel will deliver them, in a war we both feel is absolutely necessary.

I think you have to put this Israel response in Lebanon in perspective. This discomfort among the civilian Lebanon population is only temporary. As Dr. Rice so eloquently put "What we're seeing here, in a sense, is the growing -- the birth pangs of a new Middle East."

As a woman and mother of many children, Dr. Rice knows the meaning of pain as only a mother can. She brings an insight to the challenge the Lebanese face that few can even begin to understand.

The UN "peacekeepers" were allowing Hezbollah artillery spotters to use their post to call in fire on the IDF forces, even after they were warned multiple times to cease and desist. They were perfectly justified in flattening the site.

Israel, our proxy, is literally getting away with murder. Where is the morality of it? How can the United States justify the slaughter of so many innocents? We have clearly, utterly, lost our compass.

Israel should accept criticism without threats, boycots and brutal retaliations.
especially when boasting endlessly to be the only democracy in the Middle East.
Whenever someone dares to question its genocidal propensities to resolve issues that desperately need words instead of phosphorous bombs and other 'state of the arts' killing devices, the person in disagreement becomes a target to be sacrificed, persecuted or simply destroyed and this is unacceptable.
Israel has transformed itself into a sadistic state, still using the complex and monstrous engeneering of the Holocaust as a shield not to be held accountable for any of its very present human sins.
For all of us who are admirers of the rich and generous jewish culture this past atrocities perpetrated by Israel are painfully disparaging. Especially when we see US jewish Senators defend what has no defense: The massive killings for a reason probably Israel has fabricated to advance its expansionist agenda.To divide the world into terrorists and poor imperial victim states is an aberration beyond comprehension. It seems the real perpetrators are following the script of a second rate hollywood screenwriter; mediocre, simplistic and brutal.
Lets help Israel by offering from here, from everywhere creative and constructive ideas they should be open to consider in order to end this feast of blood and unbearable suffering.
The power of dialogue is the the real power needed to achieve peace. More powerful than phosphorous bombs in the face of a child.
with hope and respect,
Marcela

Why don't the Gypsy's have a state? Why don't the aboriginal peoples of the world, subjected to the cruelest and most complete genocide in history not have a country of their own? America has always played favorites.
Some day we can give our opinion and not be labelled anti-semitic. Just because you read somewhere these are God's "chosen people" does not mean they can do no wrong. To err is human but to kill more than 800 innocent people is monstrous.
In this day of cloning, space travel and instant access to any and all information, doesn't war seem outdated. Shouldn't we be able to get along without killing everyone by now? War is not a game, if someone dies nobody wins.
Am I the only one who is ashamed to be an American these days?

The UN places outposts and other workers very near all fighting. UN workers tend to get killed very easily when, for example, driving an ambulance into heavy fighting in Gaza. Accidents happen. Civilians always get killed in war--it is a bad thing, but we cannot get caught up in counting every civilian killed in a war.

I just started reading Washington post editorials. Most of the contributors are seemingly uneducated, obtuse, and have political agendas of their own. What a lame "news" source.

Am I missing something? Jesus and his mother Mary WERE Jewish. And so were ALL of the apostles. What's going on with our basic western civ. history lessons?

Before going on with the arguments. Please check out this website. You get to see how Israel is spreading democracy with the help of Western countries and media!!!!!!
http://www.fromisraeltolebanon.org/

"With so many people claiming that Israel has deliberately targeted the UN, I have not yet read a single credibly explanation of what would Israel gain from such action."

Doh. Practically the whole world wants a major peacekeeping force in there. Israel is dead against the idea, but running out of good excuses for opposing it publicly. So Israel needs to discourage it some other way. Simplest way? Kill some peacekeepers. Doh.

GITM wrote "What about the other 2,996 +/- UN observers? Do they use seeing eye dogs or do you think Israel will whack the rest of them?"

Israel has now hit many different UN posts according to the UK Independent. NINE have received direct hits.... NINE

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article1197718.ece

Israels response...

Whoops, that was an accident.
Whoops, that was an accident.
Whoops, that was an accident.
Whoops, that was an accident.
Whoops, that was an accident.
Whoops, that was an accident.
Whoops, that was an accident.
Whoops, that was an accident.
Whoops, that wan an accident.

Had Hamas or Hezbollah killed four UN observers, the US would be expressing outrage. Can someone explain to me why Israel is allowed to investigate what it calls a "mistake" and why this incident, in addition to the bombing of civilian areas, is not enough for the international community to demand Israel to cease fire.

Hell, I thought that was a damn funny joke Arkin!

"Israel bomb the UN, UN observers pull out and cannot bear witness to the indiscriminate bombing of a predominantly innocent population. There is your argument. Israel directly gains from this action."

What about the other 2,996 +/- UN observers? Do they use seeing eye dogs or do you think Israel will whack the rest of them?

Was it a UN post or was it a post that sheltered Goyim.We must keep this in context.If these were goyim they have no real standing under God.They are just the unchosen.We must keep in perspective the need for a greater Israel.Im not sure why that is, but the jews say its so.Even Christians say it is,but then jews feel Christians are following a false prophet.In congress their is one contstant, Israel good,neibhors bad.What i would pay to see is a debate about the 10,000 pound elephant in the room.CHRIST.Wolfowitz against Delay,Fienstien against Ried.The topic,who gets salvation.The jews who dont recognise Christ as the messiah or Christ loving Christians.I mean we have tackled the issues of Islam by painting them as terrorists(pagans).Now we should tackle the issue of Christ.Do we label jews who dont except Christ as terrorists.Or do jews have a get out of hell free card.Ah, religion and the love it spreads.I mean Bush the greatest Christian of all.To see him willing to give the shirt off his back for a lesser man.I would bet a dollar to a dime he is poor from giving, but rich in spirit.What is that saying its easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to heavon.I would imagine that Jerry falwell drives a late model VW and Pat robertson has given the majority of his wealth to the homeless.Look at Dicky and Donald, do you think that they profit from there stocks in haliburton and the bird flu drug.HELL NO.They as good Christians share there wealth to the hungry.That is why they can stand before the world and say God bless America.

Israel didn't think the UN "Peace-keepers" were doing a good job - so they fired them.

Israel bomb the UN, UN observers pull out and cannot bear witness to the indiscriminate bombing of a predominantly innocent population. There is your argument. Israel directly gains from this action.
How can any modern military not take heed of so many warnings? If they can't distinguish between UN and Hizbollah then what chance is there for them not hitting innocent people.
The whole thing reaks of hypocrisy.
There is never any justification for killing innocent civilians and children, no matter what the gain is (none so far!!).
UK

P. J. Casey,
Thanks for your comments that go beyond sterile and empty rhetoric. You might have added that Hezbollah was created in 1982 after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon to resist the occupation. It is a resistance, not terrorist organization. The same is true of Hamas...this is certainly why they have passed the test of popular elections; in this respect, they are are not comparable to Al Quaeda. While they hold 3 military POWs, Israel hold thousands of civilians...
The US medias and politicians' pro-Israeli propaganda ('they started first') lacks honnesty and dignity.
Regarding the bombing of UN obervers, and comparing it with what happened in Irak, it just shows that IDF didn't have the same kind of 'finesse' shown by the coalition...

Pilate could have released Jesus without anyone's permission. Pilate simply asked the jews who they would rather have released. The release of a prisoner was traditional on holidays, which holiday it was I forget at this moment. Pilate ordered Jesus be crucified, not the jews, the jews made a choice offered by Pilate between two prisoners and they did not choose Jesus. Don't twist what happened 2000 years ago Rev to vilify a whole people.

Posted by: Sully | July 26, 2006 04:52 PM

Yeah he could have released the simple itinerant deluded holy man. But that would have caused a riot in his prefecture, for to the Jews Jesus was no simple holy man. He claimed to be the Son of God who preached tolerance and non violence to the disappointment of may a Jewish insurgents of the time, Judas included. Some were probably terrorists in the Romans' book. So why should a sophisticated Roman proconsul risk a mass riot for some dirt poor self deluded son of the Hebrew god, a minor tribal god after all? Why not go along to get along?

Religiously inspired violence has a long and distinguished tradition in that part of the world, long before the Muslims came along. It must be the dry desert air.

Can someone explain to me why Democrats are opposed to Maliki speaking before Congress? Is this another one of those cases where the Democrats are trying to outflank the Republicans from the Right? I'm serious, this is not a snarky or rhetorical question. Is this something the Republicans are blowing out of proportion to make the Democrats look bad?

And while you're at it, can you explain to me where Bill Arkin is coming from these days? He seems to be undergoing a bit of cognitive dissonance or strange strategic ambivalence about something. His posts lack their usually clarity.

Sean-Paul Kelley July 26, 2006 - 1:58pm

1. Surely you joke? In case you do not - Maliki is seen as a Bush's installed prime minister cum puppet. He now opposes the Israeli war in Lebanon in support of Hezbollah thereby embarassing Bush who thru out his presidency is seen as ultra pro Israel in order to out flank the Dems in their traditional stronghold in the American Jewish community. Denouncing Maliki therefore accomplishes two things - embarassing Bush to the American public and scoring point with the Jewish consituency. Three if you want to point out the fact that Bush's war in Iraq unwittingly strengthens Iran's hand in the region which he is now in turn trying to weaken with his proxy war in Lebanon.

2. One could suspect Arkin and many traditional liberal American Jewish intellectuals are caught in a bind. They want to support Israel but is troubled by its heavy handed tactics in Lebanon. So far after two weeks some 400 Lebanese civilians have been killed, light as some have claimed. That works out to about 110 per million of people. Scale that to US scale and you get about 33,000 deaths in two weeks. If it had been Bush's numbers in Iraq they would probably be out front decrying it.

110 * 25 = 2,750 per two week period; 2750 * 26 = 71,500 per year; 71,500 * 3.5 = 250,250 Iraqi deaths so far.

Fortunately the US military has seen fit not to keep track of the number of civilian deaths in Iraq.

As military history is one of my interests, I was frustrated when CNN switched from a story on Hizbullah's tactics to Tony Snow spinning the White House press corp.
I don't think the IDF has a clear mission in Lebanon. This incursion into Lebanon was driven more by the preconceptions of Politicians in either Israel, Washingtion, or both. Neoconservatives are an influential voice in both countries. Normally captured IDF soldiers or their bodies are traded for any number of Arab prisoners. It has been common practice since 1948. The purpose of Hizbullah's raid was to obtain IDF soldiers for trade. All of a sudden, POW's became hostages, and war was declared. This is the same type of idiocy that got the U.S. into Iraq.
A CNN reporter talked to a former tank commander who was a veteran of the previous Israeli incursion into Lebanon. He compared the latest incursion to the U.S. going back into Vietnam. This does not sound good. It must have been pretty bad the first time. We certainly wouldn't want to go back to Vietnam.
While the IDF may have thousands of soldiers available, there is the impression that they are only using a few hundred. They have those bulldozers up front like they were going into Gaza or the West Bank. They are not dealing with scattered bands of insurgents. Hizbullah is regarded as the A team. According to Haaretz, the IDF is going in using the same routes they used in the first incursion. I think they are trying to use the Air Force as a substitute for a large ground army in Lebanon. The Air Force cannot stop the rockets, but a force on the ground could ,at least, limit their use. Its the more bang for a buck theory of warfare. It only works against massed enemy formations, and not against an insurgency that doesn't mass. Boots on the ground are needed for insurgencies.
It has to be politicians behind this thing. I can't believe IDF Commanders could be that stupid.
They should have traded prisoners and called it a day!

The Rev wrote:
"Pontius Pilate attempted to release Jesus to the people, after he had been taken by the Jews."

Pilate could have released Jesus without anyone's permission. Pilate simply asked the jews who they would rather have released. The release of a prisoner was traditional on holidays, which holiday it was I forget at this moment. Pilate ordered Jesus be crucified, not the jews, the jews made a choice offered by Pilate between two prisoners and they did not choose Jesus. Don't twist what happened 2000 years ago Rev to vilify a whole people.

"If Egypt, Syria, Iran, Jordan or Saudi Arabia don't fight terrorism, they'll still exist".

Having spent lots of time in these places that's not true, they are all virtual police states, with Jordan being somewhat of the exception. They arent so much fighting terrorism as their Muslim population, to keep the current governments in power. Saudi at least will more than likely go the way of Iran some day, and the world will not be a better place for it.

If Israel wanted peace it could change its name to something ethnical neutral, for example "Harmonia", renounce all racial, religious, and ethnic discrimination and give full citizenship to the Palestinians. The thing is, the whole point of Israel's "existence" is discrimination and segregation.

As to why they killed the U.N. observers: the U.N. has taken a stand against discrimination and segregation and Israel likes to "punish" them for this. It's like when the KKK used to kill civil rights advocates.

Sully,

Pontius Pilate attempted to release Jesus to the people, after he had been taken by the Jews.

The Jewish elders, scribes and high priests were against it. They stirred up the people, and insisted that the people ask for the life of Barabassin place of Jesus' life.

Have you been to church lately, I don't remember seeing you?

Jeremy S. Slavin wrote:
"If Egypt, Syria, Iran, Jordan or Saudi Arabia don't fight terrorism, they'll still exist."

I wouldn't bet on that. Al Qaida has it in for Jordan's king, all the royals in SA and you can bet that Mubarak would be hung by his short hairs. That may be why these countries are helping out in the WOT and not too keen to help Hez. Syria and Iran on the other hand have converging interests. Syria sees a greater Syria in Lebanon and of course there is the Golan. Iran sees itself as the natural historical regional power that somehow has lost its powers and is trying to regain them through nukes. They also want to spread their influence over the entire ME. What they do not understand is that someday Al Qaida will turn its eyes on them and unless they cooperate they will be targets too. No, no one in the region should feel safe if the terrorists take over.

The Rev wrote:
"The Prince Of Peace...
Israel had him killed to."

Pontius Pilate was an Israeli! The Romans were Israelis? Are you a real rev?

What, exactly, has the United Nations ever really done for Israel? Read "The U.N. Gang" by Pedro A. Sanjuan, and you'll see how virulently anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American the United Nations really is.

What are the U.N.'s priorities? It takes months upon months to take up the issue of Darfur, Sudan, where Arabs are slaughtering people, yet somehow it only takes mere days - or hours - to take up Israel-Arab fighting?

And as for UNIFIL - the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon - if UNIFIL had done what its mandate was to do, and hadn't allowed Hezbollah to kidnap soldiers in 2000 and again in 2006, we all wouldn't be in this spot over here. Some truce force - it failed a long, long time ago. All they do is "observe" anyway...what about U Thant, removing the peacekeepers before the '67 war? Nasser barked, the UN complied...and war followed.

Who's the David and who the Goliath...regional power Israel, or the hundreds of millions of Arabs scattered across dozens of states versus six million Jews in the world's only Jewish state?

And while we're talking about caring about not inflicting casualties - the IDF has taken the concept of "Purity of Arms" to heart. Israel DOES care whether or not U.N. observers, or Lebanese and Palestinian civilians, die, and tries to avoid such deaths (though when terrorists hide amongst civilians, it isn't all that easy to do).

Where is the call upon Hezbollah to show similar restraint toward Israeli civilians? It ain't coming...either because some people don't want Hezbollah to show such restraint, or because they know it would be useless. Where is the recognition that Israel had, with UN Security Council and the Sec-Gen's verification I might add, fully pulled out of Lebanon in the spring of 2000? Did Israel ask for kidnappings from Gaza when it pulled out in 2005?

If Egypt, Syria, Iran, Jordan or Saudi Arabia don't fight terrorism, they'll still exist. If Israel doesn't fight terrorism, it will slowly die. For nearly 60 years, Israel's had not a single day of peace...and that isn't because it hasn't sought peace.

And hey "Rev"...the Prince of Peace was of Israel. Don't forget that. He sought to reform his religion of the day. And considering that it is Hezbollah firing rockets at Nazareth these days...and Israel that is defending Nazareth, the Galilee, and Jerusalem (where I live these days) from Islamist aggression...who's side are you on...God's or the Devil's?

The Prince of Peace?

Israel also had him killed...

Hamas and Hezbollah apparently do not have a monopoly on bad behavior!

I took note of Tucker Carlsen's interview last night, with the Israeli Ambassador. Tucker, an apologist for Israel, pressed the Ambassador to explain why civilians, who had followed Israel's orders to evacuate to the north, were still attacked and some murdered while they were attempting to follow Israel's instructions. The Israeli Ambassador initially denied it, and then he remembered that Tucker was a friend, and then he began to dissemble.

I gave kudos to Tucker for returning to impartial journalism for once, and pressing the Ambassador for the truth.

My Fellow Americans, I don't believe, that any of the murder, lies and misrepresentations that we have all been witnesses to will stop, until the American people emerge from their comfort zones (making buck) and stand up to our government and tell them enough is enough!

I will repeat what I said on another entry; Hitler kept up his shenanigans because the German and Austrian citizens looked the other way.

They could have prevented Mein Kemp, but the majority of them chose to do nothing, and we all know what transpired as a result of their choices.

Americans can still stop the 'empire building' and murder that is taking place in the Middle East and around the world. In fact, I suspect that nation building would be a more appropriate description of what is transpiring than nation building. I suspect that our leaders are attempting to expand the American Empire more than they are trying to help to birth independent and democratic nations.

In the future, historians will look back to this period, the beginning of the 21st century, and wonder why we, the body politic, failed to stop our Hitler's retardative efforts around the world.

Israel is simply following in its big brother's footsteps.

Neither Israel nor the American Administration has any regard for the United Nations. They only call on the U.N. when they need something.

The Rev

The Prince Of Peace...
Israel had him killed to.

Hamas and Hezbollah apparently do not have a monopoly on bad behavior!

I took note of Tucker Carlsen's interview last night, with the Israeli Ambassador. Tucker, an apologist for Israel, pressed the Ambassador to explain why civilians, who had followed Israel's orders to evacuate to the north, were still attacked and some murdered while they were attempting to follow Israel's instructions. The Israeli Ambassador initially denied it, and then he remembered that Tucker was a friend, and then he began to dissemble.

I gave kudos to Tucker for returning to impartial journalism for once, and pressing the Ambassador for the truth.

My Fellow Americans, I don't believe, that any of the murder, lies and misrepresentations that we are all witnessing will stop, until the American people emerge from their comfort zones (making buck) stand up to our government and tell them enough is enough!

I will repeat what I said on another entry; Hitler kept up his shenanigans because the German and Austrian citizens looked the other way.

They could have stopped Mein Kemp, but the majority of them chose to do nothing, and we all know what transpired after that.

Americans can still stop the 'empire building' and murder that is taking place in the Middle East and around the world. In fact I suspect that nation building would be a more appropriate description than nation building. I suspected that our leaders are attempting to expand the American Empire more than they are trying to help to birth independent and democratic nations.

In the future, historians will look back to this period, the beginning of the 21st century, and wonder why we, the body politic, failed to stop our Hitler's retardative efforts around the world.

Israel is simply following in its big brother's footsteps.

Neither Israel nor the American Administration has any regard for the United Nations. They only call on the U.N. when they need something.

The Rev

It was rockets firing near Qana, Sully, but a mortar site.
And it definitely was taken into consideration by the UN investigator Major-General Franklin van Kappen, who concluded:

"(a) The distribution of impacts at Qana shows two distinct concentrations, whose mean points of impact are about 140 metres apart. If the guns were converged, as stated by the Israeli forces, there should have been only one main point of impact.
(b) The pattern of impacts is inconsistent with a normal overshooting of the declared target (the mortar site) by a few rounds, as suggested by the Israeli forces.
(c) During the shelling, there was a perceptible shift in the weight of fire from the mortar site to the United Nations compound.
(d) The distribution of point impact detonations and air bursts makes it improbable that impact fuses and proximity fuses were employed in random order, as stated by the Israeli forces.
(e) There were no impacts in the second target area which the Israeli forces claim to have shelled.
(f) Contrary to repeated denials, two Israeli helicopters and a remotely piloted vehicle were present in the Qana area at the time of the shelling.
While the possibility cannot be ruled out completely, it is unlikely that the shelling of the United Nations compound was the result of gross technical and/or procedural errors."

Israel denied having a drone above to spot their fire, until The Independent produced a video shot by a nearby UNIFIL soldier proving it. Then they remembered the drone, but insisted the rest of their story was still true.

I know a former Canadian naval officer who used to fly in and out of Lebanon frequently and often chatted to Canadian UNIFIL peacekeepers en route. These soldiers, he said, were typically very pro-Israel going in, but those on the way home expressed loathing and contempt for the IDF and its practices.

lets talk about the un. These terrorist groups have used u n vehicles to attack israel in the past, have shot rockets from nearby u n positions, even going as far as to take an ambulance to abduct israeli solders,and of course the u n (as always)never knows anthing about it.Terrorists never fight war on a battle field. like the cowards they are,who use hatred and fanaticism for motivation and strength,keep useing civilian homes as cover to fire on israeli cities... targeting only civilians. Shouould we feel bad that they have not killed as many,you know their trying their best.2500 rockets,missiles in two weeks....
they use mosques for protection and use the civilian population as human shields they strap animals with bombs,even their own children they strap ....
what would any other country do if their cities were getting bombed daily by terrorists....
Let me say this to the people of Lebanon, the people killing you are these terrorist groups.no one was bothering you,shootimg at you three weeks ago ,you where well on your way to once again become as one paper but it "the Paris of the middle east"..that leaves us with two conclusions
either the country is so weak that it can't stand up to this terrorist group and say look what your doing to our country... in which case israel must defend itself... or a lot of you are in on this! For how can they continue to use homes to stash weapons,rockets,missiles....if the people are against them being there....

With so many people claiming that Israel has deliberately targeted the UN, I have not yet read a single credibly explanation of what would Israel gain from such action.
Yet it is easy to see what Israel would lose: International goodwill and support.
It is common in wars that military kills its own troops by mistake. Israelis have killed their own, Americans have done that, too, both in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unless we can point out a clear motive for such killings, it is much more logical to assume that they are mistakes.

sully,

are you saying that army has to learn how to line up in addition to how to use weapons to be considered "trained"?

i concur with those that are on israel's side. as depressing as the civilian casualties are, what we're seeing here is a microcosm of the work we're doing in iraq, except nobody is removing a government. does it make much sense for our brain trust to rant that we'll be hunting them down to the last man, but urge israel to back off? personal opinion aside, i only have to look out my office window to see real troops preparing for it to be constantly reminded of the reality of life as we know it today. doesn't mean we have to agree with it, to be sure, but it is what it is.

vote left, vote right... but vote!

William -

I can't read this. The continuity of the writing is off. A couple of paragraphs show up twice in different places.

One of the editors screwed up, here.

David wrote:
"The strike on the UN was clearly deliberate."

I'll wait and see how close Hezbollah was to the UN post. Historically Hez likes to fire from UN posts to draw fire to them. I guess that's part of the "well organized and trained" Hezbollah fighter's methods. Check out what happened in Qana in April 1996. Israel was blamed for that UN post shelling too. Yet the presense of rocket launchers firing from a few hundred feet away was ignored then and probably now.

Well, at least Arkin has not jumped on the anti-Jew bandwagon like alot of the MSM, including some columnists for this website (Eugene Robinson). Israel is finally doing something about Hezbollah besides turning the perpetual other cheek, which only seemed to get them hit harder. We should continue to support the Israeli efforts and actually let one of these little spats get finished instead of trying to wade in a call timeout. If Israel is successful it will not only have immediate benefits in the WOT but it will also demonstrate that Iran is not the power it thinks it is regionally, thus giving us more leverage on the nuclear issue. If we bow to international pressure and pull the Israelis off then nothing will be gained other than a momentary lull in physical violence.

Too often in the ME things never get solved, only stopped, and the problems continue to grow until the cold war going on there ignites anew. The international community and specifically the UN are entirely to blame for this. Their wrong-headed assumtion that regional conflicts will inevitably become global ones has caused this and many other conflicts to simmer and smolder for decades, making the goal of global peace ever more elusive. The ignorant focus on stopping the armed violence asap while neglecting the underlying issues which cause said violence has allowed this particular conflict to go on and on for decades, destabilizing global energy prices as well as stalling an entire region of the world's economic and social development, the main cause of the rise of Al-Qaeda. The international community, mainly Europe and some US administrations, with their child-like fear of armed conflict, have no one to blame but themselves for this mess. Thankfully now we are leaving the Israelis to their own devices and for once are going to let one of these disputes end the way conflict naturally ends, with a winner and a loser. The naieve approach currently in vogue has done nothing to put an end to this smoldering crisis and it's high time for a new (old) approach.

Trust always in Reason

Archimedes

Aiken wrote:
"Hirsch and others readily admit that Hezbollah is well organized, trained and equipped, fighting competently from its network of underground bunkers, and from civilian cover."

This is quite an eye opening statement. Hezbollah is "trained" yet they fight from civilian cover. What sort of training is that? Its how terrorists train.

Someone in a related blog wrote that Israel had prepared for and thus wanted this war. Yet Hezbollah has a system of bunkers. Bunkers are what one builds to prepare for a war. Hezbollah has prepared well for this war, built its bunkers, is using its terrorist training to put its own civilians in harms way and then takes pictures of the dead civilians to show westerners who become mad at those bloodthirsty Israelis. You don't have a brain if you cannot see what is going on in this war and that Hezbollah, which exists to defend nothing and no one, is doing its best to destroy the peoples of a sovereign nation. Wake up.

The strike on the UN was clearly deliberate.

Nine different UN posts have been bombed by Israel in recent days, some repreatedly, with UN injuries and deaths.

Over six hours Israeli bombs fell around and on the UN post.

The UN General told Israel to stop ten times.

An Irish UN soldier told Israel to stop six times.

But Israel kept bombing - all day.

Eventually they used a precision guided missile to blow up the UN Post, then kept shelling the rescue.