War in The Middle East

[Davo88]

Re: War in The Middle East

More than 15,000 Montrealers protest Lebanon war

Thousands of Montrealers hit the streets for the second protest against the war in Lebanon in as many weeks.

Sunday's demonstration was peaceful as it navigated through city streets, creating a sea of red and white Lebanese flags after starting at a downtown park. Police estimated the crowd at about 15,000.

Protesters are upset about the growing death toll of civilians in Lebanon. Many protesters were from Montreal's 200,000-strong Lebanese community.

The spotlight was on Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as adults following children carrying Lebanese flags accused Harper of being an accomplice to Israeli "assassinations."

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe, Parti Quebecois leader Andre Boisclair and Liberal MP Denis Coderre were among the participats. The two separatist party leaders told The Canadian Press that their goal was to promote peace, not chalk up points with the electorate.

The Conservatives popularity has plummeted in the polls since the war in Lebanon began.

Duceppe wouldn't say whether he plans to vote for a non-confidence motion against the minority Conservative government to protest its handling of the crisis.

Protesters had also rallied outside a Tory caucus meeting in Cornwall, Ont., on Friday to accuse the prime minister of toeing the American line by supporting Israel in the Middle East conflict.

Harper appeared to temper his support for Israel in an interview that appeared on CTV's Question Period on Sunday, stressing the importance of negotiations. But he held firm on certain issues.

"Are they suggesting Israel unilaterally stop defending itself?" Harper asked. "What is neutrality here? Are we neutral with regard to Hezbollah? Are we neutral on a terrorist group? I don't think the Opposition wants to say that."

Sunday's protest in Montreal came on a day that saw Israel exchanging some of the bloodiest attacks yet with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Violence between the small xxxish nation and the terrorist insurgents have killed about 700 people since hostilities began a month ago.

This is the second protest in Montreal against hostilities in Lebanon in the last two weeks. A rally on July 31 came in reaction to Israel's attack on Hezbollah insurgents in the village of Qana, which killed 56 civilians.

Eric Morin, 37, told The Canadian Press that a ceasefire is essential to prevent an escalation in the crisis.

`"I'm here as a citizen who doesn't want to see a baby die for ideological reasons," said, Morin, who was joined by his two children.

"They should all get together and try to find a way to live in peace."

With files from The Canadian Press.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060806/montreal_protest_060806/20060806?hub=Canada

___________________________________________


Here's a video clip about the protest, where anti-Israeli xxxish Rabbis were also featured.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/HTMLTemplate/nocompress?content_type=video/x-ms-asf&brand=generic&tf=/ctv/generic/video/videoplayer.asx&cf=/ctv/generic/video/player.cfg&url=mms://ctvbroadcast.ctv.ca/video/2006/08/06/ctvvideologger3_154875765_1154901345_500kbps.wmv&start=00:05:20.18&end=00:01:56.68&spd=hi&hub=related&ads=false

[Armenian]

Re: War in The Middle East

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem

Syrian High Delagation Sends Stern Warning to Israel

Syria 'ready for possible regional war'
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem crossed into Lebanon Sunday for the first visit by a top Syrian official in more than a year, Lebanon's state news agency said. Speaking to reporters after the meeting with his Lebanese counterpart, Fawzi Salloukh, Moallem said "Syria is ready for the possibility of a regional war if the Israeli aggression continues." He added that a US-French draft resolution to end the war "adopted Israel's point of view only." Underlining his support for Hizbullah, Moallem said, "as Syria's foreign minister I hope to be a soldier in the resistance."

Salloukh said that "Israel cannot take in peace what it had failed to take in war." "If Israel attacks Syria by any mean, on the ground, by air, our leadership ordered the armed forces to reply immediately," he said after emerging from a meeting with Lebanese President Emil Lahoud. Israel has issued several pledges not to attack Syria. According to Moallem, the US-French cease-fire plan was "a recipe for the continuation of the war." http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull

[Armenian]

Re: War in The Middle East

Way too many Joos are getting killed and wounded. It was not supposed to happen this way.

Here is a good political perspective.

Israel Disappoints the Neo-cons

Hear, Oh Israel! Charles Krauthammer is disappointed. Very disapppointed. And he clearly speaks for the rest of the neo-conservative fraternity that has worked so hard to destroy any distinction between U.S. interests and Israeli interests. That’s because, as we pointed out a couple of days ago, the Bush administration sees Israel’s war in Lebanon as its own war, by proxy, against Iran. And Israel is quite simply failing to deliver the knockout blow against Hizballah that Washington is demanding — it can’t be done, of course, but reality has never restrained the neocons from pursuing their fantasies, at the expense of thousands of lives. Krauthammer offers candid confirmation of what many, including Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah, have suspected all along:

Israel’s leaders do not seem to understand how ruinous a military failure in Lebanon would be to its relationship with America, Israel’s most vital lifeline… America’s green light for Israel to defend itself is seen as a favor to Israel. But that is a tendentious, misleadingly partial analysis. The green light — indeed, the encouragement — is also an act of clear self-interest. America wants, America needs, a decisive Hezbollah defeat.

He explains, as we’ve done, that the U.S. sees Hizballah as nothing more than a cat’s paw for Iran, which it sees as its major strategic competitor in the Middle East. It therefore saw the Hizballah provocation as a gold opportunity to strike a blow, by proxy, at an organization deemed an important part of Iran’s own deterrent capability. It is also mindful of the power of the challenge offered by Hizballah to further destabilize the decrepit autocracies in Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia on which its influence in the Arab world rests. http://americaabroad.tpmcafe.com/blo..._u_s_proxy_war

It simply was not supposed to happen this way.

And now, they are quite desperate. They have been terrible in conventional combat. They have lost over fifty of their most elite soldiers, with hundreds more wounded, they have lost tens of their armored vehicles and they still have not been able to control the Lebanese Israeli border. They are still getting hit with over a hundred rocketes per day. Their refusal to admit defeat at the hands of Hizbollah will force them to strike the civilian population of Lebanon even more harshly. And the warpigs in Washington are seeking to fight Iran via proxies. This situation, in essence, is where the real danger lies. How much further is Tel Aviv willing to go to satisfy its blood thirst. How much loger will Syria and Iran allow this blood shed and destruction to continue before they get involved? How much longer untill American idiots jump into this fire as well.

Although Lebanon was destroyed, yet again, this military campagin will prove to be a long-term disaster for Israel as I predicted.

[simonig]

Re: War in The Middle East

I heard that Israel called all residents of Beirut yesterday and told them to take their essential belongings and evacuate immediately. This looks like an excuse to bomb beirut and not take responsiblity for civilian casualties.

I've been busy over the last few days and am not sure if it has been posted or reported on the news.

[D3ADSY]

Re: War in The Middle East

Hizbullah's attacks have become more deadly over the past few days, they have also increased in terms of the number of rockets fired. It will be interesting to see over the next few days whether this is a peak or just the beginning.

[Armenian]

Re: War in The Middle East

Hizbollah Rocket Strike Kills 12 Israeli soldiers and wounds tens of others.

In the Israeli village of Kfar Giladi, a Hizbollah rocket hit a group of Israeli reservists called up for the Lebanon offensive. Medics said 12 were killed and dozens were wounded m,any seriously. Soldiers near the scene were seen holding their heads and one wept openly as a military ambulance pulled away. Helicopters landed nearby to fly the badly wounded to hospitals further from the war front. "I don't recall so many dead ever. This is terrible," said Ron Valensi, head of the upper Galilee municipal city. Also on Sunday powerful Raad 2 missiles hit the northern Israeli city of Haifa, cusing a lot of damage, killing at least one person and wounding many more. Also over the weekend, several more Israeli soldiers were killed many more wounded by Hizbollah fighters witghin southern Lebanon

Watch as an Israeli Merkava Mark -II Tank get hit by an Hizbollah anti-Tank rocket: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc0aDqnszc0

Yet another great day for Allah

[skhara]

Re: War in The Middle East

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVBIzu4YvnE

[Armenian]

Re: War in The Middle East

That's ok. I already know EVERYTHING that happens is bad for Israel and Good for Allah.

True, so far so good.

I have been glancing over your posts. Don't worry I know ... People get killed, cities and towns get destroyed, Allah wins and you get to use "".

Great. And yah I don't have any brains yet you somehow feel the need to reply to my idiotic posts and anger the moderators.

If I'm so stupid, how come you get so touchy about my posts feeling the need to reupdate your insults?

I get touchy when I meet Armenians who are not smart.

But don't worry bud. I'll be traveling in the next few weeks with almost no internet access so you'll be uninterrupted in your glorification of muslims and Allah.

No internet service?

Where are you going, south Lebanon

Allah be with you

[Armenian]

Re: War in The Middle East

Iranians are teaching the IDF a bitter lesson in ground warefare.

Hezbollah anti-tank fire causing most IDF casualties in Lebanon

By Ze'ev Schiff

The majority of Israel Defense Forces ground troops casualties, both infantry and armored, were the result of special anti-tank units of Hezbollah, according to intelligence sources. The same sources note that these units have not retreated from southern Lebanon following the deployment of large IDF ground forces in the area. The Hezbollah anti-tank teams use a new and particularly potent version of the Russian-made RPG, the RPG-29, that has been sold by Moscow to the Syrians and then transferred to the Shi'ite organization.

Some of the IDF casualties resulted when the rockets struck homes in which IDF troops had taken positions. This was the case when four soldiers of the elite Egoz unit were killed in the village of Bint Jbail. In that case a Sagger anti-tank missile had been used. The RPG-29's penetrating power comes from its tandem warhead, and on a number of occasions has managed to get through the massive armor of the Merkava tanks.

The IDF had intelligence information on Hezbollah plans to deploy specialized anti-tank teams in order to delay the advance of IDF ground forces. The special focus Hezbollah gave to anti-tank weapons as part of their doctrine was revealed during the raid on the border village of Ghajar in November 2005.
During that attack, Hezbollah fighters attempted to kidnap IDF soldiers, and some of the guerrillas were killed and their bodies left behind. This was the same unit that fought in Bint Jbail and whose men were killed there.

During the battle at Ghajar, which is inside Israeli territory and has an Alawite population, Hezbollah fighters fired more than 300 anti-tank rockets of different types, including the new RPG-29, which targetted various armored vehicles and two Merkava Mark-2 tanks. One of the two tanks had the necessary armor to deflect the missiles, but the other took a hit to the body.

Following the battle at Ghajar, Israeli inquiries that Russia was transferring modern anti-tank weapons to Syria and on to Hezbollah were received with anger. The Russians demanded proof that this had been done. Contrary to common practice, Israel transferred to Russia the tail-end of a rocket for analysis. The Russian response was that in the absence of a serial number they were hard pressed to identify it as part of a load delivered to Syria.

The IDF believes Hezbollah also has an advanced anti-aircraft missile, the SA-18, from Iran. It is particularly lethal against helicopters, and even though none of the missiles have been fired against Israel Air Force aircraft, the flights over Lebanon are taking the necessary precautions.

RPG-29 - http://warfare.ru/?lang=&catid=278&linkid=1845

[Armenian]

Re: War in The Middle East

Two Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed on Saturday in clashes with Hezbollah guerillas in Lebanon.

A reservist soldier was killed and four other troops were injured when an anti-tank missile hit a home in which they took up position in the southern Lebanese village of Ayta a-Shab. The dead soldier is the first reservist killed in the IDF ground operation in Lebanon. Four soldiers had already been killed in that village, also from an anti-tank missile attack on a home. The village is about one kilometer north of the border with Israel, and is immediately across from the area where two IDF soldiers were abducted on July 12.

Earlier in the day, an IDF engineering corps soldier died of his wounds after sustaining serious injuries from a mortar round that struck vehicle in which he was being transported. The dead soldier has been identified as Staff Sergeant Or Shachar, 22, from Kibbutz Yad Mordechai. Another soldier suffered light injuries and was treated at the scene. The incident occurred near Nabi el-Awadi, which lies near the village of A'taibeh and is situated in the eastern sector of south Lebanon.

Israel Air Force jets raided bridges late Saturday near the northern port city of Tripoli, Lebanese police said. The jets blasted a bridge near Tripoli and a bridge near Akkar in northern Lebanon, police said. The warplanes also targeted a road near the Cedars, northern Lebanon. There were no reports immediately available on casualties, police said. The renewed air strikes came as a mother and her two daughters were killed in a Katyusha attack in the Western Galilee, and France and the U.S. came up with a draft United Nations cease-fire resolution.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert convened his seven-minister forum in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening to discuss the continuation of the Israel Defense Forces operation in Lebanon and the draft resolution. Government officials said initial response to the proposal was favorable, but Olmert's office declined to make any official comment. Defense Minister Amir Peretz is to meet Sunday in Jerusalem with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, who comes from talks in Beirut with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri aimed at paving the way for ending hostilities.

On Friday, an IDF officer and two soldiers were killed and six others hurt in fighting with Hezbollah guerrillas Friday as Israel continued its ground forces campaign in South Lebanon. The officer and two soldiers were killed in fierce gunbattles in the village of Markaba. Golani Brigade infantrymen were marching near the village when an anti-tank missile was launched at the force.

Since the outbreak of hostilities, 45 IDF soldiers have been killed.
The funeral of one of the dead soldiers, Staff Sergeant Daniel Shiran, 20, of Haifa, was held Friday afternoon. The other fallen soldier has been identified as Staff Sergeant Omri Haim Almakeis-Yakobovitch, 20, a native of Ramle. He will be laid to rest Sunday afternoon.

In a separate incident, an Armored Corps soldier was seriously hurt and another was lightly wounded near the South Lebanon village of Taibeh. They were hurt by an anti-tank missile Hezbollah fired at the tank in which the soldiers were driving. Two other soldiers were wounded early Friday, one moderately and the other lightly, in gunbattles with Hezbollah in the same area. Five Hezbollah gunmen were killed in the exchange of fire.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/746648.html