I have no idea of the reliability of these sources.... TEL AVIV — The United States blocked a major military offensive by Israel against Syria last month, but shares Israeli concerns that the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad is openly arming Hizbullah and Palestinian militants. Israeli officials said the attack was to have taken place last month in response to a spate of Hizbullah strikes along the Lebanese border with the Jewish state. The officials said Israel's military had mobilized its reserves for what they termed was to have been a heavy blow on Syrian military positions in Lebanon and Syria, Middle East Newsline reported. On Monday, the Qatari daily Al Sharq, quoting Hizbullah sources, reported that Israeli Mossad agents in cooperation with the United States tried to assassinate Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah on June 6 in Beirut. But the plan was foiled when Nasrallah stayed home from an Islamic conference scheduled that day because of the flu. "Only international intervention and somebody up there recovered and saved them from a harsh military blow," David Magen, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said. Magen said that for months Israel had been concerned over Syria's support for Hizbullah and its aim to open a second military front with Israel. The parliamentary committee chairman said Syrian President Bashar Assad ignored previous Israeli warnings and openly allowed Iran to arm Hizbullah and Palestinian insurgency groups based in Damascus. Officials said the turning point for Syria came during a weekend visit by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to Damascus in April. They said Powell warned Assad that Israel was preparing a massive attack on Syria and that Washington would not restrain the Jewish state. Magen said Israeli military and political leaders appear baffled by Assad's willingness to escalate tension. He said many attribute this to the inexperience by the new president. "He doesn't know that military defeat is," Magen said. "Maybe when he does know he will think differently. When he was asked to lower tension, he did exactly the opposite." "We're asking all the parties to use their influence on Hizbullah to get Hizbullah to stop attacking Israel," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Monday. "We're asking people to prevent things, not to supply weapons, not to allow the supply of weapons, not to encourage and support Hizbullah in carrying out attacks on Israel." Officials said tensions still remain high along Israel's border with Lebanon. They said U.S. diplomats repeated warnings to Lebanon and Syria over the weekend in wake of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's meeting with President George Bush. The two men discussed the prospect of outbreak of conflict in Lebanon or Syria. http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/breaking_8.html
Twenty more dead today in Jerusalem, many of whom were high schoolers. About cuts it for me; I say turn Israel loose.
I say turn the Middle East loose and we all lose... Turn Israel loose and we all lose. Damn a lose-lose situation....
We need to get out of Israel's way now. They have an inalienable right to defend themselves. The Arab countries that support terrorism (Syria and Iraq) need to be hit hard, and their populations freed of the secular tyrants that rule with an iron fist.
As if Israel is the second coming of Switzerland? A country that openly violates human rights, kills people of a different faith (Muslims), and is freed to establish new settlements on Muslim land is a terroristic country in my book. I feel sorry for the people that die in suicide bombings. If it was up to me I would shoot all the would be suicide bombers. As long as they keep on pulling this crap there wont be any peace. You talk about Syria and Iraq being ruled by tyrants, but Hitler Sharon is no second coming of the Dalai Lama. I hope that a-hole gets a one way ticket to hell when he dies a miserable death.
Rocks03, Israel won that land in a war, should we give all of the USA back to the Indians, or the British, or the French? Come on, they have a right to defend themselves, unfortunatly there is no clear battlefield, and you just can't go and kill a bunch more innocent people and expect to get even. This is a vicious circle, and I do not see a reasonable way out, as all of these people are not reasonable at all, especially the suicide bombers. One question though, why doesn't Israel just take over the disputed territory, institute Marshall law, and outlaw guns etc? I mean, they are just opening themselves up for this crap. This situation in the Middle east is sickening, and will continue to grow across the entire planet as long as we have some wackos leading Muslim countries. I know it is not a popular thought to have the US choose what governments are good and what are evil, but someone has to put a stop to all of this. The muslim states like Iraq, Iran, Syria etc that sequester their people and feed them BS about the western world are going to cause a lot more havoc when they can make their own nuclear weapons. We are heading for a World War, and I don't see any way of avoiding it. DaDakota
"Hitler Sharon"? Where are the 12 million corpses? I think the man is part of the problem, not part of the solution; but comparing him to one of the 2 or 3 most heinous mass murderers of modern time is simply disgusting.
R0ckets03, you are a cool guy, but you are pretty pyscho when it comes to Israel. You sound very biased. You need to try to look at the predicament that they are in. If I recall you are Pakistani right? Do you hate them because you are Muslim? There are facts on both sides to support/disagree with Israel. There has to be peace, not hate. Sharon is definitely agressive but with what his country has faced (and some say brought upon themselves) you have to understand his situation. The US is in the same offensive mode now trying to stop terrorism. Isreal has been dealing with it since it's creation. Their methods have not been the best (similar to the US) so there is a lot of hate and misunderstanding in the Middle East. I used to favor Israel under different leadership. I am neutral now and I am very glad that the US stopped/discouraged them from attacking Syria. They need to establish a Palestinian nation and seperate the two sides. If you have a problem with Sharon, that is fine with me, but when you insult a nation because of it's leader I think it makes you look dumb. I know Sharon represents Israel, but he is just one man, not a whole country. The majority of both sides want peace. Hopefully this will happen in our lifetime.
Sharon is the elected leader of a representative Democracy. Arafat was supposed to stand for election in 2000, but refuses to allow his people the right to vote now. Who is more like a tyrant?
Ariel Sharon New Internationalist magazine, May 2001 Israel's newly elected Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, ~ knows a thing or two about power. The white-haired old warrior had been languishing on the political margins and was widely assumed to be drifting into welcome retirement on his 400-hectare ranch, said to be the largest private agricultural land-holding in the country. But then Benjamin Netanyahu was trounced at the polls by Labour's Ehud Barak in 1999. When Netanyahu resigned, the wily former general was appointed transitional leader of the right-wing Likud Party and quickly saw a chance to make his mark. The peace talks between Israel and the PLO had stalled and the question of who would control Jerusalem was one of the big stumbling blocks. What better time for the pugnacious brawler to announce a visit to Islam's third-holiest site, the Haram alSharif in old Jerusalem? - a site which is also one of Judaism's most sacred spots, the Temple Mount. The move was deliberate and well orchestrated - and Sharon got exactly what he wanted. Palestinian anger exploded at the deliberate provocation and the intifada was reborn: hundreds died as Arab demonstrators clashed with Israeli soldiers in the months that followed. Then, in the subsequent elections the Israeli electorate, confused and frightened by the Palestinian protests, returned the 72 year-old Sharon to power in a sweeping victory. For the bellicose Prime Minister this was further proof of his fundamental credo: when in doubt, escalate. Sharon has always been a firm believer in upping the ante. 'In the muddle resulting from an increase in violence, he will always come out the winner,' writes Israeli political scientist Avishai Margalit. He knows 'how to create a situation in which people turn to him because he is self-confident and he knows what he wants'. The short, husky Sharon has been a presence in Israeli politics since he joined the Haganah, a Jewish self-defence force, at the age of 14. From there he moved to the armed forces, eventually leading an Israeli commando attack on the West Bank village of Qibya, just east of Tel Aviv, in October Sharon's unit blew up 45 homes and massacred 69 people, more than half of them women and children according to a later UN Security Council report. Undaunted, the plucky Sharon then went for broke in the 1956 Sinai War - ignoring direct orders, he sent his paratroopers into an Egyptian ambush, resulting in the death of 38 Israeli soldiers. That temporarily derailed his military career until the 1967 Six Day War against Egypt when he engineered a stunning victory in the Sinai and became an instant war hero. After that, as leader of Israel's Southern Command in the early 19705, he systematically wiped out Palestinian guerrilla cells in the Gaza Strip, bulldozing hundreds of homes in the process. That was followed by further military success in the 1973 Arab-lsraeli war and then another spate of Arab home-wrecking in the late 19705. As Minister of Agriculture in the Likud Government from 1977 to 81 the ebullient Sharon zealously promoted Jewish settlement in the West Bank and Gaza, building so many roads to encourage settlers that he was nicknamed the 'bulidozer'. But the blackest stain on Sharon's record and the one that confirms his status as a war criminal in the eyes of the Arab world and beyond is the mass murder of Palestinian refugees outside Beirut in 1982. As Defence Minister in Menachem Begin's Government Sharon was determined to wipe out the PLO in neighbouring Lebanon. The solution? Provoke a border conflict, then bomb the place and send in troops. The Israeli army was assisted by the Lebanese Christian Phalangist militia which had been armed by Israel since the beginning of Lebanon's civil war in 1975. Israeli soldiers surrounded the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps outside the city. Sharon then personally sent in the Phalange to flush out suspected PLO fighters. A three-day massacre followed in which 2,000 refugees were murdered, including women, children, the elderly and hundreds of men in their twenties and thirties. Sharon would henceforth be known by Arabs and Palestinians as 'the butcher'. An official Israeli commission of inquiry found the defence minister guilty of 'blunders' and held him and others directly responsible for the slaughter. Sharon was forced to resign his defence brief but continued to serve as a minister in all the Likud governments of the 1980s and 1990s. Though he was not a frontline player he still ventured forth occasionally to spell out his hardline approach to Palestinian statehood and the peace process: no concessions and more force. During the recent election campaign he elaborated on his belief that Israel needs to take the offensive, hinting at the use of selective assassination of key Palestinian officials. The no-nonsense fighter is in his element. And he has now got the political power to make his point. This a-hole obviously has no regard for human life. And the idiotic Israelis actually elected this guy Prime Minister? Yeah sure sounds like a guy who truly wants peace? Would we in the US ever elect a guy like this President? Hell ****ing NO! But yet our government supports this b*stard! **** Sharon and **** Israel and **** any Israeli that supports this b****. I dont support Arafat either. Neither one of them want peace I think. The people over there actually need leaders that want peace. The people in power over there are just looking out for their own selfish agendas.
Let me get this straight- Sharon visits the Temple of Solomon, so Palestinians have the right to start killing Israeli children?? I have a good idea! Let's stop writing to each other about this subject. I don't see anything good occuring from this point on.
Responsible for 2000 deaths kinda makes him like that other a-hole Osama doesnt it? But yet our government officials seem to think he is no terrorist? I wonder if the deep pockets of Jewish lobbying in DC has anything to do with this?
If I was Pakistani why would I hate Muslims? I am Indian, but still am a Muslim. And no I dont hate Pakistanis (90% of my friends are Pakis) and no I also dont hate Israelis. I do hate both countries foreing and domestic policies though.
Let's see- he did not protect the Palestinians from the Lebanese Christian Militia, so he is "responsible" for the deaths?? (note- the Israelis in no way participated in the massacre) Therefore, if he visits the Temple of Solomon, the Palestinians have carte blanche to start murdering school girls?? Also, the Jews control our government?? hmmmmmmm, I think I should not have dignified his post with a reply. To bad I lack the discipline to just be quiet!
Jewish control over the USA is the biggest bunch of baloney I've heard since the NBA rigged the 2002 Finals. I agree with DaD that we are headed for World War. There is no other way of suppressing terrorism except in a wartime environment (marshal law, weapons confiscation, other citizen's rights revoked [if only temporarily]). Rockets03, if what you say is true about Sharon then that man is a terrorist and should be punished for his crimes. Wouldn't you agree that Arafat is also a terrorist and should be punished as well? Me being God for a day, I would remove both dolts from power, establish boundaries between Israel/Palestine and require immediate elections in both countries (overseen by the UN, NATO or whomever).
