Israeli shell hits UN post in S. Lebanon

[Poll_Blind]

From Reuters:

BEIRUT (Reuters) - An Israeli tank shell hit a position run by U.N. peacekeepers in south Lebanon on Monday, wounding four Ghanaian soldiers, a spokesman for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said.

The four soldiers were evacuated to a UNIFIL hospital at the border town of Naqoura, Milos Strugar said in a statement. The shell also caused extensive damage to the position near the village of Rmeish, he said.

--snip--

In 1996, during Israel's Grapes of Wrath campaign in Lebanon, an Israeli jet bombed a UNIFIL compound in the southern village of Qana, killing 106 civilians sheltering inside.

--snip--

PB

[CuteNFuzzy]

1. Deliberate, no doubt

[Roy]

11. Probably not. it appears more indiscriminate than deliberate N/T

[CuteNFuzzy]

19. They know where U.N. positions are

[Kagemusha]

2. Must've been hiding Hezbollah weapons. Yeah, that's it...

nt

[ananda]

3. And of course don't leave out...

... the Red Cross and fleeing civilians.

Shades of Rachel Corrie, multiplied into tragedy after tragedy.

Sue

[Poll_Blind]

7. More information on ambulance attack here:

Here and Here. This picture goes with the latter of the two links, showing what is exactly described:

"One of the rockets hit right in the middle of the big red cross that was painted on top of the ambulance," he said. "This is a clear violation of humanitarian law, of international law. We are neutral and we should not be targeted." Amateur video provided by an ambulance worker confirmed Deebe's account of damage to the vehicles

PB

[NYC]

12. The U.S. bombed the Red Cross twice

in Afghanistan.

[Poll_Blind]

14. Does that somehow excuse the Israeli military doing it? What's your...

...point? Attacks on civilian infrastructure is criminal nomatter who does it.

Do you agree?

PB

[NYC]

17. My point is we are no better than they are.

Yes, it's a war crime. I also believe there is no excuse for war. People need to evolve.

[NYC]

18. Sorry, duplicate.

[DoYouEverWonder]

20. Looks like they hit the bull's eye

on purpose.

[Nihil]

21. "Coincidence" only covers a certain amount.

I bet that this photo will be passed around as a trophy, a "look at
me, I'm shit-hot", in the mess rooms of the IAF.

Lots of smothered grins, polite muttered apologies & excuses in
public and high-fives, laughter & free beer in private.

[nashville_brook]

4. have they totally lost their collective mind?

is this the part of the movie where the general eats beating hearts out of the (sacrificial) wounded? Walker, btw -- in case yer wondering which movie.

they've gone feral.

[joemurphy]

5. Whoops! Well, just a glitch in our pinpoint surgical attack

that is not aimed at civilians or our true friends, the nascent democratic republic of Lebanon.

See, we need more democracies because, as we know, democracies do not make war on other democracies.

[goforit]

6. A message from the Bush Cartel.

[Purveyor]

8. "Precision strikes", indeed! n/t

[TomClash]

15. No such thing as precision strikes in war nt

[Just Me]

16. I AM SO SICK OF THAT FALSEHOOD!!! "We do 'precision strikes',...

,...which proves we avoid civilian casualties". BLAH! BLECH! BAH! BULLSHIT!!!!

[AlamoDemoc]

9. This is deliberate targeting....no doubt about it.

[Ms. Clio]

10. that'll larn em

peacekeepers? peace? we don't need no stinkin peace. Onward to the Rapture!

[Vidar]

13. More irony overload.

[Igel]

22. In three such incidents the

UN complained that Hezbollah had set up missile launches adjacent to the UNIFIL facility, and as soon as they fired and were receiving incoming, the brave and heroic Hezbollah fighters fled. It was Ghanaian peacekeeper groups that were set up this way.

The headlines were that Israel shelled the UNIFIL forces, and the stories added that it was unlikely to be an accident; no, it wasn't an accident, UNIFIL was simply irrelevant. Most stories didn't carry the UN spokesperson's complaints that Hezbollah was using them as human shields.

UNIFIL is unable to defend even itself, and instead of even just having the units abandon their bases when adjacent to fire directed at the Israelis, they sit there, and complain when they're targets; the monitors apparently placidly monitored Hezbollah's arms buildup, the digging of bunkers and tunnels, the construction of outposts. One has to wonder if they bothered to file reports, and what the point of a peacekeeping force is if it calmly, and tacitly, watches preparations for war. They should simply go home and save their sorry asses.