Israeli jets hit deep in Lebanon

[ze_dscherman]

Israeli warplanes have struck a Palestinian guerrilla target just south of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Army officials said a "terrorist base" was targeted in response to a strike on an Israeli naval vessel by militants in Lebanon earlier in the day.

Local officials said Israeli jets fired several rockets at the Naameh hills, about 20kms (12 miles) south of Beirut.

The Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command has a base in the area.

SNIP

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3785305.stm

Note to mods: Since this happened in Lebanon, this is more than just the ordinary I/P stuff. If you think it's inappropriate to poste it in LBN, please move.

[Sapphocrat]

1. Bloody hell.

That makes me nervous.

[maddezmom]

2. retalitation????

In its letter of complaint, the Lebanese government called the Monday night airstrike "a dangerous aggression" and said Lebanon reserved the right to request a Security Council meeting about it.


Israel, which ended nearly 20 years of occupation of south Lebanon when it withdrew its troops in May 2000, said the strike was retaliation for a rocket attack on an Israeli naval boat earlier Monday.


Lebanese officials said the Israeli planes fired at least four rockets at targets in the hills at Naameh, about five miles south of Beirut. Palestinian guerrillas of the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command maintain an underground base in those hills.


The attack damaged the Palestinian base, but there were no reports of casualties.


A top Israeli defense official said Israel's airstrike was a warning to the Lebanese government to restrain militant activities.

~snip~
more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=3&u=/ap/20040608/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_israel_airstrike

[ze_dscherman]

3. Two sided attack on Syria

Finally, some time to comment. To me it seems like just another slow move towards Syria, this time from the Israeli side. All according to plan: http://www.israeleconomy.org/strat1.htm


Securing the Northern Border

Syria challenges Israel on Lebanese soil. An effective approach, and one with which American can sympathize, would be if Israel seized the strategic initiative along its northern borders by engaging Hizballah, Syria, and Iran, as the principal agents of aggression in Lebanon, including by:


striking Syria’s drug-money and counterfeiting infrastructure in Lebanon, all of which focuses on Razi Qanan.

paralleling Syria’s behavior by establishing the precedent that Syrian territory is not immune to attacks emanating from Lebanon by Israeli proxy forces.

striking Syrian military targets in Lebanon, and should that prove insufficient, striking at select targets in Syria proper.

Israel also can take this opportunity to remind the world of the nature of the Syrian regime. Syria repeatedly breaks its word. It violated numerous agreements with the Turks, and has betrayed the United States by continuing to occupy Lebanon in violation of the Taef agreement in 1989. Instead, Syria staged a sham election, installed a quisling regime, and forced Lebanon to sign a "Brotherhood Agreement" in 1991, that terminated Lebanese sovereignty. And Syria has begun colonizing Lebanon with hundreds of thousands of Syrians, while killing tens of thousands of its own citizens at a time, as it did in only three days in 1983 in Hama.

Under Syrian tutelage, the Lebanese drug trade, for which local Syrian military officers receive protection payments, flourishes. Syria’s regime supports the terrorist groups operationally and financially in Lebanon and on its soil. Indeed, the Syrian-controlled Bekaa Valley in Lebanon has become for terror what the Silicon Valley has become for computers. The Bekaa Valley has become one of the main distribution sources, if not production points, of the "supernote" — counterfeit US currency so well done that it is impossible to detect.

Text:

Negotiations with repressive regimes like Syria’s require cautious realism. One cannot sensibly assume the other side’s good faith. It is dangerous for Israel to deal naively with a regime murderous of its own people, openly aggressive toward its neighbors, criminally involved with international drug traffickers and counterfeiters, and supportive of the most deadly terrorist organizations.
Given the nature of the regime in Damascus, it is both natural and moral that Israel abandon the slogan "comprehensive peace" and move to contain Syria, drawing attention to its weapons of mass destruction program, and rejecting "land for peace" deals on the Golan Heights.

[Wright Patman]

4. Mr. Pot, meet Mr. Kettle

"Negotiations with repressive regimes like Syria’s require cautious realism. One cannot sensibly assume the other side’s good faith."

[mmm]

5. I hope Iran is ready in time

The US and Israel have absolutely no valid reason to invade
Iran. I hope Iran is ready for us.

[Just Me]

6. oh, shit

:scared:

[struggle4progress]

7. kick

:kick:

[Aidoneus]

8. There has since been more to this..

I got this info in an email from my friend who lives over there.

In retaliation to the bombing south of Beirut, Hizbu'llah fired on IDF positions in the Shebaa farms region. I don't know if there were any casualties there (that's usually not a "body count" sort of area, but for blowing off steam as a sort of pressure valve to keep something bigger from blowing up). The IAF then flew fighter jets over the area, but didn't bomb anything yet; Hizbu'llah fired on the planes, but unfortunately missed. Somewhat quiet for now.

This sort of exchange will last probably another day or two. Nasru'llah will make a speech about how no Israeli aggression will go unpunished, Mofaz or some other IDF higher-up will make a few serious-sounding but ultimately empty threats and references to some "message" sent to their provokee, maybe threaten to invade again, then both will sit back down as if nothing happened and start it all over again in about 3 months.