Israeli aircraft bomb Beirut airport: sources

[cal04]

Israeli aircraft fired three rockets into a runway at Beirut international airport on Thursday, security sources said.

Airport sources said at least two flights had to be diverted to airports in the Middle East. In Jerusalem, an Israeli army spokesman declined to comment on the report.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-07-13T032733Z_01_L136400_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST-LEBANON-AIRPORT.xml

Israeli aircraft attacked two runways at Beirut international airport on Thursday, dramatically widening an assault against Lebanon a day after Hizbollah seized two Israeli soldiers and killed eight.

Lebanese security sources said the aircraft fired at least six rockets at the runways and a nearby road, forcing the facility to close and flights to divert to airports in the Middle East.

Updated
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-07-13T040326Z_01_L11538533_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST.xml

[benburch]

1. This is going to be a regional conflict.

I expect Syria, Jordan, and Egypt to enter it.

[rockymountaindem]

2. I don't expect Jordan and Egypt to enter it

Egypt gets a lot of US foreign aid as a result of signing the Camp David accords and being at peace with Israel. Jordan is possibly the weakest Arab state, militarily speaking, and risks domestic upheaval if it becomes involved. Syria, on the other hand, might decide to face Israel alone.

[DELUSIONAL]

3. I was wondering when this would happen --

Syria was ordered out of Lebanon --

I hope that Lebanon doesn't disintegrate again into chaos.

All off this over one private?? I don't think so --

And just who is going to pay for this war?? Can we say -- US taxpayers -- meaning the middle class -- yet again.

And yes -- we do know that one group is pleased as punch -- the religiously insane -- the end of timers. The ones of the death cult -- who have their boy in the white house

[cali]

6. One private??

Last night Hizbollah (the only forces on the border in S.Lebanon, crossed the border, killed 7 Israeli troops, and abducted/captured/kidnapped 2 wounded troops. In addition they fired several rockets into Israeli towns, injuring several civilians, 2 severely. This isn't about Shalit. Lebanon and Israel have a settled border, approved by the UN. Hizbollah is operating freely out of Lebanon, contrary to agreements, and in fact, has a sizable bloc in Parliament and ministry level posts. I have no problem condemning Israel's incursion into Gaza. This is a different kettle of fish.

[rockymountaindem]

7. Thanks for being reasonable

While I don't agree with you 100%, I think you make a reasonable assessment.

[demosincebirth]

10. In this case, Israel, has a right to defend it self. No doubt about it.

[Tom Joad]

12. Israel is holding 300 children, several hundred women, and over

9,000 Palestinian prisoners in all. It bombs targets in Gaza at will, even before the capture of the military prisoner. It recently killed a family on a beach outing. It prevents free flow of goods and people through Gaza borders. It has had crippling sanctions that harm the people of Palestine because they exercised their democratic rights.

[Behind the Aegis]

16. ...

"Please stay on topic. Do not jump into an unrelated discussion and introduce a barely-relevant tangent in order to bring up your pet issue."

source

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tom Joad]

21. I was right on topic.

I was putting in perspective what you wrote above talking about what had happen to a relative few Israelis, when the violence that had been experienced by Palestinians over the last few months (and half-century for that matter) is far worse.

To say violence has been experienced and inflicted by both sides is certainly true. But it certainly leaves out some important facts when that is all that is said.

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Violet_Crumble]

87. Considering a good number of posts in this thread are totally ot...

Why did you single Tom out yet again?

[LeftCoast]

4. From this very brief report it appears to me that this was mostly for show

Looks like the just took out part of the runway. Bad enough, but still mostly for show.

[everythingsxen]

5. Oh yes, this shall be a large war...

My question is:

Will Israel unleash the Wrath of God (AKA Nuclear Weapons)?

I think if the situation gets too out of hand.....

[cali]

8. Doubtful that this will be

a widespread war. It seems to me that it's those who know the least about it, who are making these pronouncements. Highly unlikely that Israel will use nuclear weapons.

[everythingsxen]

9. I don't know...

It just seems like the time is right for some major stuff to go down. Egypt won't step, I don't think, but Syria? And Jordan my not have much.... but they may see it as the last chance they have.

And if that happens, Israel could be backed into a corner.

[rockymountaindem]

11. Israel maintains a 4:1 advantage over Syria in airpower

not to mention that the IAF has far better planes and pilots. Combined with all Israel's attack helicopters and the fact that it maintains the well-fortified high ground on the Golan Heights, I think that precludes any Syrian victory over Israel.

[everythingsxen]

13. True but..

There is a whole lot of X factor in this situation...

[azurnoir]

14. No Israel will not use nukes

nor will any one else, to use nuclear weapons would be suicide. There is one possible exception that being the US and it is unlikely we would either.

[benburch]

15. Pakistan is not a stable place.

Just saying.

[Behind the Aegis]

18. No, Pakistan is not all that stable...

...however, I am guessing they are a little more concerned with the recent terrorist attack in India, as that could certainly create some problems between the two nations.

[benburch]

19. What better way to divert attention?

Assuming you are unstable and crazy?

[Englander]

20. Israel attacks Beirut's airport

Israeli aircraft have fired rockets at the runways of Beirut's international airport, forcing its closure and the diversion of flights.

It comes as 27 civilians, including 10 children, were killed in overnight Israeli raids on southern Lebanon.

Militant group Hezbollah retaliated by firing rockets into northern Israel. One person has been reported killed.

>snip

Overnight raids

Israel said its jets also hit 40 Hezbollah targets in overnight raids.

At least 10 members of one family were reported killed in Dweir village.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5175160.stm

[truthpusher]

23. Holy Crap! Israel just fired rockets at the Beirut Airport...

Just popped up on CNN breaking news:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/13/mideast/index.html?section=cnn_latest

[burythehatchet]

24. And is anyone aware that a 500 poun bomb was dropped

in a residential neighborhood killing 9 civilians?

[mike_c]

25. Isreal is expanding the collective punishment to encompass...

...as many innocent people as possible.

[Pirate Smile]

26. We have all these flippin 24 hour "news" channels. Do you think

any of them would break in with this type of news? Apparently not, it is reruns on all around.

[w8liftinglady]

27. keep us posted...i can't go there now

[annm4peace]

30. How many children... ??

* so sick and senseless.

[Terran1212]

51. The sad thing is this is pretty much EVERY DAY in Iraq! nt

[WillyT]

28. Yep... Second Day Of Attacks In Lebanon !!! - AP Story

<snip>

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel bombed and shelled southern Lebanon and sent ground troops over the border for the first time in six years Wednesday after Hezbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers. The fighting killed eight Israeli soldiers and three Lebanese.

Early Thursday morning, Israeli planes attacked the runways of Beirut International Airport, Israeli Army Radio reported, starting off a second day of attacks. A senior airport official said the airport was closed shortly after the strike and all scheduled flights were diverted to Cyprus, the neighboring Mediterranean island. The airport is located in Beirut's southern suburbs, which are controlled by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah's brazen cross-border raid opened a second front for the Israeli army. The army is now fighting Islamic militants in both Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, where it is looking for another soldier who was captured more than two weeks ago by Hamas-linked militants.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the Hezbollah raid an "act of war" by Lebanon and threatened "very, very, very painful" retaliation. The Cabinet, meeting in the wake of the military's highest daily death toll in four years, decided to continue the army operation and call on the international community to disarm Hezbollah, according to participants.

Israel's Army Radio reported the object of the attack on Beirut airport was to shut down air traffic in and out of the Lebanese capital.

<snip>

Link: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/ISRAEL_LEBANON?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME

Fuck...

[peacetalksforall]

29. Disregard for fellow man. Hamas, Hezbollah, Israel. All insane.

[WillyT]

31. Yep... A Pox On ALL Their Houses !!!

Just wish we could get the kids out of there before they become infected, or dead.

:shrug:

[still_one]

35. where are the super powers to force all parties to the peace tables?

[Doctor_J]

36. Bush calling for peace?

this would be too funny for words.

[leftchick]

80. he just stumbled over the phrase "peace-able nations"

That isn't even a word! He just gave some sort of speech in Germany addressing the ME situation and could not even spit out the word "peace-able". He is such a fucking joke!

[RaleighNCDUer]

38. There's only one superpower

and there is profit to be made.

[SensibleAmerican]

78. Israel is merely defending itself

n/t

[Pachamama]

79. Defense is not an excuse to attacking a country without attempts to resolv

diplomatically here!

The Lebanese gov't is not Hezbollah. I know that some/many would disagree. And I would even be the first to agree that the Hezollah operates without much interference from the Lebanese gov't. But I still have to believe that Israel through the UN and other nations diplomatically (in crisis mode) should have tried to resolve this without bombing and attacking another nation.

What if a terrorist group (or for other purposes call them a "gang of thugs") operating out of Canada kidnapped two US soldiers in say Michigan? What if that terrorist group/gang of thugs was not being "regulated" or better controlled in the minds of the US? Would that justify the US bombing Southern Canada because it has to "defend itself?". Wouldn't sitting down with Canada's gov't and the UN to resolve it (and people called negotiators) make more sense than an act of war?

Israel is not "merely defending itself" and I am very, very worried about the aftermath of this aggressive attack by Israel. Am I equally worried about the kidnapping and attack by Hezbollah in the first place of Israel's soldiers? Ofcourse...but that didn't warrant attacking with war planes and bombs a sovereign nation and resulting in tons of civilian deaths (on both sides) and the breakout of WWIII in the middle east....unless ofcourse that was the ultimate goal? :eyes:

[leftchick]

81. Hi Pachamama!

check your PMs. :)

[malaise]

85. Rummy loves this

and so do Cheney and Bush.

[Recursion]

89. Why do people keep saying Lebanon is not Hezbollah?

I mean, I understand that Hezbollah is only part of the government, but why should Israel care? If attacks are being made against Israeli territory from Lebanese territory, and Beiruit is unable or unwilling to stop that, then it no longer matters (from Israel's POV) that Hezbollah is not the official Lebanese government.

I see a huge difference between what Israel is doing in Gaza and what it's doing in Lebanon. Gaza is an attempt at collective punishment of a besieged people; Lebanon is a retaliation against attacks coming from the territory of a sovereign state.

And I'll say again, the sooner they call this what it is, "war", rather than terrorism, the sooner we'll all have our feet in reality and be able to find a way out. People are captured in war all the time. Captured personnel are traded in war all the time. You don't negotiate with "terrorists" but you damn sure negotiate with an enemy in war for the release of POWs. Israel needs to learn this, and fast, or they'll probably have a lot more captured personnel to bargain / fight for.

[alarimer]

82. bullshit

they are the bullies here.

[peacetalksforall]

88. You have a country with the most advianced technological

capabilities, nuclear arms, every piece of weaponry and dress imaginable, incredible brain power, and no mouths. Israel always hits back with 500 to a 25 in capability and doesn't negotiate.

They claim hitting back tit for tat works best. I call that neanderhal.

And as we go along mavericks who started out fighting with stones and cans, then filled cans, then automatic weapons, and now missiles, but lacking in technology by comparison and without the incredible funding from the U.S. and U.K. - the mavericks fight on for dignity, land, basics for a future which Israel seems determined not to give them in the long run.

My perception.

Everyone who knows anything knows that the number one objective of Moslems is to allow Palestinians to survive peacefully on their own land.

I think Israel is losing in public perception.

I expect more. I equally condemn any death and destruction from Hamas and Hezbollah - and support for death, destruction from Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Saudi Arabia or anyone else in any form. And I'm beginning to detest the U.S. unilateral support for Israel.

I'm sorry... Israel has not measured up to my expectations. I have only my perceptions to go on. Their public relations department must have broken down.

I am equally incensed at Saudi Arabia. There is a triangle of power and cooperation between Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the U.S./U.K. that defies logic.

[lonestarnot]

32. Damn. They are not going to quit until they stir it up big time.

[PuraVidaDreamin]

34. I feel broken.

and helpless.:cry:

[lonestarnot]

45. OMGOSH

I just saw your post! Don't cry! How are you besides broken and helpless. p.m. me if you have time. I've been worried about you with all the flooding and haven't seen you here. :hug:

[uppityperson]

33. Holy Crap more: Northern Israeli city hit by rockets from Lebanon

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-07-13T042201Z_01_L13106480_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST-ISRAEL-ROCKETS.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-L3-Top+NewsNews-2
link changed
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-07-13T042201Z_01_L13106480_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST-ISRAEL-ROCKETS.xml
Thu Jul 13, 2006 12:22am ET7

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The northern Israeli city of Nahariya was hit by Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanon on Thursday, the Israeli army said.

The army said it was unclear if there were casualties.

[uppityperson]

40. updated

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-07-13T043536Z_01_L13106480_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST-ISRAEL-ROCKETS.xml
At least two Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanon slammed into the northern Israeli city of Nahariya on Thursday, wounding three civilians, the Israeli army said.

The Lebanese guerrilla group Hizbollah said it had fired 60 rockets at Nahariya, a coastal city south of the Lebanese border.

Israeli aircraft earlier attacked two runways at Beirut international airport, dramatically widening an assault against Lebanon a day after Hizbollah seized two Israeli soldiers and killed eight.

The Israeli army said Hizbollah had also fired a number of rockets and mortars at other areas in northern Israel.One rocket landed in the Israeli town of Zarit, wounding one civilian. Another projectile damaged an Israeli airforce base near Mount Meron...(tiny bit more@link)

[European Socialist]

37. Nightline reported it--then went to another story. This could be WW3 and

they couldn't stay with it. Jimmy Kimmel more important.

[shadowknows69]

39. and of course Bush is blaming Iran and Syria

as if he's inviting them to join the game. Why wouldn't they at this point? They must see the writing on the wall. I think the big game may finally be under way folks. Batten down the hatches.

[w8liftinglady]

41. is it wrong to call him a cretinous moron c*cksucker?I hate him

for trying to make everything fit his agenda

[Bluebear]

63. Yes, because it gives cocksuckers a bad name. nt

[Behind the Aegis]

42. Iran and Syria have been involved for awhile!

[shadowknows69]

44. All I know is they either need to get along

or one of them is going to have to let go of the whole "We need to live in the Holy land" thing and move to Antartica. It's going to be like the tropics soon anyway so might not be a bad move from the Desert.

[Trajan]

46. WIth ALL due respect ...

Has Israel NOT been involved 'for a while' ? ...

I am with the others : A POX on all their houses ....

What ever happened to the liberal dislike of war ? ...

What ever happened to the earnest desire for peace ? ...

What has happened to our world, again ?

[Behind the Aegis]

49. what?

Where did I say or even imply that Israel hasn't been involved?! What are you talking about?

[Nothing Without Hope]

65. So is the NY Times - see linked story posted here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1621289&mesg_id=1621809

The wording in this NYT article on the attack on Lebanon is surely right from the Pentagon:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/13/world/middleeast/13mideast.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5088&en=5b4658b29a4ba9a2&ex=1310443200&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Hezbollah and Hamas are part of a complex four-way relationship with each other and Iran and Syria. Iran helped to create, finance and train Hezbollah. Hamas’s political leader, Khaled Meshal, lives and works in Damascus. The expectation among political and foreign affairs analysts is that Hamas and Hezbollah would never have taken such provocative actions without at least the tacit approval of their sponsors in Tehran or Damascus.

This is the latest from the NY Times, but it still doesn't mention the Israeli attack on the Beirut airport.

[Theduckno2]

43. Airport? I just can't get past the airport.

Does the Hezbollah have an air force now? They must have bought a kite. :sarcasm:

For what other pupose than collective civilian punishment would attacking the Beirut airport serve?

I just hope cooler heads will prevail.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

47. destroying airport runways prevent take-offs

and thus limits the movements of the persons that may have the Israeli soldiers. Not saying it is right...but most likely why they hit it...

sP

[Theduckno2]

55. Thanks, reading other items following my post indicated same also.

I had some other thoughts on the Israeli attack on the Beirut airport but they were a bit sarcastic, and after reading hiro's post below I will keep them to myself.

I wish hiro, hiro's family and friends well.

[The Backlash Cometh]

48. Israel must figure that it's going to force the US to stay in the Middle

East.

[Hatalles]

58. Or perhaps invading Iraq and putting the heat on Iran created the perfect

climate for these moves by the Israeli government...

[hiro]

50. No way out.

I've got friends and family in Lebanon right now, with no easy way out. Syria probably would give them trouble, the airport's out of commission, and it's probably a matter of time before the shipping lanes to Cyprus are cut off.

I get this sick feeling that by the time this is over, some of my acquaintances will be among the dead...

-H.

[readmoreoften]

52. welcome hiro!

i'm sorry to welcome you under such bad circumstances, though. :hug:

[hiro]

53. Thanks

Thanks....I know, I wish it was under better circumstances too.

[MadMaddie]

54. We will keep all of your family and friends safety in our thoughts.....

Welcome to DU my friend!

[shadowknows69]

56. Indeed hiro welcome

and all prayers. Keep us as informed as you can about things.

[mwooldri]

61. Any way of them to get out via Tripoli?

Sorry I don't know Beirut but I know it's mainly surrounded by Syria and with Israel to its south. Beirut may be out of action but does that mean Tripoli would be out of action too? That would be a place I'd be wanting to get to if I wanted to get out of Lebanon... travel by jeep and then wait and fly... money pending of course. And claim asylum in the first country because Israel are bombing the feck out of Lebanon for no real reason.

Mark.

[JCMach1]

57. BBC World just reported 10 of the dead Lebanese so far are children

:(

[Name removed]

59. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[blitzen]

60. Haaretz: Israeli attack kills family of 12 in S. Lebanon

In southern Lebanon, at least 22 civilians were reported killed in overnight IAF attacks, including a family of 12 in the village of Dweir, leading TV station LBC reported.

http://haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=737860&contrassID=1&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0

[JCMach1]

72. Thanks for the confirmation of what the BBC was talking about

It's important to remember a lot of information is coming in real-time.

[Name removed]

62. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Nothing Without Hope]

64. It's been up at BBC for some time - I posted it in this other thread

here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=124&topic_id=133416&mesg_id=133492

[McCamy Taylor]

66. Israel is looking like a war monger from where I stand.

[LonelyLRLiberal]

70. I agree - now how is this getting their captured soldiers back?

Seems to me like this is just asking to get them killed, if they are even alive. Probably not what this is all about anyway.

[JCMach1]

73. It's about politics, not lives-- everything else is just varnish

and propaganda on both sides...

[rainy]

76. people keep saying "on both sides" but it seems

obvious that Israel is to blame. They started and continue to fuel the controversy by continuing to occupy land that is not theirs. End of discussion.

[readmoreoften]

77. Well, come on. It's a little more complicated than that.

I mean, they are there now. That's not to say that I'm not for a Palestinian State. I am for a Palestinian State. But I'm also not for "pushing all the Jews into the sea" as the Palestinian leadership wanted to do when the Jews landed. After the Holocaust, where were these people supposed to go? There are only 14 million Jews in the world. How many were killed in Nazi Germany? 6 Million? I mean, the Jews were driven out of Israel 1000 years ago, but it is where their history is.

Like I said, I think there needs to be two states. I think the Jews should get out of the West Bank. But for the love of humanity, Jewish people need a place to hang their hat, too.

I'm not saying Israel is always or even usually right. But I don't see how it's an "end of discussion" situation. It's a crazy complicated situation's what it is.

[Nothing Without Hope]

67. LA Times has the story of the airport bombing - NYTimes does not - LINK:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-lebanon13jul13,0,2240091.story?track=tothtml

Israel Strikes Lebanon After Militants Capture 2 Soldiers

Beirut airport is among the sites targeted in response to Hezbollah's cross-border raid, which the prime minister calls an act of war.
By Laura King and Vita Bekker, Special to The Times
July 13, 2006

SAFAT, Israel — Israel bombed Beirut's airport early today and sent troops and tanks deep into Lebanon after guerrillas from the Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah seized two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in a meticulously planned border raid.

It was Israel's first major offensive in Lebanon in six years, marking a return to a battlefield that for many Israelis became a quagmire.

A wave of overnight Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon killed more than 20 civilians, officials said, and an Israeli woman was killed when Lebanese guerrillas fired Katyusha rockets at the coastal town of Nahariya.

Israel confirmed that its air force had struck Beirut's airport to halt air traffic to and from the capital, saying that the airport was used as a hub to transfer weapons. It was unclear how long the airport would remain closed.

(snip)

A key sentence: "The ramifications threatened to spread across the region. The White House and Israeli officials quickly cast blame on Syria and Iran, Hezbollah's patrons.

[chill_wind]

68. Ledeen: "Creative destruction is our middle name."

The neoconservative blood-lusting brain-trust is getting what it wanted.


"One can only hope that we turn the region into a cauldron, and faster, please."
http://www.vanityfair.com/commentary/content/articles/060619roco02?page=12ht

(...)

Ledeen repeatedly urged war or destabilization not just in Iraq but also in Iran, Syria, Lebanon, even Saudi Arabia. "One can only hope that we turn the region into a cauldron, and faster, please," he wrote. "Faster, please" became his mantra, repeated incessantly in his National Review columns.

Rhapsodizing about war week after week, Ledeen became chief rhetorician for neoconservative visionaries who wanted to remake the Middle East. "Creative destruction is our middle name, both within our own society and abroad," he wrote after the attacks. "We must destroy to advance our historic mission."

The U.S. must be "imperious, ruthless, and relentless," he argued, until there has been "total surrender" by the Muslim world. "We must keep our fangs bared," he wrote, "we must remind them daily that we Americans are in a rage, and we will not rest until we have avenged our dead, we will not be sated until we have had the blood of every miserable little tyrant in the Middle East, until every leader of every cell of the terror network is dead or locked securely away, and every last drooling anti-Semitic and anti-American mullah, imam, sheikh, and ayatollah is either singing the praises of the United States of America, or pumping gasoline, for a dime a gallon, on an American military base near the Arctic Circle."

-----------------------
(bold emphasis mine.)
Ccross-posting from Hissyspit thread Thu Jul-13-06 06:18 AM

Vanity Fair: "The War They Wanted, The Lies They Needed" (Niger Document)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1621742&mesg_id=1621742

[w4rma]

69. This kind of BS will just make people more hardheaded. (nt)

[Rosemary2205]

71. Quick, someone dig out Bush's roadmap.

and yes, whoever said it -- a pox on all their houses.

[enigmacat]

74. LOL

[enigmacat]

75. Just had to add

:grouphug: and :cry: to all the innocent lives wasted on this sickening military action.

[maxrandb]

83. Naval Blockade

now as well.

Lebanon calls it an "act of war". Well....DUH!!!!

Yeah Bush, peace is just popping up all over the place isn't it?

[paparush]

84. Sit back and wait for the Mushroom Cloud that Bush was describing..

4 yrs ago. Its coming.

[wicket]

86. And the beat goes on...

n/t