Why not put the demilitarized zone on northern Israeli land?

[heidler1]

That way the Israeli's couldn't invade Lebanon so easily and the peace keepers could keep the Hezballoh out of Israel.

[AlamoDemoc]

1. Regardless of the International Community proposal in the region

Regardless of the International Community proposal in the region...Israel/US is against it.

[Oversea Visitor]

2. Oh all know that,

So all want to how face they want to go with the nonsense.

World losing patience,

The Arab League going to act and this last chance for UN solution.

Bush get what he wants

He better look at what he wants again.

And think about how to solve the problems after he get what he wants.

Getting it and having it 2 diefferent thing.

[AlamoDemoc]

6. These are no Arab league without the Saudi backing

and Saudi Royal family do not want Shia popularity uprising whilst many Shia reside oil rich southern Saudi Arabia. That's the fact that boggles within the arab leadership.

[Oversea Visitor]

7. You really do not understand the middle east do you?

The Saudi will save their own butt.
The people piss.
They have no choice in this.
They do want a French Revolution to happen. They want to keep their head.

[Rex]

3. DMZs don't really work unless you make the entire region a DMZ.

Fake lines of fake lines are silly. Just totally disarm globally and you don't have to worry about these kinda things. ARGH...NO DAM YOU LIBERAL SIDE>>>HUSH!!!!

Okay better now.

[Kagemusha]

4. It's not 'out of Israel' that Israel wants, it's out of S. Lebanon

and that'd require basically banning Lebanese of all types from S. Lebanon.

OTOH we're headed towards that now.

[Praetorian7]

5. Great Idea... but

...can the peacekeepers do their job ? Weren't they already there for quite some years ?

[pelsar]

9. they were observers.....

unarmed.....a serious "peacekeeping force" will have to be ready to actually do battle

[idontwantaname]

16. doing battle

with the lebanese as well as israelis. dont forget israel frequently violated lebanese air space... and im sure if israel wants the force to engage hezbollah, than the lebanese will want it to engage the IDF.

as far as why not put it on israeli territory, it was my understanding that the strategic areas were on lebanons side, which is much hillier.

[Little Star]

22. Those peacekeepers had no mandate that allowed them

to do anything other than observe. That is why you will hear everyone saying they need troops in there with teeth. In other words they need the mandate to actually keep the peace by force if necessary.

[bridgit]

8. damn fine question that...

:thumbsup:

[stray cat]

10. Would the US be willing to let Mexico annex Texas?

[Little Star]

23. I don't think we are talking about allowing. More like what is right.

The people of Lebanon have been occupied long enough. They have just as much right to their own land, free of forces as the Israelis do. THAT is the problem dammit! sigh....

[newyorican]

11. Sounds reasonable...

so it doesn't stand a chance.

Israelis claim they don't want "one inch of Lebonese land or one gallon of Litani water", but that statement cleverly leaves larger amounts of both wide open. As Israeli military invaders raise the Israeli flag over "conquered" territory, how far can the colonists/settlers be behind?

IBTL!

[Recursion]

21. They built 0 settlements in 20 years of occupation last time

They've never had serious ambitions to annex Lebanon; if they had, they would have done it 20 years ago.

[newyorican]

33. Maybe Hezbollah had something to do with it?

n/t

[sabbat hunter]

12. how would that stop

the hizbollah terrorists from launching rockets into israel on a daily basis.

[Igel]

13. Well, you do have to admit that if

all the Jews were to move to at least 400 km from the Lebanese border the problem would be solved. No more threat of Hezb/Iranian missiles, and it's Khaiber redux. Those that don't move can submit to be under threat. Submission. The name of the game.

The problem is that people don't actually believe Nasrallah. The problem isn't Hezb, it's Israel.

[Carl21014]

14. Whose going to stop the IDF from....

dropping 500 pound bombs on apartment buildings, or shelling the peacekeepers for 8 hours, and after a long day of the UN begging them to stop on the phone the IDF just says "oops it was an accident"?

[pelsar]

15. keeping hizballa away is probably a good step....

start with that....

[msmcghee]

17. What a brilliant idea.

They should make the demilitarized zone equal to about half the range of Hizbollah's missiles. That way Hizbollah could fire them at will and with no consequences and could turn Northern Israel into a lifeless desert.

Maybe you should write Omert a letter. I doubt he's thought of this himself.

[Lurking Dem]

18. I have to wonder

how many people here would start screaming about Israel ethnically cleansing the Arab majority towns of northern Israel.

[breakaleg]

19. I've believed this for a long time.

That way, Israel can protect it's own borders, it doesn't have to invade another country or rely on their policies to ensure it's protection.

However, this doesn't mesh with Israel's desire to expand and steal land from it's neighbours. Although I'm sure they will have another excuse as to why this wouldn't work.

[heidler1]

20. I never thought for a moment that Israel would accept this, but

The real contest will come down to which side is deemed the evil one when it is debated in the UN. The obvious current problem is that whenever Israel feels like it they invade/blowup either Lebanon or Palestine plus the settlements. This method could shut down Israeli path to encroachment, which could very well cause Hezballoh and Hammas to become unnecessary. A good compromise would be half and half on the whose land part.

[hack89]

24. How does that move the rocket launchers ..

beyond the range of Israeli cities? Is yours a serious question or did you forget the sarcasm tag?

[breakaleg]

25. who said it would move the rocket launchers?

it would give Israel the security they *claim* to want by keeping the civilians out of range of any rocket launchers that could be launched.

certainly this is a better solution than invading another country and killing hundreds / thousands including innocent children.

[hack89]

27. Wouldn't the real solution be to help Lebanon to regain

sovereignty over its territory? Disarm Hezbollah and the issue is solved.

[breakaleg]

28. OR they could discuss the issue of the kidnapped prisoners that

Hezbollah says Israel has and the Shebaa Farms. Those issues were the precurser to this war. It's clear that Israel hasn't wanted a negotiated peace. So they've opted to go the military route.

If they refuse to negotiate, then it seems there is another way for Israel to protect it's citizens that doesn't require them to invade it's neighbours and steal land.

[hack89]

29. I agree with the UN on Sheba farms ...

Hezbollah has no legal claim. Since Israel has not held Lebanese territory for 6 years, how did they kidnap all these people? Are you saying that Israel was routinely going into Lebanon to kidnap innocent people?

[Lurking Dem]

34. Kidnapped prisoners?

Israel holds 3 Lebanese prisoners. They were arrested, not "kidnapped". They had trials. They were convicted.

Samir Qantar is the biggie Hezbollah is going after. He is serving numerous life sentences fo attacking a civilian apartment block in Nahariya in 1979. He killed a 4 year old girl after making her watch him kill her father. The man is beyond despicable.

They hold Nissim Nasser who is, actually, an Israeli citizen for spying for Hezbollah. He had a trial and everything.

They hold Yehia Skaff. He took part in a Palestinian attack that killed 35 Israelis and injured another 100.

There is a claim they also hold Ali Faratan who was a fisherman who disappeared at sea. No telling.

[mtice]

35. Even better

Israel could keep its citizens out of the range of rocket launchers by ceasing to exist. Would that work for you?

Then all they'd have to worry about is having Hezbollah follow them to whereever in the world they've fled, such as in Buenos Aires in 1994.

Or maybe they can all move to Germany!

[chimpymustgo]

26. Brilliant! Now THAT would be "Israel defending itself". And nobody dies.

No other country invaded and destroyed. That'll never fly.

[cali]

30. Again, if a peace keeping force

is on the Israeli side, it simply gives H'zbollah further range for their rockets. The point is to stop the fighting, get Israel out of Lebanon, and then prevent H'zbollah from "owning" the border and firing rockets. It's a brainer to see that this wouldn't work. It's not as if there has been one pitched battle between H'zbollah and Israel over the past years.

[Clarkie1]

31. Because Hezbollah is the problem, not Israel.

And, it is Lebanon that has failed to control Hezbollah, not Israel.

Oh, and there is also that pesky little problem of all those rockets...

[Lithos]

32. Simple

Israel is considered to be defacto-sovereign over it's territory, but Lebanon, especially it's control of the South, is not.

L-