BREAKING: FOUR MISSING AFTER ATTACK ON WARSHIP WITH EXPLOSIVES-LADEN DRONE

[gp]

23:37 An explosives-laden drone seriously hit an Israel Navy warship off the coast of Beirut causing serious damage to its steering capability, Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Friday night.

23:20 Explosives-laden drone seriously damages Israel Navy ship off Beirut (Haaretz)

http://www.haaretz.com


Warship hit by Hizbullah off Beirut shore sustains heavy damage

An Israeli warship operating off the shore of Beirut sustained heavy damage after being hit by rockets fired by Hizbullah, the army says. (Hanan Greenberg)

http://www.ynetnews.com/home/0,7340,L-3089,00.html

Al-Jazeera: Israeli navy missing 4 soldiers after attack on warship

Al-Jazeera television reported the Israeli military was searching for four of its troops missing after their warship off Lebanon's coast was hit by a Hezbollah rocket on Friday.

Israeli officials would not immediately comment. Earlier, the Israeli military said the ship suffered only light damage and that there were no casualties. (AP)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3275812,00.html

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. Naturally.

Take what ever one side is saying and make it worse for them. You'll get closer to the truth.

[Poll_Blind]

4. Indeed. They only seem to be open about their civilian dead which...

...each side milks dry while they carry out attacks on the other.

PB

[Tempest]

2. Israel first reported the ship wasn't hit

Then they claimed it was hit but with no damage.

Now we're finding out there was a lot of damage.

[northernsoul]

5. well, I would take Al-Jazeera's word with a grain of salt

I'm not saying they're wrong, I'm just saying that they're not a sticky about fact-checking as they could be. This report could be based on self-serving assertions from Hezbollah looking to score some propaganda points.

[gp]

8. Ynet is reporting it too and is an Israeli news outlet n/t

[malaise]

9. Then watch LBC America n/t

[Tempest]

12. And yet Al-Jazeera has been the most accurate source in Iraq

I emphatically disagree with your claim they're not sticky about their fact checking.

Rent "Control Room" if you have questions regarding Al-Jazeera's credibility.


And as another poster pointed out, it's also being reported in the Israeli press.

[Straight Shooter]

38. I second your opinion.

I have no problems with Al-Jazeera's credibility, either. In fact, I think they have shown a lot of restraint not to inject their own subjective position on events.

[Robbien]

13. Al-Jazeera is probably as accurate as the US media is

But since BushCo constantly complains about Al-Jazaeera they must be reporting many events BushCo doesn't want us to hear.

[BillZBubb]

18. Who is the most accurate on Iraq news??????

It's Al-Jazeera. They've got a better track record than any Israeli, or American corporate media outlet.

So, if you are honest, you'll cite some specific examples where Al-Jazeera didn't fact check.

[CottonBear]

24. Wasn't AlJazeera founded by former Middle East BBC reporters? n/t

I find their coverage to be quite good. I also read the BBC and the Guardian as well as English language news sites from Western and Eastern European nations.

http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage

[Tempest]

29. Al Jazeera was founded by the Emir of Qatar

Many of their reporters came over from the BBC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera

[lumpy]

47. That is why Bush wanted to bomb

Al Jazeera offices in Kabul and Baghdad. They are more accurate in their reporting, not always favorable to Bushco.

[dipsydoodle]

36. Now been broadcast on BBC News on TV in UK

as serious damage. As far as I'm aware the BBC is not Arab owned.

[Poll_Blind]

6. Israel does not move in a hurry to disclose military losses. n/t

PB

[Pachamama]

41. Why not? They were quick to announce & reataliate for the 2 kidnapped?

:eyes:

[malaise]

11. They said minor damage

but Lebanon TV said otherwise from early.

[ihaam]

3. Hizbullah leader promised to attack the ships...

...burn them and kill their crew only minutes before the attack...

Did Israel miscalculate? Surely they should have been better prepared!

[malaise]

10. When you bomb an international airport

and block seaports, this must happen.

[Drewskie]

7. So is it going to sink or what? (nt)

[NickB79]

14. It's on CNN right now

Question: are the standard rockets Hezbollah use accurate enough to hit a warship, or are they using more advanced weaponry than home-build rockets?

[Kagemusha]

16. Haaretz says "explosives-laden drone"

Soon enough after my post that I could edit and change this. It's just a ticker blurb currently.

[bananas]

17. Was the warship docked in port? Or was it 3,000 miles out to sea? nt

[Kagemusha]

21. Israel's naval blockading Lebanon in addition to airport attacks

fyi

[dipsydoodle]

19. I thought the idea of battle was to

fight might with might. Does it really matter what they've got or where they got it from ?

[Igel]

22. Ha'aretz's crawler

says explosive-laden drone.

[Raydawg1234]

32. funny, CNN says ship was only slightly damaged, and only mentions

rockets

[ihaam]

35. Israel initially reported it was slightly damaged

and so CNN is obviously going to report exactly what Israel says, regardless of the truth.

[tocqueville]

15. this is confirmed by Haaretz and Iraq gets involved !

22:04 Thousands of Iraqis take to streets of Baghdad to demonstrate support of Lebanon (AP)

21:24 IDF says damage to Israel Navy ship caused by rockets fired from shore (Reuters)

21:08 Israeli navy says warship off Beirut lightly hit; no injuries reported (Ch. 2)

http://www.haaretz.com/

[gp]

20. HAARETZ UPDATE: Explosives-laden drone seriously damages Israel Navy

23:20 Explosives-laden drone seriously damages Israel Navy ship off Beirut (Haaretz)

[CottonBear]

23. Why not link directly to AlJazera? Here you go: a link to the web site:

http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage

[Drewskie]

26. They have nothing on the ship (nt)

[CottonBear]

27. I just checked. You are correct. Perhaps they will have a report soon.

I like to read about the same stories from different sources.

[Marie26]

25. Wow

Hizbollah has drones? Where is the Lebanese military during all this?

[Nimrod2005]

28. What are drones? with explosives?

[Marie26]

31. AFAIK

A drone is a unmanned aircraft that's controlled from the ground. It can fly to a specific target & then drop explosives. The US used one when we bombed the Al-Queda members in Pakistan. It's really sophisticated & I'm pretty surprised a stateless militia has that kind of weaponry. (Correct me if this is wrong).

[Kagemusha]

30. You can call a lot of things a "drone"...

But sure, Hezbollah is supplied enough that it can have a drone here and there. They've never done an attack like this before IIRC. Has anyone? It's new, but long predicted in military circles. The Israelis just happened to have put a ship in a place where this could be done to it...

As for where the Lebanese military is: keeping its head down and trying to stay out of the way. It's not like it can take on Israel head-on. It's not like it can even stamp out Hezbollah on its own. Hezbollah is the armed militia of the Shiite population, apparently now 45% of the total. And that is why the government has no stomach for fighting Hezbollah on its own. It's not like they have Syria's clout to keep Hezbollah "in line" anymore. Syria must see it as a case of, beware what you wish for...

[Nimrod2005]

37. If the Lebanese military jumps in, it would be to go against Hizballah...

It may come to that...

[Marie26]

44. If the Lebanese military

is so weak, how can Israel expect them to be able to control Hizbollah?

[Kagemusha]

45. It's a rhetorical question (by Israel) justifying the offensive.

Israel can't rationally expect it, but Israel can demand it and not have its demand answered, thereby justifying any level of pain inflicted on Lebanon as collective punishment for failing to serve Israel's security interests.

[Marie26]

49. Sort of like

"Saddam must turn over his non-existent WMD's or face war." If they know Lebanon can't comply, it makes me wonder what the real point of this ultimatum is. I wonder if maybe this is all winding up to a full-scale Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon once the elected government fails to disarm Hizzbollah.

[Tempest]

33. What Lebanese military?

There's not one to speak of.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/lebanon/overview.htm

[medeak]

39. I don't get this drone thing as well...where do they purchase drones?

eom

[htuttle]

40. Radio Shack?

[Marie26]

43. The black market?

I don't know - that's a good question. Does Iran or Syria even have these kind of weapons?

[Marie26]

46. Looks like Iran does

Mohajer (UAV)

Iran's UAV program was launched in the wake of the 1980-88 war with Iraq. Iran has also been investing in several families of attack and multirole UAV. Over the years, Iranian officials have reported the deployment of target drones and such UAVs as the Mohajer-3
On November 7, 2004, Hizbollah, an Islamic militant organization with close ties to Iran, flew the Mohajer-4 over northern Israel for approximately 5 minutes. The UAV entered Israeli airspace at more than 100 knots and an altitude of about 1,000 feet. After briefly flying over the seaside city of Nahariya, the UAV fell into the sea as it returned to Lebanon. An embarassment for the Israeli government, the overflight proved to be a symbolic success for Hizbollah, which claimed the flight to be an appropriate response to Israeli incursions over Lebanon.

The prominent London-based Arab daily newspaper Ash-Sharq Al- Awsat quoted an unnamed senior officer with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as saying Iran has sold 8 Mohajer-4s to Hizbollah.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/mohajer.htm

[FUGW]

34. This was probably a lucky shot with one of those home made rockets.

But the Authoritarians are going to make it sound like the appeasement during the Clinton years has given Hizbullah time to become a world power. Just like what happened before WWII, as if the Israeli's ever appeased any one.

[Hubert Flottz]

42. I thought the DRONE was in Russia!

[stepnw1f]

48. We Have Many Drones Here Tonight

nt