In Lebanon: 'There are children dying' - UN humanitarian boss

[leftchick]

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=74198


BEIRUT: Jan Egeland, the United Nations undersecretary general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, began a six-day mission to the Middle East Sunday where he spoke to wounded and displaced civilians as well as Lebanese politicians.

"I am here on a humanitarian mission on behalf of Kofi Annan. This war has affected the civilian population more than anything. There are children dying. It has to stop," said Egeland, speaking to the press outside the Rafik Hariri Hospital in Beirut.

"Israel deserves security but, also, Lebanon deserves security. A life is worth as much in Israel and Lebanon," Egeland added.

On the first day of his Middle Eastern mission, Egeland toured four different humanitarian centers of Beirut. He went to view the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh in the morning, a school and the Sanayeh Gardens, where he heard from displaced families, and the Rafik Hariri Hospital where he spoke to the wounded.

He said that in Dahiyeh the UN tour had been "trampling on children's books."

Egeland heard the voices of the wounded, including a family of seven. All five of the children were severely wounded, while their father, a taxi driver, had lost both of his legs. The mother was being treated for minor wounds.



This image taken from video made by Lebanese Red Cross workers Sunday, July 23, 2006 in Qana, south Lebanon and made available to AP Television, shows a Lebanese Red Cross ambulance destroyed in what they say was an Israeli airstrike. The Red Cross workers who provided AP Television with the video said that nine ambulance workers were wounded in the explosion as they tried to ferry injured people from the town of Qana, 20 kilometers (about 12 and a half miles) from Tyre, to hospital. AP Television cannot independently verify whether the Red Cross workers were hit by an Israeli airstrike. (AP Photo/AP Television)

[Horse with no Name]

1. Idiot boy opened Pandora's Box

and I seriously fear that we will not be able to close it.:(

[leftchick]

2. me too.

:cry:

[mom cat]

19. He wants pandora's box open. A mid east that is destroyed and in

crisis is easier to manipulate with black opps armed death squads.

[Pachamama]

3. I will never look at our government and the Israeli government the same

again....

The illegal invasion of Iraq and now our complicity in allowing the Israeli's to do what they are doing are WAR CRIMES!

This administration has so much blood on their hands, they are dripping with pools of blood around them.

I will never ever see our Government or the Israeli government the same....

The children - INNOCENT CHILDREN WHO UNLIKE BLASTOCYSTS ARE ACTUALLY LIVING, BREATHING HUMANS - are being killed in illegal acts and are guilty of human rights violations and the Geneva Conventions.

I feel sick..... :cry:

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

11. Now you understand war.

And it won't be stopped until arms dealing is !

[brer cat]

4. Destroy the ambulances, kill the children, maim their parents...

I simply have to stop reading or go insane. NOT IN MY NAME DAMMIT!

[AlamoDemoc]

5. The current Israeli atrocities in Lebanon will never diminish Hezbollah

existence as freedom fighters, but rather strengthen their resolve in protecting the Lebanese people.

[leftchick]

6. and so it goes

the cycle continues. :(

[AlamoDemoc]

7. Indeed, and so it goes

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

12. An eye for an eye

Makes the whole world blind. one at a time.

[AlamoDemoc]

17. I do not advocate an eye for and eye

I am simply stating how many displaced Lebanese feel about Hezbollah now.

[bdamomma]

8. this is all being done in our name

soon we are going to be lumped into the mix of this deadly regime how much more are we going to take?????????

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

13. Oh I thought you said how much more can we make

Endless war for endless profits.

[gulfcoastliberal]

9. In America: there are children dying

Guess they don't count as much as the Lebanese...

[donco6]

24. There's shelling in the US??? I must have missed that one.

Where?

[liberalhistorian]

10. But don't you know?

According to our Israeli apologist friends right here on this board, this is ALL "their" fault and all must be done in the name of getting Hezbollah. Because Hezbollah uses civilians as shields, so, who knows, this ambulance was probably carrying disguised Hezbollah fighters and not wounded civilians and Hezbollah took the pictures of the ambulance themselves just to drum up world sympathy. Repeat after them: Israel is not targeting civilians, only Hezbollah. Israel is not targeting civilians, only Hezbollah. Israel is not..........:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :mad: :mad:

[Warren DeMontague]

14. That's funny. I haven't seen anyone here arguing that Lebanon doesn't have

a right to exist.

Yet, I've seen that point made repeatedly about Israel.

For the record, I think this needs to stop. Now. I think Israel has gone way too far, I think what they're doing is wrong (not to mention totally counterproductive) I think we need to have a ceasefire, an international force in there, Hezbollah needs to disarm for real, and the two kidnapped soldiers need to be returned. That's not a wacko Israeli apologist POV, either. The UN agrees.

But you know what? Despite your straw man argument, I haven't seen any of these so-called "Israeli apologists" express anything but regret, sadness, and outrage at what's going on with innocent Lebanese civilians. I think pretty much everyone here agrees that this needs to stop, it's appalling, enough is enough. But I *have* seen people make excuses for Hezbollah, call them a "legitimate resistance movement", and echo their propaganda that the way to "peace" is for the "fiction" of Israel to "just go away". Send the Jews to Wyoming. Send them to Zell Miller.

As you say, "right here on this board".

So who are the extremists?

[liberalhistorian]

15. You're kidding me, right?

Even a cursory glance at the I/P forum, or some of the I/P items in GD and LBN will show that kind of blind support of Israel and the ridiculous statements that their actions in Lebanon are simply due to their "defending themselves" and that Hezbollah often uses civilians as shields so there's some justification for their all-out war on civilians.

Some even go so far as to say that the civilians should have left when warned to do so by Israel and that there's a major moral difference between Israel and Hezbollah because Israel doesn't target civilians or civilian infrastructure. Yeah, right. Tell that to the Lebanese and Gaza civilians. And even when they do attempt to flee, they're STILL shot at. Give me a break.

[Warren DeMontague]

16. Well, I disagree with that assesment.

I think Israel is wrong to target civilians. I think it's time for this to stop. I think it's time for a ceasefire. I'm looking around GD, and that's the univeral sentiment I see right now. But hey, this is a big place.

But I also disagree that Hezbollah is anything but a terrorist organization which Israel does have the right to defend themselves from- and I disagree that the solution to all the problems is for Israel to pull out of "Illegally occupied" areas like Tel Aviv.

Like I said- I've never seen anyone here argue that Lebanon doesn't have a right to exist. I've seen at least 3 threads this past weekend arguing that Israel doesn't have a right to exist.

[Pepper32]

18. I guess you missed this thread....

In fact this post is quite interesting:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2398101#2398410

:graybox: "It should be obvious to Lebanon that they are being destroyed and they only have two choices: 1.) be destroyed or 2.) bend knee to Israel and acquiesce to their demands utterly. It appears that the Lebanese are allowing their pride to interfere with their common sense and; as such, they're going to be destroyed. Israel will solve this problem one way or the other and one's just as good as the other to them."

<snip>
"this is happening and it will continue to happen until Israel is satisfied. I wouldn't be at all surprised that, given "room to run" they will completely destroy Lebanon's ability to resist and then move on to Syria. After Syria, Iran is within range." :graybox:

[LostinVA]

21. I saw that post -- it gave me chills -- in a bad way

It sounded more like something from a hate site, than DU.

[Warren DeMontague]

22. You're right. I didn't. And I disagree vehemently with that POV

if that poster is advocating such things.

Just like I disagree vehemently with the several posters I've seen in recent days who have argued that Israel is a "fiction" created entirely on "land theft", and the Israelis should "just leave".

[Ms. Clio]

23. wow, it's simply amazing what gets deleted around here

and what doesn't.

that's sick on so many different levels.

[LostinVA]

20. Oh boy... this sounds like a real post

I had to look at the poster's name before I totally freaked out!!! As we said in high school, "Psych!"