REPORT: ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH ENTER TALKS

[kpete]

Report: First contacts made between Israel, Hizbullah

Al-Hayat reports that Germany, Red Cross mediated initial contacts between Israel and Hizbullah aiming towards agreement to end fighting in north and exchange prisoners. Hizbullah still refuses to reveal details on welfare of hostages

First contacts were made betweenIsrael and Hizbullah via German mediators and the Red Cross, it was reported Friday in the London-based pan-Arab newspaper al-Hayat.

According to the report, the contacts took place Wednesday and were intended to set the stage for a prisoner exchange as part of the comprehensive solution sought between the sides to end the fighting in Lebanon.

Lebanese sources reported that the contacts were still at initial stages and that they were being carried out indirectly. The report noted that as of yet the talks did not include details of an agreement but rather addressed general principles on which to base a successful agreement.

more at:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3282638,00.html
via:
http://www.rawstory.com/

[Coexist]

1. Amen.

Thanks, kpete.

[John Q. Citizen]

2. I hope this is true. N/T

[whistle]

3. Well, that is a beginning

[ananda]

4. meanwhile back in the k-5 sandbox..

.. Bush plays cowboy and Condi plays the piano.

[mogster]

5. Yowzah!

Good to hear, for both parties :-)
Talk makes you wanna think, and thinking makes you wanna talk more.

[BillZBubb]

6. Great news if true.

Israel has needed to do this for some time. I hope they are DIRECT talks and not through an intermediary, but I think even that would be a huge step in the right direction.

[xultar]

7. No Fake Peace from Bush & Condi & they say they want lasting peace.

Makes me wonder....& it should make you wonder about what the FUCK is going on.

[ninkasi]

23. Well, I don't wonder

I find it revolting that Bush and Condi are willing to let citizens of both countries die and be maimed, rather than entering a cease fire if they don't approve of it. Every day that each side doesn't attack the other is good. It's shameful that Bushco so easily dismisses a restoration of peace, for however short or long a time, until that peace is one that they consider "lasting".

After all, it isn't them or their loved ones who face the dangers and hardships and horrors of war. It's obvious that they view innocent civilians as nothing more than pawns in the game they're playing.

[xultar]

24. Plus I'm sure people with feeding tubes and former embryos are

impacted as well.

[BeHereNow]

38. Indeed, what is going on...here's my guess-

The hegemonic triangle of the US, UK and Israel
are giving the other players in the region the facts
about their plans for an imminent attack on Iran.
The terms are being laid out as far
as Hezbolah's options on the other side
of the impending "sweep" of the ME.
My guess on the "talks."
And then again, it could just be that the
Shrub's poll numbers are so low and world opinion
is at an all time disdain level, that the talks are simply
being staged to appease the masses who have
grown sickened and tired with the whole
hegemonic empire of the US, UK and Israel.

BHN

[panader0]

8. Why can the Germans and the Red Cross do it when shrub can't?

[Warren DeMontague]

9. ...cuz they're sober? nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. This is a traditional mission for the ICRC

and the fact that the Germans can and we can't tells you once again that we are no longer a superpower, and everybody knows it.

[LSK]

14. shrub doesnt want to

"I am the war president"

[klook]

19. The Germans have learned the palliative value of neck massages. (n/t)

[wakeme2008]

10. When the body bags for the Israel troops started coming

home, I think Israel's leaders chicked out on their agreement with Rummy and Cheney.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. No, you have no idea what you are saying

this means the IDF has achieved its goals... and made its point...

Israeli society has far more of a tolerance for body bags than the US... and in fact funerals for troops are open to the public.

In fact, you know how eery war in Israel is seen as? A continuation of the war of independence.

[ugarte]

22. Unlike Neocons, Israelis are nothing if not cold hard realists

While I'm sure Christian Zionists and many in the Bush Administration would prefer to see Israel expand the war and "fight to the last Israeli", maybe Israel senses that the gains of this conflict no longer justify the costs.

Also, unlike the idiot Americans, Israel will talk to all the players, even as they are killing each other. Unfortunately, in the Middle East killing and talking go hand in hand. We haven't learned that yet.

[nadinbrzezinski]

25. Bingo

also all the talk that the US is controlling Isreali decisions (and the other way around for Iraq) is just hogwash, and it is time to realize that Israel might be a client state, to use Cold War Terminology, but it tends to act very indepentendly in matters of war and peace.

[High Plains]

33. The IDF has achieved its goals? Which ones?

The IDF just got bitch-slapped in that little Lebanese town.

The IDF's massive bombing campaign has not stopped the rockets.

The IDF has not destroyed Hezbollah.

The IDF is probably beginning to realize the war's stated goals cannot be achieved. Too bad for the citizens of Haifa it's taken the IDF this long to figure out it fucked up big time. Remember, there were no rockets falling on Haifa until IDF bombs started falling on Lebanon.

[LSK]

13. About. Fucking. Time.

[DoYouEverWonder]

15. So we're back to square one

since having a prisoner exchange was what Hezbollah wanted to begin with.

[mikelgb]

16. ok i see this all the time with NO explanation?

Hezbollah or Hizbullah?? this post uses both!? what is the difference and if there is none then why not be consistent?

[BooScout]

18. It's a phonetic translation...

...from Arabic to English. Either way is correct.

You may see one way in a title and the other way in the body of the report because an editor has titled the report and spelled it differently.

[LSK]

21. i've seen Hezbollah the most

However I saw Hizbollah on a yahoo story today.

:shrug:

[sandnsea]

17. Excellent

Let's hope for a few moments of clarity and wisdom and that they end this horror, preferably once and for all.

[Recursion]

20. What??!!?

You mean two belligerents are going to use diplomacy to attempt to resolve their disputes?

What is this world coming to?

[Az_lefty]

26. Oh no! What are the pre-tribbers going to do now?

John Hagee has been trumpeting this as a sign of the last days and now Israel is pursuing a cease fire? These guys are going to blow a gasket.

[spanone]

27. Germany?....oh the irony of it all.

Blessed are the Peacemakers...

[Igel]

28. Wait for confirmation.

People were jazzed up about the JI/Hamas peace deal for Gaza, until Mesh'al told them it was a nice fiction.

When Nasrallah doesn't like having the minimum required under most treaties released about the prisoners--notice the huge, huge outcry over that, BTW--even if true, it's still conceivably souk politics. "Ya, we can talk, but, inshallah, I'll scam you for every nickel, sleep with your son and daughter after we celebrate the successful conclusion of the deal, and *then* the next day I'll have the sheep delivered 20 seconds before it dies of anthrax."

If he gets what he wants, great, it's a win, and a murderer goes free; if they don't, they were proud and stood up to the pig-people, and they win. If they get what they won't, and turn over two dead corpses, it's a double win.

[EVDebs]

32. "Pig people" ? "Win" ? I look at that S. Beirut neighborhood h.q.

and it looks like an atomic bomb went off. I'd hate to see what an Israeli victory looks like if THIS is a Nasrallah "win".

[Igel]

34. The first is a sarcastic allusion

to the usual "descendants of pigs and apes" jargon that no Muslim seriously believes, but which somehow still gets used far too frequently in prestigious and state-run mosques and broadcasts in a dozen Arab states. If I thought there was any chance a reasonable person would take it seriously, :sarcasm: would have appeared.

And just because *we* would see the Shi'ite sections of Beirut and S. Lebanon (plus some Sunni sections that are tactically important) being levelled as a defeat doesn't mean that Nasrallah won't consider it just part of scoring a victory.

Forcing the Israelis to submit to him is a win: dead Muslims are martyrs, even if Nasrallah's boys kill them with their own weapons; what matters is that Allah's Party extends its influence, its prestige, and, ultimately, that Muslims triumph. He's a preacher. Preachers tend to believe that their religion trumps everything. He's also a politician. A populist one, at that. A very nasty combination.

In this case, winning is at least partially defined as getting the Hezbollah prisoners released (with Quntar being the big name) while not yielding to any Israeli demands, such as disarmament. Humiliating Israel is part of it, and forcing withdrawal from the miniscule Shebaa Farms territory. Showing itself to be the brave, tough, Party of Allah is part of winning. As Nasrallah said, they will draw them across the border, kill as many as they can, and then be victorious by driving them back across the border.

Nasrallah's quite clear in what he says. And he quite clearly shows under what conditions he would be considered defeated.

[EVDebs]

36. I can't call this a "muslim triumph" since logically as long as Israelis

live life to the fullest in Israel it continues to be viewed as a provocation to muslims, according to their own rhetoric.

Maybe they should reassess what 'victory' means, in this life and the next.

[Igel]

40. There are short term battles with victories,

and long term wars with victories.

The Soviets won at Stalingrad, but it took a while longer to defeat Germany. But that didn't keep them from celebrating Stalingrad.

[EVDebs]

41. Take a closer look at those Hezbollah/S.Beirut pics

again, if that looks like an Israeli defeat, igil, you've got a lotta 'splainin to do.

http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,1082,00.html?photoNum=6

(Only used Fox because it had a pic of Israelis on a tank waving captured yellow flag of Hezbollah)

Besides, here in the states we watch reality TV, in the Middle East apparently they play "Survivor" for keeps. With a nuclear (and otherwise fully WMD-armed) Israel, don't you think playing with fire while soaked in oil is dangerous ?

The Arab (Islamic) world needs scapegoats for the failed states in their region; read Lester Brown's Plan B 2.0 and get a list in the Middle East. Overpopulation and environmental degradation will take an inevitable toll. It's too bad religion is distracting from real solutions and making matters worse.

In all zero sum games, like the movie A Beautiful Mind showed with the pretty girl in the bar scene, cooperation by all leads to a best-case scenario for all. Again, why try to wipe out Israel when mother nature is coming knockin' at your doorstep soon ?

With that in mind, and the 7th and/or 12th 'Awaited Imam'

The Role of Hidden Imam in the history and the politics of the Islamic republic of Iran
May 13, 2006
Bahman Aghai Diba PhD International Law - Persian Journal
http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_15612.shtml

and the Islamic anti-christ Dajjal, who will emerge between Syria and Iraq, according to this quote from the above weblink

""Mohammed Ali Ibn Zubair Ali (5) describes Dajjal or the Islamic Anti-Christ as: "...He will emerge between Shaam and Iraq, and his emergence will become known when he is in Isfahaan at a place called Yahudea. The Yahudis (Jews) of Isfahaan will be his main followers. Apart from having mainly Yahudi followers, he will have a great number of women followers as well...There will be a thick fingernail-like object in his left eye. The letters "Kaa" "Faa" "Raa" will appear on his forehead and will be deciphered by all Mu'mineen regardless of them being literate or not. He will have a wheatish complexion.

He will travel at great speeds and his means of conveyance will be a gigantic mule. It is said that he will play beautiful music which will attract the music lovers. Dajjal will lay claim to prophethood. He will then lay claim to Divinity. He will perform unusual feats. He will travel the entire world....The hidden treasures will spill forth at his command. He will stay on this Earth for a period of forty days; the length of the first day will be one year, the second day will be equal to one month, the third day will be equal to a week and the remaining days will be normal..."""

need to be explained to us in the West. Anyone out there in DU land know how this Dajjal plays into Amadinejhad and Hezbollah thinking ?

[Palladin]

29. Israel said at first

they were going to keep bombing and invading until the POWs were returned and Hezbollah was wiped out. Then they dropped
the requirement about the POWs being returned, and further stated that they didn't aim to wipe Hezbollah out. Then after their painful losses and defeat in a pitched battle with Hezbollah on Wednesday, they denied their own generals' request for a massive invasion, and said that they were going to keep on bombing and shelling all of Lebanon. Now they want to negotiate?

They have plenty of stomach for clusterbombing and white phosphorus from 15,000 ft. That's about it. They cannot succeed in their essential war aim of neutralizing the Hez rockets, including the ones that can reach Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, without a bloody massive ground invasion. They have put their prestige, and that of their US backers, on the line for this. Even their own generals say so. Now they're asking for the UN international force they always previously rejected, to come in. They want the US to contribute ground troops. to take those ground casualties for them. Fits right in with the Clean Break plan, as far as the neocons are concerned. Of course, the neocons never knew anything personally about war, military strategy, tactics, and morale. Chickenhawks.

Condi Rice has put the Shebaa Farms on the table for Israel to give up as the price for negotiation. That's what has Perle and the rest of the neocons really infuriated. The Syrians have to be brought in for any negotiation, and their price will be return of the Golan Heights, to Syria. Bush/Cheney/US-based neocons don't really stand much of a chance of getting any UN Security Council resolution on Iran now. The Iraqis are siding with Lebanon. The Saudis are sending massive financial aid to Lebanon. Some of it will be used to build up the Lebanese army - and Hezbollah. The conflict has brought the Shiites and Sunni together, against a common foe - and its isolated enabler, the US government.

Thank God Bush and his krewe (including Condi) are such incompetents. Darth Vader (Cheney) is vastly overrated, too. Witness his handiwork.

[Rex]

30. Germany rocks!

Guess Chancellor Merkel decided Bush's G-8 grope meant she would have to step up and take charge of the situation. It was obvious Idiot Boy wasn't going to do anything about Israel & Hezbollah.

To the German people, I'm sorry my so called president touched Chancellor Merkel. We are all very embarrassed by him and ashamed at the state of our Union.

[Spazito]

31. That is good news! Thanks for posting this!

Just to see this being even a possibility is encouraging, imo. Even if it is, for the present, just a "floating of the possibility", it still shows that it is now being talked about.

[lumpy]

35. Meanwhile Tonygolightly & Georgieboy

are still 'envisioning' their opiated dreams to the accompiament of fiddle music in the background. Fah.

[AnOhioan]

37. Here is hoping the bloodshed can end,

I believe under President Gore this situation would never have occurred.

[goclark]

39. What? I thought Condi was on her slow dragging way to start them

It would be delicious if some other country got them to come to the table for PEACE and left the NEOCONS out of the picture!

Is that possible?