On the spot: loopholes let Israeli airstrikes continue

[tuvor]

Stephen Farrell, Times Middle East Correspondent, in Metula, says that Condoleezza Rice's diplomatic success in arranging a 48 hour halt to Israeli air strikes contains two loopholes so large that it is having virtually no effect

"There is a large discrepancy between the words that came out of the US State Department last night announcing an immediate 48 hour halt to Israeli air strikes on southern Lebanon, and the reality on the ground this morning.

"Certainly this is no ceasefire. Any Lebanese villager stranded near the border with Israel would notice no difference in the level of military activity compared to yesterday.

"From where I am standing in the village of Metula I can see Israeli 155mm shells continuing to rain down on the Lebanese border town of Kila at a rate of more than one a minute, causing fires and covering the hillside opposite in a pall of drifting smoke.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-2293221,00.html

[MadHound]

1. Yeah, Israel and Bushco were trying to get a bit of good pr

Yet at the same time allow Israel to continue to reign down death. Hopefully most people of this country and the rest of the world see this supposed "cease fire" as the sham that it is, and that again Israel is breaking its word.

[fasttense]

2. When is a ceasefire Not a ceasefire?

When little Rice cakes gets in the middle of it.

"If you look carefully at the wording of the Condoleezza Rice announcement, it emerges that the supposed cessation contains two very large loopholes. It states that Israel can continue to use its warplanes in support of its ground forces, and it can also use them to attack Hezbollah rocket launchers.

"This effectively allows Israeli air strikes to continue unchecked in the border areas where its troops are active. Here, the Israeli army has its full arsenal is still available. The only parts of Lebanon which would notice a halt in air strikes would be Beirut and areas further back from the Israeli border."

Using only spin to halt a war doesn't really work.