Lebanon: Israel wages war of starvation

[leftchick]

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/world/15198153.htm



A Lebanese woman looks at the sky as she walks past a building flattened during an overnight Israeli air raid on Beirut's suburbs August 5, 2006. (Adnan Hajj/Reuters)

Associated Press
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Israel is waging a "war of starvation" on Lebanon's civilians in an effort to force the government to agree to Israel's demands, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said in a statement issued Friday.

His comments came after Israeli warplanes bombed bridges and roads in Christian neighborhoods north of Beirut, killing five civilians and making travel between suburbs increasingly difficult. Missiles struck the country's main north-south highway - its primary artery to the outside world, through Syria in the north.

"The Israeli enemy's bombing of bridges and roads is aimed at tightening the blockade on the Lebanese, cutting communications between them and starving them," Lahoud said.

He linked the new raids to Israel's failure to win quick victory in the south, where Israeli soldiers have been mired in ground battles with Hezbollah guerrillas for several days.

"Today's air raids confirm that Israel is trying to compensate for the losses of its army in the south ... by cutting off the only coastal highway remaining to transport aid to displaced people and refugees and supply the country with oil products, foodstuffs and aid," Lahoud said.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[mike_c]

2. the barbarism of collective punishment against civilians...

...on a massive scale. The U.S. and Israel label them all "terrorists," but the rest of the world is watching, and knows who the real terrorists are.

[leftchick]

6. the rest of the world is protesting this atrocity as well...

A protestor in London carries a box of plastic toy childs limbs, painted with fake blood, as he takes part in a protest march against the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon. Thousands of placard-waving activists demanded an immediate Middle East ceasefire as they rallied in London to demand a halt to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.(AFP/Carl De Souza)

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/wl/080601mideast/im:/060805/photos_wl_uk_afp/75ba8d81a17dfe68578914fc59023322

[Burried News]

3. Thank you leftchick. It is my priviledge to give your post a

recommendation. I am very sad about the plight of the Lebanese and will remain so no matter who 'wins' this "war".

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

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[Kagemusha]

4. Let me get beyond my general disgust and ask a simple question

Okay, Israel's trying to starve Lebanon's civilians to force the government to agree to Israel's demands.

Is it working?

[Zhade]

31. Can it? I would expect the civilian population to turn toward Hezbollah.

I mean, the Israeli military is targeting civilians with weapons and starvation, which tends to cause the survivors of the victims to turn their rage toward those who killed their loved ones - in this case, the Israeli military and by extension Israel. Thus, Hezbollah starts looking pretty good to those being wrongfully murdered, especially when you add in Hezbollah's shrewdly-calculated relief and charity work.

So yes, white-hot furious legitimate rage at the Israeli government aside, this is a nonsense tactic. Like torture, it never works.

[Kagemusha]

46. I wouldn't say never but, certainly the evidence is it's failed here.

And I don't think Sinora is in much of a hury to take Hezbollah on given what Hezbollah's been doing to the far better equipped IDF.

[leftchick]

56. here is Juan Cole's observations on it....

very scary...

http://www.juancole.com/

Sunday, August 06, 2006

One Ring to Rule Them

The wholesale destruction of all of Lebanon by Israel and the US Pentagon does not make any sense. Why bomb roads, roads, bridges, ports, fuel depots in Sunni and Christian areas that have nothing to do with Shiite Hizbullah in the deep south? And, why was Hizbullah's rocket capability so crucial that it provoked Israel to this orgy of destruction? Most of the rockets were small katyushas with limited range and were highly inaccurate. They were an annoyance in the Occupied Golan Heights, especially the Lebanese-owned Shebaa Farms area. Hizbullah had killed 6 Israeli civilians since 2000. For this you would destroy a whole country?

It doesn't make any sense.

Moreover, the Lebanese government elected last year was pro-American! Why risk causing it to fall by hitting the whole country so hard?

And, why was Condi Rice's reaction to the capture of two Israeli soldiers and Israel's wholesale destruction of little Lebanon that these were the "birth pangs" of the "New Middle East"? How did she know so early on that this war would be so wideranging? And, how could a little border dispute in the Levant signal such an elephantine baby's advent? Isn't it because she had, like Tony Blair, been briefed about the likelihood of a war by the Israelis, or maybe collaborated with them in the plans, and also conceived of it in much larger strategic terms?

[AlamoDemoc]

5. I am not religious man but times like these;

you would want those that done injustice to them to say onto them may God Bless you.

[daydreamer]

12. Sometimes I wish there were a omnipotent God.

[BillZBubb]

7. One day Israel will reap what they have sown.

It won't be pretty then either.

[patdem]

8. Has anyone noticed...threads that are somehow Anti-Israel have MORE

recommendations than replys...almost EVERYONE...I think there is an intimidation factor here that I have NEVER seen before. The same is NOT true with Pro-Israel threads.

Just sayin.

[last1standing]

9. Could that be because most DUers agree that Israel is in the wrong?

Nah! Must just be an organized attempt to make the peaceful nation of Israel look bad. :sarcasm:

[patdem]

10. That is exactly what I am saying..but they are AFRAID to speak up

because they will be called Anti-Semites and attacked..so they just vote up the thread without posting their thoughts.

[breakaleg]

14. I get what you are saying. Possibly..

I know whenever you voice an opinion certain others don't like, they attack you by saying you don't know enough about the conflict and can be downright insulting. It certainly can be intimidating to post here. Someone always seems to know more than you, and is quite happy to tell you so.

[cali]

15. fiddle dee dee

There have been dozens, if not hundreds, of long threads condemning Israel in no uncertain terms. The mythology that DUers aren't posting in threads condemning Israel is just that- a myth. And let me add my disgust at the tactics Israel is employing, and my fear that many more Lebanese will perish because of them.

[Warren Stupidity]

18. You have a point. nt.

[Phx_Dem]

26. beg to differ

If anything you have it backwards, many Israel supporters have left DU or are not posting anymore because of the huge daily number of anti-Israel posts. It's so bad that the moderators had to make new rules.

[last1standing]

43. I can see that, now.

Sorry, it wasn't that clear in your original post. I don't know if one side is intimidated by the other, but I do know a few posters who are attempting to bully anyone who doesn't agree with Israel's wiping Lebanon off the face of the map.

[breakaleg]

11. I think it's because most people see Israel as the aggressor and is

outraged at their actions.

How can you defend what they've done in the current conflict, WITHOUT going back into history? You can't. The actions of this conflict, aren't justifiable.

[leftchick]

13. anti-wars of aggression is now 'Anti-Israel'?

LOL! Thank God most DUers know the difference.

[patdem]

16. I should have said Anti-Israel War Policy...I am saying..people are NOT

SAYING how they feel they are recommending the post...because, I think, anyway..has happened to me..they are afraid of being called horrible names..just because the oppose WAR!

[Bobbieo]

19. What are Israel's demands?

[leftchick]

20. they are BS

what they want is the destruction of Lebanon.

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

25. Deleted sub-thread

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[patdem]

21. The destruction of Hezbollah and the return of the soldiers...nothing

less. Of course the Latini River might be in their focus?

[Nothing Without Hope]

23. Yes, I believe the Israeli government is after the fresh water on the

Lebanese side of the border. I suspect that it's an additional reason for them to flatten southern Lebanese villages and drive the population away, too.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1744760&mesg_id=1754772

For those who criticize the very idea of Israel's government coveting Lebanese water and taking steps to get it, I reply: let's see what happens to the fresh water north of Israel, like the great springs 3 miles from the border that Israel has been demanding for years. My prediction: Israel's plan for a "secure peace" will somehow allow them to take this water, which Lebanon had been planning to pump into its southern villages.

If all of this ends and Lebanon, broken down and starving perhaps, still has all its water, then I will admit I was wrong about this. And if the opposite happens, if the water starts going to Israel, then I will ask that those who claim that Israel has no plans for Lebanese water rethink their position. In the meantime, I ask that we all keep our eyes and minds open to these possibilities.

[Zhade]

36. gah, self-delete

I totally misread your post, which you clarified later, so ignore this!

[Kailassa]

17. It's unbelievable that so many, even people in this forum,

are supporting this.

Human life is cheap, to some.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

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[TahitiNut]

28. Anyone seduced into a "war mentality" dehumanizes the enemy.

It does NOT require racism to be so seduced, but it's a ready-made 'hook' when the "enemy" can be portrayed as a different 'race.' (I personally only believe in a human race.) War mongers will stoop to anything to get folks foamy-mouthed.

[Jazzgirl]

33. Tahitinut, all there is is the human race.

I wish people would finally get that!

[jonnyblitz]

35. yes, but I have been reading lots lately about jewish fundie

racism incorporated into official doctrine in Israel. I was in the military so I know that of which you speak in regards to demonizing the enemy. This is a bit different. By googling zionism and racism, plus reading the many articles archived on counterpunch.com I have found lots of material discussing this. This isn't just the usual demonization of the enemy, it's part of their fundie religious doctrine that Jews are superior to gentiles. I could provide links but I am afraid the subject matter is too controversial to explore deeply at DU. We are censored enough on this topic as it is so as to spare feelings.

The late Jewish human rights activist Israel SHahak has written extensively on this in books.

[Zhade]

37. Dehumanization IS racism.

NT!

[jonnyblitz]

41. people just don't want to face it. they will make excuses

even when the OBVIOUS is beating them over the head. It's time to call it what it is and not beat around the bush. People are being slaughtered by a brutally racist regime.

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

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[daydreamer]

27. What do you expect? Look how much propaganda they have launched

for so many years. http://www.counterpunch.org/fisk10062003.html

[Kailassa]

48. Yes, you can't say they have not been organized.

This has been well prepared for.

[JackNewtown]

50. I agree. No progressives should support this nt

[Zhade]

30. "You must flee (but we bombed the way out)."

The IDF is acting just like any another terrorist organization - it's using illegal collective punishment tactics and targeting civilians.

And now this disgusting display!

When will the rest of the world intervene and force a cease-fire? WHEN?

(K/R, btw.)

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

32. Leftchick. Thanks for your efforts to keep the focus on the victims.

“What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy.” - Gandhi

[leftchick]

40. Gandhi!

what a perfect quote for these horrific times. Thank You!

:hug:

[Igel]

34. It's a seige.

As opposed to the ever so much more egalitarian war of attrition.

Certainly not pretty. Actually, rather reprehensible.

War.

[Zhade]

38. So how do we get a cease-fire? This is unacceptable.

Just as unacceptable as Hezbollah killing innocent Israelis (though WAY larger in scope).

[OneBlueSky]

39. what Israel is doing to Lebanon is going to cost them deeply . . .

just as the U.S. is reviled across the globe for its actions in Iraq, so will Israel be reviled for their actions in Lebanon . . . even people who have supported Israel in the past are thoroughly disgusted . . .

[leftchick]

42. I agree

There have been anti-Israel/US Protests around the globe this past week.

[breakaleg]

45. is it? I ask because it seems to me that Israel has done

several unspeakable things and while some (like us) do condemn them for their actions, it seems they do manage to get away with it. There is no recourse through the UN because the US backs them up. They are criticized in the ME but they seem not to care.

I agree people are disgusted, but I wonder if anything will come of it.

[bridgit]

47. sure, if you're too superior to negotiate with people, and you have...

no intention whatsoever to participate (never did really) in any 'road map to peace'...bomb them, starve them, reduce their chances of a civil discourse to rubble strewn fields of terror & wild dogs

[jrd200x]

49. It's not to starve them. It's to keep the weapons from Iran out

and from Syria.

[Name removed]

51. Deleted message

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[JackNewtown]

52. How exactly are they going to get them in?

Via roads that are destroyed? Via an airport that is destroyed? By sailing past a ICF naval blockade? That is a weak Israeli "justification" for illegal collective punishment.

[leftchick]

53. stop that!

you are making too much sense!!!! We can't have that here!

;)

[converted_democrat]

55. Nice points.. I agree completely.. n/t

[breakaleg]

54. it seems to me their actions are meant to punish but even if they weren't

and starving them was a byproduct and not their intent, then it's still despicable.