wtf? Incredible!: "US offers help to Lebanon in disarming Hezbollah "

[leftchick]

omg this is just unfuckingbelievable....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060815/pl_afp/mideastconflictlebanon_060815183226

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Lebanon is responsible for the disarmament of the Shiite militia Hezbollah based in southern Lebanon, the US top diplomat on the Middle East said, and the United States is "ready to help."

"We believe that the best protection for Lebanon and its people is offered by a fully sovereign government that controls all that goes on within the country," David Welch, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, said at a news conference.

"The existence of a state within the state, an armed political party that acts outside the rules, is unacceptable to the international community," he said, a day after a fragile UN-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect after more than a month of fighting.

<snip>

"We stand ready to help," he said, asserting: "There is no country that is more supportive of the interest of the Lebanese people than the United States. And I believe that Lebanon can and will emerge stronger from these events. As it does so, the United States will be working side by side."




I am sure The Lebanese people are extremely grateful for the US 'Support'....



A Lebanese man stops to look an an anti-American protest banner on a building destroyed by Israeli bombardment in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2006. On the second day of a United Nations ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah, Lebanon's Defense Minister said that 15,000 Lebanese soldiers will be deployed in south Lebanon by the end of the week. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

[Joanne98]

1. US stay OUT of Lebanon. This is an outrage!

[baldguy]

2. If the govt of Lebanon becomes strong enough to challenge Hezbollah

then Israel will view it as a threat.

[Solo_in_MD]

13. Look at the Israel- Egypt, border. Peaceful, secure and prosperous.

Egypt has a strong national government. There are no rockets going into Israel from the Sinai being launched byu an illegal militia. The border is calm, and both sides are doing well. There is a clue here...

[bunyip]

27. Sure is...

Less colonising means less terror.

[FlavaKreemSnak]

32. How much do we give Egypt every year?

I read it somewhere but I forgot the amount.

[msmcghee]

18. What you fail to understand is that . .

. . a government with a president or PM and a parliament accountable to its people would have little reason to attack Israel. Why would it? Israel has supported the government of Lebanon and wants good relations.

If it did attack Israel then it would face justifiable destruction - just as it did this time on a lesser scale for allowing Hizbollah to operate within its borders.

Militias not under the control of the state in which they operate - especially those who harass, intimidate and attack neighboring states - are a disaster for the parent state waiting to happen. They create instability by their very existence.

Many here suffer from the delusion that if Hizbollah had not existed for the last 6 years along the border - that Israel would have intimidated Lebanon to destabilize that border and the Lebanese regime.

Anyone who understands anything about the ME would never propose such a farce. Israel has always sought and respected peace treaties with its neighbors - Jordan and Egypt, for example - as long as they did not attack Israel.

Lebanon screwed up really badly when they allowed Hizbollah to become their ugly little brother in S. Lebanon. They paid a steep price and I doubt they'd be ready to repeat that again on their own - even with the dubious cover of some non-state militia. I guarantee you that Israel will allow no terrorist militia to build up offensive capability along that border again.

That's how you determine who won and who lost by the way. Hizbollah wanted to damage Israel enough to change the reality of Arab inferiority to Israel's IDF. Israel wanted to eliminate the threat of Hizbollah along their northern border. Israel was caught somewhat unprepared this time - probably because of political pressure from the left to de-emphasise military solutions, among other reasons.

I guarantee you that won't happen again. And any Arab state or militia who misjudges Israel's military strength will be in for a very serious pounding. I think Israel will now drop all pretense at negotiated solutions with their enemies - who only want to see Israel destroyed, in any case.

There is a new reality in the ME. The left in Israel has suffered a severe setback. Any Arab neighbor who has militaristic delusions of evicting Israel from the region will have a cruide awakening. It is now up to the US, Britain and the UN to make sure that doesn't happen. I sure hope we are successful because the alternative is WWIII and millions of dead Arabs and probably millions of dead non-Arabs too.

Added thought: For all of you you who have cheered on Hizbollah and rejoiced at Israel's inability to destroy them - at this time the only hope for peace in the middle east is for Israel to have immense power to retaliate immediately and overwhelmingly in the future. In that way, attacks against Israel will be much much less likely and if they occur they will be met and quashed very quickly. If Israel actually is unable to respond in that way - and her enemies realize that - that is what will lead to a conflagration that will result in far more Arab civilian deaths than you saw this time.

Your best hope to save Arab lives is a strong Israel with a military ready to pound any threats into submission with overwhelming force. Ironic, isn't it?

[bunyip]

30. That has been US and Israeli policy for 60 years.

Is it working yet?

Peace without Justice is an illusion.

[radwriter0555]

28. If they disarm Hezbollah, who will defend Lebanon from Israel?

Geez. This is nuts... Forcing a government to disarm the army that is defending them? Lamb to the slaughter anyone?

I hope Lebanon isn't that stupid, or is this a disarm or WE'LL kill you all?

[FlavaKreemSnak]

33. If they disobey America they will get bombed some more

So yes, you are right, because they fought back against Israel and that is considered terrorism, just the same as if anybody tries to fight back against America like they are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[NNN0LHI]

3. This is funny. We can't whip a few dead enders in Iraq but we are....

...but we are going to disarm Hezbollah?

These guys are on some heavy drugs man.

Don

[bigtree]

4. They can help

by entering into a renewed round of negotiations with Syria over their concerns over the Golan Heights in exchange for their cooperation in an arms embargo and in convincing Hizbollah to disarm, perhaps in exchange for a return of the Shebba Farms territory to Lebanese control.

[Solo_in_MD]

14. IIRC The UN said the Shebba Farms area belongs to Syria

[bigtree]

16. that they do

some movement on that by Syria in exchange for some movement by Israel . . .

"Israel says most of the area lies on the Syrian side of the Lebanon/Syria border and that it will only withdraw from the part marked as Lebanese territory on United Nations maps.

The Israeli Defence Ministry said: "The army intends to withdraw from one or two more small posts."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/763504.stm

[bridgit]

5. how? help? what help? we can't even disarm the terrorists that are...

kicking our ass in iraq, rampant fantasy that imo x(

[Rex]

6. Make Hezbollah the infantry of the Lebanese Army.

Repatriate them all so that Lebanon can have a real military.

[Philosoraptor]

7. STEP 1: Hezbollah must immediately create an official UNIFORM

so we can avoid collateral damage don't y'know.

[jsamuel]

8. That is the correct strategy, however it should not include US forces in

ANY WAY.

And it should be the UN including Israel and the US doing this, not just the US. It should not use the US military or the Israel military, but rather AID the Lebanese by encouraging them to win "the war at home" by implementing programs that will win people over from Hezbollah. And by that I don't mean "propaganda", I mean actual programs that help the poor and those in need. The biggest reason people had supported Hezbollah before was the help for those in need. Lebanon needs help from the international community to do that and take those people back from the militant Hezbollah. Lebanon may need some help with strengthening its military as well, but that is not the primary goal.

This will be much more difficult to accomplish now that Hezbollah has gained so much support in reaction to the failed policy implemented by Israel, following the US's lead in Iraq and other places.

[elliswyatt]

26. the french

it will include them... the wicked imperialists who helped fuck up the region

[acmejack]

9. They plan to send the Mehdi Army

That will get them out of Baghdad. A twofer, the first masterstroke these guys have had so far. As the Guinness Guys would say, "Brilliant!"

[Lerkfish]

10. neocons losing patience. Hersh said the first thing was for Israel to

knock out hezbollah rockets.
next step: attack Iran.
The reason being unless they disarmed Hezbollah, any attack on Iran would result in Israel being shelled in retaliation.

obviously, this plan did not come to fruition, and the neocons are already ready to invade Iran. SO, they give up on Israel and disarm Hezbollah themselves.


gotta a war party to go to, got a world to destroy, can't wait around.

[bobthedrummer]

11. Actually some of the G.W. Bush crew helped arm them-also Iraq

Iran and Osama bin Laden.

US tilts toward Iraq (Rumsfeld, Cheney and others during Reagan era)
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/index.htm

Iraqgate and the statements of Howard Teicher
http://www.populist.com/02.17.burns.html

How BAE helped fund Osama bin Laden
http://cryptome.org/soil/soiled-dove2.htm

UAE and BCCI facilitated all kinds of services to terrorists, druglords and BFEE
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=490176&mesg_id=490176

So they'll continually claim to do anything...

[Canuckistanian]

12. If a US soldier puts one foot on Lebanese soil

The war's back on. Bet on it.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

15. The quagmire isn't deep enough in Iraq?

Brilliant!! I'm sure the Lebanese will be delighted to fling flowers at the Americans sent to "help" them when the flower strewn Israeli tanks pull out.

These geniuses are crimally stupid.

[donkeyotay]

17. This always turns out so well

"We believe that the best protection for Lebanon and its people is offered by a fully sovereign government that controls all that goes on within the country . . . As it does so, the United States will be working side by side."

[raysr]

19. Who's going to stop

Israel from taking over the entire region w/o Hezbollah? The Lebanese Army doesn't seem up to the job.

[evox]

21. no one - n/t

[izzybeans]

20. We need someone to disarm republicans like Lebanon needs

someone to disarm Hizbollah. I'm for it as long as a democratic agent is behind it.

But I'm no sucker. We know the American version of Hizbollah is doing the disarming and that is nothing more than imperialism and thus anti-american.

[slaveplanet]

22. If the US is so eager to support the Lebanese Govt.

Then why did the US ambassador Feltman, dissuade Lebanese defense intelligence from bringing forth it's evidence of a massive Israeli spy/assassination ring that had been operating for decades within Lebanon, to the UN in early June?
Why were the Lebanese told it could affect aid funds if they persisted?

Is this the type of thing Welch means when he says "working side by side".

[jerry611]

23. Hezbollah is an enemy of the United States

And Hezbollah is a terrorist organization.

The UN has been calling for their disarmament and for Syria to get out of Lebanon since the 70's.. The resolution just passed calls for it again.

We cannot allow Hezbollah to remain armed.

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[radwriter0555]

29. Hezbollah isn't an enemy of the US, the US had no right to be IN Lebanon

in 83 to begin with.

Hezbollah is NOT considered a terrorist organization by ANY world body.

They in fact arose because of the israeli and Us hostilities intent on taking over and destroying Lebanon to begin with. Think of them as a Militia.

Hezbollah is none of YOUR business unless YOU are intent on destroying Lebanon. Last I checked, the USA has no dog in this fight...

[jerry611]

31. Hezbollah is an illegitimate force in the region

They are a proxy used by Syria and Iran to control Lebanon and attack Israel.

And yes, they are a terrorist organization.

[Ms. Clio]

34. The EU does not consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization

and Israel is the U.S. proxy in the region.

I know facts are pesky things.

[radwriter0555]

36. No. Hezbollah is the governing body in Lebanon and is operating with the

approval of the populace.

They are not recognized by any world body as a terrorist organization.

They are legitimate and rightful in their defense of Lebanon. They arose from ashes and cinders in order to defend lebanon from the USA and Israel. Lebanon has the right to defend itself.

[radwriter0555]

37. Saying you want hezbollah disarmed is saying you want LEBANON disarmed. ..

now I gotta ask... why do you all want LEBANON disarmed? So that israel and the US can attack and invade them with no defense?

That ain't right.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

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[Phrogman]

35. Hey! Lets put the Marines in a barracks in Beirut

sounds like a good idea to me

[leftchick]

38. no kidding

and they probably would too!