• Israel

    Israel At War Watch: Israel Defense Forces To Withdraw Despite Plans To Leave Hezbollah Armed

    israelaugust16gweb

    Merkava tank : An Israeli reserve soldier sits on a Merkava tank and cleans his weapon after returning from operations in south Lebanon earlier this morning, along the Israel-Lebanon border.

    JPost: IDF to withdraw despite plans to leave Hizbullah armed

    Despite the public reappearance of armed Hizbullah gunmen in southern Lebanon, senior IDF officers said Wednesday that Israel would uphold the cease-fire and begin to gradually withdraw its forces ahead of the planned deployment of the Lebanese army in the south, scheduled to begin on Thursday.

    On Wednesday, the Lebanese cabinet approved a plan to deploy troops south of the Litani River and to extend government authority over the region, a key provision of the UN cease-fire plan that ended 34 days of fighting. But the cabinet said soldiers would not “chase” or “take revenge” on Hizbullah guerrillas in a bid to disarm the fighters.

    “There will be no confrontation between the army and brothers in Hizbullah… That is not the army’s mission… They are not going to chase and, God forbid, exact revenge,” said Information Minister Ghazi Aridi after the two-hour cabinet meeting.

    Senior Hizbullah official Hassan Fadlallah said that the issue of his organization’s disarmament was not on the agenda.

    Yet, Israel will continue to stand down and withdraw even though United Nations Resolution 1701 states that Hezbollah is to be disarmed.

    So, why did Israel stop fighting?

    Despite the Lebanese government’s clear announcement that it would not work to disarm Hizbullah, the IDF said it was going ahead with the transfer of Lebanese territory to UNIFIL and eventually to the Lebanese army.

    On Wednesday, the IDF began handing over small pieces of southern Lebanon to the existing UNIFIL force.

    “We will go ahead with the transfer of the territory to the new UNIFIL force,” OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Udi Adam said following a meeting with the head of the UN force, French Maj.-Gen. Alain Pellegrini at Rosh Hanikra Wednesday night.

    As the cease-fire continues, Israel appears to be the “BIG LOSER” in this war.

    Hezbollah is coming out of this war stronger and Israel and the United States look defeated.

    Israel did not even get their two kidnapped soldiers back……

    Why did Israel go to war?

    Stay tuned as these hard questions are asked of Prime Minister Olmert and his cabinet…..

    israelaugust16hweb

    A Lebanese civilian sits in the rubble of his home, bombed by Israel , in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre. Lebanon was poised to start deploying government troops to Hezbollah’s longtime bastion in the south as Israel announced its forces had began pulling back following its month-long conflict with the Shiite militant group.

    Previous:

    Michael Ramirez on Israel-Hezbollah War

    Israel at War Watch: Israel to STOP Pullout If Lebanese Army Fails to Deploy Timely

    Israel At War Watch: Israel Threatens To Resume War If Hezbollah Refuses to Disarm

    Israel At War Watch: Hassan Nasrallah – The Disarmament of Hezbollah Should NOT Be Discussed Now

    Israel at War Watch: The Arab Street Rejoices – Mocks Israel And United States

    Israel at War Watch: Conversation With Benjamin Netanyahu – Hezbollah Will NOT Disarm

    Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Cleric Ahmad Khatami Warns Israel of Missile Attack


    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Election 2006,  Election 2008,  Politics

    Senator George Allen Watch: Allen Apologizes for Offensive Remarks – FLAP

    allen0caweb

    AP: Sen. Allen’s remarks spark controversy

    Sen. George Allen (news, bio, voting record) apologized Tuesday for remarks that offended a man of Indian descent who was tracking the Republican’s re-election campaign for Democratic challenger Jim Webb.

    S.R. Sidarth said he felt Allen was singling him out because of his race when the senator called him “Macaca” during a GOP rally Friday at Breaks, Va., near the Kentucky border.

    “In no way was it meant to demean him, and I’m sorry if he was offended,” Allen said in a telephone interview.

    Allen, who is positioning himself for a possible run for president in 2008, said the name was “just made up” and that he had no idea that macaca is a genus of monkeys including macaques. The name also could be spelled Makaka, which is a city in South Africa.

    Webb’s campaign distributed to reporters a video clip of Allen’s remarks about Sidarth, a 20-year-old University of Virginia senior who spent last week videotaping Allen’s “listening tour” for the Webb campaign.

    The video is here and the reader can formulate their own opinions:

    The Flap is concerning Senator George Allen’s character and certainly the intemperate if not offensive remarks made about an Indian-American. The manner in which Allen conducts himself in full campaign mode and under stress is not conducive to a favorable opinion by anyone.

    Does Flap think that Allen used a racial epithet?

    NOPE

    Was Senator Allen racially incorrect, stereotypical and condescending in his manner?

    YOU BETCHA – much like Senator Joe Biden, also a prospective Presidential candidate, who Flap reported on here.

    Were his explanations/excuses lame and un-redeeming?

    YES

    Will this Flap derail Allen’s re-election to the United States Senate?

    Probably NOT

    Will Senator Allen ever be a Presidential or Vice Presidential nominee of the GOP?

    VERY DOUBTFUL – who wants a hot-head and someone who wilts under pressure to be the leader of the “Free World?”

    Allen-Georgeweb

    Captain Ed agrees with Flap

    Regardless of the motivation, one has to ask a couple of embarrassing questions about Allen and his fitness for higher office. First, anyone who uses a demeaning nickname to an attendee during a stump appearance probably has some judgement issues. It doesn’t exactly give one warm fuzzies about the candidate’s ability to think on his feet. The same can be said about using words one doesn’t understand, doing so in very public settings, and then doing it repeatedly. That’s the mark of an intellectual lightweight.

    And speaking of intellectual gravitas, Allen should have just apologized and then shut up. That explanation only makes him look worse. Mullets, mohawks, and macacas, oh my!

    I’m terribly disappointed in Allen. I don’t think it’s enough to kill his political career, and it’s no reason to stop supporting him for the Senate. However, I do think that we need someone with a little more on the ball for the GOP ticket in 2008, and unless the macaca really hits the fan, Allen should focus on keeping his Senate seat.

    Stay tuned for more Macaca to hit the fan……


    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Israel

    Israel at War Watch: Israel to STOP Pullout If Lebanese Army Fails to Deploy Timely

    Reuters: Israel pullout to stop if Lebanon army does not deploy

    Israel could withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon within 10 days, but only if the Lebanese army deploys quickly in the area, Israel’s army chief of staff, Dan Halutz, said on Wednesday.

    “The withdrawal of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) within 10 days is dependent upon the deployment of the Lebanese army,” Halutz told parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, according to a spokesman.

    “If the Lebanese army does not move down within a number of days to the south … the way I see it, we must stop our withdrawal,” Halutz added.

    Lebanon’s cabinet will meet on Wednesday to issue an order to the army to deploy in south Lebanon immediately, a senior political source in Beirut said.

    The source said the 15,000-strong force will begin to deploy south of the Litani River on Thursday.

    But, if the Lebanese Army does not enforce United Nations Resolution 1701 that calls for the disarming of Hezbollah what good are they anyway?

    Worthless is the answer.

    Now, what about the United Nations International peacekeeping force?

    The United Nations said on Tuesday it wants to deploy up to 3,500 new soldiers within two weeks to oversee a fragile truce and Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon, where troops battled Hizbollah guerrillas for a month.

    The U.N. Security Council last Friday unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a truce. It authorized up to 13,000 well-armed troops to augment a 2,000-strong force, known as UNIFIL, now in Lebanon.

    If the Lebanese government continues to ignore the United Nations resolution that began the cease-fire, then hostilities will begin anew.

    Anything less than full compliance with U.N Resolution 1701 necessitates United Nations Security Council action and a cessation of Israeli Defense Force Withdrawl and back to war.

    Stay tuned……

    israelaugust16aweb

    Israeli soldiers walk together after leaving Lebanon near the Israeli-Lebanon border August 15, 2006 in this picture released by the Israeli Defense Forces.

    Previous:

    Israel At War Watch: Israel Threatens To Resume War If Hezbollah Refuses to Disarm

    Israel At War Watch: Hassan Nasrallah – The Disarmament of Hezbollah Should NOT Be Discussed Now

    Israel at War Watch: The Arab Street Rejoices – Mocks Israel And United States

    Israel at War Watch: Conversation With Benjamin Netanyahu – Hezbollah Will NOT Disarm

    Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Cleric Ahmad Khatami Warns Israel of Missile Attack


    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Iran Nuclear Watch

    Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Ready to Discuss Suspension of Uranium Enrichment?

    irannukeaugust16aweb

    Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki delivers a speech in Tehran on August 7. Mottaki has said Iran is ready to discuss suspension of its sensitive nuclear enrichment work.

    AFP: Iran ready to discuss suspension of nuclear enrichment: FM

    Iran is ready to discuss suspension of its sensitive nuclear enrichment work, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said.

    “Even the proposal to suspend enrichment, which we regard as illogical, can be discussed in negotiations,” Mottaki told a press conference Wednesday.

    The five UN Security Council members, plus Germany, expect Tehran’s response on August 22 to a package of incentives in return for suspending uranium enrichment work.

    Mottaki said any negotiations should “guarantee obtaining the Iranian people’s rights as well as clearing up any questions, ambiguities and concerns regarding the Islamic republic’s peaceful nuclear activites.

    “We will not back down on our legitimate rights under any conditions,” he vowed.

    Mottaki described the UN resolution as “political” and “of no value for Iran.”

    Here comes the Iranian STALL again. One week to go prior to Iran’s self-imposed deadline to respond the the P-5-Plus-1 proposal and Iran is already attempting to change the media spin to “talk about talks.”

    Flap thinks the United Nations Security Council, by now, may have had enough and THEIR August 31 deadline will remain.

    Will Iran have ANY response by the 22nd?

    Anyone’s GUESS.

    irannukeaugustcweb

    Iran President Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday Iran would not yield to Western pressure to give up its home-grown nuclear technology.

    Flap suggests that Mottaki talks to his President once in a while – unless…….that is right ….Ahmadinejad doesn’t make nuclear policy, the Iranian Mullahs DO.

    Reuters: Iran says won’t back down over atomic rights

    Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday Iran would not yield to Western pressure to give up its home-grown nuclear technology.

    “Today, we are fully mastering the nuclear fuel cycle for our peaceful atomic activities. It is a native technology… No one can take it away from us,” Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech to a rally in the northwestern city of Ardebil.

    “The Iranian nation will not yield to pressure but is ready to resolve the nuclear issue through talks,” Ahmadinejad said.

    Flap’s best GUESS is that Iran will STALL again and the UNSC will be forced to make a decision on August 31.

    Stay tuned…….

    irannukeaugust9aweb

    An Indonesian protester holds a picture of Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, calling on Iran to stop its nuclear program, outside the Iranian embassy in Jakarta August 9, 2006.

    Previous:

    Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Cleric Ahmad Khatami Warns Israel of Missile Attack

    Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Rejects “ILLEGAL International Obligations” of the United Nations Security Council

    The Iran Nuclear Files

    irannukejuly15aweb
    The Natanz uranium enrichment complex in Natanz is pictured in this January 2, 2006 satellite image.


    Technorati Tags: ,