Propaganda

I came across a link to this site at the Muqata this morning. Apparently, Rush Limbaugh also picked this up and has sent people to the site to see Hezbollah/Lebanese propaganda in action. The images are VERY graphic and disturbing, but the conclusion reached by the blogger is even moreso. In a nutshell, the same rescue worker appears in different incarnations in the photos published around the world in today's newspapers and online. Several things pointed out by the blogger point to the fact that these pictures were staged several times using the bodies of these poor children.

Additionally, the blogger does some research and finds this same rescue worker in another scenario in Lebanon 10 years ago posing with the bodies of innocent victims yet again.

It's tragic that the Lebanese will stoop so low as to use the bodies of dead children as propaganda.

In other news relating to the Qana tragedy, discrepancies apparently exist between the time Israel conducted the airstrikes and the time the building housing civilians in Qana collapsed. Here's the Jerusalem Post article. Not surprisingly, the international media hasn't picked it up. Perhaps an the eight hour gap between when the bombs were dropped and the building collapsed isn't as media-sexy as staged photos of dead women and children.

The World and Its Relationship with Terrorists

Undoubtedly, most of you who read this blog make it your business to keep up with events in Israel. Whether you are regular visits to arutzsheva.com or another Israeli news site, you probably have your facts straight.

Over here in Canada and the U.S., one has to make an effort to find accurate reporting on current events in the Middle East. Only now has CNN started to report Israeli casualties and suffering in the same way it was covering Lebanon. With major world leaders calling for restraint on the part of Israel, I'd like to take a minute to refresh your memory regarding this conflict courtesy of an article in today's Washington Post:

History of the Lebanese-Israeli Conflict

By The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Monday, July 17, 2006; 12:48 PM

-- A brief history of the Lebanese-Israeli conflict:

Because Israel and Lebanon have never signed a peace accord, the countries remain officially in a state of war that has existed since 1948 when Lebanon joined other Arab nations against the newly formed Jewish state.

The two countries have been bound by an armistice signed in 1949, which regulates the presence of military forces in southern Lebanon.

With a large Christian minority in an overwhelmingly Muslim region, mercantile and Westernized, Lebanon was considered the least hostile Arab neighbor to Israel _ and the weakest. The rare skirmishes that occurred were mostly symbolic.

That began to change as Palestinian guerrillas became active. In 1968, Israeli commandos landed at Beirut airport and blew up 13 Lebanese airliners in retaliation for Arab militants firing on an Israeli airliner in Athens, Greece.

Under pressure from staunch anti-Israeli Arab regimes in 1969, Lebanon signed an agreement that effectively gave away a southern region for Palestinian guerrillas to use as a springboard to infiltrate Israel or launch cross-border attacks.

Notable among these were an April 1974 raid on the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, when Palestinian gunmen killed 16 civilians, mostly women and children, and an attack the following month on a school in Maalot in which a militant group killed 20 teenagers. [Blogger Note: Please keep in mind that terrorist groups have routinely targeted civilians - frequently children - to escalate the situation. They are not fighting for freedom, they are fighting for the destruction of Israel]

Israel retaliated regularly as Palestinian guerrillas fired on northern Israel, and Israeli forces invaded southern Lebanon in 1978. A U.N. peacekeeping force deployed and the Israelis pulled out after installing a local Lebanese militia in a border buffer zone, but the attacks continued.

Israel invaded again on a wider scale in 1982 to destroy Yasser Arafat's Palestinian guerrilla movement, which had established itself as a force within Lebanon during the country's civil war that began in 1975. The bulk of Palestinian guerrillas were evacuated from Lebanon, but a new Lebanese guerrilla force, Hezbollah, emerged with the aid of Iran and drawn from the Shiite Muslim community that inhabits southern and eastern Lebanon.

U.S.-sponsored negotiations produced a Lebanon-Israel agreement but that deal died as Lebanon collapsed in another round of civil war.

After a destructive and costly military campaign that lasted for three years, Israeli forces withdrew from most of Lebanon but retained a self-proclaimed "security zone" just north of its own border.

Fighting inside Lebanon would escalate periodically, including a 1993 Israeli bombing offensive and the 17-day "Grapes of Wrath" military campaign in 1996 that left about 150 Lebanese civilians dead. At that time, Israel was reacting against guerrilla attacks by Hezbollah against Israeli soldiers inside the occupied zone and against Katyusha rockets being fired by Hezbollah into Israel proper.

Israel left that zone in 2000, but warned that it would return if its security to the north was compromised.

Hezbollah trumpeted Israel's withdrawal as a great victory but claimed that Israel continued to occupy illegally a small, empty parcel near Syria called the Chebaa Farms.

Diplomats mostly see that claim as a convenient excuse to justify attacks against Israel. Nevertheless, the Israeli-Lebanese frontier had remained largely quiet for the past six years with occasional outbursts _ until a cross-border raid by Hezbollah July 12 resulted in the capture of two Israeli soldiers and the killing of eight others, sparking the current warfare.

© 2006 The Associated Press

If you pay attention to where the IAF has been bombing, you will notice that they are strategic targets. In nearly every instance, the Israelis fly over before the raid and drop leaflets on the target area stating the time and location of the next bombing. They then give any civilians time to evacuate - taking into account that roads will be clogged and people need time to get what they need together. What army in history has ever done this? How does Hezbollah respond? By launching missiles indiscriminately at Israeli towns and villages.

Israel is 100% in the right in the current situation. The world is being played by Hezbollah and its backers, Iran and Syria. They are not interested in peace. They are not interested in a two-state solution in regards to the Palestinians. They are only interested in the destruction of Israel and will stop at nothing until they have achieved their goal.

Imagine this hypothetical scenario: The nations of the world are able to come up with a huge amounts of cash. They use this cash to create government, hospitals, schools, top-notch universities and other infrastructure in the Palestinian territories. In addition, new industry is set up, providing jobs for thousands. Overnight, the Palestinian people experience prosperity. Many of them are thrilled and gladly go on with their lives. the world sits back and breathes a huge sigh of relief. Finally, there will be no more terrorism. The Palestinians are completely free of Israel.

Suddenly, rockets are launched into Israel. Soldiers are kidnapped. A suicide bomber detonates himself on a bus full of teenagers. What's going on? The world is shocked. Israel is not. Fatah, Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Aksa, you name the group. They are all committed to destroying Israel. The fate of the Palestinian people is immaterial to them . They won't quit until every last Jew is gone. Israel knows this.

But let's get back to reality. Let us not forget that Hezbollah began this cycle of violence by kidnapping two Israeli soldiers from inside Israel. Why? I can only conclude that Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria, want to escalate the situation and draw Israel into a war against the Arab nations at a time when the U.S., Israel's strongest ally, has it's hands full-to-overflowing in Iraq and can only offer limited assistance.

Where do we go from here? I have no idea. Israel is more than capable of defending itself and I pray they it continues to do so and does not bow to international pressure. May we see complete and lasting peace in our days.

Updates from Israel

We've been closely following this Israeli settler blog: Jameel @ the Muqata. He has been posting minute-by-minute reports out of Israel, including the number of Israeli casualties curiously absent from CNN.

Looking for You

There is someone from Calgary (or near there) whose IP address is 24.68.194.27 who has been reading this blog and who arrived originally from bloglines.com.

If this is you, please send an email to me ASAP at chossonhunt2005@yahoo.com

Ex-Patriot 4th of July

It's been an interesting day. In the past few years, I haven't paid much attention to Independence Day (the holiday, not the movie). I lived in a suburb of Detroit where the multi-national Orthodox community had little connection to American independence. Some families would have a barbecue or even take the kids to the fireworks at night, but, mostly, you'd hardly know it was a federal holiday if you drove through the neighborhood.

I make no secret of the fact that I generally disapprove of the job our current President is doing. I think he has done more to harm America's reputation around the world than any other president in the 20th or 21st century. I find myself in Canada frequently defending average Americans and even the way our government is set up.

I grew up in a small resort town in Northern Michigan. The Fourth of July was a big deal there. It had nothing to do with who was currently president or what our country was doing. It had everything to do with celebrating our life and freedom in small-town America. We caught candy thrown during the parade down Main Street in the morning, then it was off to my grandparents for a hamburgers and cherry pie. In the evening, we'd pack a blanket and several boxes of sparklers and walk the three blocks down to the waterfront park where we wouldn't have to wait long before the fireworks started exploding right over our heads. I loved the Fourth of July back then.

Throughout its history, our country has offered freedom to many people. We have also horribly mistreated some people. We are not unique. Life in Canada is good. Most people have good jobs, access to inexpensive healthcare, and are satisfied with their lives. Nevertheless, I find myself missing my small-town Fourth of July.

This 4th of July, I'm spending the day cleaning out my guest room and listening to NPR over the computer. Tonight, Soulmate and I will hit Baskin Robbins and then drive down to the waterfront where we'll be able to see the fireworks from Port Angeles, Washington, away in the distance.