Lebanon to receive weapons shipment from U.S.

[sabra]

Source: CNN

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Lebanese forces battling Islamic militants inside Lebanon will be resupplied by a shipment of U.S. military ammunition, which is expected to arrive within two days, senior U.S. officials told CNN's Barbara Starr on Thursday.

In the meantime, both sides flatly rejected calls to surrender.

A statement attributed to Fatah al-Islam was sent Thursday to several media outlets in Lebanon, saying the militant group intends " to blow up several crusaders' universities and schools tomorrow in the event the Lebanese army does not surrender." Crusaders usually refers to Americans or Westerners.

Responding to Lebanon's call for immediate military assistance, the U.S. military will send as many as six cargo flights carrying ammunition to Lebanon, the officials said.

One senior U.S. military official said it is rare to send military flights on such a mission, considering the sensitive nature of the United States' role in the Middle East. But the Bush administration decided it could not wait to charter commercial cargo planes for the resupply mission, the official said. (Watch Palestinians flee during a lull in the combat Video)

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/24/lebanon.violence/index.html

[Redstone]

1. The Lebanese government needs all the help it can get, and I approve of this action.

There will NEVER be peace in Lebanon until the government is strong enough to stamp out the "private armies" that are causing them all this trouble.

If they had been strong enough to disarm Hezbollah, all that horrible stuff of last summer would never have happened.

They are the legitimate government of Lebanon, and therefore are NOT obliged to allow other groups to maintain militias or private armies in the country.

Furthermore, fuck a bunch of "freedome fighter" bullshit. Lebanon has suffered SO much because they took in so many refugees. And how do those refugees repay the Lebanese? By causing a war with Israel last summer for which the Lebanese suffered yet more, and by causing this shit that's happening now. Nice fucking gratitude, there.

Redstone

[Mudoria]

2. I agree. The Lebanese will never

have true peace in their country till they bring these extremist militias under control. Good move to make sure the Lebanese army is fully equipped to deal with these thugs..

[Redstone]

3. And God, I hope we don't start seeing posts about how there's something wrong

with us sending them the stuff they need.

The Israelis should be helping them out as well. I'd think that they would be interested in having a stable Lebanon next door.

And I'd like to visit a stable Lebanon some day. I hear it's a beautiful place, and I sure do like Lebanese food.

Redstone

[azurnoir]

5. The Lebanese government offered last summer to

assist Israel in finding the kidnapped soldiers and containing Hezbollah but Israel said no and started bombing.

[Redstone]

12. They did? I hadn't heard that. Damn shame, that. Lebanon should not suffer so.

Redstone

[azurnoir]

13. It was once

right at the beginning, I read it here, can not find the thread.

[Kagemusha]

7. That's impractical. Israel is at war with Lebanon. The US is not.

Aid from Israel to Lebanon would be acts of treason by whoever provided it.

[azurnoir]

9. I thought Israel was at war

Hezballah(sp) not Lebanon, you know like we're at war with "terrorists or insurgents" not Iraq.

[Redstone]

10. I don't think that Israel is at war with Lebanon.

Redstone

[ShortnFiery]

15. Well you fooled me as they bombed the shit out of Lebanon last year for a few weeks.

:shrug: If Israel is NOT at war with Lebanon, I sure wouldn't like to know how they truly treat a country whom they DECLARE WAR upon. :scared:

[Kagemusha]

17. Well I know for a fact Lebanon's at war with Israel.

The govt has publicly sworn that Lebanon will not sign a peace treaty with Israel independent of other Arab nations.

[azurnoir]

4. Hezballah is not a refugee thing

or a Palestinian thing nor are they the ones causing the problems now, I believe it is a branch of Islamic Jihad supposedly loosely Al Qaeda linked doing the fighting now.

[Pavulon]

8. Hezbolla is an extension of Iran and since its coming to power

it seems the world refuses to pay for tab in the Palestinian areas. Hence the choas. This is all fractional fighting over control.

[ShortnFiery]

14. Oh yeah, every damn terrorist group is somehow an extension of IRAN.

:eyes: Hell, I bet the clueless Right Wingers believe that Al Quaeda (Sunni Muslims) are in cahoots with Iran too. :crazy: Minority Leader Boener shed big horse tears at the mere thought that all this blessed Death and Destruction may come to an end, i.e., his investments in the War Machine corporations would dry up.

We need to stop this War-Mongering bullshit in favor of diplomacy. I despise The Military Industrial Complex and it MUST be put in it's place or it will rule our country for the next generation. :grr:

[Lurking Dem]

16. Good Lord do you know the

history of Hezbollah at all?

They follow Kohmeini's teachings and want to establish an Iranian style republic in Lebanon.

[ShortnFiery]

20. Good Lord, yes I do. I also know that the ME is NOT our Neighborhood.

It's time for "the true neighbors" to work out their differences at the negotiation tables.

If we can be half-assed objective and fair (don't thumb the scales in favor of Israel at every given opportunity), JUST PERHAPS we can help the development of meaningful dialog between the Middle Eastern Nations.

It's NOT our business to ATTACK sovereign countries just because "we are afraid" of what they might do. It's CRIMINAL and IMMORAL. If we bomb Iran, we will open up The Gates of Hell.

I'm done with war-mongering - it's beyond time to grow the f**k up and solve our problems via other means than WAR. :thumbsdown:

[Lurking Dem]

26. Where the fuck did I say anything about attacking anyone?

You seem to have a mental picture you can't shake that has absolutely nothing to do with reality.

[Odin2005]

27. To the Iran apologists any criticism of Iran means you are a Neo-con lackey.

The Iran-lovers are getting annoying. :banghead:

Oh, and don't try arguing with Short-n-Fiery, you'll just send her on more ALL CAPS rants.

[Lurking Dem]

29. I love being screamed at

for things I never said. Trés amusing.

Some people's main form of exercise here is jumping to conclusions. Alas.

Can I share your brick wall? :banghead:

[ButterflyBlood]

18. You don't know crap about Hezbollah

Yes, it's true Iran has nothing to do with Sunni extremist groups like Al-Qaeda. But they openly support SHIITE Hezbollah, and neither side even denies it.

[ShortnFiery]

21. Yes I do know about Hezbollah, and many of you merely choose Violence or CRAPPY War to solve ...

International Problems.

Believe it or not, every one in the Middle East tends to love their children.

Let's dispense with this bugga bugga boo "evil-doer" we must "hunt um' down" bullshit and fear-mongering.

I'm tired of all this fear-mongering. If Israel is cornered, they know we may be able to assist them with diplomacy and negotiations -

BUT DAMMIT NO MORE BOMBS, AMMO AND WAR!!!

I'm sick of war. WAR IS TERRORISM. Think about that ... even when thinking of those "evil-doers" whose organizations and people, according to *you and yours* don't deserve to exist? :eyes:

[ButterflyBlood]

23. When did I come out in favor of any war?

[Odin2005]

28. radical pacifism is just as evil and stupid as fascistic millitarism.

Sane, moral people ALL hate war, but sometimes it's the lesser of the two evils.

[The Stranger]

6. There will never be peace in Lebanon until the Lebanese stop inviting outsiders in.

Hezbollah is made up of Lebanese people, and was formed to get Israel out of South Lebanon after a 20-year occupation there. And your statement about "all that horrible stuff last summer would never have happened" would be laughable -- if only it rose to that level. Over one thousand Lebanese civilians were killed by Israeli bombing.

The war with Israel last summer was planned months (if not years) in advance (which nearly every Israeli knows), and could not have been "started" by refugees living in northern Lebanon. And the U.S. was complicit in it -- and the Lebanese Government was demanding that the U.S. stop the Israeli bombing.

Where do you get this stuff from?

[Redstone]

11. OK, fine, you're right, sure.

Redstone

[ButterflyBlood]

19. Hezbollah may not be involved here, but they were to blame back then

I sure as hell didn't approve of Israel's actions then and was strongly critical, but that hardly makes Hezbollah blameless. If they would actually disarm like every other faction from the civil war that has complied with the UN Resolution for disarmament, there'd be a hell of a lot less problems in Lebanon.

[ShortnFiery]

22. Well if Hezbollah does NOT disarm like we have ordered them to as THEIR deciders,

let's just kill them all, like we are planning to kill all those evil-doing terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan? After all, it worked so well in Vietnam: We killed OVER 2 million Vietnamese and won every damn firefight ... but we lost the support of the people and LOST THE WAR - just like we will LOSE THE WARs in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

*Nationalism* rules supreme: The Insurgents only have to wait us out and they are very patient, i.e., it is their native lands. :shrug:

[ButterflyBlood]

24. When did I propose anything of the sort?

[ShortnFiery]

25. Oh, I just have a feeling that it was coming. Giving more tools for death and destruction

is not what AMERICA is about to me. I'm ashamed of our now THUGGISH reputation.

With rare exception, The Entire World Community HATES OUR GUTS ... and with damn good reason! :grr: