An interesting perspective from another peacekeeper on whether

[Spazito]

it was intentional on Israel's part or not:

Harry Bloom, eastern vice-president of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Association, spent a year in the early 1970s patrolling the exact terrain where Hess-von Kruedener served.

snip

Bloom, now retired at 66, said he wasn't surprised by news that an Israeli bomb had hit the post - and he doesn't believe it was an accident.

"I agree with (UN Secretary General) Kofi Annan's comment that it seemed to be an intentional hit. It would have to be. The outposts are so well-identified with blue and white paint and flags. A pilot cannot mistake that outpost for anything else."

Bloom described repeated "altercations" with Israeli forces when he was stationed there.

more

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=7eb2c665-888b-4025-8975-f405d1237e0e&k=7216&p=2

[tuvor]

1. Have you posted this in GD?

Probably belongs there as much as it does here.

[Spazito]

2. I thought about it but I suspect it would drop fairly quickly as

a thread by itself, I did post it in a LBN thread about the death of the Canadian observer. I will add it to any of the threads that are about the bombing for sure. I have no problem if you want to do it, I just couldn't think of a header that would keep it from falling rapidly.

[tuvor]

3. Don't worry about whether it drops or not.

Not everyone who reads a post will necessarily reply to it.

(I seem to remember recent talk on DU of indicating the number a views any single thread or post had received. I'd love to see something like that.)

[MrPrax]

6. You should post it...

in GD or even LBN. It's about Lebanon and not I/P...so it should be fine.

I've got a Fisk article I want to post...

Smoke signals from the battle of Bint Jbeil send a warning to Israel

From this hill village in the south of the country, I am watching the clouds of brown and black smoke rising from its latest disaster in the Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil: up to 13 Israeli soldiers dead, and others surrounded, after a devastating ambush by Hizbollah guerrillas in what was supposed to be a successful Israeli military advance against a "terrorist centre".
...
To my left smoke rises too, over the town of Khiam, where a smashed United Nations outpost remains the only memorial to the four UN soldiers - most of them decapitated by an American-made missile on Tuesday - killed by the Israeli air force.

Indian soldiers of the UN army in southern Lebanon, visibly moved by the horror of bringing their Canadian, Fijian, Chinese and Austrian comrades back in at least 20 pieces from the clearly marked UN post next to Khiam prison, left their remains at Marjayoun hospital yesterday.

In past years, I have spent hours with their comrades in this UN position, which is clearly marked in white and blue paint, with the UN's pale blue flag opposite the Israeli frontier. Their duty was to report on all they saw: the ruthless Hizbollah missile fire out of Khiam and the brutal Israeli response against the civilians of Lebanon.

Is this why they had to die, after being targeted by the Israelis for eight hours, their officers pleading to the Israeli Defence Forces that they cease fire? An American-made Israeli helicopter saw to that.
Independent

Very good article in which Fisk reveals a lot of what is going very wrong with the Israel campaign -- to he and other observers--they are losing and losing badly.

Fisk should really watch himself.

(on edit- oh I forgot the link here is a subscribed link...so I looked around and found it at
ICH ICH

[CHIMO]

4. We're Not

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Render&c=Page&cid=972514081251

[Spazito]

5. LOL, good toon!

I keep thinking back to harper's comments about how surprised he was that foreign affairs were taking SO much of his time. Like any arrogant asshole, he seemed to think what he thought was important would BE what is important and the world would not intrude.