The French UNIFIL forces are insisting on pretending that they’re going to fire on IAF jets that have been overflying Lebanon.
French UN anti-aircraft batteries have taken “preparatory steps” to respond to Israeli jets violating Lebanese airspace, despite global criticism of such incursions.
“The anti-aircraft unit of the (French) battalion took initial preparatory steps to respond to these actions,” Milos Strugar, spokesman for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) told AFP on Friday.
Isn’t it amazing that they can’t find the tons of weapons being delivered daily from Syria and Iran, but they can find a cause to threaten Israel over violations of 1701? Hell, they can’t even find the Hezbullah operatives, who have returned to the northern border, because they’re wearing civvies now and not carrying guns.
If it wasn’t so awful, it’d be funny. The world is so upside down that the French won’t see the terrorist army being rebuilt right under their noses, but they’re threatening to shoot down Israeli planes for staging mock raids—practice for the upcoming war that France and the UN are doing nothing to prevent. My mistake, they are doing something—they’re making it harder for Israel.
The responsibility for the blood that will flow in the next stage of the war should be laid on many shoulders, Ehud Olmert’s not the least of them, but there should also be blame laid squarely on the UN, and on France, for this reprehensible failure to do the smallest of responsibilities that UNIFIL was sent to Lebanon for.
The problem is, the blood that will flow is going to be Israeli blood. More lives are going to be lost in the next round—many more. I guarantee you, the re-arming of Lebanon is being done with an eye to the failures of Lebanon I, and the successes (as they will see the death of civilians) of Lebanon II. The question now is when, not whether, Hezbullah/Iran/Syria will attack again.
Israel’s enemies was emboldened by the lack of commitment to anything but an air campaign, and are still claiming victory. Iran is claiming that Israel will fall quickly. You can make the case that it doesn’t matter what they think, they still lost a lot of men and materiel. I will make the case that perception is all that matters here: The Islamists think they have Israel and the West on the ropes. Therefore, they will continue to fight.
I think Israel can win an all-out war. But that doesn’t mean she won’t take some heavy blows in the next one. With Hamas working feverishly to turn Gaza into Lebanon, and a president who refuses to do what is necessary, and a military commander who refuses to accept responsibility for the mistakes of Lebanon I, I have little confidence that the next one won’t be far worse.
I worry very, very much for my Israeli friends.
As do I, dear Meryl. It seems that horrors visited upon the Jewish people frequently lead to even more horrors being visited upon ALL the people.
Much as I do not want to believe it, I have a feeling the next 10-20 years are going to be very very painful for most of us.
But for now, we can only pray and wait and love those who depend on us – including our beautiful 4-legged pals.
Please the French probably have white flags sown in pouches in their uniforms…
The French are doing this to protect Hizballah alone, not even the Lebanese people, not even the Lebanese Christians who are supposedly France’s chief care.
Of course Israel will take a few hits during the next Lebanon War, but what do you think will be left of Lebanon itself? A wreck, fit only for a Shiite terror state.
Everyone else will leave.
Kofi Annan’s last hurrah.
Israel has few friends in the world and that is a sad fact, but ultimately she will triumph.
If you will forgive this, but praying and waiting won’t help.
Don’t forget it was Rice who together with the French stitched together 1701, and now Baker is in Syria, I believe, stitching together a plan to save America from Iraq.
As people are wont to ask about “where are the moderate Muslims to demonstrate against the extremism” so I ask where are the moderate Americans to demonstrate against Baker and co.’s ‘realism’ to inflict more death and suffering on human beings as their resurrection of Arafat in the late 80s did? (I assume that people know where Rice comes from, politically speaking).
Just as those Marines who were killed in Beirut died in vain,as they were left “behind” by Weinberger, Baker and co., in the interests of their Arab friends, so many more will be sacrificed.
The least of their worries is that”Sh***y Little Country; and to back that up just look back at the “Gaza Border Deal” Rice brokered to Israel’s detriment.
Judith A. Klinghoffer has a link to a video which I feel is pertinent to the above:
“JEWS APOLOGIZE FOR IRRITATING THE WORLD”
http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/31930.html
I think the frogs will end up regretting firing at any IAF aircraft, IDF equipment, or Israeli.
This is deadly business, but it reminds me of the old joke about what French military recruits learn first in basic training – How to yell, “I surrender,” in Arabic.