Sceptical Diplomat

A former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan warns about being taken in by media and government spin on 'terror arrests'.

We wait for the court system to show whether this was a real attempted attack and, if so, it was genuinely operational rather than political to move against it today. But the police' and security services' record of lies does not inspire confidence.

Masters of War

Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead

Theocratic states and democracy

It is understandable, that for Israelis, particularly those born and raised in Israel, the idea, that a Jewish state is morally undefendable - whether it is an idea raised by ultra-orthodox Jews, antisemitic Islamists or racists, old school zionists, or simply believers in democracy in Israel or elsewhere - is a hurtful idea. However, for those who belong to the last two groups mentioned above, this idea is not one which rejects Jews. We are neither antisemites nor self-hating Jews. We recognise the right for Jews to live in peace, practicing their religion and culture if they so wish. However, we also believe, that democracy should mean the protection of those rights and other rights for all, regardless of ethnicity, belief, gender or sexual orientation. There should be no state which represents the believers in one faith only, nor a state for one ethnic group only, nor a state for men or for women (that would be hell!) nor even a state for homosexuals, heterosexuals, bisexuals or transgendered!
This of course, means, that an Islamic republic or kingdom is also morally unacceptable to us, just as would be a Rom state (let's not forget, that the Rom people have continuously been oppressed for centuries).
There may be regions where Muslims are the majority, just as there are regions where Hindus are the majority. India, and Bali, however are not Hindu states.
So, Israelis, if they believe in democracy, can work towards true democracy for all in their country. While the immediate solution to the violence in the region is probably a two-state solution, no true believer in democracy should rest until all are treated equally at all levels. Jews have a right to live in Israel-Palestine as do Arabs, but neither group should have more rights than the other.

Mass Murder

BBC

A plot to blow up planes in flight from the UK to the US and commit "mass murder on an unimaginable scale" has been disrupted, Scotland Yard has said.

Mass murder on an unimaginable scale continues unimpended in Lebanon.

And Bush goes doolally

Swiss Info

Bush, speaking briefly on a visit to Green Bay, Wisconsin, said the foiled plane plot was "..a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation."

Someone really should sit Dubya down and give him a history lesson, lest he start talking about 'Islamic Nazis'.

New Refuseniks

The Observer

Yonatan Shapiro, a former Blackhawk helicopter pilot dismissed from reserve duty after signing a 'refusenik' letter in 2004, said he had spoken with Israeli F-16 pilots in recent days and learnt that some had aborted missions because of concerns about the reliability of intelligence information. According to Shapiro, some pilots justified aborting missions out of 'common sense' and in the context of the Israeli Defence Force's moral code of conduct, which says every effort should be made to avoiding harming civilians.

The Zidane of Horse Racing

BBC

What strange behaviour...

Grow tomatoes not war

This is a physalis known in French as l'amour en cage..

More photos

Support for Hizbollah

Lebanese Hizbollah member of parliament Hussan Haj Hussein told the BBC, that everyone in Lebanon, including Druzes, Maronites, Chi'ites and Sunnis supported Hizbollah.

This is what the Druze leader Walid Joumblatt had to say recently about Hizbollah:

He accused the movement of working to an Iranian and Syrian timetable when it kidnapped two Israeli soldiers on July 12, triggering a devastating Israeli retaliation. In the process Hizbollah had “stolen the hopes” of young Lebanese whose protests last year helped force Syria to withdraw its troops after 22 years in Lebanon.
But he said that like many Lebanese he had to support the Shia movement in its resistance against “brutal Israeli aggression”.

This is not exactly all out support, as the the Hisbollah message came accross.

Neither is this:

Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shiite group, was criticized by leaders from other Lebanese communities of acting individually, without even the knowledge of the government in which it is represented, when it kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in the attack on July 12 which unleashed Israel's wrath against Lebanon.

The religious leaders held Israel fully responsible for moral and material losses inflicted on Lebanon, including the massacre of civilians and the destruction of private and public properties, and called for suing the Jewish state before international forums.

Just a guess

According to the BBC, the initial strategy of Israel was to bomb Lebanese infrastructure in the hope, that the Lebanese government would rein in Hizbollah. How come, people living as far away as western Europe or the US and who have nothing to do with Israel, Lebanon or the Middle East, other than being interested, were able, at the time, to see, that bombing Lebanon would not make any difference to the Lebanese leadership's ability to influence Hizbollah militarily, and, that it was more likely to bring more support to Hizbollah than anything else? It sounds a bit like the war in Iraq. From the very beginning many of us knew we were being lied to by the UK and US governments about the reasons for war. Some politicians and academics who supported the war, now claim they didn't realise they had been lied to. Those of us who did realise, were apparently just guessing. Either we are lucky guessers, or we have psychic abilities. Or maybe we are just honest.

Dear [Jez],

Yes, I think you were indeed just guessing, since the intelligence
available to both of us at the time was that Saddam Hussein likely did
possess weapons of mass destruction, had a history of aggression towards
his neighbours, and also had a dreadful human rights record.

Yours sincerely,

Niall Ferguson.


[Jez] wrote:

> Mr Ferguson,
>
> Regarding your appearance on QT. You are supposed to be not only "one
> of the hundred most influential people", but a historian and what's
> more a specialist in imperialism. Yet you claim to have been lied to
> over the war on Irak. Are you suggesting all those who weren't
> historians, including other "influential" people, but also 'ordinary'
> people such as myself who opposed the war were just guessing that the
> war was illegal and wrong, and that we were jsut 'lucky' to have
> guessed correctly?
> What is a historian for you? Is it an opinion maker, spinning for the
> establishment, or is it someone who can reason on the basis of
> historical fact? As a specialist in imperialism, I believe you should
> be a little more clued up as to the similarities between old fashioned
> imperialism and the kind of neo-imperialism quite evident today.
>
> Sincerely,
> [Jez]

More Israeli Refuseniks and critics

Haaretz

The Lebanon 2006 war has produced its first conscientious objector - Staff Sergeant Itzik Shabbat, a 28-year-old TV producer. He refused to comply with an emergency order (Tsav 8) to report today for reserve duty in the territories in order to free forces in the standing army for the war in Lebanon.

This was prior to Amir Paster's refusal and imprisonment.

Democracy Now!

Click above to read and listen to an interview with

Yonatan Shapira, a former Captain in the Israeli Air Force Reserves. In 2003 Yonatan initiated the group of Israeli Air Force pilots who refused to fly attack missions on Palestinian territories. He is also one of the founders of the organization Combatants for Peace.

Meretz

Analysts looking for the answer to how we got here ought to recall the initial demand from the Palestinian militias for the release of female prisoners and children in exchange for Gilad Shalit's safe return. In our rush to declare that we won't negotiate with terrorists (never mind that we have done so in the past and will inevitably end up doing so again this time) no one bothered to consider how it is that hundreds of Palestinian women and children are languishing in Israeli jails.

Those who can't understand why the Palestinians haven't given up the struggle in the wake of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza might be surprised to learn that they don't share the distinction Israel draws between Gaza and the West Bank and suffer daily reminders that the demolition of Gush Katif did not leave them a free people in their own land. On Monday, the commander of the IDF Judea and Samaria Division said that terrorist organizations in the West Bank are attempting to open another front. Wrong! As far as the Palestinians are concerned, it is all one front.

Meretz however defends Israel's right to defend itsself against Hizbollah using force, and does not strongly condemn the bombing of Lebanese civilians.

Brit Tzedek

Now is the time for the US government, in concert with the international community, to achieve a real and immediate multi-lateral ceasefire – followed by intense diplomacy to return the kidnapped Israeli soldiers, stop the rocket attacks on Israel, end the Israeli air strikes and ground incursions in Lebanon and Gaza, and install an international peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.

Continuing the conflict until Hezbollah is entirely disabled is strategically naïve and not in Israel’s interests. All reports are showing that Israel’s military campaign to root out Hezbollah is facing far greater challenges than expected. The real way to reduce the threat from Hezbollah is through an immediate ceasefire, intelligent diplomacy, the installation of an international peacekeeping force, and renewed support for the democratic Lebanese government.

More importantly, the Lebanese people, who largely rejected Hezbollah at the outset of this crisis, are now almost unanimously standing behind Hezbollah in their attacks on Israel, with anti-Israel sentiment quickly increasing throughout the Middle East. This is the true threat to Israel’s long-term peace and security.

Image of our times

The Guardian

A tale of two old ladies

El Gusano, Mexico

Bint Jbeil, Lebanon

Mel Gibson apologises for anti-semitic remarks

ABC News

Gibson asked to meet with Jewish leaders "with whom I can have a one-on-one discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing."

I'm sure he did the right thing in apologising, even if his remarks can't have come out of the blue. Being drunk only explains why he expressed his irrational beliefs out loud.
However, I wonder what he meant by "healing". Does he think he is ill, and if so, does he think meeting Jewish leaders is going to 'heal' him? Maybe he just thinks it will give him a clean image.

Refusenik

Capt. (Res.) Amir Paster Imprisoned

Capt. (Res.) Amir Paster (32) an infantry officer and student at Tel Aviv University, has been sentenced to 28 days in military prison for refusal to take part in the current Lebanon campaign.

At his trial, Capt. Paster declared that "taking part in this war runs contrary to the values upon which he was brought up".

Speaking on behalf of the refusenik support group Yesh Gvul, movement spokesman Ishai Menuchin reported contacts with about a dozen reserve officers and soldiers who have received emergency call-up and plan to refuse to take part in the Lebanon operation.

You have been warned

Haaretz

When hundreds of thousands of people are warned, and women and children are warned, of the bombs and missiles and shells that are about to land on their heads, one must consider the fact that not all of them will flee. It is not so easy to leave home - and who will save those fleeing from the dangers lying in wait along the road? It has happened, and recently, that South Lebanon's refugees were attacked and killed on their miserable way north, and in those cases too we really didn't mean it - sorry! - and we expressed regret.

The contemptible Hassan Nasrallah has also warned us here in northern Israel. He has launched about 2,000 warnings in the form of rockets at our address in the past 20 days, apparently expecting us to be gripped by terror and to get the hint. Some did not understand, didn't want to or couldn't understand it: the elderly and frail and sick and poor and disabled and children with special needs and their parents couldn't. Nor could the owners of chicken coops or orchards, still desperately hoping to save the remnants of their living. Nor could all sorts of stubborn, infuriatingly obstinate people - those not interested in being refugees in their own land.

Latest news

BBC

Israel has violated its own cease fire follozing the heinous massacre in Qana. Tsahal killed three Lebanese soldiers, and Amir Peretz (I remember secretly hoping he would be PM) expressed regret, as the army had thought they were Hezbollah militants...

If only the Lebanese army had super power backing and shipments of high tech war toys. Then perhaps it could fight back in 'self defense'...

Myth

Full article

But this claim is almost always false. My own reporting and that of other journalists reveals that in fact Hezbollah fighters -- as opposed to the much more numerous Hezbollah political members, and the vastly more numerous Hezbollah sympathizers -- avoid civilians. Much smarter and better trained than the PLO and Hamas fighters, they know that if they mingle with civilians, they will sooner or later be betrayed by collaborators -- as so many Palestinian militants have been.

For their part, the Israelis seem to think that if they keep pounding civilians, they'll get some fighters, too. The almost nightly airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut could be seen as making some sense, as the Israelis appear convinced there are command and control bunkers underneath the continually smoldering rubble. There were some civilian casualties the first few nights in places like Haret Hreik, but people quickly left the area to the Hezbollah fighters with their radios and motorbikes.But other attacks seem gratuitous, fishing expeditions, or simply intended to punish anything and anyone even vaguely connected to Hezbollah. Lighthouses, grain elevators, milk factories, bridges in the north used by refugees, apartment buildings partially occupied by members of Hezbollah's political wing -- all have been reduced to rubble. In the south, where Shiites dominate, just about everyone supports Hezbollah.

The nation is 40 percent Shiite, and of that 40 percent, tens of thousands are employed by Hezbollah's social services, political operations, schools, and other nonmilitary functions. The "terrorist" organization Hezbollah is Lebanon's second-biggest employer.

The Hezbollah guys, on the other hand, know that letting their fighters near outsiders of any kind -- journalists or Lebanese, even Hezbollah supporters -- is stupid.

Hezbollah's political members say they have little or no access to the workings of the fighters. This seems to be largely true: While they obviously hear and know more than the outside world, the firewall is strong. Israel, however, has chosen to treat the political members of Hezbollah as if they were fighters. And by targeting the civilian wing of the group, which supplies much of the humanitarian aid and social protection for the poorest people in the south, they are targeting civilians.

So the analysts talking on cable news about Hezbollah "hiding within the civilian population" clearly have spent little time if any in the south Lebanon war zone and don't know what they're talking about. Hezbollah doesn't trust the civilian population and has worked very hard to evacuate as much of it as possible from the battlefield.

Robert Fisk From Qana

Full article

The Israelis had dropped leaflets over Qana, ordering its people to leave their homes. Yet twice now since Israel's onslaught began, the Israelis have ordered villagers to leave their houses and then attacked them with aircraft as they obeyed the Israeli instructions and fled. There are at least 3,000 Shia Muslims trapped in villages between Qlaya and Aiteroun ­ close to the scene of Israel's last military incursion at Bint Jbeil ­ and yet none of them can leave without fear of dying on the roads.

On Thursday, the Israeli Army's Al-Mashriq radio, which broadcasts into southern Lebanon, told residents that their villages would be "totally destroyed" if missiles were fired from them. But anyone who has watched Israel's bombing these past two weeks knows that, in many cases, the Israelis do not know the location in which the Hizbollah are firing missiles, and ­ when they do ­ they frequently miss their targets. How can a villager prevent the Hizbollah from firing rockets from his street? The Hizbollah do take cover beside civilian houses ­ just as Israeli troops entering Bint Jbeil last week also used civilian homes for cover. But can this be the excuse for slaughter on such a scale?

Dissenting voice

Yaba Yaba

What now? Simple. Ulmert and Peretz are responsible. Ulmert and Peretz must go. If we Israelis want the world to know that this was not done in our name, that’s the only way to go.

Are we forgetting Gaza?

BBC

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed, many of them civilians, in Israeli air strikes and incursions since Palestinian militants kidnapped a young Israeli soldier more than a month ago.

The intense attacks on Lebanon have overshadowed the continuing violence in the Gaza Strip, the BBC's Arab affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhadi reports.