26. juli 2006

Four UN observers killed in Lebanon UN observers were killed during fighting between Hezbollah and the IDF near a UNIFIL observation post in southern Lebanon. The U.N. initially reported that four peacekeepers were dead, but later said there were two dead and two missing. The observers were Austrian, Finnish, Canadian and Chinese, Lebanese security sources said. [...] UNIFIL sent a rescue-and-medical team to the city of Khiyam, and the team was trying to clear rubble early Wednesday. Attacks in the vicinity continued as rescuers tried to reach those killed or injured, UNIFIL said. UNIFIL said there had been at least 14 incidents of fire close to the post since Tuesday afternoon. [...] U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was "deeply distressed" by the "apparently deliberate" strike. "This coordinated artillery and aerial attack on a long-established and clearly marked U.N. post at Khiyam occurred despite personal assurances given to me by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that U.N. positions would be spared Israeli fire," he said in a statement. "Furthermore, General Alain Pelligrini, the U.N. force commander in south Lebanon, had been in repeated contact with Israeli officers throughout the day on Tuesday, stressing the need to protect that particular U.N. position from attack." Israel has responded angrily to the "outragous" early conclusion from Kofi Annan. Obviously, if the IDF targeted the area it was because enemy units were close by. Whatever one thinks about the IDF, it would not take all day to hit the observation post if that was the actual objective. If Hezbollah forces chose the post as a shield against Israeli fire, Kofi Annan should direct his ire at them. Other reports say the observation post was from UNTSO (I bet most people never heard about it!), the first peacekeeping mission the UN ever established, in 1948. Since UN missions never end, it is still there. The acronym UNIFIL actually means United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, yet was established in 1978 and is still there, providing terrorist cover and sometimes even aiding Hezbollah directly in its attacks on Israel. In other developments, there are reports of the IDF suffering heavy casualties fighting Hezbollah in and near the terrorist stronghold Bint Jbail. The Associated Press says that as many as 14 Israeli soldiers were killed. Update: The IDF suffered nine killed and 27 wounded in fighting yesterday, most in Bint Jbail. 4:16:51 PM    comment []  trackback []

Saddam asks for firing squad Saddam Hussein said in court today he'd like to be executed by firing squad instead of hanging as has been common in Iraq. "I ask you being an Iraqi person that if you reach a verdict of death, execution, remember that I am a military man and should be killed by firing squad," he said. Would only be fair, I think, to grant that request. 3:08:30 PM    comment []  trackback []

Poll: Americans remember WMDs found in Iraq Oh my. Some people pay attention to the news: Half of Americans now say Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when the United States invaded the country in 2003 -- up from 36 percent last year, a Harris poll finds. Pollsters deemed the increase both "substantial" and "surprising" in light of persistent press reports to the contrary in recent years.  The survey did not speculate on what caused the shift in opinion, which supports President Bush's original rationale for going to war. Respondents were questioned in early July after the release of a Defense Department intelligence report that revealed coalition forces recovered 500 aging chemical weapons containing mustard or sarin gas nerve agents in Iraq. There is no doubt whatsoever Iraq had WMDs, and much more importantly, some WMD programmes in a dormant state. This doesn't change the fact that almost everything stated about Iraq's WMD stockpiles before the war was totally bonkers, and that the chemical weapons actually found were by then probably less dangerous than the green, hairy stuff in the back of your refrigerator. Then again, if you are asked a simple question "did Iraq have WMDs" then the correct answer is clearly yes. The press may not like it, but it is a fact. It ruins a good slogan, but not the argument. 2:36:23 AM    comment []  trackback []

Hezbollah didn't expect serious response Hezbollah was surprised by Israel's strong response: A senior Hezbollah official said Tuesday the guerrilla group did not expect Israel to react so strongly to its capture of two Israeli soldiers. Mahmoud Komati, deputy chief of Hezbollah's political arm, also told The Associated Press in an interview that his group will not lay down arms. "The truth is - let me say this clearly - we didn't even expect (this) response.... that (Israel) would exploit this operation for this big war against us," said Komati. He said Hezbollah had expected "the usual, limited response" from Israel to the July 12 cross-border raid, in which three Israelis were killed.  Appears it wasn't only Israel that was caught by surprise, then. 2:18:32 AM    comment []  trackback []

The highs and the lows An awesome roundup of blog scandals, blogger scalps, of course leading up to lefty blogger Glenn Greenwald's exposure as a sock puppeteer at Hotair. Great fun. I wished I had time to keep track of these things now. 2:15:09 AM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2006 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.08.2006; 17:38:48.