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31. juli 2006
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The Security Council has threatened Iran that if it doesn't suspend uranium enrichment within a month, it will... issue another resolution. And, undoubtedly, yet another.
The UN Security Council has passed a resolution giving Iran a month to suspend uranium enrichment or face possible sanctions.
The resolution was passed by 14 votes to one, with Qatar the lone dissenter.
The resolution says "appropriate measures" will be taken if Iran does not comply, but does not threaten the immediate imposition of sanctions.
It is interesting to note that Qatar's argument for voting against this resolution, even as it agreed Iran should stop enrichment, was the current war in Lebanon. There are of course good reasons to believe Iran had its Hezbollah thugs start the current war for precisely that reason.
11:01:06 PM 
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The big story today is the excellent work Richard at EU Referendum has done putting together press photographs of the horrible carnage in Qana. Over several hours, one guy in particular (the guy with glasses, a green helmet and military colours under his fluorescent jacket), alleged to be a "rescuer," keeps parading a dead child to eager photographers from all the major press agencies.
There are lots of serious discrepancies in the reported timeline, in one case showing the child being displayed to journalists before it is allegedly pulled from the ruins. In another, a dead girl is still carried around hours after being photographed in an ambulance.
Read his whole account.
Whatever the truth about the horrors in Qana, the bodies are being used extensively for propaganda value by Hezbollah, and the press agencies and their photographers are eagerly participating in this sick parade of bodies, making propaganda photo-ops for terrorists instead of honestly reporting what is actually happening.
Amazingly, the same "helmet man" so prominantly displayed in yesterday's photographs, actually played exactly the same role when Qana was hit by Israeli fire in 1996!
On 18 April 1996, the village was also visited by death and destruction. re-visiting the photographs of the time, however, who do we see at the centre of the action? Why, "Green Helmet" of course. This is a younger man, without his glasses, but recognisably the same man, in his now classic pose of handling a victim of an Israeli "atrocity".
That is pretty mind-blowing.
Combining this with reports alleging the Qana structure fell as much as eight hours after Israel hit it, a number of bloggers are suspicious that Hezbollah pulled this explosion off themselves. I think we should be very careful about such allegations, but there are certainly enough facts that raises questions. Unfortunately, with the village in Hezbollah hands and journalists eagerly participating in Hezbollah's propaganda, it's hard to see how we can find out the truth here.
9:20:07 PM
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Civilians in southern Lebanon wisely use the brief halt in major attacks to flee the area.
Thousands of civilians trapped for nearly three weeks in south Lebanon's war zone streamed north Monday by truck, car and on foot, seizing the chance to flee during a brief halt in Israeli airstrikes.Israel's prime minister said there would be no cease-fire in the fight against Hezbollah.
The reports of a 48 hour ceasefire were misleading, however. The attacks still continue.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to a 48-hour halt in the airstrikes beginning at 2 a.m. Monday while the military concludes its inquiry into the attack on the south Lebanese village of Qana.
But Israel left open the option it might hit targets to stop imminent attacks or if the military completed its inquiry within 48 hours.
Monday's airstrikes near the village of Taibe were meant to protect ground forces operating in the area and were not targeting anyone or anything specific, the army said.
Hezbollah, obviously, has no plans to stop its operations.
8:59:11 PM
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French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy says Iran plays a stabilizing role in the Middle East.
"It was clear that we could never accept a destabilization of Lebanon, which could lead to a destabilization of the region," Douste-Blazy said in Beirut.
"In the region there is of course a country such as Iran - a great country, a great people and a great civilization which is respected and which plays a stabilizing role in the region," he told a news conference.
That's an odd description for the world's number one state sponsor of terrorism.
6:54:04 PM
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After sharp condemnations all around over the killings in the village of Qana, the Israeli government agrees to a 48-hour pause in air attacks.
An Israeli government official confirmed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to a 48-hour halt in airstrikes on Lebanon. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to talk to reporters
This should give time for evacuations and humanitarian supplies. Unfortunately, it will also give Hezbollah time to regroup and possibly resupply, not to mention it will be interpreted as a victory for the human shields tactic.
PS: The Israeli military says this particular building in Qana actually collapsed around eight hours after Israel hit it, and have problems explaining why.
"The attack on the structure in the Qana village took place between midnight and one in the morning. The gap between the timing of the collapse of the building and the time of the strike on it is unclear," Brigadier General Amir Eshel, Head of the Air Force Headquarters told journalists at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, following the incidents at Qana.
Eshel and the head of the IDF's Operational Branch, Major General Gadi Eisnkot said the structure was not being attacked when it collapsed, at around 8:00 in the morning.
The IDF believes that Hizbullah explosives in the building were behind the explosion that caused the collapse.
Another possibility is that the rickety building remained standing for a few hours, but eventually collapsed. "It could be that inside the building, things that could eventually cause an explosion were being housed, things that we could not blow up in the attack, and maybe remained there, Brigadier General Eshel said.
"I'm saying this very carefully, because at this time I don't have a clue as to what the explanation could be for this gap," he added.
The IDF also says it has accounted for all the munitions that hit targets in the Qana area, and all targets were carefully sifted. Hezbollah has fired around 150 rockets at Israel from the village and its surroundings, which also contain much terrorist infrastructure.
Update: Israel says the 48-hour period is no ceasefire. In fact, it is not clear it is anything at all.
The government source said that the IAF had been told to continue acting against "targets that present a threat to Israel and its troops, including rocket launchers, vehicles transporting ammunition, Hezbollah fighters, weapons stores and Hezbollah assets."
The term "Hezbollah assets" refers to people identified with the organization, including those who do not pose an immediate threat. "If they are identified with Hassan Nasrallah, we will hit them," the source said.
Regarding the instructions to the IAF, the source said, however, "there will be no attacks on buildings that had not been identified" as part of efforts to strike Israel, and held, for example, ammunition, Hezbollah fighters or their commanders."
So it's more like a scaleback than a pause.
1:41:29 AM
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© Copyright 2006 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.08.2006; 03:49:05.
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