tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post115375587219161583..comments2024-03-23T02:40:59.858-05:00Comments on The Lebanese Bloggers: Rice in BeirutRajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625042447499335907noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1154118822104724562006-07-28T15:33:00.000-05:002006-07-28T15:33:00.000-05:00Natalie, child, you are living in fairy-tale land....Natalie, child, you are living in fairy-tale land.<BR/><BR/>With apologies to Bad Vilbel, et. al., you Lebanese have clearly not been up to the task of controlling your country, let alone protecting it. You have failed to keep a single promise, be it internal (Ta'if) or external (1559). And you have, in fact, been begging for foreign protection for weeks now.<BR/><BR/>Israel doesn't care what you think of them or whether you care about their opinions. They would, like anyone, prefer to be liked, but if you cannot keep your hands to yourself, they'll settle for you sulking on your side of the border after they give you the bitchslapping of your life. <BR/><BR/>You're a brave little country, but you're not strong and every word of your little screed here reveals that you mistake ego for pride. You didn't drive the Israelis out in 2000, we told them to leave. They lived up to their end of UNR 1559 while you jumped up and down chanting 'nyah nyah nyah.' And, now that they've put you over their collective knee and are giving you a resounding spanking (without, I might add, the use of a single internationally-prohibited weapon), you're crying for mommy. Again.<BR/><BR/>Lastly, the term 'Nazi' has an actual meaning, and it isn't 'I think you're a big meanie.' When you use it as a general epithet, you demonstrate only that you're ignorant and immature.Achilleahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05468205566009535340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153878787407778922006-07-25T20:53:00.000-05:002006-07-25T20:53:00.000-05:00Countless sects who have never really had a strong...<I>Countless sects who have never really had a strong sense of patriotism to the country first, but rather have traditionally offered their loyalties to their own sects and tribes (and this goes for sunnis, shias, christians, druze, etc.)<BR/><BR/>I realize this might seem like a tangent, but I dont think people from the outside grasp the kind of mess you can get into, setting the Army against Hezbollah.</I><BR/><BR/>I don't think it's a tangent at all, I think it goes to the heart of the matter. Tribalism is the very essence of the problem. America is made up of 50 states, with people of all religions (including none) and of every ethnic group imaginable. We take pride in their disparate roots, but we take pride above all in being American and our military reflects that. This wasn't always the case -- about 150 years ago we had a Civil War. It was that or split the country in two, and ultimately the choice made us the strong union we are today, but it came at a cost hundreds of thousands crippled or killed, plus horrific devastation of both cities and farmland. <BR/><BR/>I'm hoping and praying it doesn't come down to that for Lebanon, but it well might. For all the posturing it does to dupe people like stan into believing it's some noble 'Lebanese resistance,' Hezballah isn't loyal to Lebanon or see itself as being answerable to Lebanon. They've made that abundantly plain in both word and deed. (Paraphrasing Milton, they would rather reign in hell than serve in heaven). The rest of you are going to have to make a choice -- allow yourselves to be enslaved by an upstart minority, split the country in two, or remind Hezballah (by force, if necessary) that they are only a small part of a far greater whole. <BR/><BR/>"A house divided against itself cannot stand."<BR/><BR/>(btw, for future reference, I am a 'she')Achilleahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05468205566009535340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153852098437625272006-07-25T13:28:00.000-05:002006-07-25T13:28:00.000-05:00Did Condi even bother to tour the devastation???? ...Did Condi even bother to tour the devastation???? Have not seen any indication of this.Hallahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06696316035965688470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153848125027911142006-07-25T12:22:00.000-05:002006-07-25T12:22:00.000-05:00Skymuse,I think you are correct. And I think this ...Skymuse,<BR/><BR/>I think you are correct. And I think this is exactly what is happening now. If you read past the rethoric.<BR/><BR/>The Lebanese government was told yesterday by Rice exactly how things will be going down:<BR/>- Buffer zone.<BR/>- International force.<BR/>- HA disarmed.<BR/><BR/>and so on...<BR/><BR/>No government who's territory is currently under attack can come out and say "We like what the Israelis are doing."<BR/>That's just in bad taste.<BR/><BR/>But I wouldn't be surprised if Condi's visit yesterday was very much of the *wink wink nudge nudge* variety.<BR/>"We know you have to act incensed that you're country is being bombed, Mr. Saniora. Give it another week and we'll have the international force lined up and the buffer zone created."<BR/>In the end this accomplishes what the Lebanese government was not capable of doing over the past year, through the national dialogue (mainly because HA does not "dialogue").Bad Vilbelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105183588601083761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153837623360052332006-07-25T09:27:00.000-05:002006-07-25T09:27:00.000-05:00One thing I think a lot of people miss in the disc...One thing I think a lot of people miss in the discussion is that THIS IS WAR.<BR/><BR/>Regardless of who did what to whom last week/year/decade/century, the simple fact of the matter is that the Israeli war machine has been awakened and is pounding Lebanon. Lebanon is losing. Right now.<BR/><BR/>There is one way for the losing side in a war to stop the pounding -- meet the terms of surrender. The time for talking has passed and it is now a matter of violence on whatever scale the stronger side wishes to dish out until victory has been achieved.<BR/><BR/>Only after the weaker side gives in will there be talking again.<BR/><BR/>If Lebanon wants this to stop, you have to work against HA and get your government to meet Israel's conditions. HA has to be disarmed/disbanded (not sure of the exact term), HA must be withdrawn from south Lebanon, and the kidnapped soldiers must be returned safely.<BR/><BR/>Three steps to immediate peace. It doesn't have to involve Syria, Iran, US, UN, or anyone else.<BR/><BR/>Whether Israel is justified in its action or not, the biggest fact on the table is that they will not let up until the conditions are met. If you want this current war to cease, you have to surrender -- it is unlikely Lebanon will muster the force to beat Israel back.<BR/><BR/>As always, my best wishes for those caught in the middle, on both sides.Skymusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01995702509294854444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153809329459828282006-07-25T01:35:00.000-05:002006-07-25T01:35:00.000-05:00i hate this war (as i keep on saying) but i cant h...i hate this war (as i keep on saying) but i cant help feeling that something good may yet come of this.. that people may finally wake up to the stupidity of violence - renounce it - and finally move into the modern world..<BR/><BR/>deeply encouraged by the loudening voices for peace.. while fully recognising that the journey is long.. <BR/><BR/>keep it loud guys!<BR/><BR/>wishing peace and friendship to us all<BR/><BR/>lirun<BR/>telaviv<BR/>www.emspeace.blogspot.com<BR/>the east mediterranean has washed enough blood and hatredLirunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16165940866092660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153795784761899812006-07-24T21:49:00.000-05:002006-07-24T21:49:00.000-05:00fightingsullivan,You're suggesting civil war. As A...fightingsullivan,<BR/><BR/>You're suggesting civil war. As Achillea mentioned earlier in his/her post about Ben Gurion and 1948, it is NEVER wise to arm "groups of people". That's how we got into our 1975 civil war in Lebanon.<BR/><BR/>The issue here that many non-Lebanese fail to grasp is that Hezbollah, no matter how much we might hate them, are part of Lebanese society (specially the Shia community). I explained in earlier posts that they bought the loyalty of the shia community over the years, by spending a lot of money, building hospitals, education, etc.<BR/><BR/>Lebanese society, from the get go, is unlike many western states in its makeup. It's a lot like Iraq, actually. Countless sects who have never really had a strong sense of patriotism to the country first, but rather have traditionally offered their loyalties to their own sects and tribes (and this goes for sunnis, shias, christians, druze, etc.)<BR/><BR/>I realize this might seem like a tangent, but I dont think people from the outside grasp the kind of mess you can get into, setting the Army against Hezbollah. For starters, there are a lot of Shia in the army. You expect them to fight what might be a relative? a brother? They'd probably desert the army. And the Shia community would undoubtedly <BR/><BR/>The reason I brought up the settler movement in Israel as an analogy, is for that parallel. I don't think this would happen. But hypothetically, if the settlers took up arms (and they are armed, last i checked) and refused to be evacuated from the West Bank. And the IDF was sent to remove them by force. You think that wouldn't risk severly dividing Israeli society? I think that would be a TERRIBLE thing right there. I suspect countless soldiers in the IDF have a brother or a cousin who's a settler...You think they'd be as happy to drop bombs on those guys as they dropping bombs on South Lebanon? I highly doubt that.Bad Vilbelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105183588601083761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153794369824022252006-07-24T21:26:00.000-05:002006-07-24T21:26:00.000-05:00disarming Hizballah, and deploying the Lebanese Ar...<I>disarming Hizballah, and deploying the Lebanese Army to the South would constitute a second, strictly Lebanese phase, that would play out in the National Dialogue Round Table.</I><BR/><BR/>Very interesting phrasing, obviously a way to avoid rejecting UNSC 1559 directly. However, it's clear that the implementation of 1559 would be up to Lebanese exclusively. Since the credibility of Lebanon's gov't to bring this about is zero or less, this isn't enough, and Israel is, in effect, given an incentive to pursue its operations until Hez is to weak to matter -- the Lebanese gov't will scarcely do anything otherwise.Solomon2https://www.blogger.com/profile/15341059223792174505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153789586642310302006-07-24T20:06:00.000-05:002006-07-24T20:06:00.000-05:00people like berri should have no say in lebanons f...people like berri should have no say in lebanons future, he is a vestige of the bad pastLycanthropyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03438538776905189616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153787763397790932006-07-24T19:36:00.000-05:002006-07-24T19:36:00.000-05:00Unfortunately, that was 1948 and it was ONE ship. ...<I>Unfortunately, that was 1948 and it was ONE ship. It's far easier to deal with ONE ship than it is with a whole militia who is already on the ground and who is armed by a couple of foreign countries (Iran/Syria).</I><BR/><BR/>True, and I didn't mean to say I felt the situations were exactly the same. I was just trying to demonstrate to arabgirl that it's not like the Israelis have never considered the situation in that light. There are more modern and probably closer equivalents in the Israeli government's treatment of the Kach/Kahane movement, but it also has never enjoyed the support of more than a tiny fraction of the population -- certainly nothing like Hezballah's base. <BR/><BR/>At this point, the woulda-coulda-shoulda blame for Hezballah's presence and strength is pretty much spilt milk. It will matter later, when it comes time to prevent it happening again, but right now we need to deal with the fact of their presence and strength. Everything I've read and seen strongly suggests that, militarily, the Lebanese Army isn't strong enough to take Hezballah. Estimates of the exact percentages vary, but a significant proportion seems to either sympathize with or fear Hez. And, even if the united will and discipline were there, Hezballah is better armed and possibly better trained. <BR/><BR/>At the moment, the IDF/IAF are changing that equation, chewing up Hezballah's men, materiel, and money. There will come a point, though, where they've done all that they can do. That's when it's going to fall to the Lebanese to show the same strength and courage that they showed in the Cedar Revolution and take full control of their country. It's going to be hard and I don't envy you, but we supported you then and we support you now -- that's why Condi's there.Achilleahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05468205566009535340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153785822022601602006-07-24T19:03:00.000-05:002006-07-24T19:03:00.000-05:00-Arabs will never understand the language of viole...<I>-Arabs will never understand the language of violence.</I><BR/><BR/>Arab society is based on understanding absolutely nothing else. It took being beaten absolutely bloody to teach Jordan and Egypt not to mess with Israel, no 'striking again' from them. And there's a lot of the usual fiery bombast from Syria, but you'll notice they haven't actually <I>done</I> anything. The IDF taught them their place years ago and now they're just a yappy little dog that barks its fool head off while hiding under the couch. In fact, <I>none</I> of your 'fearless Arab brothers' have exactly been rushing to aid the 'noble resistance' against those scary Zionists. They have, in fact, thrown the lot of you under the bus rather than receive another spanking by the IDF. Even the Hez in northern Lebanon are showing a distinct reluctance to head south. And here you are making a fool of yourself ranting about your indomitable will. Don't kid yourself, Arabs understand the language of violence just fine.Achilleahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05468205566009535340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153784873987136432006-07-24T18:47:00.000-05:002006-07-24T18:47:00.000-05:00Stan, I beg to differ re: "The only outcome of thi...Stan, I beg to differ re: "The only outcome of this war..." comment.<BR/>I think Israel, whether we like it or not, has actually forced the hand of HA and forced both Lebanon and the international community to take care of the HA problem ASAP.<BR/>This was not happening prior to these events. The Lebanese government was unable to move against HA, and things would've stayed exactly as they were for a long time.<BR/><BR/>Don't get me wrong. I don't like for one bit that my country is being destroyed, or that people are being killed. But let's hope that this mess DOES accomplish something that wasn't gonna happen otherwise: The disarming of HA.Bad Vilbelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105183588601083761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153784633474560232006-07-24T18:43:00.000-05:002006-07-24T18:43:00.000-05:00Good story Achillea.Unfortunately, that was 1948 a...Good story Achillea.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, that was 1948 and it was ONE ship. It's far easier to deal with ONE ship than it is with a whole militia who is already on the ground and who is armed by a couple of foreign countries (Iran/Syria).<BR/><BR/>Ben Gurion was wise to do what he did at the time. But he also didn't have 30 years of foreign occupation that had infiltrated every aspect of society (as the Syrian and the Hezbollah have) to contend with.<BR/><BR/>Your point does stand though. Lebanon IS learning this lesson today.Bad Vilbelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105183588601083761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153784054452217012006-07-24T18:34:00.000-05:002006-07-24T18:34:00.000-05:00arabgirl,Israel already faced that very situation ...arabgirl,<BR/><BR/>Israel already faced that very situation in the Altalena case. You can read all the details <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altalena" REL="nofollow">here</A>, but I'll summarize:<BR/>In June of 1948, when Israel was still a weak, fledgling state in a sea of enemies, a ship called the Altalena arrived loaded with weapons, ammunition, and hundreds of Jewish Irgun militiamen. When they were forbidden to operate independently and instructed to turn over their weapons to the IDF, they refused. Ben-Gurion had the ship sunk. In doing so, he risked civil war and cost Israel men and munitions she sorely needed. Still, he did it, because he knew something then that Lebanon is learning at great cost now -- a sovereign government cannot, <I>absolutely cannot</I> allow an independent armed group to operate in or from its territory. Even if that group claims to have or actually has goals similar to the government's. Even if shutting down that group is unpopular or outright dangerous. The government that fails to do so is just a fiction.Achilleahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05468205566009535340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153782658160774432006-07-24T18:10:00.000-05:002006-07-24T18:10:00.000-05:00Take away those excuses, Hizbullah will loose any ...<I>Take away those excuses, Hizbullah will loose any internal cover.</I><BR/><BR/>This is a pipe dream, Stan. Even if all Hezballah's fabricated grievances were met, they would just gin up more, all the while strutting around making more converts with their bright, shiny 'heroes of Lebanon' street cred. And, when they decided they didn't need to let Lebanon maintain the fiction of self-determination any more, they would simply take over. Hezballah is a bully and <I>bullies don't need excuses</I>.<BR/><BR/>Lebanon has made mistakes. Some with good intentions, some with bad, some in simple ignorance or inability. This one seems to be a confluence of all three, with a bit of sheer bad luck thrown in. People make mistakes, so do countries. It's a part of life. When you make one, you can rail and cry and try to deny it ... or you can deal with it. <BR/>1) Face up to it. <BR/>2) Try to fix it as best you can, even if that means asking for help.<BR/>3) Extract whatever positive you can from it.<BR/>4) Take steps to prevent making it again.Achilleahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05468205566009535340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153780705651486842006-07-24T17:38:00.000-05:002006-07-24T17:38:00.000-05:00Nassur,I don't have an answer based in fact. I hav...Nassur,<BR/><BR/>I don't have an answer based in fact. I have been living abroad for about 20 years so I am not too familiar with Bint Jbail and what happened there after 2000.<BR/><BR/>I would speculate what seems to be common sense. After Israel pulled out in 2000, HA kinda took over the entire south (christian parts included, and not always with the acceptance of the civilian populace).<BR/><BR/>I don't particularly think Bint Jbeil is any more or less pro-Hezbollah than anywhere else. Remember, a lot of what we hear in the media is propaganda too.<BR/><BR/><BR/>And you are correct in that the 'social services" provided by both Hamas in Gaza and HA in South Lebanon have a lot to do with why people support them. And guess what? When these same hospitals and schools are bombed by Israel, HA gets to tell these folks "See? Israel is teh bad guy. They don't want you to have schools and hospitals." thus perpetuating the hatred.<BR/><BR/>This is why it is very important to look past the current conflict and start thinking about solutions to the social fabric of Lebanon.<BR/>This is also why it would've been so hard for the Lebanese government to uproot HA on its own, without a civil war ensuing.<BR/><BR/>People who keep repeating "The Lebanese government should've taken care of HA." keep missing this point.<BR/><BR/>I'll make the following analogy (to a degree): How easy is it for the Israeli army to take on the Settlers in the West Bank without risking some form of civil war?Bad Vilbelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105183588601083761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153780529403880502006-07-24T17:35:00.000-05:002006-07-24T17:35:00.000-05:00i dont care who has done what.. my friends up nort...i dont care who has done what.. my friends up north wont host me because they fear for my safety if i visit them and at the same time my lebanese friends cant find some of their family members and friends.. this is intolerable in the 21st century.. this violence is barbaric primitive and vile..<BR/><BR/>israel is one of the most sophisticated nations on earth.. i cant believe that we cant find smarter ways..<BR/><BR/>this is so not "or lagoyim"<BR/><BR/>wishing peace to all<BR/><BR/>lirun<BR/>tel-aviv<BR/>www.emspeace.blogspot.comLirunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16165940866092660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153780197592335112006-07-24T17:29:00.000-05:002006-07-24T17:29:00.000-05:00Good night people. For all we disagree, there is a...Good night people. For all we disagree, there is a lot to be said about our ability to talk freely while our countries are at war.stillruleallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08514440202758418728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153779792148159282006-07-24T17:23:00.000-05:002006-07-24T17:23:00.000-05:00"There are those who view HA as a benefactor...The..."There are those who view HA as a benefactor...The Shia in the south of Lebanon."<BR/><BR/>So how did Israel get screwed with all the Shia living in the South!! The Sunni should move there, and we can both have some quiet for once!!stillruleallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08514440202758418728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153779448876461392006-07-24T17:17:00.000-05:002006-07-24T17:17:00.000-05:00We have already offered Lebanon Samir in exchange ...We have already offered Lebanon Samir in exchange for Ron Arad. We have been waiting for him to be returned for twenty years. <BR/><BR/>We don't give HA an excuse to fight. We were sitting peacefully when our cities got rained on by rockets and our soldiers were taken. Following which sort of logic does it make sense to let an enemy shoot rockets at you and sapture your soldiers without fighting back? <BR/><BR/>As far as exchanging prisoners, that is one of the dumbest things Israel has ever done, and I'm glad we finally had the balls to say no. Prisoner exchanges encourages HA and the PA to kidnap more of our soldiers. If they knew we would never negotiate, they wouldnt be encouraged to try and take them.stillruleallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08514440202758418728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153779287878984822006-07-24T17:14:00.000-05:002006-07-24T17:14:00.000-05:00stillruleall said "It sounds like you think it was...stillruleall said <B>"It sounds like you think it was a good thing Israel invaded...<BR/><BR/>On CNN they had many Lebanese talking about how wonderful HA is, and how they have great social services, etc. I hope that is the view of a small minority."</B><BR/><BR/>Please read what i posted earlier: <I>HA, with the money they got from Iran, spent the majority of the past 10-15 years providing for the Shia community in the south, when no one else would (including the Sunnis and Christian elites in the rest of the country).<BR/>We both know why HA did this, as a way to buy legitimacy with the Shia. And we have to accept the reality that whether we like it or not, they succeeded. They bought the shia's loyalty by providing healthcare, education, whatever...<BR/>That is something we have to deal with, internally, to win the Shia's loyalty back to the Lebanese State.<BR/></I><BR/><BR/>There are those who view HA as a benefactor, for the reasons i stated above. I would argue this is a view that's exclusive to one community alone: The Shia in the south of Lebanon.<BR/>It is up to us, with help from the rest of the world to win these folks back from the lies and deceit of HA.Bad Vilbelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105183588601083761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153779010724041082006-07-24T17:10:00.000-05:002006-07-24T17:10:00.000-05:00I was going to respond to some of the questions in...I was going to respond to some of the questions in here, but the discussion just devolved into idiotic namecalling again....Bad Vilbelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105183588601083761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153776964320418022006-07-24T16:36:00.000-05:002006-07-24T16:36:00.000-05:00bad vilbel:"Hopefully, Israel has now forced this ...bad vilbel:<BR/>"Hopefully, Israel has now forced this issue and we'll have some way to disarm HA without ending up in a civil war"<BR/><BR/>It sounds like you think it was a good thing Israel invaded...<BR/><BR/>On CNN they had many Lebanese talking about how wonderful HA is, and how they have great social services, etc. I hope that is the view of a small minority.stillruleallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08514440202758418728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153776276100098472006-07-24T16:24:00.000-05:002006-07-24T16:24:00.000-05:00Nassur,You are correct. Lebanon is trying to be a ...Nassur,<BR/><BR/>You are correct. Lebanon is trying to be a Democracy. It's only been a year since Syria left (leaving behind agents and proxies, mind you). We were still in the process of figuring out this democracy business. And you are correct HA does represent some people here (just like Israel has certain extremist movements as well).<BR/><BR/>As for your point about "if I was Lebanese, I wouldn't care less about how my country is viewed in Israeli eyes." That's easy to say when you're in a strong powerfull country.<BR/>When you're weak, you have to care how others perceive you. You have to rely on others for aid (so you dont wanna be seen as hostile, or terror-friendly). You have to rely on goodwill and peaceful intentions (so you don't get bombed). So yes, it is important what others think of us. Sadly. We can't afford not to care.Bad Vilbelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105183588601083761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1153774397341994862006-07-24T15:53:00.000-05:002006-07-24T15:53:00.000-05:00Shlomi said "do you believe that the lebanon publi...Shlomi said <I>"do you believe that the lebanon public can convince or force the hiz' to accept (2) without causing (1) ?"</I><BR/><BR/>BINGO!<BR/><BR/>THIS is why Lebanon was unable to disarm HA, even though we all knew it was the right thing to do.<BR/><BR/>Hopefully, Israel has now forced this issue and we'll have some way to disarm HA without ending up in a civil war (A civil war, which btw, would not benefit Israel either).Bad Vilbelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105183588601083761noreply@blogger.com