Published by Antony Loewenstein July 29th, 2006 in Israel
Robert Fisk, The Independent, July 27:
Is it possible - is it conceivable - that Israel is losing its war in Lebanon?
From this hill village in the south of the country, I am watching the
clouds of brown and black smoke rising from its latest disaster in the
Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil: up to 13 Israeli soldiers dead, and others
surrounded, after a devastating ambush by Hizbollah guerrillas in what
was supposed to be a successful Israeli military advance against a
“terrorist centre”.
To my left smoke rises too, over the town of Khiam, where a smashed
United Nations outpost remains the only memorial to the four UN
soldiers - most of them decapitated by an American-made missile on
Tuesday - killed by the Israeli air force.
Indian soldiers of the UN army in southern Lebanon, visibly moved by
the horror of bringing their Canadian, Fijian, Chinese and Austrian
comrades back in at least 20 pieces from the clearly marked UN post
next to Khiam prison, left their remains at Marjayoun hospital
yesterday.
In past years, I have spent hours with their comrades in this UN
position, which is clearly marked in white and blue paint, with the
UN’s pale blue flag opposite the Israeli frontier. Their duty was to
report on all they saw: the ruthless Hizbollah missile fire out of
Khiam and the brutal Israeli response against the civilians of Lebanon.
Is this why they had to die, after being targeted by the Israelis for
eight hours, their officers pleading to the Israeli Defence Forces that
they cease fire? An American-made Israeli helicopter saw to that.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s Prime Minister displays a modicum of independence on
Israel’s war in Lebanon and he’s labelled an “anti-Semite” by the
Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean (heading a party on the road to
irrelevance). “We don’t need to spend $200 and $300 and $500 billion
bringing democracy to Iraq to turn it over to people who believe that
Israel doesn’t have a right to defend itself and who refuse to condemn
Hezbollah”, he said.
What an ungrateful little puppet.
A war without end
Taken verbatum from the website of Antony Loewenstein, a Sydney-based journalist, author and blogger and author of "My Israel Question"
the will of the people .....
‘With a few words, a Lebanese army officer destroyed, the day before yesterday, the illusion that Israel had achieved anything in this war.
At a televised Lebanese army parade that was also broadcast on Israeli TV, the officer read a prepared text to his assembled troops, who were about to be deployed along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
This is what he said in Arabic: "Today, in the name of the comprehensive will of the people, you are preparing to be deployed on the soil of the wounded South, side by side with the forces of your Resistance and your people, which have amazed the world with their steadfastness and blown to pieces the reputation of the army about which it has been said that it is invincible."
In simple language: "the comprehensive will of the people" – the will of all parts of the Lebanese public, including the Shiite community. "Side by side with the Resistance": side by side with Hizbullah. "Which have amazed the world with their steadfastness": the heroism of the Hizbullah fighters. "Blown to pieces the reputation of the army about which it has been said that it is invincible": the Israeli army.’
The 155th Victim