U.N.: Israeli airstrike hits U.N. observer post

[Bustem' Down]

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- An Israeli airstrike hit a United Nations post in southern Lebanon late Tuesday, killing at least two of the agency's observers, according to the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon.

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."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/25/mideast.main/index.html


Now, first off, I'm not a big fan of the UN. The idea is a good idea, but the current incarnation is weak, impotent, and ineffectual. Never the less, this is an example of why we should not implicitly trust Isreal. They are truly allies of convenance and Isreal does what's good for Isreal, they don't care about the world. In a way this mirrors what they did to the USS Liberty in 1967. I'm all for squashing Hezbollah, but I will never trust Isreal.

 

[vraiblonde]

They are truly allies of convenance

Aren't we all?

The UN, in my opinion, is a legitimate enemy target for Israel. Notice how quick Kofi Annan was to issue a statement saying it was "deliberate"? He has no way of knowing that at this point, but it didn't stop him from disparaging Israel.

And it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Hezzies ran into the building for protection and were given it by UN "peacekeepers". In a real war (not the kind that the US fights) wherever your enemy is holed up is a target. If they run into a school and hide behind school children, bye bye. If they run into a church, too bad. If they run into a UN building, sayonara.

Israeli civilians can't go anywhere in their own country without threat of attack from suicide bombers. Why should actual terrorists receive sanctuary?

 

[kwillia]

Aren't we all?

The UN, in my opinion, is a legitimate enemy target for Israel. Notice how quick Kofi Annan was to issue a statement saying it was "deliberate"? He has no way of knowing that at this point, but it didn't stop him from disparaging Israel.

And it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Hezzies ran into the building for protection and were given it by UN "peacekeepers". In a real war (not the kind that the US fights) wherever your enemy is holed up is a target. If they run into a school and hide behind school children, bye bye. If they run into a church, too bad. If they run into a UN building, sayonara.

Israeli civilians can't go anywhere in their own country without threat of attack from suicide bombers. Why should actual terrorists receive sanctuary?

Exactly!

 

[dck4shrt]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/25/mideast.main/index.html


Now, first off, I'm not a big fan of the UN. The idea is a good idea, but the current incarnation is weak, impotent, and ineffectual. Never the less, this is an example of why we should not implicitly trust Isreal. They are truly allies of convenance and Isreal does what's good for Isreal, they don't care about the world. In a way this mirrors what they did to the USS Liberty in 1967. I'm all for squashing Hezbollah, but I will never trust Isreal.

If the UN had done their job in the first place and actually enforced their own resolutions this would have never happened. None of it! Resolution 1559 has proven that the UN is a joke. Secondly, the UN has had these peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon since 1978. Since that time, they have done absolutely nothing to stop Hezbollah or to ensure that the Lebanese government actually controls its own border.

Each time that Kofi speaks out against Israel he loses credibility. The guy is such a dove, it's sickening. He'd rather keep a terrorist organization intact than protect the sovereign rights of one of his own member states. What a jackass.

 

[CrashTest]

If the UN had done their job in the first place and actually enforced their own resolutions this would have never happened. None of it!

Yep – and they’ve been calling those U.N. guys who got killed “peace keepers”. It’s like taking the L.A. riots, throwing one cop in the middle to “keep the peace”, and then blaming the rioters when the one and only cop gets trampled.

 

[vraiblonde]

It's somewhat ironic that two peacekeeping agents got caught in the crossfire of a war. Not doing their job very well, were they?

And Dck, I have no problem with Annan being a dove - that's what he's supposed to do. But he should be an impartial dove and not champion terrorists at the expense of a member nation.

 

[dck4shrt]

It's somewhat ironic that two peacekeeping agents got caught in the crossfire of a war. Not doing their job very well, were they?

And Dck, I have no problem with Annan being a dove - that's what he's supposed to do. But he should be an impartial dove and not champion terrorists at the expense of a member nation.

A dove is fine. He should be striving for peace around the world, looking out for the innocent guy and such. But you can't call for peace between a member of your own organization and a group hell-bent on wiping them off the face of the planet. You simply stand up and say, to hell with the terrorists and you back your boys.

 

[vraiblonde]

You simply stand up and say, to hell with the terrorists and you back your boys.

 

[dck4shrt]

If Annan was any kind of a world leader he would be out there rallying the rest of the UN members to send in more troops and equipment and whatever Israel needs to kill as many of these bastards as possible. Also, Bush shouldn't just be tacitly supporting Israel like this by stalling with the UN and EU for the inevitable cease fire. He should be whipping out his mantra right about now, the whole with us or against us deal, and line the UN and EU members up one by one to see who stands where.

 

[Larry Gude]

They're doing their job...

If the UN had done their job in the first place and actually enforced their own resolutions this would have never happened. None of it! Resolution 1559 has proven that the UN is a joke. Secondly, the UN has had these peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon since 1978. Since that time, they have done absolutely nothing to stop Hezbollah or to ensure that the Lebanese government actually controls its own border.

Each time that Kofi speaks out against Israel he loses credibility. The guy is such a dove, it's sickening. He'd rather keep a terrorist organization intact than protect the sovereign rights of one of his own member states. What a jackass.

...by doing nothing. The UN is the ultimate clearinghouse for inaction. It is the ultimate PR agency. It is about appearance in the hopes of buying time and/or political ground for the interested parties.

Look at it's makeup. It's a freaking dictators club. It's also a very anti Israel organization which is no coincidence.

I'm not saying this is strictly bad, but it is performing it's function; a place for nations to air their grievances, real or imagined. A place for deliberation. A place for tire kicking, resolution passing and posturing and photo opping.

What does our congress do, what do our politicians do when they really aren't interested in doing something? Form a committee. Initiate an investigation. Prepare reports.

That's the function of the UN for the world.

 

[dck4shrt]

Ok, then we'll just forget about the UN. What the US and Israel need to do is to look at all of the statements coming out from European, Arab, and Asian countries about Israel's action in Lebanon. Those that implicitly or explicitly state that the fighting immediately end, is disproportionate, and/or that Israel stop in its attempt to destroy terrorist infrastructure should be included as sponsors and promoters of terrorism. Just like what was demanded of the Taliban; either you work to stop the scourge of the earth or you idly watch it happen and by default bear responsibility.

 

[itsbob]

My question, and one I haven't seen an answer to yet, is where are these peace keepers from??

Could they have lost their neutrality and been providing targeting and movement data to the Hez?? Pakistani? Afghan? Indian? Any of them above doing that?

In that case all deals are off.

 

[dck4shrt]

My question, and one I haven't seen an answer to yet, is where are these peace keepers from??

Could they have lost their neutrality and been providing targeting and movement data to the Hez?? Pakistani? Afghan? Indian? Any of them above doing that?

In that case all deals are off.

The 4 dead peacekeepers were from China, Finland, Austria, and Canada. From what I can gather the UN group at the very least also included Irish and Indian personnel.

 

[Ken King]

The UN is nothing more than a feel-good lip service for the world. They will most certainly talk the talk and boldly declare the need to eliminate terrorism around the globe like it says on their site, but rarely act in the manner they say they will. the UN needs to get to the business of actually doing something about terrorism or just bow out of the way, keep quiet and let those being attacked protect themselves as they are able and as is their inherent right?

 

[dck4shrt]

I tell you what, if Kofi gets his cease-fire, and it doesn't stick because the crazy Hezzies can't lay off the Katyushas, then the IDF response will make what they're doing now look like child's play.

 

[Bustem' Down]

Aren't we all?

They are not our allies in the same sense the UK is. If the UN creates this "buffer zone" they keep talking about and US forces are part of the UN troops, Isreal will not hesitate to attack American forces if we are in thier way.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Recent developments in this story make everything pretty clear to me.

1. An email form one of the dead UN observers says that they complained for 6 hours about Israeli attacks that were close to the Post.
2. That same email states that Hezballah was firing rockets from 10 feet away from the UN post and that Hezballah quote"were all over the observation post"

Now to me that means that hezballah was hiding behind the UN flag , The UN knew hours before the hit that this was happening, Why werent they pulled out? If I was getting fired on for 6 hours , I would move. If the UN observers were watching al this time why havent they insisted that UN resolution 1559 was carried out. They have obviously been observing Hezballah build bunkers and carrying weapons in violation of 1559 and said nothing. Kofi Annan is very quick to jump on the anti-Israel bandwagon but he says nothing about violations of 1559. What we have in charge of the UN is bigoted, anti-semite ,Ghanan with the IQ of a 75 watt bulb who is no more qualified to lead a world organisation than Cynthia McKinney is qualified to be President of the FOP.

 

[ylexot]

Source?

 

[Railroad]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/25/mideast.main/index.html


Now, first off, I'm not a big fan of the UN. The idea is a good idea, but the current incarnation is weak, impotent, and ineffectual. Never the less, this is an example of why we should not implicitly trust Isreal. They are truly allies of convenance and Isreal does what's good for Isreal, they don't care about the world. In a way this mirrors what they did to the USS Liberty in 1967. I'm all for squashing Hezbollah, but I will never trust Isreal.

Trust or no trust, it would seem casual to the obvious observer that when the artillery and rockets are coming down around your ears, you should get your people together and get out of there. No doubt that's the answer the UN guys were getting from the Israelis via radio. And it would not surprise me to hear on the news someday that the hezbollah rocket launchers were positioned very close to the UN camp.

 

[Railroad]

Recent developments in this story make everything pretty clear to me.

1. An email form one of the dead UN observers says that they complained for 6 hours about Israeli attacks that were close to the Post.
2. That same email states that Hezballah was firing rockets from 10 feet away from the UN post and that Hezballah quote"were all over the observation post"

Now to me that means that hezballah was hiding behind the UN flag , The UN knew hours before the hit that this was happening, Why werent they pulled out? If I was getting fired on for 6 hours , I would move. If the UN observers were watching al this time why havent they insisted that UN resolution 1559 was carried out. They have obviously been observing Hezballah build bunkers and carrying weapons in violation of 1559 and said nothing. Kofi Annan is very quick to jump on the anti-Israel bandwagon but he says nothing about violations of 1559. What we have in charge of the UN is bigoted, anti-semite ,Ghanan with the IQ of a 75 watt bulb who is no more qualified to lead a world organisation than Cynthia McKinney is qualified to be President of the FOP.

OOPS! Should have read your post first. I rest my case.