Hasbara: some critical links for clarity on the Israeli Lebanon war
This is a longer post than usual. It is a compilation of links and articles which a friend sent me and which I edited somewhat and am posting here for your edification. These are important. Please read and click on at least some of them. I promise you, you will not regret it.
(Hat Tip to my friend Maddy in London, UK, who did all the compilation work).
Firstly, I would like to thank all my readers who come from כל רחבי העולם - the far reaches of the world, including Bourg-la-Reine, Ile-de-France; Ratingen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, Haifa, Israel, Washington, D.C. , Sunnyvale, CA, Villawood New South Wales, Australia and Brooklyn, New York - to name just a few. You are the reason I continue blogging, and I thank you so much for your visits - keep 'em coming (and bring your friends, if you have any) :- )
Now for the subject of this post; below are various links to articles and videos illustrating the side of this war which you rarely see in the media: The Truth of what is happening with Israel fighting in Lebanon, and why. Especially read the article below by Dr. Vernon Chong, Major-General, USAF, Retired. It is about the war in Iraq, but it is exactly the same as if it were written about the Israeli war in Lebanon. Read it, and think 'Israel' when you read "United States", and 'Hizbollah' or Hamas' or Arab Terror Groups' or 'Lebanon' or 'Syria' or 'Iran', when you read "Iraq".
I have links to The Muqata and Varifrank on my 'links' list in the sidebar.
Bold type and italics are mine. I welcome your comments.
re: Israel's self-defense against Hizbullah in Lebanon - a collection of links and articles, etc. mostly around Qana, and very informative. Combination of evidence and opinion:Where the material comes from e-mails and not links, they have been cut and pasted. Best site on what is going on in the war minute by minute: http://muqata.blogspot.com/Interesting outlook on strategy: http://varifrank.com/archives/2006/07/things_are_not.php If you did not see the BBC Panorama broadcast Faith, Hate and Charity, you should take the time to watch it in full to the very end: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/default.stm If you click on this link and scroll down to the box and click play, you will see video footage of Katyushas being fired from civilian area in S Lebanon. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3283614,00.html This video shows Israel targeting a location which is launching rockets. Judge for yourself whether their strike is precisely targeted or not.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whdVpX537So&search=war israel missiles katyushas bomb rockets This is a better video; two days ago - aerial photographs from Qana showing them hiding the missile launchers in civilian garages: http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/ A similar one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aur_DmTIw70 If you click on this link, you will see photos of Hizbullah fighters dressed as civilians manning a rocket launcher located inside a residential area: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,19955774-5007220,00.html If you click this link you will see how Hizbullah are milking this tragedy for publicity purposes - very educational: http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2006/07/milking-it.html One opinion, for what it is worth: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284163,00.html A Lebanese news source which claimed that Hizbullah deliberately placed women and children in that building and blew it up after the fact to create a publicity furor against Israel because they know that nothing would inflame public opinion against Israel like dead children. Article is in French; Naomi Ragen's translation follows the link. Lebanese website blames Hizbullah for Qana deaths[ IMRA: For original article in French: www.libanoscopie.com/FullDoc.asp?DocCode=994&Cat=2 ] Anti-Syrian elements in Lebanon openly point finger at Hizbullah as guilty of killing of dozens of civilians in order to curtail plans for disarming group. 'Hizbullah has placed rocket launcher on building's roof and brought invalid children inside in bid to provoke Israeli response,' they write Roee Nahmias YNET 1 August 2006. Is Hizbullah behind the tragic incident in the village of Qana that claimed the lives of some 60 people? While the Israeli army continues to investigate the circumstances leading to the building's collapse, some in Lebanon do not hesitate to point the finger at the Shiite organization and claim it is to blame for the death of dozens.The Lebanese website LIBANOSCOPIE , associated with Christian elements in the country and which openly supports the anti-Syrian movement called the "March 14 Forces," reported that Hizbullah has masterminded a plan that would result in the killing of innocents in the Qana village, in a bid to foil Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's "Seven Points Plan", which calls for deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon and the disarming of Hizbullah: 'Disabled children placed inside building'"We have it from a credible source that Hizbullah, alarmed by Siniora's plan, has concocted an incident that would help thwart the negotiations. Knowing full well that Israel will not hesitate to bombard civilian targets, Hizbullah gunmen placed a rocket launcher on the roof in Qana and brought disabled children inside, in a bid to provoke a response by the Israeli Air Force. In this way, they were planning to take advantage of the death of innocents and curtail the negotiation initiative," the site stated.The site's editors also claimed that not only did Hizbullah stage the event, but that it also chose Qana for a specific reason: "They used Qana because the village had already turned into a symbol for massacring innocent civilians, and so they set up 'Qana 2'." Notably, the incident has indeed been dubbed "The second Qana massacre" by the Arab media. Varifrank asks why the Lebanese did not evacuate the women and children from an unstable building.Sheila Raviv's e-mail
30th July 2006 Lebanon Update 12:
"Shalom Dear Friends.
The media is full of the tragedy in Qana a small town in Lebanon where nearly 60 people died in an Israeli air strike. Prime Minister Olmert made a statement expressing regret that the innocent are dead since that is not the Israeli way. All this is true but there is a great deal to question on the innocence of the Hisbollah in this particular fiasco.
The IDF sent an aerial shower of leaflets, in Arabic, warning the local population of their intention to wipe out a Hisbollah rocket launching site in a specific spot and telling them to evacuate the area. Hisbollah, on the other hand, told them if they run, then they, Hisbollah will confiscate their property.
The massive explosion which destroyed the edifices and killed the people occurred 7 hours after the completion of the Israeli midnight air strike.
A large number of those killed in the strike were mentally and physically disabled which raises a question too inhuman to even consider, even for HIsbollah.
A TV journalist was haranguing the IDF spokesman, suggesting that Israel knew the building was full of civilians and that we should have known they were disabled. The spokesman simply said "We wouldn't have touched it had we known and you must remember this is war"
A Canadian, Major General Lewis MacKenzie who was the UN Commander in Bosnia, was in contact with one of his former soldiers, Major Paeta Derek Hess-von Kruedener , who was the commander of the UN post which was blown up by Israel. Major MacKenzie says that "Hezbollah was purposely setting up near the UN post "
See point 3 http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/000766.html
Islamic Jihad attacked the UN HQ in Gaza…
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Gunmen-storm-UN-compound-in-GazaCity/2006/07/31/1154198035685.html
(now follows the article by Dr. Chong):
Muslims, terrorist and the USA. A different spin on Iraq war.This WAR is for REAL! by Dr. Vernon Chong, Major General, USAF, Retired (Tuesday, July 12, 2005.)
To get out of a difficulty, one usually must go through it. Our country is now facing the most serious threat to its existence, as we know it, that we have faced in your lifetime and mine (which includesWWII). The deadly seriousness is greatly compounded by the fact that there are very few of us who think we can possibly lose this war and even fewer who realize what losing really means. First, let's examine a few basics:
1. When did the threat to us start? Many will say September 11, 2001. The answer as far as the United States is concerned is 1979, 22 years prior to September 2001, with the following attacks on us:
* Iran Embassy Hostages, 1979;
* Beirut, Lebanon Embassy 1983;
* Beirut, Lebanon Marine Barracks 1983;
* Lockerbie, Scotland Pan-Am flight to New York 1988;
* First New York World Trade Center attack 1993;
* Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Khobar Towers Military complex 1996;
* Nairobi, Kenya US Embassy 1998;* Dares Salaam, Tanzania US Embassy 1998;
* Aden, Yemen USS Cole 2000;
* New York World Trade Center 2001;
* Pentagon 2001.(Note that during the period from 1981 to 2001 there were 7,581 terrorist attacks worldwide).
2. Why were we attacked? Envy of our position, our success, and our freedoms. The attacks happened during the administrations of Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton and Bush
3. We cannot fault either the Republicans or Democrats as there were no provocations by any of the presidents or their immediate predecessors, Presidents Ford or Carter.
4. Who were the attackers? In each case, the attacks on the US were carried out by Muslims.
5. What is the Muslim population of the World? 25%.5. Isn't the Muslim Religion peaceful?Hopefully, but that is really not material. There is no doubt that the predominately Christian population of Germany was peaceful, but under the dictatorial leadership of Hitler (who was also Christian), that made no difference. You either went along with the administration or you were eliminated. There were 5 to 6 million Christians killed by the Nazis for political reasons (including 7,000 Polish priests). (see http://www.nazis.testimony.co.uk/7-a.htm ) Thus, almost the same number of Christians were killed by the Nazis, as the six million holocaust Jews who were killed by them, and we seldom heard of anything other than the Jewish atrocities. Although Hitler kept the world focused on the Jews, he had no hesitancy about killing anyone who got in his way of exterminating the Jews or of taking over the world - German, Christian or any others.Same with the Muslim terrorists. They focus the world on the US, but kill all in the way -- their own people or the Spanish, French or anyone else. The point here is that just like the peaceful Germans were of no protection to anyone from the Nazis, no matter how many peaceful Muslims there may be, they are no protection for us from the terrorist Muslim leaders and what they are fanatically bent on doing -- by their own pronouncements -- killing all of us "infidels." I don't blame the peaceful Muslims. What would you do if the choice was shut up or die?6. So who are we at war with?There is no way we can honestly respond that it is anyone other than the Muslim terrorists. Trying to be politically correct and avoid verbalizing this conclusion can well be fatal. There is no way to win if you don't clearly recognize and articulate who you are fighting.So with that background, now to the two major questions:1. Can we lose this war?2. What does losing really mean?If we are to win, we must clearly answer these two pivotal questions. We can definitely lose this war, and as anomalous as it may sound, the major reason we can lose is that so many of us simply do not fathom the answer to the second question - What does losing mean?It would appear that a great many of us think that losing the war means hanging our heads, bringing the troops home and going on about our business, like post Vietnam. This is as far from the truth as one can get.What losing really means is:We would no longer be the premier country in the world. The attacks will not subside, but rather will steadily increase. Remember, they want us dead, not just quiet. If they had just wanted us quiet, they would not have produced an increasing series of attacks against us, over the past 18 years. The plan was clearly, for terrorist to attack us, until we were neutered and submissive to them. We would of course have no future support from other nations, for fear of reprisals and for the reason that they would see, we are impotent and cannot help them. They will pick off the other non-Muslim nations, one at a time. It will be increasingly easier for them. They already hold Spain hostage. It doesn't matter whether it was right or wrong for Spain to withdraw its troops from Iraq. Spain did it because the Muslim terrorists bombed their train and told them to withdraw the troops. Anything else they want Spain to do will be done. Spain is finished.The next will probably be France. Our one hope on France is that they might see the light and realize that if we don't win, they are finished too, in that they can't resist the Muslim terrorists without us. However, it may already be too late for France. France is already 20% Muslim and fading fast!If we lose the war, our production, income, exports and way of life will all vanish as we know it. After losing, who would trade or deal with us, if they were threatened by the Muslims. If we can't stop the Muslims, how could anyone else?The Muslims fully know what is riding on this war, and therefore are completely committed to winning, at any cost. We better know it too and be likewise committed to winning at any cost.Why do I go on at such lengths about the results of losing? Simple. Until we recognize the costs of losing, we cannot unite and really put 100% of our thoughts and efforts into winning. And it is going to take that 100% effort to win.So, how can we lose the war?Again, the answer is simple. We can lose the war by "imploding." That is, defeating ourselves by refusing to recognize the enemy and their purpose, and really digging in and lending full support to the war effort If we are united, there is no way that we can lose. If we continue to be divided, there is no way that we can win!Let me give you a few examples of how we simply don't comprehend the life and death seriousness of this situation.President Bush selects Norman Mineta as Secretary of Transportation. Although all of the terrorist attacks were committed by Muslim men between 17 and 40 years of age, Secretary Mineta refuses to allow profiling. Does that sound like we are taking this thing seriously? This is war! For the duration, we are going to have to give up some of the civil rights we have become accustomed to. We had better be prepared to lose some of our civil rights temporarily or we will most certainly lose all of them permanently.And don't worry that it is a slippery slope. We gave up plenty of civil rights during WWII, and immediately restored them after the victory and in fact added many more since then.Do I blame President Bush or President Clinton before him?No, I blame us for blithely assuming we can maintain all of our Political Correctness, and all of our civil rights during this conflict and have a clean, lawful, honorable war. None of those words apply to war. Get them out of your head.Some have gone so far in their criticism of the war and/or the Administration that it almost seems they would literally like to see us lose. I hasten to add that this isn't because they are disloyal. It is because they just don't recognize what losing means. Nevertheless, that conduct gives the impression to the enemy that we are divided and weakening. It concerns our friends, and it does great damage to our cause.Of more recent vintage, the uproar fueled by the politicians and media regarding the treatment of some prisoners of war, perhaps exemplifies best what I am saying. We have recently had an issue, involving the treatment of a few Muslim prisoners of war, by a small group of our military police. These are the type prisoners who just a few months ago were throwing their own people off buildings, cutting off their hands, cutting out their tongues and otherwise murdering their own people just for disagreeing with Saddam Hussein.And just a few years ago these same type prisoners chemically killed 400,000 of their own people for the same reason. They are also the same type of enemy fighters, who recently were burning Americans, and dragging their charred corpses through the streets of Iraq.And still more recently, the same type of enemy that was and is providing videos to all news sources internationally, of the beheading of American prisoners they held.Compare this with some of our press and politicians, who for several days have thought and talked about nothing else but the "humiliating" of some Muslim prisoners -- not burning them, not dragging their charred corpses through the streets, not beheading them, but "humiliating" them. Can this be for real?The politicians and pundits have even talked of impeachment of the Secretary of Defense. If this doesn't show the complete lack of comprehension and understanding of the seriousness of the enemy we are fighting, the life and death struggle we are in and the disastrous results of losing this war, nothing can.To bring our country to a virtual political standstill over this prisoner issue makes us look like Nero playing his fiddle as Rome burned -- totally oblivious to what is going on in the real world. Neither we, nor any other country, can survive this internal strife. Again I say, this does not mean that some of our politicians or media people are disloyal. It simply means that they are absolutely oblivious to the magnitude, of the situation we are in and into which the Muslim terrorists have been pushing us, for many years.Remember, the Muslim terrorists stated goal is to kill all infidels! That translates into ALL non-Muslims -- not just in the United States, but throughout the world.We are the last bastion of defense. We have been criticized for many years as being 'arrogant.' That charge is valid in at least one respect. We are arrogant in that we believe that we are so good, powerful and smart, that we can win the hearts and minds of all those who attack us, and that with both hands tied behind our back, we can defeat anything bad in the world!We can't!If we don't recognize this, our nation as we know it will not survive, and no other free country in the world will survive if we are defeated.And finally, name any Muslim countries throughout the world that allow freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, equal rights for anyone -- let alone everyone, equal status or any status for women, or that have been productive in one single way that contributes to the good of the world.This has been a long way of saying that we must be united on this war or we will be equated in the history books to the self-inflicted fall of the Roman Empire . If, that is, the Muslim leaders will allow history books to be written or read.If we don't win this war right now, keep a close eye on how the Muslims take over France in the next 5 years or less. They will continue to increase the Muslim population of France and continue to encroach little by little, on the established French traditions. The French will be fighting among themselves, over what should or should not be done, which will continue to weaken them and keep them from any united resolve. Doesn't that sound eerily familiar?Democracies don't have their freedoms taken away from them by some external military force. Instead, they give their freedoms away, politically correct piece by politically correct piece.And they are giving those freedoms away to those who have shown, worldwide that they abhor freedom and will not apply it to you or even to themselves, once they are in power. They have universally shown that when they have taken over, they then start brutally killing each other over who will be the few who control the masses. Will we ever stop hearing from the politically correct, about the "peaceful Muslims"?I close on a hopeful note, by repeating what I said above. If we are united, there is no way that we can lose. I hope the factions in our country will begin to focus on the critical situation we are in, and will unite to save our country. It is your future we are talking about! Do whatever you can to preserve it.After reading the above, we all must do this not only for ourselves, but our children, our grandchildren, our country and the world.Whether Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal and that includes the Politicians and media of our country and the free world!Please forward this to any you feel may want, or NEED to read it. Our "leaders" in Congress ought to read it, too. There are those that find fault with our country, but it is obvious to anyone who truly thinks through this, that we must UNITE, share our concerns and hold the blind accountable for misleading the masses!
(ed. note: If you would like to see who this fellow is go to this Air Force website and look him up.http://www.af.mil/bios/alpha.asp?alpha=C )
What the Geneva Convention actually says about civilian injuries in wartimefrom a legal point of view see:http://vitalperspective.typepad.com/vital_perspective_clarity/2006/07/responding_to_t.html
Myths about this conflicthttp://www.aish.com/movies/Lebanon.asp
(Hat Tip to my friend Maddy in London, UK, who did all the compilation work).
Firstly, I would like to thank all my readers who come from כל רחבי העולם - the far reaches of the world, including Bourg-la-Reine, Ile-de-France; Ratingen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, Haifa, Israel, Washington, D.C. , Sunnyvale, CA, Villawood New South Wales, Australia and Brooklyn, New York - to name just a few. You are the reason I continue blogging, and I thank you so much for your visits - keep 'em coming (and bring your friends, if you have any) :- )
Now for the subject of this post; below are various links to articles and videos illustrating the side of this war which you rarely see in the media: The Truth of what is happening with Israel fighting in Lebanon, and why. Especially read the article below by Dr. Vernon Chong, Major-General, USAF, Retired. It is about the war in Iraq, but it is exactly the same as if it were written about the Israeli war in Lebanon. Read it, and think 'Israel' when you read "United States", and 'Hizbollah' or Hamas' or Arab Terror Groups' or 'Lebanon' or 'Syria' or 'Iran', when you read "Iraq".
I have links to The Muqata and Varifrank on my 'links' list in the sidebar.
Bold type and italics are mine. I welcome your comments.
re: Israel's self-defense against Hizbullah in Lebanon - a collection of links and articles, etc. mostly around Qana, and very informative. Combination of evidence and opinion:Where the material comes from e-mails and not links, they have been cut and pasted. Best site on what is going on in the war minute by minute: http://muqata.blogspot.com/Interesting outlook on strategy: http://varifrank.com/archives/2006/07/things_are_not.php If you did not see the BBC Panorama broadcast Faith, Hate and Charity, you should take the time to watch it in full to the very end: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/default.stm If you click on this link and scroll down to the box and click play, you will see video footage of Katyushas being fired from civilian area in S Lebanon. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3283614,00.html This video shows Israel targeting a location which is launching rockets. Judge for yourself whether their strike is precisely targeted or not.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whdVpX537So&search=war israel missiles katyushas bomb rockets This is a better video; two days ago - aerial photographs from Qana showing them hiding the missile launchers in civilian garages: http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/ A similar one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aur_DmTIw70 If you click on this link, you will see photos of Hizbullah fighters dressed as civilians manning a rocket launcher located inside a residential area: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,19955774-5007220,00.html If you click this link you will see how Hizbullah are milking this tragedy for publicity purposes - very educational: http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2006/07/milking-it.html One opinion, for what it is worth: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284163,00.html A Lebanese news source which claimed that Hizbullah deliberately placed women and children in that building and blew it up after the fact to create a publicity furor against Israel because they know that nothing would inflame public opinion against Israel like dead children. Article is in French; Naomi Ragen's translation follows the link. Lebanese website blames Hizbullah for Qana deaths[ IMRA: For original article in French: www.libanoscopie.com/FullDoc.asp?DocCode=994&Cat=2 ] Anti-Syrian elements in Lebanon openly point finger at Hizbullah as guilty of killing of dozens of civilians in order to curtail plans for disarming group. 'Hizbullah has placed rocket launcher on building's roof and brought invalid children inside in bid to provoke Israeli response,' they write Roee Nahmias YNET 1 August 2006. Is Hizbullah behind the tragic incident in the village of Qana that claimed the lives of some 60 people? While the Israeli army continues to investigate the circumstances leading to the building's collapse, some in Lebanon do not hesitate to point the finger at the Shiite organization and claim it is to blame for the death of dozens.The Lebanese website LIBANOSCOPIE , associated with Christian elements in the country and which openly supports the anti-Syrian movement called the "March 14 Forces," reported that Hizbullah has masterminded a plan that would result in the killing of innocents in the Qana village, in a bid to foil Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's "Seven Points Plan", which calls for deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon and the disarming of Hizbullah: 'Disabled children placed inside building'"We have it from a credible source that Hizbullah, alarmed by Siniora's plan, has concocted an incident that would help thwart the negotiations. Knowing full well that Israel will not hesitate to bombard civilian targets, Hizbullah gunmen placed a rocket launcher on the roof in Qana and brought disabled children inside, in a bid to provoke a response by the Israeli Air Force. In this way, they were planning to take advantage of the death of innocents and curtail the negotiation initiative," the site stated.The site's editors also claimed that not only did Hizbullah stage the event, but that it also chose Qana for a specific reason: "They used Qana because the village had already turned into a symbol for massacring innocent civilians, and so they set up 'Qana 2'." Notably, the incident has indeed been dubbed "The second Qana massacre" by the Arab media. Varifrank asks why the Lebanese did not evacuate the women and children from an unstable building.Sheila Raviv's e-mail
30th July 2006 Lebanon Update 12:
"Shalom Dear Friends.
The media is full of the tragedy in Qana a small town in Lebanon where nearly 60 people died in an Israeli air strike. Prime Minister Olmert made a statement expressing regret that the innocent are dead since that is not the Israeli way. All this is true but there is a great deal to question on the innocence of the Hisbollah in this particular fiasco.
The IDF sent an aerial shower of leaflets, in Arabic, warning the local population of their intention to wipe out a Hisbollah rocket launching site in a specific spot and telling them to evacuate the area. Hisbollah, on the other hand, told them if they run, then they, Hisbollah will confiscate their property.
The massive explosion which destroyed the edifices and killed the people occurred 7 hours after the completion of the Israeli midnight air strike.
A large number of those killed in the strike were mentally and physically disabled which raises a question too inhuman to even consider, even for HIsbollah.
A TV journalist was haranguing the IDF spokesman, suggesting that Israel knew the building was full of civilians and that we should have known they were disabled. The spokesman simply said "We wouldn't have touched it had we known and you must remember this is war"
A Canadian, Major General Lewis MacKenzie who was the UN Commander in Bosnia, was in contact with one of his former soldiers, Major Paeta Derek Hess-von Kruedener , who was the commander of the UN post which was blown up by Israel. Major MacKenzie says that "Hezbollah was purposely setting up near the UN post "
See point 3 http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/000766.html
Islamic Jihad attacked the UN HQ in Gaza…
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Gunmen-storm-UN-compound-in-GazaCity/2006/07/31/1154198035685.html
(now follows the article by Dr. Chong):
Muslims, terrorist and the USA. A different spin on Iraq war.This WAR is for REAL! by Dr. Vernon Chong, Major General, USAF, Retired (Tuesday, July 12, 2005.)
To get out of a difficulty, one usually must go through it. Our country is now facing the most serious threat to its existence, as we know it, that we have faced in your lifetime and mine (which includesWWII). The deadly seriousness is greatly compounded by the fact that there are very few of us who think we can possibly lose this war and even fewer who realize what losing really means. First, let's examine a few basics:
1. When did the threat to us start? Many will say September 11, 2001. The answer as far as the United States is concerned is 1979, 22 years prior to September 2001, with the following attacks on us:
* Iran Embassy Hostages, 1979;
* Beirut, Lebanon Embassy 1983;
* Beirut, Lebanon Marine Barracks 1983;
* Lockerbie, Scotland Pan-Am flight to New York 1988;
* First New York World Trade Center attack 1993;
* Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Khobar Towers Military complex 1996;
* Nairobi, Kenya US Embassy 1998;* Dares Salaam, Tanzania US Embassy 1998;
* Aden, Yemen USS Cole 2000;
* New York World Trade Center 2001;
* Pentagon 2001.(Note that during the period from 1981 to 2001 there were 7,581 terrorist attacks worldwide).
2. Why were we attacked? Envy of our position, our success, and our freedoms. The attacks happened during the administrations of Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton and Bush
3. We cannot fault either the Republicans or Democrats as there were no provocations by any of the presidents or their immediate predecessors, Presidents Ford or Carter.
4. Who were the attackers? In each case, the attacks on the US were carried out by Muslims.
5. What is the Muslim population of the World? 25%.5. Isn't the Muslim Religion peaceful?Hopefully, but that is really not material. There is no doubt that the predominately Christian population of Germany was peaceful, but under the dictatorial leadership of Hitler (who was also Christian), that made no difference. You either went along with the administration or you were eliminated. There were 5 to 6 million Christians killed by the Nazis for political reasons (including 7,000 Polish priests). (see http://www.nazis.testimony.co.uk/7-a.htm ) Thus, almost the same number of Christians were killed by the Nazis, as the six million holocaust Jews who were killed by them, and we seldom heard of anything other than the Jewish atrocities. Although Hitler kept the world focused on the Jews, he had no hesitancy about killing anyone who got in his way of exterminating the Jews or of taking over the world - German, Christian or any others.Same with the Muslim terrorists. They focus the world on the US, but kill all in the way -- their own people or the Spanish, French or anyone else. The point here is that just like the peaceful Germans were of no protection to anyone from the Nazis, no matter how many peaceful Muslims there may be, they are no protection for us from the terrorist Muslim leaders and what they are fanatically bent on doing -- by their own pronouncements -- killing all of us "infidels." I don't blame the peaceful Muslims. What would you do if the choice was shut up or die?6. So who are we at war with?There is no way we can honestly respond that it is anyone other than the Muslim terrorists. Trying to be politically correct and avoid verbalizing this conclusion can well be fatal. There is no way to win if you don't clearly recognize and articulate who you are fighting.So with that background, now to the two major questions:1. Can we lose this war?2. What does losing really mean?If we are to win, we must clearly answer these two pivotal questions. We can definitely lose this war, and as anomalous as it may sound, the major reason we can lose is that so many of us simply do not fathom the answer to the second question - What does losing mean?It would appear that a great many of us think that losing the war means hanging our heads, bringing the troops home and going on about our business, like post Vietnam. This is as far from the truth as one can get.What losing really means is:We would no longer be the premier country in the world. The attacks will not subside, but rather will steadily increase. Remember, they want us dead, not just quiet. If they had just wanted us quiet, they would not have produced an increasing series of attacks against us, over the past 18 years. The plan was clearly, for terrorist to attack us, until we were neutered and submissive to them. We would of course have no future support from other nations, for fear of reprisals and for the reason that they would see, we are impotent and cannot help them. They will pick off the other non-Muslim nations, one at a time. It will be increasingly easier for them. They already hold Spain hostage. It doesn't matter whether it was right or wrong for Spain to withdraw its troops from Iraq. Spain did it because the Muslim terrorists bombed their train and told them to withdraw the troops. Anything else they want Spain to do will be done. Spain is finished.The next will probably be France. Our one hope on France is that they might see the light and realize that if we don't win, they are finished too, in that they can't resist the Muslim terrorists without us. However, it may already be too late for France. France is already 20% Muslim and fading fast!If we lose the war, our production, income, exports and way of life will all vanish as we know it. After losing, who would trade or deal with us, if they were threatened by the Muslims. If we can't stop the Muslims, how could anyone else?The Muslims fully know what is riding on this war, and therefore are completely committed to winning, at any cost. We better know it too and be likewise committed to winning at any cost.Why do I go on at such lengths about the results of losing? Simple. Until we recognize the costs of losing, we cannot unite and really put 100% of our thoughts and efforts into winning. And it is going to take that 100% effort to win.So, how can we lose the war?Again, the answer is simple. We can lose the war by "imploding." That is, defeating ourselves by refusing to recognize the enemy and their purpose, and really digging in and lending full support to the war effort If we are united, there is no way that we can lose. If we continue to be divided, there is no way that we can win!Let me give you a few examples of how we simply don't comprehend the life and death seriousness of this situation.President Bush selects Norman Mineta as Secretary of Transportation. Although all of the terrorist attacks were committed by Muslim men between 17 and 40 years of age, Secretary Mineta refuses to allow profiling. Does that sound like we are taking this thing seriously? This is war! For the duration, we are going to have to give up some of the civil rights we have become accustomed to. We had better be prepared to lose some of our civil rights temporarily or we will most certainly lose all of them permanently.And don't worry that it is a slippery slope. We gave up plenty of civil rights during WWII, and immediately restored them after the victory and in fact added many more since then.Do I blame President Bush or President Clinton before him?No, I blame us for blithely assuming we can maintain all of our Political Correctness, and all of our civil rights during this conflict and have a clean, lawful, honorable war. None of those words apply to war. Get them out of your head.Some have gone so far in their criticism of the war and/or the Administration that it almost seems they would literally like to see us lose. I hasten to add that this isn't because they are disloyal. It is because they just don't recognize what losing means. Nevertheless, that conduct gives the impression to the enemy that we are divided and weakening. It concerns our friends, and it does great damage to our cause.Of more recent vintage, the uproar fueled by the politicians and media regarding the treatment of some prisoners of war, perhaps exemplifies best what I am saying. We have recently had an issue, involving the treatment of a few Muslim prisoners of war, by a small group of our military police. These are the type prisoners who just a few months ago were throwing their own people off buildings, cutting off their hands, cutting out their tongues and otherwise murdering their own people just for disagreeing with Saddam Hussein.And just a few years ago these same type prisoners chemically killed 400,000 of their own people for the same reason. They are also the same type of enemy fighters, who recently were burning Americans, and dragging their charred corpses through the streets of Iraq.And still more recently, the same type of enemy that was and is providing videos to all news sources internationally, of the beheading of American prisoners they held.Compare this with some of our press and politicians, who for several days have thought and talked about nothing else but the "humiliating" of some Muslim prisoners -- not burning them, not dragging their charred corpses through the streets, not beheading them, but "humiliating" them. Can this be for real?The politicians and pundits have even talked of impeachment of the Secretary of Defense. If this doesn't show the complete lack of comprehension and understanding of the seriousness of the enemy we are fighting, the life and death struggle we are in and the disastrous results of losing this war, nothing can.To bring our country to a virtual political standstill over this prisoner issue makes us look like Nero playing his fiddle as Rome burned -- totally oblivious to what is going on in the real world. Neither we, nor any other country, can survive this internal strife. Again I say, this does not mean that some of our politicians or media people are disloyal. It simply means that they are absolutely oblivious to the magnitude, of the situation we are in and into which the Muslim terrorists have been pushing us, for many years.Remember, the Muslim terrorists stated goal is to kill all infidels! That translates into ALL non-Muslims -- not just in the United States, but throughout the world.We are the last bastion of defense. We have been criticized for many years as being 'arrogant.' That charge is valid in at least one respect. We are arrogant in that we believe that we are so good, powerful and smart, that we can win the hearts and minds of all those who attack us, and that with both hands tied behind our back, we can defeat anything bad in the world!We can't!If we don't recognize this, our nation as we know it will not survive, and no other free country in the world will survive if we are defeated.And finally, name any Muslim countries throughout the world that allow freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, equal rights for anyone -- let alone everyone, equal status or any status for women, or that have been productive in one single way that contributes to the good of the world.This has been a long way of saying that we must be united on this war or we will be equated in the history books to the self-inflicted fall of the Roman Empire . If, that is, the Muslim leaders will allow history books to be written or read.If we don't win this war right now, keep a close eye on how the Muslims take over France in the next 5 years or less. They will continue to increase the Muslim population of France and continue to encroach little by little, on the established French traditions. The French will be fighting among themselves, over what should or should not be done, which will continue to weaken them and keep them from any united resolve. Doesn't that sound eerily familiar?Democracies don't have their freedoms taken away from them by some external military force. Instead, they give their freedoms away, politically correct piece by politically correct piece.And they are giving those freedoms away to those who have shown, worldwide that they abhor freedom and will not apply it to you or even to themselves, once they are in power. They have universally shown that when they have taken over, they then start brutally killing each other over who will be the few who control the masses. Will we ever stop hearing from the politically correct, about the "peaceful Muslims"?I close on a hopeful note, by repeating what I said above. If we are united, there is no way that we can lose. I hope the factions in our country will begin to focus on the critical situation we are in, and will unite to save our country. It is your future we are talking about! Do whatever you can to preserve it.After reading the above, we all must do this not only for ourselves, but our children, our grandchildren, our country and the world.Whether Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal and that includes the Politicians and media of our country and the free world!Please forward this to any you feel may want, or NEED to read it. Our "leaders" in Congress ought to read it, too. There are those that find fault with our country, but it is obvious to anyone who truly thinks through this, that we must UNITE, share our concerns and hold the blind accountable for misleading the masses!
(ed. note: If you would like to see who this fellow is go to this Air Force website and look him up.http://www.af.mil/bios/alpha.asp?alpha=C )
What the Geneva Convention actually says about civilian injuries in wartimefrom a legal point of view see:http://vitalperspective.typepad.com/vital_perspective_clarity/2006/07/responding_to_t.html
Myths about this conflicthttp://www.aish.com/movies/Lebanon.asp
Comments
Great job..
:-)