Monday, July 24, 2006
"Thank God for the bunker busters" (and other notes from a world gone mad)
All right. I've been paying more attention to this bullshit than is probably good for me.
And what can I do about it? Not a goddam thing.
Oh well.
But.
What follows is a long and somewhat tangential post on the "Middle East Crisis" (as it's being dubbed).
On a Paula Zahn segment I witnessed a segment with the title (I kid you not) : "The End Of The World?" (All about religious fanatics. Like our president, and others. [Actually, I don't think she even bothered to include King George. Cause, you know, that would be "partisan" and "liberal bias" and etc.].)
To her credit, when interviewing former Israeli Prime Minister, Zahn asked him point-blank whether or not White Phosphorus was used in the attacks on Lebanon. He assured us that "our weapons are all legal" -- basically a subtle evasion of the question, much like Alberto Gonzales, when asked about torture, saying "our interrogation tactics are all approved and legal" (meaning "I, and/or others in the executive branch, decreed that these techniques are a.o.k."). In fact -- just in case phosphorus WAS used despite Israeli denial, apparently -- the segment went on to explain how these weapons are in fact not [technically] banned, and so "even if they WERE used," it would have been just find -- but I'm not saying we used them! I didn't say that!"
(By the way -- not that I should have to even say this, except perhaps to a four-year-old child or a sociopath [in which case why bother], but there's a simple test to determine whether or not something is morally acceptable: in this case, the test question would be: would it be morally acceptable for Hezbollah to use White Phosphorus against Israel or the United States?)
Glenn Beck said -- literally, explicitly and unequivocally, no exageration whatsoever here -- that Hizbollah are "worse than the Nazis."
In a world gone crazy: WSJ Editor: U.S. Missiles Save Lebanese Lives [VIDEO]
UK Govt Sources Confirm War With Iran Is On
"Britain and the United States ... will go to war with Iran before the end of the year. . . . Israel, with US and British support, is deliberately escalating the cycle of retaliation to legitimize the imminent targeting of Iran before year's end.
. . . . . . . ." By Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed (author of THE WAR ON FREEDOM: How and Why America was Attacked, September 11th, 2001
'10 buildings for every rocket'
"The Israeli air force has been ordered to hit 10 buildings in south Beirut - where Hezbollah has its headquarters - for every rocket the group fires at the Israeli port of Haifa."
Secret 2001 Pentagon Plan to Attack Lebanon: Bush's Plan for "Serial War" revealed by General Wesley Clark
The Israeli invasion of Lebanon was planned between top Israeli officials and members of the Bush administration.
Israeli Warplanes target Red Cross and UN in southern Lebanon
As if that were not enough, more on the use of white phosphorous and perhaps other chemical weapons by Israel in its pre-meditated assault on Lebanon:
Chemical Weapons used against Lebanese Civliians
Lebanon accuses Israel of using "internationally prohibited weapons against civilians"
Phosphorus incendiary bombs and vacuum bombs
Israel bans reporting of use of "unique" weapons in Lebanon: Israel has issued new censorship guidelines banning reporting of the "use of unique kinds of ammunition and weaponry" in Lebanon. . . . . . . . .
Replenishing the Stockpiles of Israel's WMD
The bombs which are now being rushed to Israel are the [U.S.-made] large 5000 lb GBU 28 bunker buster bombs, which can in one strike in an urban area kill literally hundreds of people.
The US claims that the bunker buster bomb is safe for the surrounding civilian population, because the explosion is underground. Israel has stated that the GBU 28 is to be used against Hizbollah, because Hizbollah has taken refuge in deap underground bunkers:
"Designed to penetrate hardened command centers located deep underground, the GBU-28 is a 5,000-pound laser-guided bomb that uses a 4,400-pound penetrating warhead and contains 630 pounds of high explosives."
( http://www.irmep.org/GBU.htm )
The GBU-28 has already been used in densely populated urban areas inside Lebanon. The gruesome images of charred and mutilated bodies following these aerial bombings, could indeed be the result of the use of the GBU-28, which is among the deadliest weapons in the conventional arsenal. . . . . . . . .
And, just in case you still think Armageddon is a ways off . . . :
Pakistan 'building reactor for 50 nukes' per year
From a 1996 Human Rights Watch report, "Human Pawns":
. . . . . . . .
For over a decade, a conflict has raged on the border of Israel and Lebanon, where Israel occupies a large section of Lebanese territory. Civilians have been the principal targets and victims in this conflict. Both sides-Israel and its allied Lebanese militia, the South Lebanon Army, on one side, and guerrillas affiliated with Hizballah and a number of small Palestinian factions on the other-have exhibited a willful disregard for international humanitarian law (also known as the laws of war). Both sides have directly targeted civilians and indiscriminately lobbed shells and fired rockets at civilian population centers during various stages of the conflict.1 Israel, with its superior firepower, has caused by far the most civilian casualties, and the most damage to residential homes and civilian infrastructure.
. . . . . . . .
Likewise, Human Rights Watch is disturbed by eyewitness testimony suggesting that Israel may have used white phosphorus, or a similar incendiary ordinarily used for marking purposes, in an antipersonnel mode in populated areas in southern Lebanon. White phosphorus ammunition, according to experts, can cause severe burns and permanent scars. During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the Israeli shelling of villages in southern Lebanon in July 1993, and subsequent shelling attacks, there have been numerous allegations of Israeli forces using phosphorus against civilians. The available circumstantial evidence of the illegal use of phosphorus, and/or other incendiaries, by Israel against Lebanese civilians during the 1993 events and afterwards is so compelling as to warrant serious investigation and a public response by the Israeli government. Among other evidence, Human Rights Watch saw several civilians, including children, in southern Lebanon with burns that are likely to have been caused by phosphorus.
. . . . . . . .
Guess nothing changes.
—ungeziefer
And what can I do about it? Not a goddam thing.
Oh well.
But.
What follows is a long and somewhat tangential post on the "Middle East Crisis" (as it's being dubbed).
On a Paula Zahn segment I witnessed a segment with the title (I kid you not) : "The End Of The World?" (All about religious fanatics. Like our president, and others. [Actually, I don't think she even bothered to include King George. Cause, you know, that would be "partisan" and "liberal bias" and etc.].)
To her credit, when interviewing former Israeli Prime Minister, Zahn asked him point-blank whether or not White Phosphorus was used in the attacks on Lebanon. He assured us that "our weapons are all legal" -- basically a subtle evasion of the question, much like Alberto Gonzales, when asked about torture, saying "our interrogation tactics are all approved and legal" (meaning "I, and/or others in the executive branch, decreed that these techniques are a.o.k."). In fact -- just in case phosphorus WAS used despite Israeli denial, apparently -- the segment went on to explain how these weapons are in fact not [technically] banned, and so "even if they WERE used," it would have been just find -- but I'm not saying we used them! I didn't say that!"
(By the way -- not that I should have to even say this, except perhaps to a four-year-old child or a sociopath [in which case why bother], but there's a simple test to determine whether or not something is morally acceptable: in this case, the test question would be: would it be morally acceptable for Hezbollah to use White Phosphorus against Israel or the United States?)
Glenn Beck said -- literally, explicitly and unequivocally, no exageration whatsoever here -- that Hizbollah are "worse than the Nazis."
In a world gone crazy: WSJ Editor: U.S. Missiles Save Lebanese Lives [VIDEO]
UK Govt Sources Confirm War With Iran Is On
"Britain and the United States ... will go to war with Iran before the end of the year. . . . Israel, with US and British support, is deliberately escalating the cycle of retaliation to legitimize the imminent targeting of Iran before year's end.
. . . . . . . ." By Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed (author of THE WAR ON FREEDOM: How and Why America was Attacked, September 11th, 2001
'10 buildings for every rocket'
"The Israeli air force has been ordered to hit 10 buildings in south Beirut - where Hezbollah has its headquarters - for every rocket the group fires at the Israeli port of Haifa."
More on the pre-meditation of Israel's invasion of Lebanon (with the capture of two of its soldiers clearly a mere pretext):
Secret 2001 Pentagon Plan to Attack Lebanon: Bush's Plan for "Serial War" revealed by General Wesley Clark
The Israeli invasion of Lebanon was planned between top Israeli officials and members of the Bush administration.
Israeli Warplanes target Red Cross and UN in southern Lebanon
As if that were not enough, more on the use of white phosphorous and perhaps other chemical weapons by Israel in its pre-meditated assault on Lebanon:
Chemical Weapons used against Lebanese Civliians
Lebanon accuses Israel of using "internationally prohibited weapons against civilians"
Phosphorus incendiary bombs and vacuum bombs
Israel bans reporting of use of "unique" weapons in Lebanon: Israel has issued new censorship guidelines banning reporting of the "use of unique kinds of ammunition and weaponry" in Lebanon. . . . . . . . .
Replenishing the Stockpiles of Israel's WMD
The bombs which are now being rushed to Israel are the [U.S.-made] large 5000 lb GBU 28 bunker buster bombs, which can in one strike in an urban area kill literally hundreds of people.
The US claims that the bunker buster bomb is safe for the surrounding civilian population, because the explosion is underground. Israel has stated that the GBU 28 is to be used against Hizbollah, because Hizbollah has taken refuge in deap underground bunkers:
"Designed to penetrate hardened command centers located deep underground, the GBU-28 is a 5,000-pound laser-guided bomb that uses a 4,400-pound penetrating warhead and contains 630 pounds of high explosives."
( http://www.irmep.org/GBU.htm )
The GBU-28 has already been used in densely populated urban areas inside Lebanon. The gruesome images of charred and mutilated bodies following these aerial bombings, could indeed be the result of the use of the GBU-28, which is among the deadliest weapons in the conventional arsenal. . . . . . . . .
And, just in case you still think Armageddon is a ways off . . . :
Pakistan 'building reactor for 50 nukes' per year
From a 1996 Human Rights Watch report, "Human Pawns":
. . . . . . . .
For over a decade, a conflict has raged on the border of Israel and Lebanon, where Israel occupies a large section of Lebanese territory. Civilians have been the principal targets and victims in this conflict. Both sides-Israel and its allied Lebanese militia, the South Lebanon Army, on one side, and guerrillas affiliated with Hizballah and a number of small Palestinian factions on the other-have exhibited a willful disregard for international humanitarian law (also known as the laws of war). Both sides have directly targeted civilians and indiscriminately lobbed shells and fired rockets at civilian population centers during various stages of the conflict.1 Israel, with its superior firepower, has caused by far the most civilian casualties, and the most damage to residential homes and civilian infrastructure.
. . . . . . . .
Likewise, Human Rights Watch is disturbed by eyewitness testimony suggesting that Israel may have used white phosphorus, or a similar incendiary ordinarily used for marking purposes, in an antipersonnel mode in populated areas in southern Lebanon. White phosphorus ammunition, according to experts, can cause severe burns and permanent scars. During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the Israeli shelling of villages in southern Lebanon in July 1993, and subsequent shelling attacks, there have been numerous allegations of Israeli forces using phosphorus against civilians. The available circumstantial evidence of the illegal use of phosphorus, and/or other incendiaries, by Israel against Lebanese civilians during the 1993 events and afterwards is so compelling as to warrant serious investigation and a public response by the Israeli government. Among other evidence, Human Rights Watch saw several civilians, including children, in southern Lebanon with burns that are likely to have been caused by phosphorus.
. . . . . . . .
Guess nothing changes.
—ungeziefer
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