Blogging for Freedom

Sunday, August 13, 2006 - on this day, Israel and Lebanon are still trying to destroy each other. Iraq is in a civil war with civilian deaths in the thousands. The Taliban have made a resurgence in Afghanistan and the fighting is escalating. Protests against American-Israeli offensives were held in cities and towns all over the world yesterday. Tens of thousands circled the White House to let the Administration know that war-mongering will only increase terrorism against us.

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The majority of the people of Iraq follow the Shia branch of Islam. This makes them Shi'ites, the same religiousity as Hezbollah and Lebanese Muslims. As Israel continues to pound Lebanon, compounding the suffering and martyrdom of Shi'ite civilians, the Shia majority in Iraq are protesting en masse and burning Israeli and American flags.  Even though our politicians endlessly cite Iran and Syria as terrorist states, what have they done? They've put 135,000 American troops right smack in the middle of it all. 135,000 potential hostages.  It's like Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld served up 135,000 US troops on a plate and  presented them to the enemy.  They sure did make it easy for the terrorists, they don't have to come all the way over here to kill us. We're in their backyard.

We all thought it was dangerous for our troops in Iraq before July 12, 2006. That ain't nothin' compared to the hostility and anger directed toward us now, day 24 in the very public annihilation of the Lebanon country.  The whole world is watching and getting more and more outraged.  Protests in Jakarta, Indonesia, the Phillipines, Tehran, Baghdad, Beirut. Millions of people around the world now calling "Death to Israel" "Death to America". That can't be good.

While the bombs keep flying and the fighting and dying continue in Iraq and Afghanistan, Veterans' Hospitals here at home are experiencing a supply shortage of everything from toothpaste to wheelchairs.

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"At least 828 Lebanese, almost all of them civilians, have been killed and 3,200 wounded over the last three weeks, the UN Higher Relief Committee said on Tuesday (08-02-06). Fifty-one Israelis have also been killed, most of them soldiers. " according to the Beirut Daily Star.  These are the bodies they have found and counted, possibly hundreds more are buried beneath the bombed-out rubble of their former homes.

Right-wing talk radio has an interesting spin to this war.  Basically, they're saying anyone opposed to Israel's right to "defend itself" is against Jews.  Anyone against Jews are Nazis. Therefore, peace activists like Jimmy Carter are really ... Nazis! The flip side, of course, is that anyone who even mentions the plight of the Lebanese people, or protests the destruction of the beautiful country of Lebanon, well then, you are a terrrorist sympathizer.

Karma. Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert said, "We will not stop our offensive until we can live life free of terror." Karma. Unfortunately, Israel has created thousands of new enemies. Young enemies who will remember their entire lives the days when warplanes and bombs destroyed their villages and homes. So much suffering and chaos and homelessness and unemployment and poverty.  Precisely the conditions that are known to spawn anger, revolt and terrorism.

Think about it.  Supposedly Syria is calling the shots at the bequest of Iran.  Israel has stated that Syria sponsors and arms Hezbollah and part of their campaign to cut these ties has been to destroy the roads between Lebanon and Syria and place an embargo on the Lebanese coast.  They also dropped flyers in southern Lebanon telling the residents to get out before starting their bombing blitz. So, where do about 300,000 of these Lebanese Shi'ite Muslims go for safety?  Syria.

Yep, Syria has stepped up and taken in over a quarter million homeless, frightened, angry people, most with nothing but the clothes on their backs and maybe a few bags or an old car.  Within a matter of days, without warning, their entire lives were completely destroyed. In all likelihood, if Israel has it's way and sets up a buffer zone from the border to the Litani River, these people will never see their homes again.  And, that's what they're advocating - "bomb the entire region until nothing is left alive."  Paraphrase by Rush Limbaugh.

These are Christians? Jesus would call for an immediate cease-fire. 

Day 21 in the Israel-Lebanon war.  Witnessing Israel's assault on the Lebanese people is like watching a bully in the schoolyard pound a first-grader into a bloody pulp. Where are the adults?  They're standing on the sidelines saying, "We're not going to stop the violence until we can guarantee a lasting peace." What the hell does that mean?

Last night, Fox News, Ron Kaufman said, "Israel has to bomb Hezbollah into oblivion because that's what would be best for Israel, the Middle East, the US and the markets." Oh yes, never forget... War is great business. No mention of Lebanon and what's best for that democratic, west-leaning country. The Lebanese are suffering and the United States is blocking a cease-fire?

Shame on us.  

Thousands of Embryos Destroyed! Bush demands Immediate Cease-Fire!

Just kidding ... 

Have we had enough blood-letting yet?  The television is awash with images of suffering people, evacuees, refugees, the dead, the injured, the burned out carcasses of buildings and homes and lives.  On both sides, much damage has been done, much misery inflicted. A woman in Haifa loses her leg in a Hezbollah rocket attack, children in Tyre are burned from Iraqi missile shells. A million Israelis have gone south for safety, a million Lebanese have gone north for the same reason (big difference, of course, is that the population of southern Lebanon won't have homes to go back to even when hostilities cease).

John Bolton, the US ambassador to the United Nations, asked something like "What would a premature cease-fire accomplish? We don't want temporary peace. We want permanent peace in the Middle East." Well, for one thing, a cease-fire might save some lives. For an administration so vocal about being "pro-life" they don't seem too concerned about all the babies and children being bombed and orphaned and made homeless.

Remember Iraq?  With everything going on in Lebanon and Israel, the violence rages on in Iraq.  Associated Press reports on MSNBC.com that United States soldiers were under orders to kill all military aged males in a campaign against insurgents on an island in northern Salahuddin province, Iraq, on May 9, 2006.  The official US word is that troops acted within their rights under battle conditions.  You decide.

Have you ever seen a one year old baby covered in burns and rashes caused by a bomb releasing white phosphorous chemicals as it explodes in the sky? There is mounting suggestion - certainly in the Arab world - that Israel may be using some kind of chemicalized weapons against the civilian population of Lebanon.

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Does this photo of a bombed out city look familiar? Our September 11, 2001 looks eerily similar to Lebanon July 13, 2006.