Occupation

Not to be too flip (considering some of what I read around BlogSnot Land, not to worry!) but read a certain way in the middle of the night, this from the NYT gave me some of the few laughs in days.

The United States has ruled out its soldiers’ participating, NATO says it is overstretched, Britain feels its troops are overcommitted and Germany says it is willing to participate only if Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia that it would police, agrees to it, a highly unlikely development.

“All the politicians are saying, ‘Great, great’ to the idea of a force, but no one is saying whose soldiers will be on the ground,” said one senior European official.

“Everyone will volunteer to be in charge of the logistics in Cyprus.”

Support, strong support, words of praise for the collective punishment baby juggernaut Israel has sent into Southern Lebanon (as they shell into the north as well) but Noooo!… don’t ask us – any of us! -to share a war theatre, battle space, nor a cease-fire (there won’t be any) nor an occupation of southern Lebanon with Israel.

Last grafs:

The challenge of creating a viable international force to secure Israel’s border with Lebanon was captured by Nahum Barnea, a columnist for the Israeli daily newspaper Yediot Aharonot. The European foreign ministers were enthusiastic, he said.

O very.

“They only had one small condition — for the force to be made up of soldiers from another country,” Mr. Barnea wrote.

“The Germans recommended France; the French recommended Egypt, and so on. It is doubtful whether there is a single country in the West currently volunteering to lay down its soldiers on Hezbollah’s fence.”

hmm. “Hezbollah’s fence?”  NO. I think that they don’t want to occupy Arab, insurgent land with ISRAEL.  Israel’s fence.  Let’s be clear.

I’m sure we will send Cash.

Via Danny Schechter who is UP!, this from the JPost… Occupation, Baby!

OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Udi Adam acknowledged in a briefing at Northern Command headquarters in Safed on Sunday afternoon that the commander of the IDF’s civil administration unit had already begun preparations toward the possibility of instituting a military administration in areas captured by the IDF over the last week.

According to Adam, “Certain units who will give us breathing space have been called up, including the commander of that unit.” The unit’s activation, however, would only take place following comprehensive consultations, he said.

Comprehensive. One of those words “leaders” toss out, to seem in charge, awake, aware. Rather than merely in place.

And, [thanks to observer] Kos was on Nightline last night with Jake Tapper…

I say Kos should keep talking. Ab-so-lute-ly. Makes so little sense and is so easily pleased to speak of lui-meme (well they do ask him, I realise that) or to offer gibberish as [non]sense. Lots of tired homilies and retreads. Keep it up fella.

And he seems so fond of Bush 1. Why did he bother to change parties? Rather like the little clutch of … [confused??] partisans I ran into in a diary once at Dkos, calling Nixon charming.  Really.  And much sloberation for Reagan.

I mean, you have to wonder.

Especially as it was a diary chock-a-block with Clark supporters… and the little Nixon afficianado was an oppo researcher (not a good one, he said in Feb of ’04 that the Republicans would be able to do “nothing” with Kerry’s service.  Oh ye of very little faith…) at the Clark HQ in LR.

Here, have a Trojan.  No no. Nothing to unroll!  What ever are you thinking?

Feed it some hay, keep the game going.

MOULITSAS: Well, it wasn’t — it wasn’t me. I mean, that’s …

TAPPER: Well, it’s called the YearlyKos.

MOULITSAS: Well, unfortunately. The organizers wanted that name.

TAPPER: Well, they wanted it for a reason.

Tapper is a smart man.  I’d suggest Kos read that interview again.

TAPPER: What’s the lesson for Joe Lieberman from this, no matter what happens, whether he wins this primary or whether he wins the general election? What’s the lesson you want Joe Lieberman to have learned?

MOULITSAS: Well, no matter how much I would write about the race — and remember, all I can do is blog about it. All I can do is write about a race …

TAPPER: And tell people to send money.

MOULITSAS: A couple, you know, a couple of tens of thousands of dollars, Lieberman is going …

TAPPER: And do a campaign commercial for his primary opponent.

MOULITSAS: Well, nobody knows who Markos Moulitsas …

TAPPER: Well, if that were true, then he wouldn’t have done a campaign commercial with you — Ned Lamont — right?

MOULITSAS: It was fun. It was a fun …

TAPPER: I’m just saying you’ve done more than just write about it.

There will be more….

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Update, 11:30 am

Dahr Jamail is UP at TO, he has retained his same translator, an Iraqi, tho in Demascus now for two weeks.  Thru conversations with Abu Talat, a look at surviving, day by day, in Baghdad.

I know this is not what CSTAR mentioned wanting, a map tracking the fighting… I am guessing he/she would like what I would like to find, something as defined as a grid of the areas.  But for now, from the BBC, link to the page with a bgger map and some updates…

  

Foreign Policy in Focus, link [thanks Madman} to Stephen Zunes article, Congress and the Israeli Attack on Lebanon: A Critical Reading, taking text from the lovely piece of scheisse that the House voted on recently (July 20, 410 - 8, endorses Israel's continuing operations in Lebanon and Gaza), and replies to selected grafs...

Whereas the House of Representatives has repeatedly called for full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559;

The House of Representatives never called for the full implementation of UN Security Council resolution 425 and nine subsequent resolutions calling for Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon during Israel's 22-year occupation of the southern part of that country.

Nor has the House ever called for the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions 446, 451, 465, and 472 calling on Israel to withdraw its illegal settlements from the occupied West Bank and Golan Heights or dozens of other UN Security Council resolutions currently being violated by Israel, Morocco, Turkey, Pakistan, or other U.S. allies.

As in the Bush administration, there appears to be a strong bipartisan sense in Congress that UN Security Council resolutions should only apply to governments and movements the United States does not like.

Good to go!   And should things go really badly, they can claim, (see IWR, October 11, 2002) that they "authorised" only judicious use, to threaten, they can say they did not understand that Bush, er, well, that would be Israel this go round!, would crash the god damned fucking car. 

And of course here they can all smile and nod and say they authorised support.  They did not see the car, nor the driver.  They did not see the road.  Nor the bodies.  They saw nothin'.

They miss a lot, those elected people.

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UPDATE: 1:00 pm

Speaking of elected.  Or those who were once elected.  I got an email this am from the DSCC, apparently signing up at the blog a couple of years ago means I get these emails.... 

The title is "Craven".  I did wonder what that crowd would consider craven.  Won't spend too much time on this as I could not find the text at their web site... but here is a snip (emphasis is mine):

This fall, Republicans will impugn the patriotism of our candidates because they fear us.

They fear Democrats because we speak the truth and because we refuse to sit by idly while George W. Bush makes a blatant power grab under the auspices of "Executive Privilege."

With only 100 days left until the elections, Republican incumbents are already using their huge cash reserves to unleash baseless attack ads against our Democratic challengers. If Democrats don't have the money to hit the airwaves and respond, we cannot win.

The signature?  Tom Daschle.  Lordy, they don't fear Democrats.  Not in the least.

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UPDATE:  1:30 pm

AP via Truth Out, on the use of White Phosphorous in the Israeli war on Southern lebanon.

Jawad Najem, a surgeon at the hospital, said patients admitted Sunday had burns from phosphorous incendiary weapons used by Israel. The Geneva Conventions ban using white phosphorus as an incendiary weapon against civilian populations and in air attacks against military forces in civilian areas. Israel said its weapons comply with international law.

    "Mahmoud Sarour, 14, was admitted to the hospital yesterday and treated for phosphorous burns to his face," Najem said. Mahmoud's 8-month-old sister, Maryam, suffered similar burns on her neck and hands when an Israeli rocket hit the family car.

    The children were with their father, mother and other relatives when the car was hit by an Israeli missile. Their father died instantly.

    The Sarour family was evacuated from Tyre to Cyprus on Monday aboard a ferry chartered by Germany.

    The Sarours had to go to the port by taxi because the Lebanese Red Cross suspended operations outside Tyre after Israeli jets blasted two ambulances with rockets, said Ali Deebe, a Red Cross spokesman in Tyre.

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Diplomacy faltering looms in Rome.  Who had thought otherwise?  From TimesOnline:

But Mr Olmert pledged to carry on the offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas and a senior Israeli army officer said later that Israeli forces might have to move as far as 70km (40 miles) into Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah positions.

The US Secretary of State then moved on to Ramallah for a meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, to discuss that month-long Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Shopkeepers in the West Bank city shut their doors to protest against the visit, accusing her of siding with Israel. ... A crowd of thousands gathered to chant:

"Rice, Rice, you are a crow, what misery you bring with you."

"She is persona non grata in Palestine," said Khaled Rajab, a taxi-driver, of the US Secretary of State. "We have nothing personal against her, but against the blind bias towards Israel."

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Billmon tracks what the House of Saud is saying.  [thanks D Throat]   Wish they believed anything!

And he adds a yummy tidbit (I had decided not to even fuss in that direction… but happy to piggy-back!):

Those who thought it might turn out otherwise (I’m looking in your direction Booman) probably should have remembered the old Arab proverb: My brother and me against my cousins, my cousins and me against my village, my village and me against my tribe, my tribe and me against the world.

And also a snip, via Billmon from Angry Arab:

The Angry Arab notes, correctly, that one of the sickest/funniest aspects of this whole farce has been watching the neocons and the pro-Israel bloggers fellate the House of Saud — that feudal hotbed of Islamofascism that miraculously transformed itself into the best Sunni friend Israel never had.

Presumably it will now be allowed to revert to its good old Islamofascist self again.

Ever flexible under those robes!

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