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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve harris who wrote (296794)	7/25/2006 4:50:34 PM
From: Road Walker	Respond to of 1575994

re: See if you can find a Lebanese one where it mentions Hezbollah is killing Israeli civilians... From YOUR article Steve: The latest military deaths brought to 41 -- 24 servicemen and 17 civilians -- the toll of Israelis killed since the conflict erupted on July 12 after Hezbollah militants captured two soldiers and killed eight others in cross-border attacks. It later mentions the Lebanese casualties.

To: steve harris who wrote (296794)	7/25/2006 6:35:47 PM
From: Road Walker	Respond to of 1575994

The Israeli's are being oh so careful (if they don't care about hitting the UN imagine how careful they are about Lebanese civilians): Israel Hits U.N. Post; Casualties Reported Tuesday July 25, 2006 10:46 PM AP Photo XJRL808 BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - A U.N. observer post was hit by an Israeli airstrike in south Lebanon Tuesday, causing casualties, a U.N. spokesman said. He could not specify how many or their condition. A bomb directly hit the building and shelter of an Indian patrol base from the observer force in the town of Khiyam near the eastern end of the border with Israel, said Milos Struger, spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL. ``There are casualties among the observers. UNIFIL immediately dispatched a rescue and medical team and they're currently on the location but unable to clear the rubble,'' Struger told The Associated Press late Tuesday. Lebanese TV reported four observers were killed, while Al-Arabiya television reported four wounded. Neither gave a source for its figures and they could not be immediately confirmed. At U.N. headquarters in New York, U.N. chief Kofi Annan was asked about the attack and said, ``I'm trying to get the details.'' He also said there were 14 other incidents of firing close to this position from the Israeli side Tuesday afternoon. ``The firing continued even during the rescue operation,'' he said. Since Israel launched a massive military offensive against Lebanon and Hezbollah guerrillas July 12, an international civilian employee working with UNIFIL and his wife have been killed in the crossfire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah guerrillas in the southern port city of Tyre. Five UNIFIL soldiers and one military observer have also been wounded, Struger said.

To: steve harris who wrote (296794)	7/25/2006 6:47:30 PM
From: Road Walker	Respond to of 1575994

Whoops - Iraq's U.S.-backed government denounced Israel's raids on Lebanon and Gaza. Maliki last week called for "the world to take quick stands to stop the Israeli aggression." Democrats decry Maliki's comments on Israel By Vicki Allen U.S. congressional Democrats expressed alarm on Tuesday over Iraq's denunciation of Israel in the Middle East conflict, and some said Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's address to Congress should be canceled unless he apologizes. A group of about 20 House of Representatives Democrats sent a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert urging the Illinois Republican to secure an apology from Maliki or cancel the address on Wednesday to a joint meeting of Congress. Some said they planned to boycott the speech. Hastert's spokesman, Ron Bonjean, said there was no intention of canceling Maliki's speech, and he accused Democrats of "political gamesmanship during an election year." Iraq's U.S.-backed government denounced Israel's raids on Lebanon and Gaza. Maliki last week called for "the world to take quick stands to stop the Israeli aggression." Senate Democrats in a letter to Maliki called his statements "very troubling" and asked for an explanation, but did not demand that his speech be canceled. Several lawmakers said they would press Maliki for his view on the Middle East conflict in meetings before the prime minister makes his address, which is intended to try to reassure lawmakers that U.S. lives and money have not been squandered on a country descending into civil war. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Maliki, in his White House appearance with President George W. Bush, again failed to state his view of Hizbollah, which the United States deems a terrorist organization. "We have spent hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq. We've lost more than 2,500 American soldiers, more than 20,000 wounded. We deserve that answer," Reid said. House Democrats in their letter to Hastert cited reports that Iraqi leaders were "increasingly influenced" by Iran, and said the "goal of the invasion in Iraq was not to remove one threat in favor of another." House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California said unless Maliki "disavows his critical comments of Israel and condemns terrorism, it is inappropriate to honor him with a joint meeting of Congress." Most Republicans said Democrats were making unrealistic demands, and said Congress should support the struggling leader as Iraq faces mounting sectarian violence. "For him to take a strong stance that's perceived as pro-Israel where he's from is very difficult," Kansas Republican Sen. Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record) said. Senate Republican Whip Mitch McConnell of Kentucky called the Democrats' statements "an insult to a duly-elected leader." But Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record) said he had "serious reservations" about Maliki's speech, and said it was "outrageous to accuse Israel of aggression when Hizbollah has been sitting on their northern border with a knife at Israel's throat for years." (Additional reporting by Richard Cowan)

To: steve harris who wrote (296794)	7/25/2006 6:54:28 PM
From: Road Walker	Respond to of 1575994

U.S. soldier killed in Afghan fighting By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer Going great Steve, more depressing news - news.yahoo.com

To: steve harris who wrote (296794)	7/25/2006 7:02:00 PM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575994

Damn Steve, more bad news. What's up with the world? Remember the "peace dividend"? Well we've been putting the "war tax" on the credit card. We're going to pay it, very soon: When the United States was riven by civil war, there was little doubt about what was happening: Southern slave states wanted to secede, and unionists wanted to stop them. There were defined battlefields and identifiable leaders on each side. But civil wars are not always so clear-cut. As Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki meets Tuesday in Washington with President Bush, the pressing question is whether Iraq is already in a civil war, which could make even minimal U.S. objectives unattainable. By many measures, both quantifiable and anecdotal, it is. As violence mounts, so does evidence of civil war in Iraq Tue Jul 25, 7:02 AM ET When the United States was riven by civil war, there was little doubt about what was happening: Southern slave states wanted to secede, and unionists wanted to stop them. There were defined battlefields and identifiable leaders on each side. But civil wars are not always so clear-cut. As Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki meets Tuesday in Washington with President Bush, the pressing question is whether Iraq is already in a civil war, which could make even minimal U.S. objectives unattainable. By many measures, both quantifiable and anecdotal, it is. While world attention has been focused on Israel and Lebanon for the past two weeks, the violence in Iraq has continued to escalate to unprecedented levels. The United Nations reports that at least 100 Iraqis are being killed each day, many in the most savage ways imaginable. It estimates that violent deaths of Iraqis rose 77% from January to June, for a total of 14,338 in the first half of this year. Iraqi officials report thousands are being forced, or scared, into fleeing places where they are in a minority. Even more disturbing than the numbers is what's driving them. "Violent sectarianism" between the Shiite majority and the Sunni minority has overtaken the terrorist insurgency as "the main challenge," says Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Though Khalilzad insists civil war has not been reached, the picture he paints increasingly sounds like one. Besides acknowledging the rising sectarian violence, he says security forces are often infiltrated by religiously motivated militias or working with them. The Bush administration has defined its course as one in which U.S. troops stand down as Iraqi forces stand up. But if civil war is breaking out and Iraqi forces are riddled with militias, that course is increasingly untenable. Throughout the Iraq war, the administration has failed to acknowledge reality - or done so belatedly. Prime examples include Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's assertion in 2003 that the insurgency was made up of a few "dead-enders" and Vice President Cheney's declaration a year ago that it was in its "last throes." If the greatest threat to a stable Iraq and its fledging government now comes from a civil war, and not from foreign terrorists aligned with Sunni insurgents, the United States must adjust its approach accordingly, not indulge in groundless optimism. Bush and Maliki reportedly will announce a plan to better secure Baghdad, where much of the sectarian violence is concentrated. An offensive begun last month by the Iraqi government, including curfews and 75,000 troops, hasn't worked. The latest plan would likely involve more U.S. troops in Iraq's capital. Perhaps that will help. If it doesn't, there is a sense the United States is fast running out of options to control the ferocious forces unleashed by its ill-conceived invasion.