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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: thames_sider who wrote (25197)	7/31/2006 3:46:10 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541487

And so far it's not Hezbollah being the danger: they aren't targeting the UN, even accidentally. They are apparently using the UN as human shields. "OTTAWA - The words of a Canadian United Nations observer written just days before he was killed in an Israeli bombing of a UN post in Lebanon are evidence Hezbollah was using the post as a ''shield'' to fire rockets into Israel, says a former UN commander in Bosnia. Those words, written in an e-mail dated just nine days ago, offer a possible explanation as to why the post which according to UN officials was clearly marked and known to Israeli forces was hit by Israel Tuesday night, said retired major general Lewis MacKenzie Wednesday. The strike hit the UN observation post in the southern Lebanese village of El Khiam, killing Maj. Paeta Hess-von Kruedner, a Canadian serving at the post as an unarmed UN military observer, and three other UN observers. Just last week, Hess-von Kruedner wrote an e-mail about his experiences after nine months in the area, words MacKenzie said are an obvious allusion to Hezbollah tactics. ''What I can tell you is this,'' he wrote in an e-mail to CTV dated July 18. ''We have on a daily basis had numerous occasions where our position has come under direct or indirect fire from both (Israeli) artillery and aerial bombing. ''The closest artillery has landed within 2 meters (sic) of our position and the closest 1000 lb aerial bomb has landed 100 meters (sic) from our patrol base. This has not been deliberate targeting, but rather due to tactical necessity.'' Those words, particularly the last sentence, are not-so-veiled language indicating Israeli strikes were aimed at Hezbollah targets near the post, said MacKenzie. ''What that means is, in plain English, 'We've got Hezbollah fighters running around in our positions, taking our positions here and then using us for shields and then engaging the (Israeli Defence Forces),'' he said. It's a tactic MacKenzie, who was the first UN commander in Sarajevo during the Bosnia civil war, said he's seen in past international missions: aside from UN posts, fighters would set up near hospitals, mosques and orphanages. It's also one he would likely use if he was a ''belligerent'' and not a Canadian soldier, he said. ''The most important thing in combat these days, funnily enough, is not to win the firefight but to win the information battle and the PR battle,'' he said..." canada.com "...The general explained that is veiled military speech "telling us [that] Hezbollah fighters were all over his position and the IDF were targeting them." He said using UN personnel as human shields is "a favorite trick by people who don't have representation in the UN," knowing they will suffer no direct consequences for the violation." allheadlinenews.com