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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (4674)	8/19/2006 1:16:22 PM
From: TopCat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224707

"Bush let Osama go and you're making excuses for him?" Clinton let Osama go and you're making excuses for him?

To: American Spirit who wrote (4674)	8/19/2006 2:04:43 PM
From: Ann Corrigan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 224707

French dinghies arrive:Israel Disrupts Iran Arms Smuggling into Lebanon: BEIRUT, Lebanon - Israeli commandos raided a Hezbollah stronghold deep inside Lebanon Saturday, sparking a fierce clash with militants. Lebanon called the raid a violation of the U.N.-brokered cease-fire, while Israel said it was aimed at disrupting arms smuggling from Iran and Syria. Witnesses also said Israeli missiles destroyed a bridge during the raid in what would be the first such airstrike since the cease-fire took effect on Monday, ending 34 days of warfare between the two sides. The fighting did not appear to be escalating, but it highlighted the fragility of the 6-day-old truce as the United Nations pleaded for nations to contribute to an international peacekeeping force due to patrol southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said such operations would continue until "an effective monitoring unit" was in place to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its arsenal. "If the Syrians and Iran continue to arm Hezbollah in violation of the (U.N. cease-fire) resolution, Israel is entitled to act to defend the principle of the arms embargo," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said. "Once the Lebanese army and the international forces are active ... then such Israeli activity will become superfluous." The first small contingent of reinforcements for the peacekeeping force - 49 French soldiers - landed Saturday in inflatable dinghies at the southern Lebanese coastal town of Naqoura, with 200 more expected next week. But Deputy U.N. Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown said more countries need to step forward to fill out a vanguard of 3,500 troops that the U.N. wants on the ground by Aug. 28 to help ensure that the truce between Israel and Lebanon holds after 34 days of warfare. Under the cease-fire terms, Israel has said it will conduct defensive operations if its troops are threatened. The cease-fire resolution talks about an end to weapons shipments to Hezbollah as part of a long-term end to the conflict - but does not immediately require it. Such a bold operation suggested Israel was going after a major target near Baalbek - perhaps to rescue two Israeli soldiers snatched by Hezbollah on July 12, or to try to capture a senior guerrilla official to trade for the soldiers. Hezbollah has said it wants to exchange the two soldiers for Arab prisoners, but the U.N. cease-fire resolution demands Hezbollah unconditionally release the soldiers. The Israeli commandos were dropped by helicopter on a hill outside the village of Boudai west of Baalbek and apparently were seeking a guerrilla target in a nearby school, Lebanese security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to release information to the media. Local media said Sheik Mohammed Yazbeck, a senior Hezbollah official in the Bekaa and a member of the Shura council of the group, may have been the target. Yazbeck is a native of Boudai. Hezbollah TV said the guerrillas foiled the raid while Israel said one of its military officers was killed and two other soldiers were wounded, but the force completed its mission. Lebanese security officials said three guerrillas were killed and three were wounded, but a Hezbollah spokesman said none of his fighters died. The ancient town of Baalbek is the birthplace of the Iranian and Syrian-backed Hezbollah. The area in the eastern Bekaa Valley, 60 miles north of the Israeli border, is a major guerrilla stronghold. Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh told reporters he protested the Israeli violation in talks with U.N. envoy Terje Roed-Larsen in Beirut on Saturday. Roed-Larsen said the cease-fire brought a "huge opportunity" for the Lebanese government to extend its authority over southern Lebanon, which has been dominated for years by Hezbollah guerrillas. Under the cease-fire plan, some 15,000 Lebanese troops are to move into the south, backed by the beefed-up U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, as Israeli forces withdraw. Once there, the troops are to enforce the cease-fire. Lebanon has said Hezbollah will not be allowed to bring its weapons out in public - though it has not said whether it will try the more controversial step of disarming the guerrillas. The Lebanese army has deployed more than 1,500 troops in three sectors that Israeli forces have left, and the U.N. force - which currently numbers 2,000 - has set up checkpoints and started patrolling the areas. So far, Italy and Finland have promised troops - and in an effort to encourage more countries to sign on, Annan said the peacekeeping force would not "wage war" on Israel, Lebanon, or Hezbollah militants, addressing a key concern of many countries.