The Israeli airforce were very busy today, with major raids on 52 targets in Lebanon today.
The Jerusalem Post reported that IAF planes showered southern Lebanon with flyers mocking Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah and calling on him to come out of hiding.
Of course, as I reported, Nasrallah and the Hezbolah command are likely holed up in northern Lebanon near the Syrian border and if that's true the Israelis are no doubt aware of it..but the leaflets are intended to enrage Nasrallah and dishearten Hezbollah's ground troops.
The Israelis are setting things up for a ground assault.
According to the IAF 40 to 50 percent of Hizbullah's military capability has been destroyed in the six days of the IDF counter-attack following last Wednesday's Hezbollah raid in northern Israel. They estimate that in another week or so Israel will have removed Hezbollah's capacity to threaten Israel.
I personally hope they're right..but I have a feeling that Iran will move additional weapons stocks into Lebanon via Syria.
The IDF probably got some of those weapons today when IAF aircraft attacked two weapons-filled trucks parked on the coastal road in the town of Byblos, north of Beirut. They also hit two similar trucks on the narrow mountain road between Beirut and Syria, which has become the main route to Damascus since the air attacks made the Damascus Highway undrivable.
(PS: to those anguished souls fomenting over Israel's knocking out infrastructure, THAT was why they did it..sheesh!)
Iran's President Ahmadinejad and assorted iranian pols were was busy as well today. Ahmadinejad once again lit into the tired old theme that the Holocaust was a fantasy concocted for the West to take over the Middle East through Israel, and that Israel was about to colapse, according to the news agency ISNA.
Yadda yadda, death to Israel, who stole my beard trimmer,all the usual stuff.
Iran's parliament speaker Gholam-Ali Hadad-Adel had his say at a state-organized anti-Israel rally of thousands of Iranians who declared their readiness to be dispatched to Lebanon to fight against Israel.(sure they did) He threatened that no place in Israel was safe from Hezbollah attacks.
"The war has just begun, today is the day of resistance, today is the day of liberation of Palestine and there will be no safe spot in the occupied territories (Israel) anymore from Hezbollah attacks," he told an anti-Israeli gathering in the Palestine Square in downtown Tehran.
Hadad-Adel, who is head of the Abadgaran (Development) party which currently dominates the Iranian majlis (parliament), also declared Iran's full solidarity with Lebanon and the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah.
'There will be no help which we would not render to Lebanon and the resistance (Hezbollah),' the speaker said. "Inshallah (so God wills), we will soon hold our thankfulness prayers in Qods" (mullahspeak for `Jerusalem').
Will Iran actually get involved? I don't think they intended things to go that far, but their hand may be forced by the ol' honor/shame thing.
And if Israel does find the hostages in the Iranian embassey inbeirut or they capture Iranian military in lebanon while mopping up Hezbollah, the fit might hit the shan...
Stay tuned.
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9 comments:
Remember back during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis when Adlai Stevenson confronted the Soviets with proof that Russian missiles were in Cuba.
From Ambassador Stevenson's Statement to the UN Security Council....
"Do you, Ambassador Zorin, deny that the U.S.S.R. has placed and is placing medium- and intermediate-range missiles and sites in Cuba? Yes or no—don’t wait for the translation—yes or no?
Adlai Stevenson...Unforgettable!
So let's get the proof and evidence that Iran is behind Hezbollah and furnishing them weapons for an doubting world to see.
ZG
Hi, thanks for dropping by.
Actually,it's pretty common knowledge and unlike the Russians with Cuba, Iran isn't denying it in the least.
The Syrians are, but it's obvious how the weapons are getting in to Lebanon. Or Iraq, for that matter
Secondly, the Israelis have identified the rockets from shrapnel.
Another thing. The UN during the early 1960's was just barely functional, and it was US action, NOT the UN that got the missiles out of Cuba.
The UN is even less functioonal and efective now. If Iran is willing to shrug off the notions of sanctions over its illegal nukes program, what makes you think they would give a rip about weapons they've suplied to Hezbollah? Or that the UN would vote sanctions on them in any event?
Sorry.that's just how I see it.
the syrians have been most cooperative in their helping "innocents" evacuate from northern lebanon.
i wonder how many ranking/play callers hezz have been among the "innocents".
off topic comment:
ff,
did you see the tony snow/helen thomass floor show?
if not MM site has a link somewheres.
Thanks for the tip Louie..Helen Thomas is one of the most despicable humans(and I use the term loosely) in theWhit House Press corps.
another off topic comment:
i have read quotes from olmert stating that the iranian ploy worked, that by the hezz/ham deceptions the g-8 summit was hi-jacked and attention taken away from the iranian nuke question/issue.
i disagree.
previous comments made by yourself on this site indicate that puken would have and did hinder the agenda of the g-8 regarding their international philandering and sponsorship of rogue regimes obtaining nukes.
in short, why is olmert making this public declaration? giving credit where none is due.
Good Question, Louie...
The two factoids are not contradictory,IMO.
At the begining of the G8 summit, you had a number of pundits, mostly `liberals' like the WAPO's David Ignatius saying that Putin would `stand with the West' and authorize sanctions against Iran.
There is a strong strain of belief of this kind of diplo-fantasy in our state department.
Of course, we knew better, and Putin's positions at the conference were consistent with his statements all along.
Nevrtheless, Olmert was indeed correct that the attacks by Hamas, hezbollah and the ramping up of violence by the iranian controlled Shia militias in Iraq did in fact hijack the agenda of the G-8 and take the spotlight off of Iran's nukes.
The fact that Putin would never have jumped on to the West's side against Iran doesn't preclude the Iranians orchestrating things on their own in an attempt to distract the West from coming to a consensus over Iran's nukes.
I also have a feeling that both Iran and Hezbollah misjudged the Israeli response, expecting this to be limited to diplomatic fireworks rather than the kind the IAF delivers...
Thanks for dropping by, as always!
so we can see by dropping the leaflets that the israelis are trying to calm things down. cause nothing calms down people in the middle east like a cartoon mocking thier religious leaders. face the truth isreal does not want peace.
Well Hamza, the reason the Israelis are dropping leaflets is to RIDICULE Nasrallah for hiding behind civilians.
I suppose you approve of Hezbollah using civilians as human shields?
Some other leaflets Israel has been dropping have been to warn Lebanese civilians to evacuate so as not to be in danger when Israel attacks.
Quite a bit of a different approach than Hamas and Hezbollah use towards ISRAELI civilians , wouldn't you say?
As for `not wanting peace'...who attacked whom, anyway?
I advise you to get beyond your hatred and think about what's REALLY best,in the long run for Lebanon..and it ain't an armed Hezbollah. If YOU wanted peace, I think you'd see that.
Thanks for dropping by.
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