Israeli general: No village in Lebanon will be immune

Updated: 2.4.09 added another story link; see below

compiled by Cem Ertür
featured writer
Dandelion Salad
12 January, 2009

Editorial note:

The compiled information below is complementary to Blue Star Rampage: Israel’s Dress Rehearsal for Lebanon By Mike Whitney.

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In a video-conference on January 7, Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said:

“What is happening today concerns us all. I know that in Lebanon the eyes of a region are on you. We are all in a sensitive stage in history. I tell you that we do not yet know the magnitude of the plan, the far-reaching effects of the Zionist-American plan and the magnitude of the collaboration. We must all be vigilant at all times as anything is possible.” [1]

Two days later, the head of Hezbollah parliamentary bloc Mohammad Raad warned Israel not to use an incident in which rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into the Israeli settlements as a pretext for sparking a war in Lebanon.

“We are prepared to face any foolishness. We have the wisdom to act calmly and we will not be dragged to any act of which we are not convinced. But we will not accept becoming a target for anyone” [2]

The following quote from a speech delivered by the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert a week before the launch of the Gaza invasion on December 25:

“An additional and dangerous concrete threat, one growing more serious, is the existence of an axis stretching from Tehran through Damascus to the Hizbullah in Lebanon and the Hamas in the Gaza Strip.” [3]

These quotes as well as the Jerusalem Post report below corroborate Mike Whitney’s analysis. As stated in his article, on January 5 Prime Minister Olmert made the following remark to President of France Nicholas Sarkozy:

“In light of our fight against terror – today it’s Hamas, tomorrow it will be Hizbullah…” [4]

—————-
[emphasis added]

Preparing for a possible confrontation with Hizbullah [5]

To prepare for another possible war with Hizbullah, the IDF has also drawn up operational plans that it believes will succeed in ending the battle – with a clear and decisive victory – in four or five days, not like last time.

[...]

In general terms, the plan consists of two stages. The first: to strike hard at Hizbullah infrastructure from the air, and to hope that this is devastating enough to force Hizbullah to end the war…. The second: to conduct a massive ground attack, probably up to the Litani River, the area where most of Hizbullah’s short-range Katyusha rockets are believed to be deployed.

[...]

“In the last war, we made a distinction between Hizbullah targets and Lebanese national targets … Now that Hizbullah is in the government – with veto power in the cabinet – there is no longer a reason to make this distinction, since a Hizbullah attack against Israel is essentially a Lebanese attack against Israel. … No village will be immune … We will give them about a 12-hour warning, and then strike back” [a senior IDF general told the Post].

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Notes:

[1] Nasrallah: Arabs have much to learn from Chavez

Press TV, 8 January 2009

http://www.presstv.com/Detail.aspx?id=81238§ionid=351021708

[2] Raad: Hezbollah Ready to Confront Any Israeli Stupidity

Al Manar TV, 10 January 2009

http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=69835&language=en

[3] Address by PM Olmert to the TAU INSS Annual Conference

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 18 December 2008

http://www.mfa.gov.il/…

[4] Defense officials: IDF likely to expand Gaza

by Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post, 11 January 2009

http://www.jpost.com/…

[5] Preparing for a possible confrontation with Hizbullah

by Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post, 11 December 2008

http://www.jpost.com/…

***

Updated

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1061184.html

excerpt from:

Barak: Syria-Hezbollah arms deal will prompt Israeli action in Lebanon

Haaretz, 3 February 2009

Quote:

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Thursday that the transfer of particular weapons systems [i.e. anti-aircraft missiles] from Syria to Hezbollah would obligate Israel to take action in Lebanon. “There are [weapons] system capable of tipping the status quo in Lebanon and we will need to consider our response should they be transferred […] I do not recommend that Hezbollah try us, the results will be even more painful than one could imagine” he said.

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Blue Star Rampage: Israel’s Dress Rehearsal for Lebanon By Mike Whitney

Israel-Palestine-Gaza-Occupation

Don’t Abuse Presidential Pardons by Ralph Nader + Bush: I Authorized Torture

Dandelion Salad

by Ralph Nader
Don’t Abuse Presidential Pardons – The Nader Page
1.12.09

Dear Mr. President:

We strongly urge you to demonstrate a devotion to the rule of law by refraining from presidential pardons for any current or former White House, Cabinet or agency official in your administration for torture, illegal surveillance, unconstitutional imprisonments, obstruction of justice, perjury, violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982, or otherwise. These crimes rank among the most serious in the entire federal criminal code. The pardons would be tantamount to shredding the rule of law which all presidents are constitutionally obligated to honor. A signed, delivered, and accepted pardon would also be an admission of guilt.

Intense clashes erupt in Gaza City + Shelled family recounts Gaza horror

Dandelion Salad

Warning

.

These videos may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience.

AlJazeeraEnglish

Fierce clashes have erupted in densely-populated areas of east Tuffah and Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip and on the outskirts of Gaza City as the offensive entered its 17th day.

Al Jazeera’s Ayman Mohyeldin reports on the public who are struggling to cope under the bombardment in Gaza.

more about “Intense clashes erupt in Gaza City – …“, posted with vodpod

***

Shelled family recounts Gaza horror

The International Committe for the Red Cross alleged that the Israeli army had refused to let them help a family trapped in a shelled house.

When paramedics were granted access, they say what they found was shocking: starving children were sitting beside the bodies of their dead parents and family.

Al Jazeera’s Sherine Tadros has gained exclusive access to the survivors.

more about “Shelled family recounts Gaza horror“, posted with vodpod

see

Who killed the peace process?

The Wrong Side of History – Gaza Slaughter Exposes Truth About Zionism

Israel-Palestine-Gaza-Occupation

How To Resolve The Credit Crisis: Credit Where Credit Is Due by Dr. Ellen Hodgson Brown

by Dr. Ellen Hodgson Brown
featured writer
Dandelion Salad
Ellen’s post
webofdebt.com
Jan 12, 2009

Letter to the bank –

Dear Sirs, In light of recent developments, when you returned my check marked “insufficient funds,” were you referring to my funds or yours?

Economist John Kenneth Galbraith famously said, “The process by which banks create money is so simple that the mind is repelled.”  If banks can create money, why are we suffering from a “credit crunch”? Why can’t banks create all the money they can find borrowers for? Last fall, Congress committed an unprecedented $700 billion in taxpayer money to reversing the credit crisis, and the Federal Reserve has already fanned that into $8.5 trillion in loans and commitments.¹ But the bank bailout has proven to be no more than a boondoggle for a handful of lucky Wall Street banks, without getting credit flowing again.

To understand the real cause of the credit crisis and how it can be reversed, we first need to understand credit itself – what it is, where it comes from, and what the real tourniquet is that has limited its flow. Banks actually create credit; and if private banks can do it, so could public banks or public treasuries. The crisis is not one of “liquidity” but of “solvency.” It has been caused, not by the banks’ inability to get credit (something they can create with accounting entries), but by their inability to meet the capital requirement imposed by the Bank for International Settlements, the private foreign head of the international banking system. That inability, in turn, has been caused by the derivatives virus; and only a few big banks are seriously infected with it. By bailing out these big banks, the government is actually spreading the virus by furnishing the funds for them to take over smaller regional banks.

Who killed the peace process?

Dandelion Salad

TheRealNews

http://www.therealnews.com

Jesse Rosenfeld: Anger at Israel and the PA in West Bank may pave the way for a 3rd intifada Pt.2/2

more about “Who killed the peace process?“, posted with vodpod

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Israel’s politics spill into Gaza

The Wrong Side of History – Gaza Slaughter Exposes Truth About Zionism

Israel-Palestine-Gaza-Occupation

The Wrong Side of History – Gaza Slaughter Exposes Truth About Zionism

Dandelion Salad

By Mark H. Gaffney
January 12, 2009 “Information Clearinghouse“

The reason given by Israel for its massive assault upon Gaza, which continues as I write, is to halt the Qassam rocket launches into southern Israel staged by Hamas. But even the Israeli military admits that its ongoing operations will not necessarily halt the Qassams. The only way Israel could militarily do this would be to permanently reoccupy all of Gaza: lock it down. But this alternative has no support with the Israeli public. Permanent military reoccupation would expose thousands of Israeli soldiers to continued guerrilla attacks from Hamas. Over time, Israel would take unacceptable losses. Indeed, the Israeli army ended its occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000 for this very reason, because it sustained heavy losses from Hezbollah fighters. This means, quite simply, that there is no military solution to the Qassam rocket attacks.

The Qassam is not a guided missile. It is a crude device, a kind of homemade weapon, something you might fabricate in your garage or basement. The rockets often misfire, are wildly inaccurate, and sometimes injure other Palestinians. In fact, from a military standpoint the Qassam is a nearly useless weapon. Over a period of years the Qassams have killed only a handful of Israelis. So, why do the Palestinians lob useless weapons at Israel? It is an important question, and one the western press has not honestly addressed.

Al Qaeda Doesn’t Exist (2 & 3)

Dandelion Salad

corbettreport

Part One of the Al Qaeda Doesn’t Exist documentary from The Corbett Report, dealing with the founding and funding of what we know as Al Qaeda. This installment of the documentary goes into Zbigniew Brzezinski, Operation Cyclone, the ISI-CIA-MAK-US government funding circle and CIA connections to Osama Bin Laden. For more information about this documentary, including a bibliography of works cited, please visit the documentary website:

http://www.alqaedadoesntexist.com

more about “Al Qaeda Doesn’t Exist Part 2“, posted with vodpod

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Al Qaeda Doesn’t Exist (Documentary) – 3

This is the second installment of Part One of the Al Qaeda Doesn’t Exist Documentary, dealing with the Founding and Funding of what we know as Al Qaeda, including information on Brzezinski, Operation Cyclone, the CIA, the ISI, MAK, and of course Osama Bin Laden.

more about “Al Qaeda Doesn’t Exist Part 3“, posted with vodpod

see

Al Qaeda Doesn’t Exist (Prologue)

9/11 on Dandelion Salad

Jewish Peace News: Dissident voices everywhere

Dandelion Salad

Jewish Peace News
1.11.09

In addition to containing information and analysis about the war in Gaza, the following pieces feature dissident voices – voices that offer a very significant challenge to any myth that Americans or Israelis uniformly support the carnage taking place. The first piece below reports and analyzes a remarkable undertow of US opinion that is hostile to the war, a report that reveals a striking disconnect between (particularly Democratic) voters and our representatives.

The second piece below is a letter from Naamika Zion, a member of Kol Aher, a peace group in Sderot, who makes a strong and eloquent argument / plea: “Not in my name and not for me you went to war. The current bloodbath in Gaza is not in my name and not for my security.”

The last dissident voice is George Bisherat, a law professor, whose lucid, critical analysis appeared in the Wall Street Journal, of all places. Racheli Gai writes: It’s important that people take the time to write to the Wall Street Journal and thank them for publishing such a fine piece – (not a common thing on their part)… Email your letter to the editor to: wsj.ltrs@wsj.com. Please limit your letters to 200 or fewer words … shorter letters have a better chance of being selected for publication.

According to Blumenthal (in the piece immediately below), a growing numbers of Americans don’t buy into the myths disseminated by mainstream media about the war on Gaza. He conjectures that – in addition to the presence on line of alternative sources of information – the reason is that after people got sold a bill of goods in regards to why the US went to a war against Iraq, they are a lot more skeptical about the veracity of what they hear and see on most mainstream media outlets.

Racheli Gai

[...]

via Jewish Peace News: Dissident voices everywhere.

see

Maria Starts Hunger Strike In Solidarity With People Of Gaza

Welcome to Occupied Orlando By Eileen Fleming

Solidarity with Palestine: Crisis Responses and Movement Building

Israel-Palestine-Gaza-Occupation

Libertarianism: If Not Now, Then When? by Joel S. Hirschhorn

by Joel S. Hirschhorn
featured writer
Dandelion Salad
www.foavc.org
January 12, 2009

With the meltdown of the American economy, what better time to ask: Can libertarianism come to the rescue? Perhaps the most interesting statement in the Wikipedia discussion of libertarianism is that “There is no single theory that can be reliably identified as the libertarian theory, and no single principle or set of principles on which all libertarians would agree.”

Nevertheless, I think it is fair to say that libertarianism includes the belief in economic freedom that emphasizes removing corporate subsidies and other favoritism to special interests and provides maximum freedom to individuals to pursue financial success and security.

Holocaust Now: The Niggers of Gaza … And Here By Gary Corseri

By Gary Corseri
featured writer
Dandelion Salad
January 12, 2009

“And why should ye not fight in the cause of Allah and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated and oppressed?—Men, women, and children whose cry is, “Our Lord!  Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from Thee one who will protect; And raise for us from Thee one who will help.” –The Holy Koran, Sura IV, Verse 75

“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You lock the kingdom of heaven before human beings. … You have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity.” –The Gospel of Matthew, 23: 13-27

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners do the same. –The Gospel of Luke, 6: 27

Just before the exit of the restaurant, my thoughtful, septuagenarian Leftist writer-friend is contemplating a poster of “The Rat Pack”–Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Lawford and Bishop in front of the old Sands hotel in Vegas, circa late 50′s/early 60′s.  They’re all slim and young, hip and cool, smiling–and I comment, “The good old days! … Looks innocent now, doesn’t it?”

And he answers, “Are things worse now—or do we just know more about what’s going on … so they seem worse?”

“They are worse,” I aver, “because we know more—and because it is now.”

Maria Starts Hunger Strike In Solidarity With People Of Gaza

Dandelion Salad

Updated: 1.25.09

From an email from Cem Ertür

Monday, January 12 2009

Maria Gallastegui, founder of the Peace Strike, has started a hunger strike this morning in solidarity with the people of Gaza and to protest against the escalating military assault on the people of Gaza.

MPs and Lords are returning to Parliament today (Monday 12 January) and will be met with a highly visible protest about what is happening in Gaza.

Maria set up the Peace Strike in 2007 which urges people to go on ‘strike for peace’ from their daily activities. She has since personally delivered over 400 daily petitions to No 10 Downing Street calling for peace and justice in the Middle East.

Maria said,

“I have food, drink, shelter, warmth, contact with my family and the rest of life’s necessities whenever I need; the people of Gaza don’t have these. They have almost no access to basic necessities and are living each day in dreadful fear for their lives and those of their families. I am starting this hunger strike in solidarity with the people of Gaza at this moment of extreme crisis. I urge everyone to go on strike for Gaza, take a day off work, come and join us on the Vigil for Gaza in Parliament Square or make a stand for Palestine where ever you are. Every single individual can make a difference.”

The continuous Vigil for Gaza in Parliament Square calls for an immediate end to Israel’s military assault on Gaza, an end to the two-year long blockade and siege of Gaza and for the UK Government to take effective action against Israel.

Come and join the vigil whenever you can, support Maria and let parliamentarians know how you feel about what is happening in Gaza.

http://www.peacestrike.org.uk
http://www.vigilforgaza.net

***

Updated

Also from Cem Ertür

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/01/420202.html

14th day of hunger strike in parliament square

Indymedia UK, 25 January 2009

maria gallestegui continues her hunger strike in parliament square for the people of gaza sunday will be her 14th day without food
she is drinking liquids and taking basic mineral and vitamin supplements
mainstream media is still ignoring her protest even though gaza itself has quickly fallen from the headlines
i filmed an interview with maria on her fifth day
it can be seen at http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/01/418754.html

the socpa authorisation for a vigil of up to 20,000 still stands in parliament square, so anyone is welcome to go and support maria and the people of gaza without legal hindrance

rikki

see

Welcome to Occupied Orlando By Eileen Fleming

Solidarity with Palestine: Crisis Responses and Movement Building

Israel-Palestine-Gaza-Occupation

Welcome to Occupied Orlando By Eileen Fleming

Dandelion Salad

Crossposted at Thomas Paine’s Corner thanks, Jason.

By Eileen Fleming
1/11/09

Warning: This article contains graphic photos that serve to document a few of Israel’s myriad war crimes at the original post: Welcome to Occupied Orlando

I was on my way to Lake Eola for an afternoon rally, where over 2,000 people came together in solidarity over our anguish for the misery in Gaza and to March in front of Senator Mel Martinez and Senator Bill Nelson’s Orlando offices.

The area we were consigned to was ‘roped’ off with one strand of plastic tape that a baby could break. 150 police officers attempted to justify the waste of man power by checking bags and denying fluids to travel into the taped off area. I solved my dilemma at the Orlando Police Checkpoint in the Park by ducking under the tape thirty feet from ‘Security’s’ back.

We the people with a conscience had come together to take to the streets our demand that USA Government stand up for an immediate bilateral cease fire and the free flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

We the people of all faiths and none came together in heart break over Gaza and anger at USA complicity in Israel’s war crimes.

Fast to End Torture and Promote Peace by Cindy Sheehan + video

Cindy Sheehan for Congress

by Cindy Sheehan
Dandelion Salad
featured writer
Cindy Sheehan for Congress
January 11, 2009

On July 4th, 2006, I embarked on the “Troops Home Fast” with many fellow activists all over the country. We began the fast in front of the White House and we were planning on ending it in front of the White House on September 21st (World Peace Day), but few of us made it that far.

At the end of July, Iraqi Prime Minster, Nouri al-Maliki said he would meet with Medea Benjamin (CODEPINK) and I, when he was visiting DC, if we would end the fast. Maliki, for some reason, left the Iraqi embassy without meeting with us, so the fast continued. However, some Iraqi parliamentarians were shocked and ashamed of Maliki’s rude treatment of us, so we were invited to meet with the parliamentarians in Amman, Jordan, and that’s when most of the fasters ended their fasts.

I lasted through Jordan and a few days back in the states when I became very ill and had to have two blood transfusions and two emergency surgeries in Waco, Texas in August of ’06…during a Camp Casey protest. So, my fast lasted 37 days when I had to end it under doctor’s orders.

Now, we are going into the 7th year of occupation in Iraq and are in the 8th year in Afghanistan. Although the violence is thankfully lower in Iraq, it came with a horrible price of US genocide and ethnic cleansing. (Plus the over 4000 Americans who are dead for nothing and the tens of thousands who are emotionally, mentally and physically maimed). The Obama regime hasn’t even been sworn in yet, but is promising to increase violence in Afghanistan.

Today, (January 11) is the sick-sick 7th anniversary of the opening of the US torture camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The stain of this facility just about 90 miles off of our shore will live in infamy forever. The regime-elect has promised to shut it down and we can never give up until the last illegally incarcerated detainee is given due process and fair trials, or released and given restitution.

I met a Sheikh in Jordan on that first trip when I was still on the “Troops Home Fast.” He described indescribable horrors after he was beaten and dragged out of his home by US troops and thrown in Abu Ghraib prison. The pictures from that facility shocked us all, but meeting a man who was brutally tortured and has to live in constant pain and takes dozens of pills a day to survive the pain and debilitation the torture caused was very heartbreaking. It made me ashamed to the core of my government that is still trying to claim some kind of moral high ground.

In Cuba and elsewhere around the world, I have met a few detainees that were rounded up and sold to the US military by the Northern Alliance for bounty and sent to Guantanamo. My friends, Asif and Rhuhel’s stories are told in the Mat Whitecross movie, Road to Guantanamo, but the stories they tell in person of being sodomized with broom handles or put in stress positions while being subjected to heat/cold and loud blasting music also make me so ashamed. What is even worse is that the British Government knew that Asif, Rhuhel and their friends weren’t even in Afghanistan at the time they were being accused of consorting with Osama bin Laden, but they had to stay at the prison for over 3 years!

I have been at the barbed-wire barrier that separates the bucolic town of Guantanamo Cuba from the horror-site of the US torture facility with a mother of someone who was being unlawfully detained there, Omar DeGhayes. Omar has thankfully been released, but hundreds remain.

The stain of torture has affected every American—not just the torturers or our selected officials who sanctioned, planned and authorized the obscene policies. How can we as individuals claim to take any moral high ground when our silence gives consent?

Starting today and until the inauguration on the 20th, there is a Fast for Justice in front of the White House to kick off the 100 Days Campaign to close Guantanamo. I couldn’t be in DC, so I will be fasting in solidarity with those people in DC and those people in Guantanamo.

Some of the prisoners at Guantanamo are still being forced fed and some have been there for seven years.

Some people have health/other considerations that would make fasting for nine days difficult. You don’t have to fast for the entire nine days, you can join us for a day, or two, or nine, but there are also other ways of fasting.

I think I can fast for nine days. What can you do?

Fast from TV.

Fast from booze.

Fast from cigarettes.

Fast from coffee.

Fast from one meal a day and give the money you save to a homeless shelter.

Fast from gasoline.

Fast from credit cards.

Send money to organizations that are working for peace.

The only way that we will not be held complicit as the “Good Germans” of the Bush error, is to boldly speak out against the crimes and to do whatever we can to make sure President Obama follows through with his promise to close Guantanamo.

I will be blogging daily about the fast, and would appreciate your comments or fasting stories:

Cindy@CindySheehansSoapbox.com

Donate to help keep Cindy’s work going!

***

Guantanamo Bay protester speaks about fast

more about “Guantanamo Bay protester speaks about…“, posted with vodpod