Kofi Annan's Rush To Judgment

Maybe Kofi was basing his assessment on past deliberate provocatons like the deliberate Israeli bombing of the USS Liberty. It's not that far of a stretch to think Israel would bomb the UN considering their complete and utter contempt for the organization.

They've shown complete and utter contempt for innocent Lebanese civilians, what's four UN observers?

I saw a rare interview with Robert Fisk on BBC yesterday. At the time of the destruction of the UN outpost he was there! He was an eyewitness as he watched the IDF shell the outpost for ten straight hours before finally wasting it. He said that there was no way this was not deliberate.

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Michael

So lets do something to let Israel know that we object to their actions. Boycott goods made in Israel, their universal product codes start with <b>729</b>. <li>Don't buy goods made in Israel!<p>---<br><br />
"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."<br />
(Albert Einstein)

Thanks, Milton! I will look for this 729...... <p>So on the news yesterday and today, I heard first both Harper and Bake (Israeli ambassador) make mention of what business did the UN observers have there in a virtual war zone (how about, couldn't safely get out?), and secndly, just what were they observing?</p> Today I heard that the final destruction of the outpost was by <B>THREE</B> so-called smart bombs. <p>Kinda leads one to think just what the UN personnel were observing that the Israelis didn't want them to see......</p> Maybe a little gas warfare in light of the apparently unexpected casualties the IDF is incuring..........? (Just a guess. Everyone is free to pick their own restricted weapon of mass destruction)<p>---<br>"We can have a democracy or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of the few. We cannot have both."<br />
- Justice Louis Brandeis

Thanks Milton! I think Intel should be on the list?<br />
<br />
Intel Under Fire--Literally<br />
<a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/126436-1/article.html">http://www.pcworld.com/article/126436-1/article.html</a><br />
<br />
<p>---<br>These days, if you are not confused, you are not thinking clearly. Mrs. Irene Peters

<p>My first response to Stephen Harper's comment questioning why the bombed UN obervation post was manned was "this is a joke, right? Harper can't be this dense. Who hired this guy?" But then I remembered that we, as voters, hired Stephen Harper. We have no one to blame but ourselves.</p> <p>This one seemed way too obvious for me. I can't resist. So here goes.</p> <p>The observation post is there to <i>observe</i> the conflict. Without people manning the post, there is no one to <i>make observations</i>. If observation posts are evacuated as soon as a fighting starts, the observation post does no good. The greatest value of that observation post to the UN, and to the world in general, is when something is happening for the observation post to <i>observe</i>. </p> <p>We might as well move all the observation posts to Northern Canada if we want them to be safe. They'll do just as good a job as an <i>empty</i> one sitting between Isreal and Lebanon.</p> <p>Any time you place people between two groups of fighting people, you risk casualties. We should remember that despite the risk, the people in the UN observation post remained, <i>unarmed</i>, to do their duty. In doing their job, they showed their belief that the UN, and more importantly, <b>4 unarmed people sitting between two armies, can make a difference</b>.</p> <p>I mourn the deaths of those in the observation post, as well as all who have been injured or killed in wars. I sometimes wish I had the courage to go there myself, sit down between the two armies, and cry and plead for people to stop. I don't know if I believe it would make a difference. Which makes me so much more amazed at those people who do make a difference. And one day maybe from their example I can do something to make a difference as well.</p>

Rachel Corrie had the courage to go to Palestine as an international observer but she was crushed to death by an IDF bulldozer. Tom Hurndall from Britain had the courage as well, alas, the IDF shot him in the head. Then there was Brian Avery from New Mexico, an American shot in the face by the IDF. The IDF does not want people seeing what it is doing. Jeff, I guess your beloved country isn't so innocent afterall. All the more reason to believe the IDF targeted the UN on purpose.

I don't know if Kofi rushed to judgment. He must have been in contact with someone who was in contact with the blasted observation post. He must have been informed that the Israelis ignored repeated orders to stop bombing the post.

This was a very cowardly piece of work and Harper, once again, is giving it a free pass. The guy is transparent, in all the wrong ways.

Here is my comment to this article posted at the Globe&Mail. No reply yet from Major-General Mckenzie or any post disputing anything I wrote. The former I don't expect, the latter, if intelligent, I welcome.
I have also included the email referred to by McKenzie's article which was sent to ctv.ca from Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, the Canadian Forces soldier serving with the UN in South Lebanon who was killed by the Israelis. Text for absent pictures is included:

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Insider Edition Subscriber Content
Peter Cromerovich from Calgary, Canada writes: Mr. Mackenzie sir, I suspect you are full of it. The UN outpost was built to withstand a direct hit from a 155mm shell and that is probably more than enough protection against any of Hezbollah's armaments. Hezbollah is also smart enough to ignore both the outpost and UN Observers and, contrary to popular belief, their rockets are not ICBM sized and pack no larger a punch than an artillery shell. The UN outpost, a 3 storey building standing alone on a hill and emblazoned with 'UN' markings was not built to withstand an aerial laser guided bunker busting bomb which is what destroyed it. For yourself or any other Israeli apologist such as Mr. Harper to suggest that a laser guided bunker buster bomb delivered by an F-16 could be accidental is beyond the pale. You also suggest the UN should have abandoned their unarmed observer post because it was in a war zone. Their job was to observe; if it wasn't a war zone to some degree there would be no purpose in their observing, would there? So it gets a bit hot, where would you suggest they go? Out in the open where the roads are blocked and mined and where you can get shot at and shelled, or in a reinforced bunker that can withstand a direct artillery hit? From the information I have, your arguments sir, seem specious in the extreme.

* Posted 27/07/06 at 2:16 PM EDT | Link to Comment

A Canadian soldier's report from South Lebanon

Updated Wed. Jul. 26 2006 5:19 PM ET

After the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah, and the subsequent bombing campaign began against Lebanon, CTV.ca received an email from Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, a Canadian Forces soldier serving with the UN in South Lebanon.

"If you are interested in a Canadian perspective on the events of yesterday and what is happening here in the area I am serving in, I can provide some concise info for you about the current situation," he wrote.

Major Hess-von Kruedener in South Lebanon in March, meeting with one of the Mouktars of a Druze village called Bourhoz.


With the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Major Hess-von Kruedener was the only Canadian serving as a United Nations Military Observer in Lebanon. He was stationed at the UN base about 10 kilometres from where the Syrian, Lebanese and Israeli borders meet. The UN's mission there is to report ceasefire violations.

On July 25, that base came under fire from Israeli artillery and was struck by a precision-guided aerial bomb. Four UN observers died. On July 26, the federal government said Hess-von Kruedener was missing and presumed dead.

Here is his full email, written July 18, with background on the mission and the current situation:

We have had a brief "tactical pause" in the action here, so I am taking this opportunity to provide you some information on the situation here in south Lebanon. At the outset, I will provide you with a brief background on who I am, What the Org and Mission is here and then answer some of the bank of questions you provided.

Background

My name is Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, and I am an Infantry Officer with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, of the Canadian Forces. I was sent to this Mission (United Nations Truce and Supervision Organization -UNTSO) last October 05, and am currently serving as an unarmed Military Observer. I have now been stationed here in south Lebanon for Approximately nine months.

I am currently writing to you from the UN Patrol Base Khiam, which is situated approximately 10 km from the nexus of the Israeli, Lebanese and Syrian Borders. I am serving with Observer Group Lebanon, or OGL, and I am on Team Sierra. The Patrol Base is named after the village it is situated in, El Khiam, which sits on one of four ridges which dominates both the Hasbani River valley, which then changes to the Houla Valley when it crosses the Lebanon-Israel border 10 km to our south.

A Canadian soldier mans a guard tower at Camp Ziouani, Golan Heights, in 2002. Thousands of Canadians have served in this border region since 1958. (Photo: MCpl Frank Hudec, Canadian Forces Combat Camera)


The patrol base was initially an observation post and was built in 1972, but was later destroyed in 1976 during the fighting between the PLO and the South Lebanese Army (SLA). In 1978 it was rebuilt again and manned by elements of the Norwegian Battalion serving with UNIFIL. In 1980, Observer Group Lebanon (OGL) assumed responsibility for it. Historically, the area of the El Khiam and Hasbani valleys to the north and the Houla valley to the south have been the main axis for invasion in to Lebanon and Palestinian Territories.

Mission

The mission of Team Sierra and OGL within the greater context of UNTSO is to maintain the integrity of theWithdrawal Line (Blue Line), and report on any and all violations or activities that threaten the cease-fire and international peace and security here along the Lebanese/Israeli border, and Israeli Occupied Lebanon, and to support the UNSC resolution 1559, within our mission mandate.

Information Requested

(1) Currently, there are several nationalities that are here on the patrol base with me. I am serving with an Australian, Chinese, Finnish, Austrian, and Irish Officers. They come from various different backgrounds, levels of experience and services (Army, Navy and Air Force) from within their militaries.

(2) I have been here for nine months of a one-year tour of duty. Since I have arrived here in Lebanon, this current incident is the fourth I have seen and by far the most spectacular and intensive.

* The first was 21 Nov 05, when the Hezbollah tried to capture IDF soldiers from an IDF observation position overlooking the Wazzani river near the town of Ghajjar on the Blue Line. This action was unsuccessful and resulted in the deaths of the Hezbollah raiding force.
* On 01 Feb 06, a young shepherd boy was Killed by an IDF patrol near an abandon goat farm called Bastarra. Hassan Nasrallah (note: Hezbollah's leader) vowed that there would be consequences to this action. Team Sierra was tasked on 2 Feb 06, to assist in the investigation of the incident, and we sent one team to do so while the other team conducted its normal mobile patrolling activities.
* On 03 Feb 06, a limited engagement took place initiated by the Hezbollah on several of the IDF defensive positions located in occupied Lebanon.
* Then on 28 May, the Islamic Jihad (PLO) fired rockets from South Lebanon, into Israel, which elicited an immediate aerial bombardment of positions near our patrol base and in the Bekka valley.

(3) Our Team's normal operational activities are to plan, and execute daily vehicle and foot patrols of the Blue Line area within our area of responsibility. Unfortunately, with the current artillery and aerial bombing campaign being carried out by the IDF/IAF, it is not safe or prudent for us to conduct normal patrol activities. Currently, we are observing and reporting on all activities in our area of responsibility, with specific attention to activities along the Blue Line, which is clearly visible from our hilltop position.

(4) Team Sierra is currently observing both IDF/IAF and Hezbollah military clashes from our vantage point which has a commanding view of the IDF positions on the Golan mountains to our east and the IDF positions along the Blue Line to our south, as well as, most of the Hezbollah static positions in and around our patrol Base. It appears that the lion's share of fighting between the IDF and Hezbollah has taken place in our area. On the night of 16 July, at 2125 hrs, a large firefight broke out between the Hezbollah and the IDF near a village called Majidyye and lasted for one hour and 40 minutes.

(5) Based on the intensity and volatility of this current situation and the unpredictability of both sides (Hezbollah and Israel), and given the operational tempo of the Hezbollah and the IDF, we are not safe to venture out to conduct our normal patrol activities. We have now switched to Observation Post Duties and are observing any and all violations as they occur.

This is all the information of a non-tactical nature that I can provide you. I cannot give you any info on Hezbollah position, proximity or the amount of or types of sorties the IAF is currently flying. Suffice to say that the activity levels and operational tempo of both parties is currently very high and continuous, with short breaks or pauses. Please understand the nature of my job here is to be impartial and to report violations from both sides without bias. As an Unarmed Military Observer, this is my raison d'etre.

What I can tell you is this: we have on a daily basis had numerous occasions where our position has come under direct or indirect fire from both artillery and aerial bombing. The closest artillery has landed within 2 meters of our position and the closest 1000 lb aerial bomb has landed 100 meters from our patrol base. This has not been deliberate targeting, but has rather been due to tactical necessity.

I thank you for the opportunity to provide you with some information from the front lines here in south Lebanon.

Maj Hess-von Kruedener

The only good news on the Harper front is that his party is starting to fall in the polls - mainly in Ontario and Quebec. The Liberals are making preparations to speed up their leadership campaign if need be.

Harper is clearly Bush's toady. Bush will go down in history without a doubt as the single worst US president ever, even making Nixon look good. Harper is binding himself and his government to a rock sinking faster by the day. Some claim the man is hyper-intelligent. His very actions prove otherwise.

Canadians have a good moral compass, and they know right from wrong, know our position in the world and expect our government to reflect that. They will punish them at the polls, but like most Conservatives they ignore history at all costs, including their own. Canadians punished the last Conservative party in resounding fashion - let's make sure it happens again!

Let's put this gong-show out of it's misery on election day.

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If there was ever a time for Canadians to become pushy - now is the time - for time is running out on this nation called Canada.

As long as you are listing the 3 killed by the IDF, let's play fair and list the ones killed by the other side. This is an incomplete list of attacks that killed 80 or more people. You can find more here. <a href="http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/">http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/</a> <br />
That those 3 were killed does not prove that the UN was targeted.<br />
<br />
7/11/06 Mogadishu, 140 killed by Islamic militias.<br />
7/11/06 Mumbai, 200 comuters killed by Students Islamic Movement of India.<br />
4/13/06 Djawara (Chad) 118 killed by Janjaweed Arab terrorists.<br />
3/26/06 Mogadishu, 144 killed by Islamic militias.<br />
7/23/05 Sharm el-Sheik (Egypt) 88 tourists & workers killed by Islamic militants. <br />
1/19/05 Hamada (Sudan) 105 mostly women and children killed by bombing.<br />
9/03/04 Beslan (Russia) 344 children, mothers & teachers killed by Islamic militants. <br />
8/24/04 Moscow, 89 killed when 2 planes are hijacked by Islamic militants.<br />
7/13/04 Tabaldiat (Sudan) 80 villagers (including children) killed by Arab militias. <br />
7/12/04 Donki Dereisa (Sudan) 150 villagers killed by Arab militias.<br />
5/01/04 Akobo (Sudan) 204 women and children killed by Arab militias.<br />
3/11/04 Madrid, 201 killed by arab Terrorists.<br />
2/27/04 Mariveles (Philippines) 186 killed by Muslim extremists.<br />
1/31/04 Surra (Sudan) 250 mostly women and children killed by Aarb militias.<br />
12/27/02 Grozny (Chechnya) 80 killed by suicide bombers. <br />
11/22/02 Kaduna (Nigeria) 105 Christian killed by Muslim mob.<br />
10/12/02 Bali, 202 killed in Nightclub blasts by Islamic militants. <br />
09/11/01 New York, close to 3,000 civilians recieve the death penelty for getting to work on time.<br />
<br />

The Israelis know the U.N. can do nothing but sabre rattle. In truth they can do nothing because they know any resolution brought forth condemning Israel would be immediately vetoed by the United States. This is the reason the middle is full of violence. The Zionists can do whatever they want. If there were no veto this conflict would have been solved long ago and everyone would be forced to obey international law. There would be no need for a regional arms race and many of the militants wouldn't even exist.

The fact is that Israel DOES exist, and is not likely to be dismantled, partioned, occupied, or in any way overrun anytime soon.

Not while they have enough nukes to exercise the Masada Option anyway.

By the way, I am curious Mallus, you mention "regional arms race" but decline to mention just how large a region you refer to.

Please clarify.

One more question, do you define ordinary Israeli jews as Zionist or not?

Again, please clarify.

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"and the knowledge they fear is a weapon to be used against them"

"The Weapon" - Rush

Jews as I see are as much victims of the zionists as the palestinians. These Zionists are deflecting the hatred for them onto the Jewish people.
As for regional arms race, that would be the whole middle east. Iran, Syria and Hezbollah accelerated arming to defend themselves against the Zionist aggressors. They learned by the formation of Israel that you can't rely on world justice. The Palestinians went to the U.N. repeatedly for the atrocities they suffered under Zionist rule to no avail but take one soldier from the Zionists and you pay dearly in blood and ifrastructure.
Why do you side with a country guilty of so much war crime. How do you sleep at night knowing that you support a country that treats Arabs like animals and bombs a U.N. building on purpose with laser guided bombs. I think perhaps you watched shindlers list to many times. The criminals are Zionists,(Not jews). Much like the neocons are not representing all Americans. Or you could just call Koffi Annan a jew hater and be done with it.