U.S. blames Iran, Syria for Hizbollah kidnappings

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LA622138.htm

U.S. blames Iran, Syria for Hizbollah kidnappings

ROSTOCK, Germany, July 12 (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday condemned the capture by Hizbollah guerrillas of two Israeli soldiers and blamed Syria and Iran for the attacks.

"We call for immediate and unconditional release of the two soldiers," said Frederick Jones, spokesman with the White House National Security Council. "We also hold Syria and Iran, which directly support Hizbollah, responsible for this attack and for the ensuing violence."

:nuke:

[hang a left]

1. And so it begins....

[0007]

10. Rumsfelds and his wet dreams, 'eh?

[radfringe]

24. yep - it does

just a question of when will Lebanon respond with an attack of their own and how the bushies will use it to justify invading more countries...

Originally, the scenario I predicted was for Israel to attack Iran, Iran responds in kind and then we have to invade to protect Israel...

however, it looks like attacking Lebanon and blaming Iran/Syria will work as well

[UpInArms]

2. Round Up the Usual Suspects!

Are these cretins crazier than even I thought???

:wtf:

[enigmacat]

26. Love that movie...

... The Usual Suspects. And you are too right. Shrub and Co. would never pass up an opportunity like this to bring up his bestest friends, Iran, and Syria.

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. I'm disappointed, they didn't toss in North Korean too!

Why don't they just round up all the freepers have an all out war in the middle east & get this shit over with.

[acmavm]

4. Ah ha. I wondered what the official excuse would be in order

to bomb Iran. It'll be these attacks on poor, innocent, defenseless Israel.

[Roland99]

5. Add it to the list: Iran on the Record

Quotes along the road to war:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Roland99/19

[Ghost Dog]

9. Thanks for the observation/archival work there, Roland.

Keep it up.

[Roland99]

11. Think I should send what I have on to Rep. Waxman?

:)

[Ghost Dog]

15. Hey, I'm a foreigner - worse, a Brit gone native in the Hispanic world.

I wouldn't like to interfere too much in the politics of your imperial homeland ;-)

Although, seems, what you folks decide affects the rest of us, uh, quite a lot.

But we've no vote.

:hi: watchin' y'all...

[Roland99]

17. And for that, my friend, you have my DEEPEST apologies.

I did my part in 2004 but tweren't enough.

:(

[Theres-a]

54. Whew

That is one scary list.

[HuffleClaw]

55. good stuff!

well worth reading.

[orwell]

6. And the US also blames them for...

...global warming...

...burnt toast in the morning...

...teenage acne...

...the heartbreak of psoriasis...

...and of course...Bush's low poll numbers...

[seriousstan]

7. I say I/P dungeon before 3 PM EST

n/t

[Caution]

8. So basically if this escalates we'll be at war with Iraq, Iran, Syria, and

Lebanon.

Starting to sound a lot like World War III to me.

[Amonester]

50. Thinking of it... time to make gas *reserves* because, it's *cheap*

now... (compared to what it will be "The Day After" that's comin' up?) :nuke:


:grr:

Anybody remembers that... *fake* Poland border incident with Germany?? :cry:

[azurnoir]

12. I had wondered what Condi

and Ehaud had disscussed, now we know. But of course the involvement of Hizbollah could not have been predicted.

[joe_shmoe]

13. **PETITION AGAINST MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN**

It is with grave concern that I observe the growing threat of a new U.S. war--this time against the people of Iran.

For a collection of articles and resources on this subject you can visit this link: http://reseaudesign.com/research/iran/iran_summery.html

I'm starting up a petition which I will be sending out to as many members of Congress as possible. I'm asking for help to get this signed by as many people, possible in the next month. Send it to as many people you can.

http://www.petitiononline.com/n0war1rn /


thanks,
J-shmoe

[Pachamama]

19. They better add Syria and Lebanon to that petition too!

I think our Chickenhawks have more than just Iran in their sites.... :eyes:

[DELUSIONAL]

14. So is this why Israel is kicking up a fuss in Gaza, Syria & Lebanon?

Will this be used as the excuse to bomb Iran??

[occuserpens]

16. From Israeli corporal to Peace for Galilee-2.0?

2006-07-12 From Israeli corporal to Peace for Galilee-2.0?

[joshcryer]

18. Crap, didn't they move the draft age up to 32?

Damnit.

[Pachamama]

20. No, they moved the draft age to 42!

Or maybe its "call up" age...not sure there is any difference, but I remember them speaking recently about the age having been increased to 42 - my husbands age!

[Bush_MUST_Go]

52. Recruitments are way, way down......

It's so bad, the military is taking known GANG MEMBERS.


http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/kouri/060710

DoD investigator claims gangs are infiltrating the US military

July 10, 2006



The Pentagon said they took steps to keep racist extremists from the ranks after the Oklahoma City bombing, but standards have been relaxed because of wartime recruiting pressures, allowing large numbers of people with links to neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups to join the military, according to the civil-rights group.





"I have identified 320 soldiers as gang members from April 2002 to present," said Scott Barfield, a Defense Department gang detective at Fort Lewis in Washington state. "I think that's the tip of the iceberg."

Of paramount concern is whether gang-affiliated soldiers' training will make them deadly urban warriors when they return to civilian life and if some are using their access to military equipment to supply gangs at home, said Barfield and other experts.

[HuffleClaw]

21. ya just KNEW they were gonna find a way to include iran in this

latest wave of propaganda. what a joke.

[bemildred]

23. Yeah, why did they leave out N. Korea, anyway?

I'll be N. Korea had something to do with it, too.
And Chavez, don't forget Chavez.

[BeHereNow]

22. Well, we are so fucked. Beyond fucked, actually.

No one has said it yet, but two words need to be said here,
in light of this news.
China.
Russia.

The neocon crazies have officially launched WWW3.
Hang on people; it's going to get worse before
it gets worse.
BHN

[Behind the Aegis]

25. and they are responsible to some degree.

[enigmacat]

27. So is Israel...

... to a larger degree. This started because of ONE SOLDIER being kidnapped. Since when is it acceptable to kill mulitiple civilians to get back ONE soldier? As well as the fact that there are also dozens of IDF soldiers being killed too. Call me crazy, but the life of one soldier in exchange for the lives of the many that have been killed now is not logical. This whole situation seems strange, and I smell a red herring.

[Behind the Aegis]

28. This isn't about Gaza...

...Israel may be responsible for many things, including poor response time, but this is about terrorists attacking a soverign nation and said nation responding. Both attacks and kidnappings happened within Israel.

[JCMach1]

29. It's about politics and revenge... pure and simple and GAZA

IS part of it...

[Behind the Aegis]

30. and so is terrorism directed against Israel...

...which seems to get a "free pass" from many here!

[JCMach1]

31. No free pass from me any way... what pisses me off is the pass

the US has to give because the US has lost all moral authority on this issue. Once the US went down the road of a policy of vengeance (read an Isaelification of foreign policy) the US cannot set itself up as a legitimate arbiter of peace.

Both sides must be reined in... who is going to do it??? Further escalation endangers everyone-- including US national security interests.

[Behind the Aegis]

32. well, we sure can't count on the UN.

They are as biased in the process as the US. Whereas you may not have given the terrorists a free pass, there are a few here that salivate at ANY anti-Israeli news, sometimes, they just make it anti-Israeli (do go to the Sports forum for proof).

[JCMach1]

33. the politics here are very sticky and complex and I doubt if the UN

could play any sort of role.

It's a bad conjuction of many things...


-Olmert needing to prove his cojones
-Hamas playing hardball in Palestine
-Hezbollah reacting to the Arab world ignoring the Gaza situation
-Syria feeling odd-man out (as usual)
-Iran (well, just being Iran at this point)

Kidnappings, shootings, rockets... these are the sideshow and pretexts... Without US pressure on all parties here, the escalation continues for some time..

Let's blame everyone for what they've done and move on from there...
Comparing body counts is too much like a contest of pissing into the wind.

[Behind the Aegis]

34. So what does Israel do?!

Sit and take it?

I don't think Iran and Syria are involved, other than implicit support of Hizb'allah. Hamas is a fucking mess, as is the PA. Olmert is playing with the big boys and doesn't know the rules.

The US will not pressure anyone...they will simply make statements. Despite what many think, they really do not give a shit about Israel, anymore than most Arab nations give a shit about the Palestinians!

[JCMach1]

35. Take what precisely? I have always been a fan of proportional

reactions when it comes to foreign policy.

Israel should have attempted rescue, (if not negotiate)... If that fails, perhaps a proportional response to those who bear the guilt for the demise of the kidnapped...

[Behind the Aegis]

36. The "what" is "actions against Israel"

They attempted an immediate rescue that ended with more Israeli deaths. The cowards slipped into obscurity, "protected" by Lebanon. So now what?

Israel is not fighting a conventional war, so what are the rules, because they often only seem to be applied to Israel.

I am tired of Israel always being labeled the 'aggressor' and the others are always the "poor, little victims." If I go out and punch a 6 foot man in the face (I am 5'7") and he punches me back, and kicks me, well, I brought that on myself!

[JCMach1]

37. Come on... how many people do you have to kill to rescue one guy?

How many Palestinian/Lebanese lives is an Israeli worth?

Your right it's not a conventional war at all... so why are the Israelis acting like it is?

Hezbollah vs. the IDF is like the US Army going up against the Delaware National Guard (except the Delaware national guard is better equipped).

So, you destroy a whole nation's infrastructure to extract what exactly?

Israel has the right to defend itself. It doesn't have the right to turn that pretext into something entirely different. The scale here is what is different.

Tell me if you don't agree with me that Olmert is making a big mistake with his actions here?
He is handling this crisis like a bull in a china shop.

[Marie26]

41. What about Lebanon

Israel obviously believes that Lebanon is a direct supporter of Hezbollah, & the soldiers were captured at the Lebanon border. Yet, the US doesn't even mention Lebanon in its statement. I find that odd.

[cali]

46. Perhaps you find it odd

because you know so little about the history of the region. Here's just a little info: Hizbollah is an integral part of the gov't of Lebanon, holding 23 seats in the Parliament and two or three ministry level positions. Syria occupied parts of Lebanon until very recently, and is deeply involved with Hizbollah. Now, lots of the citizenry don't want much to do with Hizbollah, but they don't want to see their country embroiled in another deadly civil war either. It's a complicated situation.

[Marie26]

48. Sure it's complicated

Is it necessary to be so patronizing? My question is: if Hizbollah is an integral part of the government of Lebanon, and the soldiers were captured in Lebanon, why doesn't the US statement blame Lebanon? That's what I find odd; it's ignoring the primary perpetrator in favor of some secondary supporters. But I'm sure the fact that Lebanon is a new democracy, and Syria & Iran are on Bush's "axis of evil" list, had absolutely nothing to do w/that decision. :sarcasm:

[cali]

51. Sorry

I apologize for being patronizing; my only excuse is that the amount of ignorance, the number of bizzaro conspiracy theories and the large number of posters commenting who either know zilch about the situation, is fraying on my nerves. I simply wish people wouldn't comment so freely on stuff they know jackshit about.

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[IndianaGreen]

39. More of Bush's failed faith-based foreign policy

Do these morons have to put a neocon spin on everything they say?

What is Bush doing about this, other than drinking in secret while he masturbates reading the Bible's Song of Songs?

[bemildred]

45. Indeed. He is standing there with his dick in his hand, watching

the results of his ignorant fumbling. Five will get you ten he will find a way to dump some more gas on the fire.

[Marie26]

40. How nice

Does anyone have the feeling this concern for the Israeli soldiers is mostly pretext?

[oasis]

42. I have a friend who avoids politics. Even he can see through this sham.

:eyes:

[Marie26]

43. It's getting worse

Now, those captured soldiers are supposedly being transferred to Iran. The US's statement now seems quite predictive.

[oasis]

44. If they can trace the intentions of the kidnappers, why can't they trace

their whereabouts?

[Marie26]

49. You would think

That's why this just sounds like propaganda to me.

[Just Me]

47. Isn't this the time to start marketing another war?

That's what I heard.

[Generator]

53. And in the sept moi

terror from the sky, and war reigns after.

Sorry..but Nostradamus got it, terror "sept moi" considering SEPTEMBER and TERROR are the big words. I'm afraid he's going to be right about the rest. Can't wait for the new TV season, myself. Reality does not CUT it anymore.