Biblical countries, in the news.

[Shammu]

Ok... am I lost or what?  How can a 'true' Christian be against Israel?

If you see sister, they are Christians in name. But they place their country, and countrymen, before they place God.  

Where as a true Christian will place God, before country. 

These Christians are like the Church of Sardis.

Revelation 3:1-6 AND TO the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Sardis write: These are the words of Him Who has the seven Spirits of God [[a]the sevenfold Holy Spirit] and the seven stars: I know your record and what you are doing; you are supposed to be alive, but [in reality] you are dead. 2 Rouse yourselves and keep awake, and strengthen and invigorate what remains and is on the point of dying; for I have not found a thing that you have done [any work of yours] meeting the requirements of My God or perfect in His sight. 3 So call to mind the lessons you received and heard; continually lay them to heart and obey them, and repent. In case you will not rouse yourselves and keep awake and watch, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know or suspect at what hour I will come. 4 Yet you still have a few [persons'] names in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes, and they shall walk with Me in white, because they are worthy and deserving.  5 Thus shall he who conquers (is victorious) be clad in white garments, and I will not erase or blot out his name from the Book of Life; I will acknowledge him [as Mine] and I will confess his name openly before My Father and before His angels. 6 He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the [Holy] Spirit says to the assemblies (churches).

edited to add; Revelation 3:1-6

[nChrist]

Hello Sister Tina,

I think that some ill-informed Christians simply see Israel as a nation that rejected JESUS CHRIST, and they think that GOD is through with Israel. Many Christians really don't have any idea that GOD still has many plans for Israel and promises that HE will most certainly keep to Israel.

It's sad that some Christians don't study their Bibles enough to know that Israel is not an anti-Christ nation. GOD has simply set them aside for a time, and Israel has been severely punished for rejecting JESUS CHRIST as their anointed KING and MESSIAH. BUT, JESUS CHRIST will claim the Throne of David in Jerusalem, and JESUS CHRIST will reign over the house of Jacob forever. Israel will recognize their anointed KING and MESSIAH at GOD'S appointed time, and that time might be soon. Until then, whatever nation curses Israel will be cursed by GOD, and whatever nation blesses Israel will be blessed by GOD.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Psalms 119:38 NASB  Establish Your word to Your servant, As that which produces reverence for You.

[Shammu]

Same solutions, same dangers for war-fatigued Lebanon
Published: 8/5/2006

   
BEIRUT - Israel's proposals for a long term solution to its conflict with Hezbollah are eerily reminiscent of similar initiatives that had bloody consequences in the past, according to analysts.

Israel is seeking the deployment of an international force and also wants to set up a buffer zone extending several kilometres (miles) into Lebanese territory.

Its stated goal is to neutralise the threat posed by the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah fighters who have killed dozens of Israeli civilians in rocket attacks into northern Israel.

"This will not bring security to the Israelis," maintained Timur Goksel, former spokesman of the UN force in south Lebanon and regarded as the foremost foreign expert on the violence-ravaged region.

The buffer zone "would be an ideal target for Hezbollah," he cautioned.

Israel occupied southern Lebanon for 22 years.

From 1985 to 2000, it controlled a 850-square-kilometre zone from which it only withdrew after becoming bogged down in the quagmire of guerrilla warfare against Hezbollah, whose fighters won the esteem of many Lebanese for winning what was seen as a war of liberation.

The new security zone sought by Israel would be nowhere near the same size nor would it rely on the presence of local auxiliaries, as was the case with the now-defunct South Lebanese Army (SLA), a Christian militia.

A security zone is no magic formula, analysts said, and will not help solve the very deep problems underlying Israel's standoff with Hezbollah, which has claimed almost 1,000 lives in Lebanon and almost 80 on the Israeli side since resurging in the past three weeks.

The security zone "would be a free fire zone," said Jamil Mroue, owner of Lebanon's English-language Daily Star newspaper.

"It is another version of their wall," he added, referring to the separation barrier Israel is building on the West Bank with the avowed aim of protecting itself against Palestinian attacks.

"We do not want to live like that," he said, emphasising that the only way to bring security to the border area was a comprehensive political agreement.

For political analyst and writer Michael Young, the idea of a security zone is "full of risks."

"It's difficult to adhere to the concept of a security zone. It's still possible to bomb beyond the security zone," he said.

Goksel commented: "You can already imagine the daily clashes that would take place along the frontier."

In order to avoid such incidents, the United States is touting the sending of a "robust" multinational force to the area, and which Israel wants to be made up of at least 15,000 soldiers capable of using force to stop attacks on the Jewish state.

But a catastrophic historical precedent haunts such an idea.

Between 1982-1983 a multinational force made up of US, French, British and Italian troops was sent to Lebanon to help solve the Israeli-Palestinian standoff which was playing out amid the Lebanese civil war.

Its mission came to a tragic end.

On October 23, 1983, 241 US soldiers and 58 French paratroopers were killed when truck bombs driven by suicide attackers exploded in their barracks in Beirut. Washington accused Hezbollah of being behind the strikes.

"This force of dissuasion would be regarded as a force of occupation," said Goksel. "And the Lebanese know how to make life miserable for a force of occupation."

The Lebanese government has come out against a multinational force and would prefer to see a strengthening of the existing United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), deployed since 1978, which would help the Lebanese army forge a presence in the south.

Even before the current conflict, the authority of the Lebanese government did not extend into the extreme southern border region which remained the fiefdom of Hezbollah and its armed militants.

Young said the deployment of an international force has the advantage of being a "mechanism that allows the Israelis to get out of the south," where up to 10,000 of its troops have massed in their ongoing incursion.

For Mroue, the problem of a force in south Lebanon is that it implies that the only risk to border security lies inside Lebanon.

"This cannot work. The Lebanese government will not accept it. This force has to be deployed on both sides of the border," he said.

Goksel said that the new force will never see the light of day as potential contributors shy away after becoming aware of the considerable risks. "It's a non-starter," he said.

Same solutions, same dangers for war-fatigued Lebanon

[Shammu]

India Bans Arab TV Channels Under Pressure From Israel
ubgone19 Raza Burney, Arab News
 

BOMBAY, 6 August 2006 — In a country widely referred to as the world’s largest democracy, the Indian government has succumbed to mounting Israeli pressure and ordered a nationwide ban on the broadcast of Arab television channels.

The Indian government’s ban on Arab television stations is in complete contrast to the friendship that Arab countries imagine exists with their neighbor across the Arabian Sea. It seems the ban is a move to ensure that Indians do not get to see the atrocities that are presently being committed by Israel in Lebanon and the occupied territories.

Nabila Al-Bassam, a Saudi businesswoman on a trip to Bombay, told Arab News how she became exasperated at not being able to watch Arab channels at Bombay’s leading five-star Oberoi Hotel. When she took up the issue with the hotel manager, she was told that Arab television channels had been banned across India.

A perplexed Al-Bassam then sent an SMS to Arab News Editor in Chief Khaled Almaeena to verify whether this was indeed the case. “Oberoi Hotel tells me that the government of India has banned all Arab TV channels. Why? I hate watching CNN and BBC,” she wrote to Almaeena.

Talking to Arab News, Oberoi Hotel Manager Mohit Nirula did allude to the fact that a ban was in place. “The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has laid down certain rules. It is our duty to abide by and follow the rules of the country,” he told this correspondent.

Minister of Information and Broadcasting Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi was busy in Parliament and was unavailable for comment on the issue. However, a ministry official explained why the Indian government decided to enforce the ban. The official highlighted that India enjoys close and cordial relations with Israel and the US more than any of the Arab governments.

According to another source within the government, the ban is a clear sign to all governments in the Middle East that the Israeli, American and British governments carry far more influence in India than any of the Arab governments.

Several senior Indian journalists explained that the ban was an indication that India had succumbed to Israeli pressure rather than American.

“The whole exercise is to browbeat Arabs and show them as terrorists. The government is subscribing to the absurd argument that channels like Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya promote hatred and encourage terrorism,” they said.

Political analysts in India described the move as a game of double standard that India is playing. On the one hand India establishes friendship with the Arab world while simultaneously it joins with Israel and the US in defaming them. It seems that the pro-Israeli lobby wishes to drive a wedge between India and its time-tested Arab allies. The Indian government’s present stance is in stark contrast to the late Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s staunch support of the Palestinian cause.

The banning of Arabic channels is a federal government decision, done under what senior Indian journalists claim to be intense pressure from the Israeli, American and British governments.

The Indian government has been vocal in its condemnation of Israeli barbarity and has offered millions of rupees in aid to refugees in Lebanon. Arabs sympathetic to India have therefore met the news with surprise.

Many Arabs draw inspiration from India’s heroic struggle against British imperialism and the Indian independence struggle is seen by Palestinians as a brilliant example of throwing out the yoke of imperialism. It is sad that 50 years after independence the world’s largest democracy unfairly suppresses alternative opinion and allows itself to be dictated to by foreign powers.

The analysts believe the Indian government may have used a clause within the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, that certain channels or programs that can potentially cause damage to India’s friendly relations with foreign countries can be banned, a clear violation of democratic ideals such as freedom of expression and freedom of speech.

The response to the ban by hotel administrations across Bombay has been dismal. Chad Alberico, JW Marriott’s customer care official in Washington, said: “We have reviewed your recent inquiries regarding the television offerings at our JW Marriott Bombay. We have phoned our colleagues at the hotel to discuss the matter at hand, but as it is the weekend, we will need additional time to form a complete response.”

“I’m on my way home, it’s the weekend and I will respond on Monday,” said Shehnaz Ankelsaria from the Taj President Hotel. Annan Udeshi from The Hilton was unavailable and asked for a message to be left on her recorder. Khushnooma Kapadia of Marriott Hotel said she would get back later. Rafat Kazi from the Grand Central Sheraton said that she would answer after consulting her general manager. Puja Guleria of Sheraton Maratta said she needed time to deal with the questions. Firuza Mistry of Grand Hyatt said that she was not aware of the facts and would check and respond, and Priya Mathias of Hyatt Regency said that she would also need to check with her senior officials to comment.

India Bans Arab TV Channels Under Pressure From Israel

[Shammu]

Pakistan, India Expel Diplomats
Azhar Masood, Arab News
 

ISLAMABAD, 6 August 2006 — Pakistan yesterday ordered an Indian diplomat to leave the country and India reciprocated with a tit-for-tat expulsion in a new setback to the already troubled peace process.

Pakistani Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said that Deepak Kaul, counsellor at the Indian High Commission (embassy) in Islamabad, was “caught indulging in practices incompatable to his status.”

“We have asked that he should be withdrawn from Pakistan by the beginning of next week,” she said.

A security official said the diplomat had exchanged “sensitive” documents with an unidentified man.

Kaul, a visa officer, was on his way to the Wagah border yesterday morning when he stopped his car and exchanged documents with the man, the security official said.

He added that Kaul was brought back to Islamabad and handed over to the Indian Embassy who were “explained the circumstances leading to his detention.”

Kaul must leave the country within 48 hours.

India lodged a protest with Pakistan and within hours announced the expulsion of a Pakistani diplomat, Syed Muhammad Rafiq Ahmad, who held the rank of councillor at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi.

India gave no immediate reason for Ahmad’s expulsion.

An Indian Embassy official here said that Kaul was held for several hours before the authorities were informed.

“He was taken out of his car, blindfolded and kept under detention for several hours before the embassy was informed,” the official said.

The tit-for-tat expulsion was the first since the two countries launched a slow moving peace process about two years ago. The rivals last expelled diplomats in February 2003.

It comes amid tensions between the two countries since the July 7 bombings of rush-hour trains in Bombay that killed more than 200 people.

After the blasts, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh accused “elements from across the border” of helping the Bombay attackers. Pakistan denied any involvement in the blasts and offered to help in the investigation.

Political analyst Talat Masood, a retired army general, described the development as “very disturbing for the peace process.”

“It shows a lack of confidence in the two countries,” he said. “It is also very unfortunate if Kaul was caught red-handed.”

Masood said the expulsions indicate that “the peace process was not steady and stable.”

Another political analyst Hasan Askari, the former head of the political science department at the prestigious Punjab University, echoed that, saying that “this incident is likely to put further strains on the already troubled peace process.”

Indian analysts felt the developments reflected mutual mistrust.

“This shows a fraying of the trust and confidence that was being put in place in a very incremental way between the two countries from 2004,” said Indian security expert Uday Bhaskar.

“Much of the deterioration started after the Bombay blasts. We seem to be going back to a phase when the political relationship was not exuding much resilience and trust.”

Masood, however, advised the leadership in the two countries to take steps to prevent a “downward spiral” of the peace process.

Pakistan, India Expel Diplomats

[Shammu]

Terrorist caught with explosive belt

Following concrete warning, security forces manage to arrest terrorist in possession of explosive belt, which he planned to detonate in central Israeli city. Four group members also arrested
Efrat Weiss

Terror attack in central Israel thwarted: A Haruv Battalion force on Saturday night arrested a Palestinian terrorists who planned to carry out a suicide bombing inside Israel.

The terrorist was captured in possession of an explosive belt weighing 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds).

Before the terrorist was captured Friday, the alert level in the Sharon region was raised following a concrete warning received by the Shin Bet on a plan to carry out a terror attack in the area.

The police set up roadblocks at the entrance to the cities of Kfar Saba, Petah Tikva and Rosh Haayin. Another roadblock was set up on Road 5. In addition, the Israel Defense Forces boosted its operation in the Nablus area.

During the operation in the area, soldiers began chasing two suspicious Palestinian taxis southwest of Nablus, in which the terrorists and four other Palestinians were riding. When the terrorists noticed the soldiers, he tried to get rid of the explosive belt and threw it out of the taxi window.

Border Guard sappers who were dispatched to the area detonated the belt in a controlled manner. At the end of the chase, the terrorist was arrested, as well as the rest of the group members. The five were taken into interrogation by security forces.

Senior officials at the Central Command said following the operation Saturday night, and following the ongoing fighting in the north, the the terror organizations were attempting to create a third fighting front opposite Israel in the West Bank area.

In the past three weeks, since the onset of the fighting in Lebanon, security forces have thwarted seven suicide bombings, most of them directed by Hizbullah.

Terrorist caught with explosive belt

[Shammu]

Al-Qaida announces new member group in Egypt
associated press, THE JERUSALEM POST    Aug. 6, 2006

Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader announced in a new videotape aired Saturday that an Egyptian militant group has joined the terror network.

It was the first time that al-Qaida had announced a branch in Egypt, the Arab world's largest nation. The Egyptian group, Gamaa Islamiya, is apparently a revived version of a militant group of the same name that waged a campaign of violence in Egypt during the 1990s but was crushed in a government crackdown.

"We announce to the Islamic nation the good news of the unification of a great faction of the knights of the Gamaa Islamiya ... with the Al-Qaida group," Ayman al-Zawahri, the deputy leader of al-Qaida said in the videotape aired on the Al-Jazeera news network.

Al-Zawahri said the Egyptian group was led by Mohammed al-Islambouli, the younger brother of Khaled al-Islambouli, who assassinated Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat in 1979 and was later executed.

Al-Qaida announces new member group in Egypt

[Shammu]

Jews note rise in anti-Semitism
HILARY LEILA KRIEGER, THE JERUSALEM POST    Aug. 1, 2006

Anti-Semitic acts are becoming increasingly prevalent during Israel's offensive against Lebanon, Jewish communities worldwide have reported. In response, they have stepped up private security and coordination with local authorities.

Friday's fatal shooting of an employee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle was followed by further incidents over the weekend. On Sunday, the windows of a synagogue in Australia were broken and two Florida synagogues and Jewish businesses were defaced by graffiti, while several groups have received threatening e-mails and letters.

Since the fighting began "there's been a rise in expressions of hostility toward Israel" and "a spike in incidents of anti-Semitism," according to Paul Gardner, chairman of Bnai Brith of Australia's Anti-Defamation Committee. "So this is not surprising."

Australian media reported that officers were searching for 10 men of Middle Eastern appearance seen laughing and running from the synagogue soon after cement blocks were hurled at a Sydney synagogue, an attack believed to be connected to events in Lebanon.

Gardner said the Australian Jewish community - which numbers about 120,000 - had expressed "concern" but not fear, echoing comments made throughout the Jewish world.

Judy Gilbert-Gould, who heads the Jewish Community Relations Council for the Miami federation, also said that the community wasn't afraid, but that it was "saddened and dismayed."

One of the perpetrators of the Miami desecrations, a youth, has been held by police after swastikas and KKK lettering appeared on two synagogues, a kosher butcher and a Judaica store.

Gilbert-Gould said there was no specific proof of a connection between the vandalism and the Middle East conflict, but pointed to the coincidence of the timing and the fact that the issue was constantly in the public eye.

Mark Garner, spokesman for British Jewry's Community Security Trust, estimated that there has been a 25 percent increase in anti-Jewish incidents since Israeli-Hizbullah violence broke out nearly three weeks ago. He said there had been a particular rise in the number of threatening e-mails individuals had received, many of which mentioned the situation in Lebanon.

"It's a really dangerous and difficult time," he said. "I'm keenly aware that these are exactly the types of conditions that terrorists will use to pin an attack on."

He added that his organization had received no news of specific threats, but is "in more than daily contact" with the British police.

Serge Cwajgenbaum, secretary general of the European Jewish Congress, said that he was not aware of any targeted threats facing European communities, though he added that security had been bolstered across Eastern and Western Europe. "We must be very careful and remain extremely vigilant," he said.

Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, also said that there had been no specific threats received in America, but that the national security network for Jewish communities has five former law enforcement officials working full-time on security and that they were in constant contact with Jewish leaders, particularly after the Seattle murder.

"We are urging people to be more vigilant," he said. "Incidents like the shooting tend to invite copycatting."

Jews note rise in anti-Semitism

[Shammu]

Pope calls on Christians to mobilize against war
associated press, THE JERUSALEM POST    Aug. 6, 2006

Pope Benedict XVI called on Christians and others touched by his words to mobilize against the widening warfare in the Middle East.

Benedict pressed his campaign for a rapid peaceful solution to the fighting between Israel and Hizbullah in Lebanon during an interview Saturday with German media to be broadcast in Germany on Aug. 13.

"Naturally, the Holy See does not want any political power," Benedict said during the interview Saturday morning. "But we want to appeal to Christians and to all those who feel in some way touched by the words of the Holy See so that all the forces which recognize that war is the worst solution for everybody are mobilized."   (I'm sorry, but I am not touched by the popes words... DW)

War "doesn't bring any good for anybody, not even for the apparent victors," Benedict said. "We know that well in Europe, following two World Wars."

Pope calls on Christians to mobilize against war

[Shammu]

 Israel Cuts off "Umbilical Cord" for Lebanon Aid

GENEVA — The massive Israeli bombings in Lebanon have cut off the "umbilical cord" for relief supplies, raising the threat of a humanitarian disaster, international and UN agencies have warned as 40 more civilians were killed Friday, August 4, in a fresh Israeli massacre.

Israeli warplanes wrecked Friday four bridges along the coastal highway in the Christian heartland north of Beirut, cutting off almost the last land link with neighboring Syria.

"This was the main supply route for UNHCR, all our supplies come from Syria," said Jennifer Pagonis, a spokeswoman for the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The UNHCR, backed by other UN relief agencies and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said the humanitarian crisis had deepened after the bombings.

"The road was badly damaged ... with the result that we cannot bring assistance from Arida, from Syria to Beirut," said Christiane Berthiaume, a spokeswoman for the UN's World Food Program (WFP).

A convoy due to carry medical supplies for 13,000 people from Syria on Saturday was also unable to move, the World Health Organization said.

A UN team was unable to evaluate the damage caused by the air raids because Israeli military forces did not give security clearance, known as "concurrence", according to Berthiaume.

"We did not have concurrence to be able to check the road from Beirut to Arida which is really the umbilical cord to bring relief inside Lebanon," she told reporters. The WFP said later it was checking possible alternative routes.

The bombings also halted the IOM's evacuation of Filipino and Sri Lankan migrant workers from the conflict in Lebanon.

A convoy of 720 migrants had been due to travel to Syria Friday.

Fewer than half the people in southern Lebanon who need food assistance had received help from the WFP, the agency's executive director James Morris warned during a visit to Syria.

One of three scheduled UN convoys carrying food, water and sanitation equipment was able to head to Jezzine, half-way between Beirut and the Israeli border, Friday.

Spread of Disease

Access to towns and villages in the heart of the conflict in southern Lebanon was again hampered, raising the threat of disease in the summer heat because of growing shortages of clean water.

"The situation is getting desperate. If shortages continue we may be witnessing outbreaks," Paul Sherlock, a UNICEF sanitation expert said in Lebanon.

"We fear bloody diarrhea, cholera and other epidemics. But what we fear most is bloody diarrhea, especially for children under five years old," he added.

UNICEF was pressing ahead with an immunization campaign for tens of thousands of displaced Lebanese children to prevent outbreaks of polio or measles, starting with 18,000 children around Beirut.

In Brussels, the EU's External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the deteriorating humanitarian conditions made access essential, "now more than ever".

The UNHCR warned that aid was also needed in northern Lebanon.

"About 800,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon, mainly to the north and they will need assistance," Pagonis told journalists. About 130,000 of them were in public shelters.

Another 140,000 Lebanese were now in Syria, according to the UNHCR. Lebanese refugees have been fleeing at a rate of about 5,000 a day.

Fresh Massacre

Israeli bombardment killed at least 40 civilians in Lebanon on Friday as Tel Aviv is still under international diatribe for the grisly killing of 60 civilians, including 38 children, in the southern village of Qana.

One Israeli air strike hit a farm near Qaa, close to the Syrian border in the Bekaa Valley where workers, mostly Syrian Kurds, were loading plums and peaches onto trucks, local officials told Reuters.

They said 33 people were killed and 20 wounded.

Television footage showed bodies of what appeared to be farm workers lined up near the ruins of a small structure in fruit groves. Strewn nearby were fruit baskets.

"I was picking peaches when three bombs hit. Others were having lunch and they were torn to pieces," said Mohammad Rashed, one of the wounded.

Syria's official news agency said 17 of the dead were Syrian workers, five of them women.

It was one of the deadliest air strikes in 24 days of war.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Because of pictures on this news site, I will not post the link.

[Shammu]

Malaysia rejects talks with Israel


KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5: Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar has rejected a call from Israel for dialogue aimed at reaching a resolution to the Middle East crisis, a media report said on Saturday.

“Our refusal to enter into dialogue (with Israel) has nothing to do with race or religion,” Syed Hamid was quoted as saying by the Malay language Utusan Malaysia newspaper.

“If they continue to trample international law, how can we sit and hold a dialogue with them,” he said.

Malaysia does not have diplomatic ties with the Jewish state but has close links with Palestinians, backing their struggle for an independent state.

On Friday, Israel’s ambassador to neighbouring Singapore Ilan Ben-Dov called for a constructive dialogue with Malaysia and Indonesia on problems in the Middle East.

His call came a day after Malaysia hosted an emergency gathering of Muslim leaders from the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) who condemned Israeli aggression in Lebanon.

Key members of the 57-nation bloc, including Iran and allies of the US “war on terror” such as Turkey and Pakistan, condemned “relentless Israeli aggression” and called for an immediate ceasefire.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, also does not have diplomatic ties with Israel.

Syed Hamid said he did not see the need for dialogue with Israel. “They receive total protection from a world superpower. They do not need countries like us,” he was quoted in the newspaper as saying.—AFP

Malaysia rejects talks with Israel

[Shammu]

The UN as a convenience store
Basil Ince

Sunday, August 6th 2006

   

After three weeks of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, over 800 are dead in Lebanon and more than 20 civilians in Israel. Is there a crisis? My recollection is that UN members had conferred on the Security Council the "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security," and this was done to "ensure prompt and effective action" by the UN. But the carnage continues.

At this point there has been no resolution calling for a cease-fire. The French had called for an immediate cessation of hostilities while the Lebanese special envoy to the UN, on whose soil the destruction is being wrought, has proclaimed to the world: "We want a resolution. We want a ceasefire. We want a very clear stand from the Security Council." A clear stand is what has not been forthcoming from the Security Council. All that we have been told about Security Council action has come from a State Department spokesman of the top power in that Council: " (we) are beginning to see some real progress on the diplomatic front." We heard that the five permanent members had held informal talks and that there had been "widespread agreement" that a resolution be introduced to halt the fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

Earlier when Israel bombed the UN post in error, as Tel Aviv asserted, the Security Council was on the verge of issuing a statement that would have condemned Israel. The US blocked that statement.

The US has not called for an immediate cease-fire simply because Israel announced its plans to extend its offensive against Hezbollah. In other words, the Security Council has been paralysed in order to allow Israel to conclude its military aim-the establishment of a buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon.

The UN has been under fire during the current Bush administration. Now the organisation has the opportunity to act, but is restrained from calling for an end to hostilities. Many will take out their brickbats to administer a shellacking on the "useless" and "hopeless" UN. But they must realise that the UN can only be as strong as its members want it to be. It can only act when its members wish it to act. In this specific case, the lone superpower does not want the organisation to act at this time. It will be allowed to act at a time that is convenient to Israel.

Those familiar with the voting behaviour of the US in the Security Council when it comes to sparing Israel from condemnation, will not be surprised. The record speaks for itself. Between 1983 and 2006 there were 26 resolutions on the Middle East condemning Israeli actions, and on 26 occasions, the lone superpower vetoed the resolutions. Washington consistently voted for Israel, while other allies, friendly to the Israel and the United States, have abstained.

The UN is not perfect. But polls in the US have generally shown approval and trust for it, and sometimes, higher than Congress. But the UN does have its detractors in the United States. When the UN came into existence more than 60 years ago in San Francisco, it was ushered into the world with the full blessing of the United States.

Emerging as the major power after the war, the US was virtually in full charge of hammering out the Charter in San Francisco.

In fact, the US was so much in the saddle that one observer noted that while the delegates were discussing humdrum affairs in committees, the real decisions were made at a hotel where a high ranking US official summoned the other great powers. In brief, the US drew up a Charter that would not put the brakes on its global dominance. But Harry Truman, who saw the UN as a diplomatic tool, sounded a warning: "No matter how great our strength we must deny ourselves the licence to do always as we please."

That was sound advice which has been ignored at times. The Cold War and decolonisation were instrumental in upsetting the applecart for US pre-eminence in the driving seat. The US saw the UN as an agent for change, an agent for reform, not revolution. It did not expect new states to be challenging the tenets of the liberal economic order. And neither did it envisage international law as hamstringing US action. Jesse Helms, former Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee warned that international treaties simply became part of domestic law when adopted by Congress. For him, international law was " a make-believe justification for hindering the march of freedom," and he believed, "no UN institution is competent to judge the foreign policy and national security decisions of the US."

The current US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, has been called "a treasured friend" by Jesse Helms because they think alike, coming up with such plums as "There is no such thing as the UN," and " If the UN Secretariat building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference." When the UN did not back the war in Iraq, Bolton saw it as "further evidence to many why nothing should be paid to the UN system." Recently Mark Malloch Brown, a Briton and UN Deputy Secretary General, criticised the US "practice of seeking to use the UN almost by stealth as a diplomatic tool while failing to stand up against its domestic critics." He clarified that he was not critical of the United States but was calling for greater US involvement in the UN.

Malloch Brown's comments were not anti-US but a plea for the US to desist from unilateral action and act in concert with other nations when it should. In sum, the UN should not be used as a convenience store.

The UN as a convenience store

[Shammu]

Muslims stage anti-Israel rally in Germany
Lebanon-Israel-Germany, Politics, 8/5/2006

Over 2,000 German-based Muslims staged an anti-Israel rally in the city of Hamburg, northern Germany, yesterday afternoon condemning Israel's carnage in Lebanon and Palestine.

Large groups of German, Iranian, Turkish, Lebanese, Iraqi and Palestinian Muslims attended the gathering, chanting anti-Israeli slogans.

Carrying anti-Israeli banners, the protesters chanted slogans in support of the defenseless people of Lebanon, innocent children and women in particular.

Israeli ferocious air and ground attacks against civilian targets and infrastructure in Lebanon since July 12 have resulted in almost a thousand civilian deaths and dislocated millions of others.

The continuing Israeli carnage in Lebanon has triggered the anger of Muslims all over the world.

In the past weeks, different groups of Muslims in Germany had staged demonstrations in various cities protesting Tel aviv's savage attacks on Lebanon and massive destruction of the country.

Demonstrating their anger over the massacre of innocent people in Lebanon, the demonstrators voiced their support for the Islamic resistance in Lebanon.

German public opinion has been hurt by the Israel's brutality in Lebanon, especially its attack on the village of Qana in southern Lebanon which resulted in the killing of over 60 civilians, mostly women and children.

[Shammu]

Iranians Creating Mischief

By Jim Kouri

(AXcess News) New York - British government officials have shown -- and continue to show -- American intelligence officials information indicating that Iran is operating "training camps" for bombers who carry out terrorist attacks on coalition forces, Iraqi security forces and civilians. It appears that the training is accelerating in order to create havoc and destabilize the fledgling Iraqi government at the same time that the terrorist group Hezbollah has instigated a war with Israel.

Previously, the British accused Iran of being accessories in the killings of soldiers using sophisticated explosive devices. But intelligence officers go much further now by saying the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which has close links to the government, is teaching Shia fighters how to make the bombs in Iran and then they're transporting them across the border into Iraq.

These latest charges come after Iraqi and coalition forces discovered unexploded devices and submitted them to ordinance experts. A forensic examination of the bombs is being made in Baghdad which military experts believe will aid in devising security measures and may also reveal evidence of an Iranian signature. The armor-piercing, infrared bombs have reportedly killed dozens of US and British soldiers.

Government officials in Britain have accused the Iranians of tactical involvement in Iraq as a result of what Tehran perceives as Western bullying over the nuclear issue. It's also to believed the Iranians wish to keep US and British forces tied down in Iraq to avert a possible attack on Iran. Iran has vehemently denied the accusations and has claimed instead that Britain is pressuring Iran over its nuclear program by publicizing the bombing incidents.

The revelations of the alleged Iranian involvement made by defense and diplomatic sources in Iraq was compelling and detailed. The military says they are "trying to counter the bomb threat by training the trainers and the [Iranians] are doing the same. People are being trained [in Iran] and then slip back into Iraq, 10 at a time, to train others maybe 50 at a time."

Intelligence reports strongly suggest that terrorist training camps are being run in Iran, and that there is some intelligence that strongly suggests there are camps in Syria. Forensic examinations of explosive devices shows that the technology has been "proliferating," leading to a drastic rise in attacks on civilians and soldiers which now average more than three per week.

US, British and Iraqi security forces have uncovered caches of weapons including over 60 rockets, mortars and landmines, as well as the Iranian-made infrared explosive devices. Intelligence officers believe weapons are being stashed by insurgents throughout Iraq in the hopes of initiating a major insurgency offensive. And Iran gains time to continue their nuclear weapons program by helping to keep coalition forces bogged down in Iraq.

Iranians Creating Mischief

[Shammu]

Arab nation 'humiliated'

Herman Grech

President Emeritus Guido de Marco fears that the Israeli attacks in Lebanon could fuel more fundamentalism in regions beyond the Middle East. Israel's attacks are disproportioned by any stretch of the imagination, the former UN General Assembly president says.

Israel is waging its campaign in Lebanon to try and weed out terrorists. Is it creating more terrorists in the process?

Creating terrorists is not the correct term. Israel is waging an all-out war in Lebanon and those who some way or other resist the invaders are considered to be heroes. Their defiance of superior forces, which are killing hundreds of innocent civilians and causing untold harm to the infrastructure of Lebanon, are creating a measure of support for the Hizbollah, although they do not represent the majority of the Lebanese people.

So they're playing into their hands...

Precisely. And this is why I'm so concerned. I think there is utter disproportion between Hizbollah's provocation and Israel's reaction. The abduction of two Israeli soldiers does not justify the major bombing that has taken place in Lebanon. Hizbollah fired missiles in retaliation to the military attack launched by Israel. They (Hizbollah) initially had in mind the bargaining of two Israeli soldiers with Lebanese prisoners in Israel.

But Israel says Hizbollah has been launching missiles into Israel for the past months.

Maybe it was so, but the military attack was not prompted by some solitary rocket. This came about by the abduction of two Israeli soldiers, which I condemn.

Three weeks into the conflict, do you think Israel has achieved anything?

Israel is trying to annihilate Hizbollah. They are trying to ensure that Lebanon is not in a position to be of nuisance value to the security of Israel and in the process see to what extent Syria is involved.

Are you saying Israel is trying to provoke a conflict?

I think the Syrian issue has not been solved in the eyes of some nations. Israel and the US consider Syria a rogue state. Nor can Syria recognise Israel so long as Israel maintains its annexation of the Golan Heights and this in defiance of UN resolutions.

Can Israel afford to go it alone in this conflict?

A former Israeli Prime Minister once said: "So long as the US is on our side, we need no more friends nor do we fear enemies". I'm not saying the US wants to extend the conflict.

So you think the US is a player behind the scenes in this conflict?

We have to distinguish between Europe, part of Europe and the US. All the West is against the provocative action taken by Hizbollah. The majority of Europe is against the disproportionate reaction by Israel and has called for a ceasefire. The US is speaking about a sustainable peace. I think by this, the US means that Israel has to feel completely safe in its security and role in the Middle East.

So is the US, Israel and to a certain extent the UK isolated with their stand?

It depends what you mean by isolated. The rest of the world is also opposed to the Hizbollah provocation. But, yes, with the exception of these three countries, with possibly Germany, - which under the present administration is close to the Anglo-American approach- everyone thinks Israel's reaction is out of proportion and that the major victims are the Lebanese people.

Hizbollah have rockets but even if they fire many of them they can only represent a limited threat to Israel. Hizbollah has no planes, tanks, heavy artillery or ground forces to match Israel's defence. Hundreds of innocent people have been killed and untold damage has been caused in Lebanon, which, as its Prime Minister said, has been forced down to its knees.

In a recent interview, the outgoing Israeli Ambassador to Malta Ehud Gol said that us Westerners can never understand what it means to be living in constant fear of your neighbour, which explains Israel's aggressive reaction.

We have to first understand the siege mentality of the Israel people, who were born out of the Holocaust. This is a scar that the Israeli people will carry to the next millennium and unless we understand this scar we can never understand their overreaction to events. When three persons worked for peace - Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres - leading to the Oslo agreement, things were moving in the right way.

But then Mr Rabin was assassinated by Israeli extremists, Benyamin Netanyahu was elected and he was against the Oslo agreement. The Israeli settlements were not only not dismantled but were trebled and this on Palestinian territory and in constant violation of Security Council resolutions.

Through the Oslo agreement, Mr Arafat was the first person who acknowledged the existence of Israel and was prepared to share Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and Palestine. But his constant requests to stop the illegal settlements were met with defiance. President Arafat was treated in a humiliating manner in front of his own people. He was only allowed to leave his bombed office when he was moribund. I'm saying this because it adds to the poignancy of the situation. It makes a return to an international conference on the Middle East a real step forward for the future of the region.

cont'd next post