Apparently not content to let the US do a self-immolation act in the Middle East by itself, Israel decided to set itself on fire by invading Lebanon. Burn baby burn? Like George Bush, Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, never served in a combat unit and launched military operations without thinking the matter through. In fact, Olmert reportedly never even served in the military. I raise this because there is one simple question Israel cannot answer about the current operations-what is their strategic military objective. Olmert has somehow persuaded the Israeli military to ignore strategy, think tactically, and in the process become really stupid. The events in the next several weeks will expose as myth the canard that you can secure a nation by killing terrorists. No you can't.
Killing "terrorists" has a place in policy but it is not a strategic military obective. It is a tactical objective and may serve political purposes, but achieves little in terms of securing Israel. Israel is attacking targets in Lebanon like a drunken sailor in a bar fight. Flailing about, causing significant damage, hitting innocent bystanders, and generally making a mess of things. This is not the Israeli military that pulled off the brilliant and daring raid at Entebbe. ...
An Israeli army spokeswoman said officials were checking into reports that the Lebanese army base in Kfar Chima was hit, but she said in general Israel's military is not targeting Lebanon's army. Lebanese military officials said the base took a direct hit as the soldiers rushed to their bomb shelters, wire services reported. Some 35 soldiers were wounded.
"We don't target Lebanese bases. We target Hezbollah posts and infrastructure," the Israeli spokeswoman said.
Nine Lebanese soldiers were killed Monday in an attack on the fishing port of Abdeh, in northern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.
..and this is not a war on Lebanon, right? More from WaPo:
The Israeli government said Monday it was extending indefinitely a two-day state of emergency in the north. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops continued to operate around the town of Beit Hanoun, clashing occasionally with Palestinian fighters. Palestinian doctors in Beit Hanoun said three people were killed in their homes by Israeli snipers and 14 others wounded.
Israeli military sources said they had no information on such attacks. An Israeli military spokeswoman said that seven rockets were fired from the area Monday, injuring two Israeli civilians. Israeli forces pulled out of Beit Hanoun overnight, but troops remained in the southern part of Gaza, near the airport.
In Lebanon, Israeli raids again struck the Beirut-Damascus highway, along with gas stations, factories and a small fishing port. Smoke from fires arced over the Beirut sky, and thousands of people across Lebanon abandoned their homes to flee the violence
In one of the worst losses of civilian life in Lebanon, an Israeli attack targeted two cars crossing a bridge in Rmeileh, north of the southern port city of Sidon. Government officials said 10 civilians were killed, including two children.
The New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch called on the Israeli military to provide details about a bombing Saturday that killed 16 people in a convoy of civilians fleeing a Lebanese village near Israel's border.
<%
dim done
done = request.form("done")
if done = "" then
done = "No"
%>
Tell a friend
<%
Else
if request.form("done") = "Yes" then
'sets variables
dim email, sendmail
email = request.form("email")
Set sendmail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
'put the webmaster address here
sendmail.From = "webmaster@aspbasics.com"
'The mail is sent to the address entered in the previous page.
sendmail.To = email
'Enter the subject of your mail here
sendmail.Subject = "Check out this website"
'send a specific page or send a site url
dim url
'url = Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
url = "http://www.aspbasics.net"
'This is the content of the message.
sendmail.Body = "Site recommendation from a friend!" & _
vbCrlf & vbCrlf & "A friend has sent you this email and thought you would should check out this site." & _
vbCrlf & url & vbCrlf
'this sets mail priority.... 0=low 1=normal 2=high
sendmail.Importance = 1
sendmail.Send 'Send the email!
response.redirect Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
'Response.write ("Sent to ") & email
End if
End if
%>
"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
